I think I’m going to be a minority on this one.
The first 50% I absolutely loved then the back half lost me and I felt was filled with moments that made me cringe and want the book to just be over? The cooking class scene was just absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. I can definitely understand why people will love this book but it just felt like a miss for me. Looking forward to future books from this author.
Thanks netgalley for the arc!!!

Second chances
Marriage in crisis
Slow burn
Road trip
One bed

When I saw it was kind of a marriage in crisis book I wasn’t super-excited, but I’m eating my words.

Wren and Ellis have been in each other's lives since they were 5, together as teenagers, had a child at 17 and married at 21. We started 5 years after their marriage fell apart. Nothing big happened, just life, drifting away and not knowing how to fix it with everything else going on.

Their son is going to college, and it’s at this point that Ellis wants the Wren back. He proposed a road trip on the way home from dropping Sam off to see if they could be together again.

God, I loved these two. Their communication was flimsy at first, but both made a point to work on it. I loved that these two who have known each other at every phase of their life and got to see each other in a new light, develop a new relationship and falling in love all over again.

This book had tension, banter, realness, heartbreak and the redefining of a relationship with openness, hard truths, growth, love and compassion.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for Silas’ and Micah’s books!

4.75⭐️

"i'll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get" 🧡🌲🌻

thank you netgalley for this arc!!!

this book was one of my favorite second chance romances i've ever read! the moment i read about wren & ellis in savor it, i knew i NEEDED their book and let me tell you this did not disappoint!!!

the love that wren and ellis have for eachother is so sweet and genuine, it made me tear up multiple times

here's to hoping micah & silas get a book because i am not ready to leave this world yet!!!!

Tarah truly never misses. I ADORED this book. Perhaps I'm biased, I adore most of Tarah's books. I truly feel like we need more books like this. I love a good romance and I feel like we should see more books representative of marriages going through it or second chance after divorce. Ellis and Wren are everything. I swear I squealed and kicked my feet every time he called her Byrd. I felt for Ellis. It truly felt like this was the first time in his life he got to truly focus on what he wanted. He had to step into a parent role so young for his siblings and then was thrown into parenthood as a teenager with Wren. And don't even get me started on their struggles later on in their marriage. I loved the journey Tarah took us on with them to find their way back to one another.

Five stars!!

Somehow this series is getting better as it goes on - and it already started on an incredible high note with Savor It!

Wren and Ellis quite literally stole hearts in Savor It and they continue to make you absolutely SWOON in Left of Forever.

This story is so full of heart and emotion that I was quite literally clutching my chest at certain points in the book. The journey these two have gone through, and continues to go through, in order to get back to one another was so moving. Marriage reconciliation stories are starting to have an uptick in the romance genre, but they’re not easy to pull off. Left of Forever leaves you feeling like an exposed nerve as Wren and Ellis navigate co-parenting their newly 18 year old son, meddling family members, and their own harbored feelings for one another that never truly disappeared.

There’s something so beautiful and about watching two people who belong together stumble their way back to one another while healing themselves as individuals as well - and that’s what is delivered in this book. There are moments of sweet declarations of love, opportunities for delicious banter, off the charts tension and chemistry, and scenes so full of angst your chest throbs - and still within all of that we get to see two people who refuse to let themselves disappear.

Ellis calling Wren his wife even after years of being divorced just does something to you in a DNA
altering way. Wren being fearless and choosing herself while going after the love of her life is magical and inspiring. And to top it off we get some of the most FUN cameos from Sage and Fisher along with all of the other quirky cast of characters that make up the small town of Spunes, Oregon.

Some of my favorite highlights:
• Silas antagonizing Fisher in a way only he is capable of.
• All and any peeks of Indy!
• A cooking class that goes terribly wrong, (but then terribly right).
• Letters written in pencil.
• Eating homemade baked goods as a love language.
• Men who go to therapy
• Byrd as a pet name
• “You’ve Got Mail” inspired declarations
• Calf grazing and it’s HOT 🥵

I’ll probably edit this review to add more highlights because there are so many good one! Regardless, READ THIS BOOK!

