a man who yearns is a man who earns! good lord, I am so down bad for Ellis. It's depressing that this man is fictional. He truly proves time and time again that he will do anything to get her back, SWOON! Second chance romances are my jam and this one did not disappoint! I cared so much about these two and about them working out their issues. Wish I could read a whole series about them!

4.5/5⭐️
3/5🌶️

“It terrifies me to think that I might’ve let this life go by without finding my way back to you.”

MY FIRST TARAH DEWITT BOOK AND IT WILL NOT BE MY LAST. This book had me crying tears of sadness and tears of joy. Their story was so beautiful and their journey of finding their way back to one another was so perfectly imperfect 😭 This was funny, emotional, and gave me all the butterflies!!!

-second chance
-divorced couple
-small town romance
-road trip

This book is a beautifully written reminder that to be loved is to be chosen every single day. Ellis’s love and commitment for Wren is so vast, and it’s seen both in his words and his actions on the page. Their history is messy and so realistic. Tarah Dewitt did an amazing job of putting the reality of being human into this book, with enough funny and spicy moments to keep you from crying the entire time. Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for an early copy!

This is going to be part 1 of a billion LoF posts because I don’t think I’ll stop talking about it. 💖 I definitely needed a minute after finishing this one. I’d been reading it over a few days, and WOW it hit hard. So real, so emotional, and just totally relatable. I felt everything in my gut, my heart, and my soul. Tarah really worked her magic here. I was completely sucked in from the start, and even after I turned the last page, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Still can’t. Honestly, I wanted to highlight the entire book. 😍😍😍

Wren and Ellis’s story just got to me. They were high school sweethearts who got pregnant young, and now they’re in their 30s, divorced, doing life on their own. But there’s this quiet longing they both carry, like something’s just not right. With their son Sam heading off to college, they start finding their way back to each other in the most tender, bittersweet ways with secret letters, road trips, and journaling. It was all so beautifully done. The connection they shared felt so deep, so lived-in, and so raw and spicy 😉

And let me just say, the family dynamics in this book were amazing! They brought such a grounding, comforting vibe to the story. The kind of love and support you hope people have in their lives. It made the characters feel even more real.

I am obsessed with Wren and Ellis. 🥹🤩 Like, #WRellis forever. I’m officially a stan and will not be taking questions. Their story was everything 💕 Gut-wrenching, heartfelt, nostalgic, hopeful. I didn’t even realize how much I needed this kind of emotional ride until I was halfway through and already falling apart.

From the moment I read Savor It by Tarah DeWitt last year, I CRAVED a story about Ellis and Wren. I was so excited to receive the ARC for Left of Forever and I gobbled it up in less than a day. Their second chance romance was written with so much passion, sadness, laugh out loud moments and heartfelt conversations. I've struggled with putting into words how much I loved this book because it was basically perfect. I love Ellis and Wren, I love the continued stories from the first book in the city of Spunes and if I could erase it all from my brain just to experience it all over again, I would.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Author Tarah DeWitt for the ARC!

Looking for a book that’ll rip your still-beating heart out of your chest and leave you bleeding out in the middle of your room from second-chance angst and some of the swooniest yearning you’ll ever read in your LIFE?!

Then, good news — Left of Forever will ruin your life in the best possible wa.y

If you, too, have been positively foaming at the mouth with feral glee over the ‘she’s still a byrd’ comment from Tarah's Savor It, prepare for this book to put you 6 feet in the ground. Buried at sea. Shot off into a cannon into outer space to orbit the Earth for all eternity the same way Ellis orbited Wren THEIR ENTIRE LIVES but especially after their divorce.

Tarah DeWitt is a master of her romantic craft — this book is everything a romance book can be and should be. A gut-punch straight to the heart. Reading about these two childhood friends to lovers to divorcees finding their way back to one another through years of guilt, isolation, and messy family dynamics is AWARD WINNINGLY BEAUTIFUL, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. This one smacked me in the face, made me cry, and made me LIKE IT. And is therefore, obviously, an absolute masterpiece.

If you like second chance romance with a side dish of letter writing, yearning, and a cast of meddling side characters — pick this up immediately, and then join me in the class action lawsuit against Tarah for writing the most agonizing final line of a book I’ve ever read in my thirty years of LIFE. JAIL TIME, TARAH!!!! JAIL!!!!!

I adored every second of this, and officially worship the ground Tarah walks on. Thank you ETERNALLY to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this early and then cry about it for the next 3-5 years. Infinity stars!

I have been waiting to get this book in my hands the moment I finished reading Savor It, the one quote alone “She’s still a Byrd” had me emailing the publishers for an early copy of the next book. To my relief, I was approved to read it early, I was excited and yet nervous, second chance romance is at many times a hit or miss and the way I was hyping this book in my head I was scared it wasn’t going to live up to what I wanted this book to be. But this is why Tarah DeWitt is the writer and I’m a reader; this book lives up to the expectations and more, it delivers a story of love and finding your way back to it.

