Wren and Ellis are high school sweethearts who set off on a roadtrip after dropping their son off at college to rekindle their romance.

The way their affection was written genuinely made their relationship feel real, you can feel their years of history in the way they communicated or small antidotes shared.

Overall the conflict that drove a wedge between them felt genuine, however their push to get back together was mildly thin as they both clearly still deep feelings for each other.

However, this did not detract from the reading experience. I genuinely enjoyed getting to know these characters and their love story. They both spoke of each other so highly, even in sad moment, in a way that truly transformed their love into something real as a reader.

Longing to the extreme! They lonnnnnged for each other and I. Ate. It. Up.
I love this Spunes family and *fingerscrossed* Silas is next! Alllll the stars

3 Stars I knew that Wren and Ellis's story was going to be emotional and angsty, but I wasn't prepared for how real it would feel. Almost 5 years after they divorce, exes and co-parents Wren and Ellis embark on a roadtrip after dropping their son, Sam, off at college. It's a chance for them to see if they could try again or at least try to be friends. It's a journey fraught with heartbreak and hope. The characters, their struggles, and their love feel more real than almost any other romance book I've read. That being said, I sometimes had a hard time following along with what was happening and if it was the present or a memory. Plus, my mind would wander with how much internal dialogue there was compared to actual action or dialogue between characters.

✩5♾️

✦What to Expect✦
•Second chance romance
•Divorced couple
•Road trip
•Small town

✦Characters✦
•Wren Byrd
•Ellis Byrd
 
✦Fav Quotes✦
“Save me a seat?”
“I’ll save you the best seat in the house, Byrd.”

“You’re still a Byrd.”
“I am,”

“We have whatever’s left of forever, you and me.”

✦Thoughts✦
I am a huge lover of second chance romances and this is HANDS DOWN one of, if not the best I’ve ever read.

The hype surrounding this book is completely deserved.

I don’t know if I can truly fully convey my feelings about this book and what it did to me. I am actually a ball of emotions and feelings over it. Butterflies don’t even do it justice. It was beyond butterflies, I felt it to my core and my heart was actually bursting over them. I’m fine guys lol

These two finding their way back to one another after years part and knowing each other their whole lives… it just was soo good, beautiful, & raw. Im in a glass case of emotion over here

The dialogue and conversations in this too are so f’ing witty!

This is a Byrd family Stan account now.
I love them so effing much!

This story was utter perfection!

ALL THE STARS!! ALL THE TEARS!! I have loved all of Tarah's books that I have read so far, but Left of Forever is truly a special one. I got chills when reading this book and have not stopped thinking about Wren and Ellis and their beautiful love story. One of the stand out romances of the year so far.

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis, who are 5 years divorced after being together since they were teenagers. They fell in love at a very young age after being best friends most of their lives, got married right out of high school, and lived the romantic and special life that everyone envisioned for them. At the beginning of the book, you find out that they have been separated for 5 years and the tension and angst is clear right from the first page. The two are coparenting their son, who is about to leave for college, and Ellis persuades Wren to take one final road trip together to drop their son off at college. But his goal is really to see if he can convince Wren to try a relationship again and rekindle their marriage...

This book was second chances romance, friends to lovers, YEARNING, angst, and forever love at its best. I could FEEL the angst, tension, and heartbreak from Wren and Ellis from each page. Tarah managed to weave such real characters, with such a normal love story and fallout, that I think many people will be able to find bits of themselves in these characters. I loved the idea of Ellis never getting over Wren, writing her secret letters, refusing to give up on her despite knowing she needed her distance. AND THE ROADTRIP???? was everything. The smut, the BANTER, the little yearning touches and glances. The pining and determination of Ellis to win Wren back. The roadtrip felt so nostalgic for their teenage days and made me feel like I was witnessing them fall in love again.

This book is about forgiveness, second chances, healing, and the power of love. It is about finding your person when the time is right and knowing when it's important to fight for the love you want. Tarah blew me away with this book and I have a feeling I will come back to it time and time again, rereading and recommending to others.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free early copy!! I'm endlessly grateful.

I have been waiting for this since Savor It and bboooiiiii did it not disappoint👏🏻 I’m always a sucker for a second chance romance. So let’s get that out of the way right here. But when you combine a man like Ellis and a bad ass woman like Wren for the main characters? Immediately sold, no further questions. This book genuinely made me fall in love with the people in this town all over again. There’s gossip and nosy neighbors that always seems to happen in a small town books. But also the found family in this book is so beautifully done, and makes me want to be a part of their family too. Tarah has such a way with her words, and it just makes you feel like you’re there in the story with them. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this book and I’m ready for my hardcopy to arrive so I can have that beauty on my shelves. I seriously cannot thank NetGalley enough for allowing me to read this arc.

