Slow burn & second chance romance rolled into one? Yes, please!

Sometimes life doesn't go the way you've planned. Sometimes it turns out event better than you imagined. Through Wren & Ellis' story, Tarah shows how difficult and messy marriage can truly be. But she also shows how to look for the good in those messy moments.

Thanks NetGalley & St.Martin’s press for the arc!

Tarah DeWitt is always an instant read author for me and this book did not disappoint! I loved the characters' banter and their tension was perfection. It was truly beautiful to watch their journey to rekindling their relationship. I found the letters to be so sweet and I loved that component of the book. I was sad that they ended, but thought that the flow into her journaling was perfect! Tarah has a way of beautifully crafting thoughts and feelings. She articulates them to a point where I often think, "wow, I've felt that before and never knew how to describe it until now." I wish I could reread every book she's ever written for the first time again, just to experience the joy and giddiness (amongst the heartbreak that still ensues), that they all give me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

How can I put into words how much I love this book? It completely changed my brain chemistry, I will never be the same now. Wren and Ellis have my entire heart and I’m just so grateful to have been able to read their story because… what a story it was. I’m actually obsessed with this book and I will revisit this often.

This book was particularly poignant for me as a second-time mom in the newborn trenches. It is a book about the inevitable of change in relationships, and how they may grow or wilt depending on how we tend to them. It was a reminder that it is always worth it to be vulnerable with your people, and it’s never too late to let them in.
Thank you Tarah for writing characters who feel real and to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Sixty annotations later and I’m not sure how to adequately express how beautiful and brilliant this book is. Tarah DeWitt has a style of writing that cracks open your chest, squeezes your heart, and then masterfully sews it back together again. She made me cry about a scone. A SCONE I SAY.

From the moment Ellis passionately claims that Wren is “still a Byrd” in Savor It, I was sitting on my hands in anticipation of Left of Forever. In simple terms, it explores the entirety of their relationship and how they navigate a road back to each other. There are scones, spicy peppers, a cable car, and the promise of liver and onions. And while all of those things together sound like a hodge podge of items, they all lead to passages that have palpable pain, love, and laughter.

Between Ellis’ quiet determination and Wren’s introspectiveness and honesty, you just root for them deep in your bones. Their relationship broke down for reasons that I think everyone can relate to. Being able to witness them put it back together again was emotional and joyful. All other books I read this year will be compared to this one.

Thank you for this ARC! I’m obsessed with these characters!
Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt had me kicking and screaming (in the best way) the whole time, rooting for these two to just figure it out already! It’s a story about love, healing, and the messy, beautiful process of finding your way back to what truly matters. The characters are so real—flawed, funny, and full of chemistry—and their journey is packed with witty banter, emotional gut punches, and moments that made my heart ache in the best way. DeWitt perfectly balances humor and heartbreak, making this the kind of romance that stays with you long after the last page.

Part way through reading Savor It, I knew I'd be chomping at the bit for Wren and Ellis's story. Second chance romance can be so hard to buy into, but I was invested before the book was even published! Wren and Ellis have such a beautiful history and are still so in tune with each other. It was scrumptious tension with a dose of "he falls first" that you don't normally get with second chances. Such a good read and 100000% recommend.

This book was a sweet second chance romance! I loved how willing Ellis was to grow and be the man that Wren was asking him to be. There trip was so cute and I loved how intentional Ellis was throughout the book.

Unfortunately a lot of this book didn’t work for me personally. I found the pacing to be very off and kept wanting to see more of the past so I could truly understand why Wren and Ellis got divorced in the first place. After hardly talking for FIVE whole years they both decide that they are still in love with the other person, and after some awkward banter and three days of vacation together they’re immediately hooking up. I really just wanted more emotional connection and less spice.

Overall this was a fine romance, just not a favorite!

I adore Tarah Dewitt’s books! This was as emotional as you would expect from a second chance romance about a divorced couple. However , it was also pretty funny! There were plenty of light moments to go along with the heavy emotional ones. Definitely would recommend it. I would suggest that you read Savor It first but it’s not necessary to understand the book.

I have a love hate relationship with second chance romance, but this book does it right!

Wren and Ellis both took their time apart to really work on themselves and identify and heal from their issues so that they can give their relationship a second chance. I enjoyed watching them rekindle their relationship and work through their issues.

This was my first second chance romance with a married couple and I’m so happy it was this book. I was smiling, cheering, and crying for Wren and Ellis throughout the entire book. This is one that I know will resonate with so many people that are in the same walk of life. I’m excited for others to feel the same way I felt when reading Left of Forever. This author has just become an automatic buy author for me after this one.

This book was incredible!! Tears were shed and laughs were had! I will forever recommend this book!!

This book was amazing. The second chance was believable and even mirrored my own marital story in some ways. I cried and even highlighted some areas to share with my husband which I don't normally do.

I will be reading the authors backlog, but I will not be publishing any public reviews as I didn't realize this was an SMP publication and I refuse to promote them on my socials until they meet the actions of the boycott.

I loved Savor It so I was really excited to read this one and it did not disappoint! Second chance romance isn't always my favorite but this was so sweet and emotional, I could just feel their love radiate off the pages. Ellis and Wren's journey felt cathartic and healing. Fun, steamy, emotional. A true delight.