With any second chance romance I’m always looking for two things: a valid reason why the couple broke up (or in this case why Ellis and Wren got a divorce) I don’t want a simple issue that could have been fixed with a simple conversation but a reason enough that in the end breaking up (or in this case getting a divorce), was the only way they could move forward. Second, a romance story that will convince me without a shadow of a doubt that when I close the book I know they will live out in their HEA. And I can confidently say this book delivers that and more, the pining is there, the tension, the longing and the quotes that will have you running to the store because you’ve run out of workable highlighters.

This is what all second chance romances must live up to and believe me when I say these shoes are too big to fill.



Solid 5 stars



Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tarah DeWitt is an author who continues to impress me every time I read her stories. This story feels fresh and unique. People in their 30's deserve love stories too. People who have been with the same person for a long time and have grown a long side each other deserve stories about their love as well. And that's what Tarah does.

Left of Forever beautifully depicts a couple finding their way back to each other and trusting in their love. As someone who has been in their partner's life for 20 years, there were so many things that rang true throughout their story. And while we've never divorced, we have had periods of struggle and had to learn how to be with each other in new phases of our life's. To be honest about what needed to be fixed. To trust ourselves and each other. And fall back in love.

I'm still in tears, thinking of the last chapter of this book. I know it's message will stay with me for a long time to come. I highly recommend it and cannot wait to see what Tarah has in store for us next.

LEFT OF FOREVER by Tarah DeWitt was so anticipated for me that I basically was salivating on the first page. I enjoyed the characters - especially their dynamic as people who grew up loving one another, created a family, and then found their way back together. I enjoyed being back in the setting of Spoons.

FCKKKKKKK. This book wrecked me in the best possible way. 5 stars. 5 fucking stars.

"We've been divorced for over four years, but her last name is still Byrd, so...she is still a Byrd."

✨ Second chance romance
✨ Childhood sweethearts / Divorced couple
✨ 30s mcs
✨ Close Proximity / Road trip
✨ Emotional

This is such a raw, real, and so achingly beautiful story about a second chance with the love of your life. Ellis and Wren were childhood sweethearts who became teen parents and married young. Life eventually got in the way and they divorced. Over 4 years later, Ellis realizes he never stopped loving Wren and is determined to win her back on a road trip after they drop their son off at college.

The absolute love that these two still have for each other brought literal tears to my eyes. Ellis is absolutely committed to winning Wren back through beautiful declarations and gestures that he had trouble displaying previously in their relationship. The open and honest communication that these two had via way of question game was so genuine and real and there's no way you couldn't not root for them. THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES!!

I'm not sure I'll ever be over this book and I'm immensely glad that St. Martin's Griffin gave me an advanced copy! 🖤

"We have whatever's left of forever, you and me."

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt was super cute! Savor It, the first Spunes, OR book, is still on my TBR list and while probably helpful to read beforehand, wasn't necessary to understand the plot here.

Wren and Ellis Byrd fell in love as kids, having their son Sam when they were barely adults, and fell apart. They're now divorced and in their 30s, living separate-ish lives. When Sam gets accepted to college, Ellis convinces Wren to take a road trip with him to give their relationship one last chance.

I liked that this was a unique plot for a second-chance romance. It was so refreshing to read about characters that were so down to earth and real. I loved that there wasn't any big "thing" - just that in the mix of life flying past them, they fell out of fighting for each other. Watching them want to find that again was just really refreshing and fun and I totally was rooting for them the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wren and Ellis Byrd may have divorced five years ago, but they are still not quite over each other. When their son Sam is accepted to college in northern California, Ellis proposes that they take the trip home as a week long road trip vacation to see if they want to rekindle their romance. The two have been working on themselves since the divorce (including therapy for him!), and Wren only agrees to the trip if they can talk about what went wrong the first time. But will old wounds keep them from moving on?

This is a standalone novel that is in the same world as Savor It. I'm not normally a huge fan of second chance romances because in too many cases it all boils down to miscommunication. But the issues between Wren and Ellis are so much deeper and you can understand both why their marriage fell apart and why they still love each other. Overall this was a very heartfelt story and I was invested fully in the characters and their outcome. Taking a quarter of a point off for the name Wren Byrd though (seriously!?!). Would recommend to most romance readers, especiall y

Overall: 3.75/5
Spice: 2/3

I have really struggled figuring out a star rating for this book but overall I’m going with 4 stars!

I really liked the take on the letters and the reconnection starting to form from the start and it truly pulled me into this story. It was awesome seeing the co parenting these two did while remaining separated. I do feel like this was slow burn with the reconnection and it made the middle of the story drag a little for me. But it was definitely needed for the characters to fully forgive and re develop their relationship.