5 stars

YES! AMAZING! ROMANTIC! HEART WRENCHING! EVERY THINGGGGGGG!

Tarah DeWitt knocked it out of the park with this second chance romance of a divorced couple. The growth they both achieved separately and as they reunite. The EFFORT was the most romantic bit to me because you knew Ellis wanted his wife back not for the convenience of having a partner but because he LOVED her specifically. I also loved how invested everyone was in the reconciliation without being overbearing or putting pressure on them. And the speech during the epilogue had me in tears. I am so happy these two found their way back to each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Left of Forever is hands down one of the best romance books I have ever read. I've never read a second chance romance story quite like this one. Life threw incredible difficulty hardballs at these two characters, and being able to watch them sort out their differences and certain traumas out together made this so special.
The intimacy of wanting to know each other again and the yearning was spectacular. Tarah's writing is so emotional and captivating. I've already preordered my copy, and I look forward to reading this again!

I’m starting to think maybe DeWitt just isn’t a romance author for me and that’s okay!! After not loving Savor It I still wanted to give this one a chance because I love the tropes + saw such good early reviews buuttttt 🙃

✨second chance romance - they’ve been divorced for 5 years!
✨childhood friends to lovers
✨road trip
✨dual POV

My biggest gripe is the believability (and the miscommunication)- you mean you’ve known each other since you were 5 and were married for a decade and can’t recognition the other’s handwriting?? you’ve been apart for 5 years for legitimate reasons and can come back together so easily/quickly?! iiiiii dunno🤔

BUT (and trigger warnings here⚠️) I appreciate how DeWitt handled the topic of infertility and felt very seen by these scenes. They were honest and conveyed how hard it can be on a marriage - so this was believable.

Overall I’m prettty in the middle here! But given the rave reviews by others I’d definitely give it a try!

This will be one of my favorite romances of the year, hands down. So full of emotion and heart and love. It had a lot of depth to it, and it was SO HOT. I really enjoyed this.

Left of Forever Review ✨

Author: Tarah DeWitt

OUT ON: MAY 20, 2025

Review: I have a mixed relationship with Tarah DeWitt books where I’ve absolutely loved some, strongly disliked some and some where I liked them just fine! Needless to say I was intrigued for where this newest release was going to fall on my scale (thank you so much @stmartinspress | @netgalley for the advanced digital copy 🤍🥹)

I fear that Tarah’s books are far too spicy and lusty for my tastes, but if that’s what you’re into you will love her books! That being said however, the love between these two?! Stunning. Ellis and Wren were a highly anticipated couple to read about for me after reading “Savor It.” I was thrilled when I found out that we were going to be getting their story in this one!

Now, I thought that the way their romance rekindled was so sweet and the way that Ellis took care of Wren throughout the story just had my heart melting. Second-chance romance is one of my least favorite romance tropes, but this story hit different for me in the best way! The family dynamics they both experienced growing up, the fertility issues, the way they didn’t fall out of love but fell out of like, it was very well written. Watching them grow back together was beautiful, albeit a touch unrealistic due to the timeline.

I did struggle with how lusty this book was. I know that they were married and had more of their fair share of time learning one anothers preferences, but I feel as though a lot of their relationship was based on their physical relationship going well, which was disappointing. But that’s just my thoughts!

Anyways, as someone who doesn’t read spice in books, this book had me skipping more than I would like so if you’re looking to read it without the spicy scenes (like I do), check out my open door warnings below!

⭐3/5 Rating

⛔️Open Door Scenes: 4, 23, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 36 & 39

📖Genres: Romance | Second Chance | Contemporary Romance

Do you want to feel some feelings? Because you're going to feel some feelings!

My heart hurt for Wren and Ellis when I met them in Savor It. These two side characters had a complicated history, and pining you can feel from a mile away. They long for each other. Their divorce is still an open wound.

With their son graduating high school, and starting college early, they are given the space to evaluate their relationship beyond "what's best for Sam." The identity a couple has outside of parenthood is often lost for the best of us, maintaining separation is challenging in the rigamarole of parenting.