5/5⭐️

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

i'm always hesitant to give a contemporary romance 5 stars bc for some reason it's really rare for them to get that kind of reaction out of me. but THIS??? girl, she deserves her flowers fs.

Something about Tarah DeWitt's writing always immediately draws me in, I love her witty and colorful characters, and the humor woven into her stories. But also the way she absolutely nails including raw emotion and healing and imperfection and utter realism. I eat it up every time.

I was so excited when I found out Ellis and Wren were getting their own story after catching glimpses of them in Savor It. And I know how the author said this story was gonna get a little emotional. I did not however expect to be tearing up by chapter 3. Hence, the five stars bc any book that elicits that kind of reaction is a winner in my book. And the rest of the story is just as emotional and heartwarming and incredibly romantic. I absolutely loved it.

Left of Forever releases May 20th!!

thank you netgalley for the arc!!💋

Tarah DeWitt never disappoints and she sure as hell did not drop the ball with Left of Forever. I SAVORED the failed marriage/relationship aspect of the story and it made me yearn for their story and reunion like no other.

I can't recommend this book enough!

I have loved all of DeWitt’s books so I couldn’t wait to start this one! Overall I loved it! I will say that I enjoyed some of her other works better…
Ellis is the star of this book in my opinion! He does the work, he takes a leap and suggests this trip, and it felt like he never wavered.
On the flip side, I found Wren to be frustrating, having these expectations but not living up to them herself. The way their views are presented to the reader didn’t help. His was always wanting her and hers was trying to move on and then flipping as soon as they spend a couple consecutive hours together.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had me laughing, crying and the spice level was fantastic! I just wish Wren’s wishy washy feelings/behavior felt more authentic.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
4.5 stars

Wren and Ellis are the divorced parents of Sam, who find their way back to each other after five years and a romantic roadtrip after they drop their son off at college. A must read for fans of second chance romances and roadtrip stories! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am notoriously a second chance romance hater, but this one managed to be enjoyable even for someone that hates the trope with a passion. It's probably because my day job is to get people divorced, but it my mind, people get divorced for a reason and any reconciliation is usually temporary or just a bad idea.

That being said, the loathing I usually feel for this trope never came! I absolutely adored the characters and the setting! It gave me the perfect PNW small town vibes that I love along with really fun locations along the Pacific Coast. The characters felt real and wholesome.

My main complaint with this book, besides the whole second chance of it all, was just how quickly the both fell back in love with each other. It felt like they both just realized they were still in love rather than truly falling back in love.

Over all, I think this is a solid entry into Tara DeWitt's catalogue!

This was a beautiful love story that shows how when two people truly love each other they can and will find their way back to each other. It was wonderful going back into this world that I fell in love with in the book Savor It. And I really appreciated the "special appearances." This author never disappoints.

When I picked up this book I truly wasn’t sure what I was expecting. I was thinking I would have fun. I was thinking that a gruff Charlie Swan/Tom Selleck mmc was gonna be fun. That I’m not normally a second chance romance girlie, but this was a type that was new & fresh I’ve never read before. MAN, WAS I NOT PREPARED.

Wren & Ellis have had their love story: pregnant at 17 & 18, married, &, after years, unfortunately divorced. The two have lived five years divorced but still in each other’s orbit in their small town of Spunes. Wren remains best friends, as she always was, with his siblings, but it never fails to invoke some hard feelings about the past. Also including missing and pining for each other. So, when Ellis proposes to Wren that as they drive their 18 year old son to college, they make a trip of it through California, Wren hesitantly & hopefully agrees. & SO OUR JOURNEY BEGINS.