The ending of this story was TRULY the star of the show, the epilogues and how everything wrapped up made it hard for me not to say 5 stars. But with just the little lull period in the middle I decided a firm 4 star read for me!

everything tarah dewitt writes is pure magic. the second she presses pen to paper, it’s as if she’s severing a vein — bleeding out the most gut-wrenching tale directly from her heart. i can’t think of any other way she could’ve possibly written such a raw, heart-rending love story. as with ‘savor it,’ tarah balances the heart (so, so much heart!) and heat (ellis, the man that you are) of the book with humor, but none of those diminish the long-lasting poignancy of her stories.

there is gravitas and weight to ellis and wren’s story, yet it’s delicate — so delicate, it feels as if pressure on a crack would splinter it in two. ellis & wren have dealt with heartache and trauma, their love whittled away at by agony and grief, until those pressure point cracks widened into gaping chasms, and they no longer knew each other. knew how to *love* one another.

but a handful of years and one epic road trip is all it takes to change that.

i loved watching ellis and wren learn how to love each other again. there was something so beautiful about the fact that they loved each other — wanted each other — so desperately, yet they had to re-learn how to communicate the latter and demonstrate the former. watching their repair their love story was a bit like kintsugi; those gaping chasms they filled in with their new-found love only strengthened their relationship, made their love story more whole and beautiful.

this is a book i won’t ever forget. it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me swoon, and more over, it made me believe in love. it reinforced the idea that love — true love — requires work and time and dedication. love is an action, and never has that been illustrated better than with this story. 🤍

We read, “She’s still a Byrd,” and we haven’t been the same since.

Left of Forever is the story of loving so deeply and intimately but allowing grief and fear to make you strangers to even the people you hold closest. It is a story of reconciliation, second chances, and giving yourself permission to heal wounds you never treated.

Wren and Ellis grew up not only with each other, but into each other in the sense that neither would be who they are at their core without the other. I think that anyone in a long-term relationship can attest that there is incredible beauty in allowing someone such full access to your heart that it changes you forever. However, complacency can easily creep up and replace contentment to become something ugly and dangerous, especially amid pain. Wren and Ellis have a second chance to be something extraordinary together, do you think this time they will get it right?

I am not exaggerating when I say that I believe Left of Forever to be the most realistic representation of people who have been together long-term, CHOOSING to do the work so they can stay together. Because that’s what relationships are, choices. Decision after decision to be there, to stay, to do the hard things. To continuously love and to grow together instead of apart with no finish line in sight. LOF presents both sides of the coin – how easy it is to lose yourself and grow apart, but also how rewarding getting through the hard things together can be.

Also, as a note, I REFUTE the implication that just because 2 people have been together forever, that their relationship cannot be exciting, invigorating, and fresh… especially physically. A majority of romances do an incredible job of showing that spark of attraction that turns into fireworks, but few manage to showcase life after the dizzying effect of new love. There is something to be said of the spark of a long burning fire that you have to stoke; of learning how to build that flame higher, or when to let it cool.

I have never in my life read two characters that belong to each other more. I may want Ellis to be my book husband, but he could never look at anyone except for Wren. That’s his girl for life.

Thank you, Tarah, for writing something that feels as though my heart knew it before I even read it. Thank you Forever and St.Martin for the opportunity to read this early!!!

I loved the characters in this book and enjoyed the journey of their development and their dynamic throughout.

The way this man YEARNS for her! I absolutely fell in love with this book. First time reading a second chance when the couple have been divorced but still have those feelings. Ellis and Wren’s story is so beautiful, intimate, and really captures the aspect of not completely falling out of love with your person. I loved how they really figured out what pulled them apart in the first place so they could start this life again together. I absolutely love the Byrd family!!

4 Stars

Tara Dewitt has been a hit or miss author for me in the past, in fact I didn’t even finish the first book in this series! Despite this, I found Left of Forever really enjoyable! I may have even rated it higher if I had been able to devote more time to reading it quicker.

I feel like this specific type of second-chance romance is rare to read about & I’m not sure why! I think this was done well. It was sexy. sweet & earnest.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Left of Forever in exchange for an honest review!

this book was so beautifully written!! I loved every single moment of this book and seeing two people who never fell out of love be together again was so beautiful. Wren was such a relatable character and I saw parts of myself in her . And Ellis deserves a huge hug taking so much at such a young age . He deserves everything and so much more.

this book is definitely for those who live and breathe second chance romance !!

3/5 ⭐️

thank you to netgalley for a copy of this arc!
i was confident that this was going to be a 5 star read for me but unfortunately i felt a little disappointed with this one. i know that this is an interconnected stand alone but i really don’t feel like it can be read alone. i have read interconnected series where ill start on the last book and not feel lost at all but i felt like this one definitely had gaps and only gave little to no explanation about the events that are being eluded to. i feel like i enjoyed the couple a lot in the beginning (me being a sucker for second chance) but then the ending felt rushed to me? i guess its not because they were previously married but 5 years is a long time & i would’ve thought it would’ve been more slow burn given that this was the first time they even really had more than simple conversation in those 5 years.
overall i do like the humor & flirting that came from this book & would recommend for someone who is looking for second chance romance!