Ellis and Wren have been missing each other. They've never moved on past their separation. They've been pretending to be fine for the sake of everyone in their life. Ellis has had enough. He accepts his feelings for Wren have gone nowhere, and in fact he wants her back. The road trip they decide to go on gives them the space from all the old habits, and routines. They want to know if their relationship is truly over, or if it can be rekindled.

Ya'll, this is incredibly romantic. Not in a grand gesture, over the top kind of way. In a grounded way. In a way that feels like it would apply to most people in relationships. It shows the work it takes to break old habits, to become vulnerable for another person. These two are so in love it hurts to watch them be apart.

The stakes are real, but they are safe. There is no life and death danger. The world is not in peril. It's a microcosm of two people find their way back to each other. So f*ing cute!!!!!!

✨ ARC Review ✨

As we all knew from the moment Ellis declared “She’s still a Byrd”, Wren and Ellis were meant to have their second chance. What we didn’t know is how beautifully nuanced @tarahdewittauthor would write theirs.

Second chance is my favorite trope. My heart and soul believes that when it comes to love, sometimes we’re big dummies and figure things out later. Sometimes insurmountable odds are actually surmountable with time and space given.

Ellis has known for a while that he’s still in love with Wren, but Wren doesn’t know this. When he suggests a road trip to take their son to college, she balks. How can she agree to a road trip with her ex-husband when she can’t even look at him? But when he lays his cards out (like a fully-formed emotionally intelligent person) and says he wants to use the trip to see if they have what it takes for a second chance? She’s in. Oh, is she in. Cautiously optimistically in.

The way these two communicate their wants and needs is by turns flirty and serious. The balance is incredible. I never felt weighed down by their issues. Instead, I felt buoyed by their willingness to talk about the hard things.

Now, some book buds didn’t care for parts of this book and I hear what y’all are saying, BUT their physical attraction has existed since they were teenagers. It makes sense to me that as they grow closer again emotionally that they would also lose themselves to their sexual tension as well.

Listen. I posilutely love this book. It’s gorgeously done and I’m in love with Ellis and Wren.

Highly recommended for lovers of glorious second chance romance! ♥️♥️♥️

I was given this eARC via #netgalley and @stmartinspress. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #romancebooks #contemporaryromance #secondchanceromance#leftofforever #tarahdewitt #fivestarreads #fivestarbooks #bookreview #bookrecs #bookstagram

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #LeftofForever by Tarah DeWitt in exchange for an honest review.

Let's start with what I loved about this book: Ellis. Seriously, I hate rating this book 3 stars because Ellis deserves more. He is fantastic. Many readers/reviewers complain about him not telling Wren about the letters and yet, I totally understand how/why it played out the way it did. I do think he could have told her about them at some point on the trip and we could have avoided Ellis finding them and the quick moment of panic you (the reader) have until you realize, the book is almost over and that it's going to be resolved quickly but I can forgive Ellis for not telling Wren earlier.

Now, for what I didn't like about the book. This is a 2nd chance romance and in a lot of ways, it felt very real. I could totally see how 2 people who were still completely in love with each other, could end up divorced after what they went through and I really enjoyed how they took the trip to work on rebuilding the relationship. What I didn't care for, is according to DeWitt, the only person in the relationship that needed to change and grow, was Ellis. Ellis did a wonderful job at it, too but never once in the discussing of what went wrong in their marriage, was Wren called to the floor to acknowledge her wrongs. This marriage didn't fall apart because of only Ellis' choices/actions. Wren in her grief, pushed Ellis away. She needed to step up and acknowledge where she failed the marriage, too. If that had happened, I think I could truly believe in their HEA.

Couple of other things that didn't make sense. How the heck did Ellis become so advanced in knot tying? This was new ground for them and yet, he welded that rope like a freaking magician. I just don't buy it. Even if he had been fantasizing about it for a while, where did he get the real world application? Also, the pepper burn, Wren bugged me when she was upset that Ellis pushed her away. I was about to say that any man would do that, not because of trust but because of embarrassment and wanting to be alone in their pain but really, that's not something that just men do. When I was passing my first kidney stone while being 5 months pregnant, I didn't want anyone near me and I just had pain to deal with (no embarrassment on top of it). Wren came off as wildly immature by pouting because Ellis asked for some time alone. Lastly, the names of these characters bothered me. She is Wren Salem and he is Ellis Orion. How did they both end up with such uncommon names (especially the middle names). I didn't mind Wren Byrd because I could see that actually happening and if one of them had an uncommon middle name, I would have been okay but it just pushed past the believable point for both of them. I did, however, love that he called her Bird and then later Byrd throughout their relationship. I thought that was sweet and cute and totally believable.