Wren and Ellis had been together since they were five. Ellis was a firefighter and Wren owned a bakery. In high school Wren got pregnant and their son, Sam, was born. They were too young, and Ellis had his own brothers and sister to worry about besides Wren and Sam. They divorced and both tried to start new lives until she sent bakery items to the place where Ellis was fighting fires, and they started writing to each other. Wren had no idea she was writing to Ellis. Ellis knew he still loved Wren and believed they might get back together. When Sam goes off to college Ellis asks Wren to go on a week’s vacation after they drop Sam off. This is a beautiful romantic story about how life changes and strong love can renew a marriage. I loved their idea about sharing 2 things a day about what concerned them. I loved all the special places Ellis took Wren on their vacation. Wonderful characters and love story!

A beautiful second chance romance between Wren & Ellis. This book had me hooked! I was rooting for these two to get things right a second time after they had a child, married young, and then divorced. They learn to openly communicate about what when wrong the first time to move forward together. The chemistry, flirting, and yearning between them was perfection. The intimacy -- no notes!

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC of Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt. This book was nothing short of perfection. It was completely and utterly perfection, in every single way. I unexpectedly fell in love with Savor It, but I saw Tarah's announcement that the next book in this series would follow Ellis and Wren, I knew that this would be a new favorite, if not a favorite overall. This book was so incredible, I was in awe that I could love it so much and not want to change a single thing. Wren and Ellis both had so much depth and every side character did as well, contributing to this incredibly journey of Ellis and Wren finding their way back to each other. The plot was so simple yet effective—a road trip for these two divorcees to try and reconnect, and how they got to the root of it all: communication. Simple, yet effective communication, because the love had always been there, but it was everything else that they couldn't work for at the time, and thought it would be better to let each other go, even though they both knew in their souls that they were the ones for each other. I loved how it was ultimately framed as a choice, that it was not fate or destiny that lead them back to each other, but it was them being willing to do the work because love was not even, regardless of how much they did love each other. I loved that the love was always portrayed as there, but the work came when they both wanted to be the better and best versions for themselves and for each other so that they could live out the rest of their forever. I absolutely love this book and I cannot recommend it or Tarah DeWitt as an author enough. I am impatiently waiting for the next installment of the Spunes, Oregon world! If I could give this 15 stars and then some, I would.

Left of Forever is potentially the most romantic book I have ever read.
DeWitt's portrayal of one of the many the realistic paths that can occur in marriage and relationships was handled with such intention and gentleness. Ellis and Wren's marriage didn't end in a fire-y explosion, it dissolved over time because of the realistic factors of life. Humans are flawed, sometimes marriage isn't what we see in the movies, and life doesn't always work out the way we predict it will. Even though Left of Forever was handling life post-divorce for Ellis and Wren, I really do feel that this book was one of the most romantic books I have ever read (potentially THE most romantic book I have ever read). There is something about knowing another person so intimately, for so long, and knowing how wrong it can go and still choosing them again and choosing to do the work.
I rarely, if ever, cry when reading and even more rarely when reading a romance but Left of Forever had tears in my eyes a few times. The characters are beautifully flawed and vulnerable in a way that makes them feel realistic. Their love didn't feel exaggerated. This is a second chance romance that felt like it was real. This book turned me into an annotator (which is a feat at this stage of life for me). Ellis doesn't think of himself as a romantic, yet had one of the most romantic lines of the book in my opinion - "All I know is that if I found out heaven was real and got there first? I'd hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat." And yes, I did cry over it a little when he said it.
Left of Forever had me squealing and kicking my feet (internally because I stayed up until 1am reading since I simply could not put it down) and tearing up over these characters. The letters were such an interesting way to kick off the story and build up the relationship. The roadtrip was fun and intentional and romantic. Spunes was the perfect small town backdrop. And it had some of the best yearning I have ever read.
This is a gold standard example of a slow burn second chance romance. This story clicked with me like nothing else I have read in a very long time. What a joy it is to exist in the same timeline as Ms Tarah DeWitt.

From start to finish, this book was a masterclass in second chance romance. Wren and Ellis cracked my heart open raw and tenderly sewed it back together as they did with their relationship.

The pacing was perfect. Let the record show- I am not a fan of dual timelines. BUT the flashbacks blended into the storyline seamlessly. Where Savor It felt more like a slow burn, each scene felt full without dragging on.

I have to shoutout the therapy rep. You’re able to see both Ellis’s growth during their time apart and as they reconnect on the road. Likewise, we see our selfless, big hearted Wren embracing the confidence to speak up and communicate more honestly.

Heck seeing how far they’d come as they reconnected honestly more and more had me sobbing hysterically in bed at 2am with a pint of Halo Top in a mumu. Take that as you will.

And the spice was PERFECTION. The longing, the yearning, the familiarity amidst the tension had me properly hot and bothered.

This book is officially a contender for one of my top books of the year. A huge thank you to Tarah DeWitt, St. Martin’s/You Had Me At HEA, and NetGalley for this arc!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄
♥ Second-chance romance
🏛 Small town vibes
👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Meddling family
🚗 Road trips
🛌 Forced proximity

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
Wren and Ellis fell in love early in life and loved hard. They had Sam when they were still teenagers and eventually divorced while he was in high school. When he is accepted into college, Ellis convinces Wren to go on a weeklong road trip to celebrate. During the road trip, they start having the tough conversations they always avoided and begin rekindling their relationship.

𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
This was so real and vulnerable and raw. I loved the small-town vibes and how everyone had their hand in this relationship. It made me laugh and cry and look at my own relationship in a new light. 3.75/5⭐