I cannot describe the beast that crawled into my skin & read the last 50% of this book in a mere few hours. I consumed it at an alarming rate. This book is. SO. FABULOUS. INCREDIBLE. BEAUTIFUL. It meant the whole world to me!!! I loved Wren so much & watching her go through the stages of hope (you heard me) successfully was a JOY. & ELLIS. ELLIS. *TEARS HAIR OUT*. * CLIMBS A MOUNTAIN JUST TO SCREAM AT THE TOP*. I. LOVE. HIM. I was gasping, blushing, tears in my eyes. He has literally reached my upper echelon of romance book men that is only inhabited by Charlie Lastra & Miles Nowak. & THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING. This was a perfect book about hope, growth, & about how sometimes love stories aren’t just linear. & that’s okay. There is something so special here in this story, & I cannot wait for everyone to be able to experience it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & to St. Martin’s Press for this e-arc!!! I was truly blessed!!

This is not a drill! The second Tarah Dewitt Spunes romance book is here! The oldest Byrd sibling, Ellis, recaptures his life's greatest love.

Wren and Ellis were high school sweethearts who got pregnant at 17 and eventually divorced. Now, their precious son is off to college, and it's time for them both to admit that their feelings for one another never went away.

Oh, how excited I was for this book, and though it's nice as a sexy escape, I didn't quite buy into what it was selling.

I'm tempted to say there is too much going on as it's starting out, but I'm not sure that was the problem as much as it just felt too choppy and disorganized? If you don't want tiny spoilers that have to do with the first 15-20% of the book, skip the rest of this paragraph, as I want to dig into something specific to explain myself real quick. I think the letter saga was meant for Ellis to realize the depth of his feelings for Wren, but...I didn't like it. First, it was disingenuous, second, it was a weak way to tie into Ellis' job that had no bearing on what the story ended up being, third, it was kind of unbelievable she would bear her soul to a stranger to the level she did, it never went anywhere, and also it came off kind of...idyllic? Immature? She's writing to a fire team HOURS away from where she lives about the safety of some horses that were caught in a wild fire? I think it didn't feel supported enough in her characterization throughout the rest of the book. In a nutshell, it wasn't a strong start for me.

Later the two of them end up going on a road trip to drop their son off at college, making a vacation of it and trying to see if they can work out their differences and reconcile. Again, just a very cheesy premise for me. I think it didn't seem to match up with their rich depth of history and their genuine soul connection to need all this cheese to get back to where they belong. The narrative device was just too visible for me.

HOWEVER, the actual romance between them felt so authentic. These two grew up together and were family for just as much of their lives as they hadn't been. I don't doubt for a second that they belong together. That aspect of the novel was very successful. Also, if you're into a little spicy spice - you'll enjoy this!

I think I'm being so hard on this book because I'm such a huge fan of Tarah Dewitt usually. Savor It was so good, and my favorite of hers, Funny Feelings, is must read romance material. This one is okay. Many others have loved it. I was just anticipating...more.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Loved this one so much! There’s a bit of a slower start but once it picks up, it’s so good. I kept switching back and forth between 4.5 and 5 stars for this one too.

I’ve always been a fan of second chance romances. The yearning between characters is just so good. I love seeing them rebuild the connection.

I really liked when they slowly start to tease each other and flirt. I felt giggly over these interactions. The fact that we can see how this must’ve been them younger and seeing them get back to this point was so cute and fun to read about. I really loved seeing them work through their issues and find happiness again. Overall I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend!

second chance romances are always emotionally heavy for me and so i always need to wait for the perfect time where i can not only handle those feelings, but can actually feel all those feelings in a good way. i only had to wait 5 days for that perfect timing.
i read this one slower (well i tried, i still finished it in a little over two days lol) because i didnt want it to end
i loved the set up of the rekindling, i loved the road trip
i loved Ellis being quiet and shy and serious, not JUST a grump
i loved Wren loving him, and being upset with him
all the Byrds and the town Spunes
Tarah is another one of my perfect writers and I’m so glad she continues to write
thank you Tarah <3

I requested this book be written last year after reading Savor It, and I’m so happy that Tarah was able to grant me this wish.

Amazing! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love these two characters so much, and it was a wonderful journey to be on with them.

I know that she said she wasn’t one to write books in a series, and I do love how this one could be a stand alone, also the little cameo was cute.