Finally, I end with: there were some really romantic moments in this book that I truly loved and the overall premise was fabulous. If Wren had some character growth, I would recommend this to all my friends who are soon to be or recently become empty nesters (even if they are still happily married).

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy. Here’s my review:

I went into Left of Forever knowing I was going to fall in love with Wren and Ellis—and what better time to do that than while they’re learning to fall back in love with each other?

This is a beautifully written second chance romance that picks up five years after their divorce. A road trip, just the two of them, after dropping off their now college-bound kid—what could possibly go wrong? Or, more importantly, what could go right?

Be ready to fall hard. Be ready for the petty, the messy, the heartbreaking—but most of all, the magic that is Wren and Ellis.

Obsessed. Love love loved this book!

There is something about reading a book about two people finding their way back to each other that wrecks me! It’s so emotional. They already know each other in such an intimate way and they never really stopped loving each other but sometimes life just gets in the way of that love. I feel like anyone who has been married for a while can understand this, especially if you were married young.

I really loved and appreciated the way Wren and Ellis found their way back to each other so much. They got down to the nitty gritty of their past and confronted it head on. It was great because they were both open to hearing it all. They both wanted to fight for what they had. 🥹 and they did and it was absolutely beautiful.

🎧
Megan Wicks and Connor Crais did an amazing job bringing this story to life! Their voices added so much more emotion to this already emotional book. They give me all the feels and brought me to tears. 100% recommend the audiobook!

Full disclosure: I love Tarah Dewitt and her writing. All of her books are auto-buy for me. That being said, Left of Forever is my favorite. 💖 Second chance stories can be risky because the reason the MCs didn't work the first time around has to be a "forgivable" offense, which can be a challenging needle to thread. Wren and Ellis' story was emotional, sexy, and at times, hilarious. I can't wait to see what Dewitt tackles next. She has a forever-fan in me. 🥳

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I ended up finishing the book in just a few sittings and really enjoyed the story and characters.

This is a beautiful second-chance romance between two people still very much in love with each other, but too afraid to say it, or even admit it to themselves at first. Wren and Ellis have known each other forever--they grew up alongside each other in their small town in Oregon, fell hard for each other as teenagers, and married young after Wren got pregnant at 17. Now they're 5 years post-divorce, gearing up to send their child Sam to college, and deciding to see if they have a chance of reconnecting.

This is the first book I've read set in Spunes & first I've read by this author, and I probably would have been even more emotionally invested in their story if I'd read others first -- but still, this was a beautiful romance and I was rooting for Wren and Ellis so hard. For readers who love an epistolary novel, there are some letters back and forth between Ellis and Wren that were essential to them opening back up to one another and giving themselves another chance, though only Ellis knew the identity of his correspondent. Their story felt very real and very hopeful, and it was a beautiful journey to go on. I'll definitely be looking out for Savor It and others by DeWitt now! And I'll be recommending this to our romance readers looking for an emotional contemporary romance.

Please forgive me if this too long or doesn’t make sense because I tend to ramble, I’ve been struggling to find the words that will do this book justice.

This book has more than altered my brain chemistry, I can feel how it changed me down to my marrow. The heartbreak, the hope, the grief, and the love that fill this book are palpable on every page.

Wren is so incredibly lovable, flawed, and real. She felt like sunshine, the kind that finds its way through the trees and makes everything glow in shades of gold and green. She has felt so much grief, but it never affected the amount of kindness and love she has to give. She’s the kind of person that just radiates it.

Ellis Byrd, the man that you are. He took on so much from such a young age that he never learned how to share the load, or even know that it’s okay to do so. This man put in the work to listen and grow and fight for Wren. Watching his growth with emotional vulnerability and communication broke my heart and put it back together again. Ellis hands down has the best character growth I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

And if it wasn’t enough to fall in love with Wren and Ellis, Tarah had to go and make us fall in love with the rest of the Byrd family as well. Getting to see Sage and Fisher again was a treat, but Silas and Micah stole the show for the supporting characters. I am so unbelievably excited to read their stories when the time comes I’m practically vibrating!

It has been so long since I’ve had a book leave me feeling this raw and full of hope, I will truly compare every book I read to it. I’ve repeatedly joked that the nickname for this book is Heartbroken and Horny (and I stand by it), but it is also hopeful. Hope to try again, hope to grow together, and hope to love, for whatever is left of forever.

Left of Forever blesses the public with its existence May 20th!💚🕊️

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review