I’m thinking that each of the other Byrd siblings need a book. I need to know about the love that Silas finds. I need to know that someone loves him as he is. And also Micah, can we get a baseball romance? Ok maybe that asking too much… or maybe not. I love this little fictional family. 💕

Thank you to #netgalley for the arc copy! 🫶🏻

This was my first Tarah DeWitt novel and I overall really enjoyed it. However, there were some pretty extensive content warnings regarding infertility and miscarriage, and I felt it was never really fully hashed out or resolved. I mean there was a conversation but it was very “I was hurt” and “I know you were hurting”…and that was it. It was just kind of blown over in my opinion. I did enjoy the second chance romance, and it did have some really sweet and funny moments. I would recommend reading it.

Tropes:
-second chance romance
-close proximity
-road trip

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC.

Where do I even start with this one? I absolutely adored it from start to finish. Savor It was one of my favorite books last year and I think I actually enjoyed this one even more. First off, I adored everything about Wren and Ellis. I loved their personalities, chemistry, the way they loved each other enough to let each other go because it was the right thing to do in that moment. This was an absolutely top notch last chance romance where the MC's genuinely put in the work to be better people by themselves before they even thought about giving their relationship another try. The writing was beautiful and vulnerable. You can tell Tarah DeWitt put her heart and soul into this one. She tackled some deeply emotional topics but still managed to make the book feel light and happy. I've read all of her books and you can tells he's really grown and matured as a writer with these last two titles. Please go read Left of Forever as soon as you can!

3.5 stars

I love a second chance romance and there's some really beautiful moments in this book. It's heartfelt, contemplative and there's a beautiful chemistry between Wren and Ellis. I also really loved that structurally the book focused on the present day, and that any important past history is recalled. I like that we learn the final catalyst leading to their divorce pretty early on instead of waiting most of the way for it. However, I didn't feel quite satisfied by their reunion as it felt like real communication was missing and replaced with the more lusty aspects of their romance so the reunion fell flat.

Wren and Ellis talked around their issues and said they needed to communicate, but it kept reverting back to sexual chemistry. They didn't have the big conversation until 80% and the resolution was a bit too quick! Wren ignored Ellis already being parentified as a teenager with his siblings, then their son at 17 and 18 (I was impressed by Ellis permanently making a decision and wish we had more male characters doing this instead of just going along with women with baby rabies). As such it felt like their reunion seemed a bit too quick, and that Wren needed to get therapy or acknowledge how she overrode him, when she knew he was a giver and already raised many children).

A couple of other things also didn't sit well with me were also the interference from their families which wasn't cute or funny. Structurally I could've done without the 'pen pal' storyline (how did she not recognise his handwriting?!) and would've preferred more on the road trip, with more time on the trip up with Sam and his parents. Also the maths didn't match. Wren is 33 turning 34 but has a first year university student son (so he'd be at least 17 which means she should already be 34).

Overall, a swoony second chance.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I appreciated that I haven’t read something like this in the sense that a divorced couple is looking to reconcile and revisit old romance.
That being said, there was a lot about this book I didn’t love.
I felt like the two main characters were a bit immature for their ages and everything they have been through.
The math of her being 33, having a baby at 17 yet somehow her kid was going to college never added up to me.

I felt at a distance from the two characters and found myself not super believing their story or getting fully attached.
Overall, it was okay but mainly felt like fluff and spice while lacking a real and believable story.

I read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt, so my review is based on a pre-publication version of the book.

Tarah DeWitt has once again delivered a heartfelt, emotionally rich romance with Left of Forever. From the moment Ellis was introduced, I was completely captivated. He was an absolute dream. His love for Wren was undeniable, and their journey together was both beautiful and deeply personal. One moment that initially frustrated me was Ellis’s decision to get a vasectomy without discussing it with Wren. But, by the end, I fully understood his reasoning, and it added another layer of depth to his character and their relationship.
As a young parent myself who has also had to fight for my relationship, this story hit home on so many levels. The emotional weight of their struggles, the longing, the growth, everything felt incredibly real and raw. And let’s not forget the spice! The chemistry between Ellis and Wren was off the charts, making the intimate moments sizzle in the best way possible