Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tarah Dewitt for the opportunity to read this book!!

We are back in Spunes (sort of) with the Byrds. This time we are focused on Wren and Ellis who are five years into their divorce. Their son, Sam, is graduating high school and moving to California. Ellis and Wren are taking a road trip together to reconnect and see where their relationship stands, if there is potential for a second chance.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Savor It was one of my favorite reads of 2024 and this was a wonderful follow up. We get to see more of Silas and Micah, Ellis' younger brothers along with their interaction with Sage, their sister. This book takes place soon after Savor It, so more of Fisher, Sage, and Indy are here.

If I had to describe this book with one word it would be "longing." So much pining, and slow burn in the best way. But we don't gloss over the tough topics. What lead to the relationship's end? Is this worth pursuing again? Is there anything else here? How will this impact the rest of our family? Have we grown apart? Are we different people? All these questions and more are answered. Bravo Tarah on such a beautiful story. I hope to return back to Spunes soon.

Second chance has the potential to bleed you dry.
Tarah DeWitt decided to take that potential and raise it to the rafters where the accolades of championship winning teams deserve to be memorialized forever and more.

I feel like with second chance romance, the three most important ingredients are the angst levels, yearning to the nth degree, and swoon factor that leaves you in a puddle of tears.

Safe to say that Left of Forever check all three of these boxes and more, enough to leave an imprint on my heart and the memories of trying to read through the hiccups and fat glob of tears.

One of my favorites of the year! And definitely the author's best book yet. This book is about rekindling a marriage after divorce. There is very little subplot aside from that, which I really liked. It allows you to focus entirely on their relationship, how they began, what went wrong, and if/how they can repair it. Sometimes I worry that books about a broken marriage might be too heavy but this one was not at all. It was a quick read and gave you lots of hope throughout to keep you going. Along with some steamy scenes that were also playful and sweet. I also loved the family dynamic and how those side characters were woven into the story. Great read! Definitely one I would read again.

This was such a beautiful and heartwarming story! I’m quickly realizing second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. I’m also obsessed with the anonymous pen pals trope, so I was really excited to see that here. I do think the second half was a lot stronger than the first and it took me some time to get all of the characters/family members straight.

Once Wren and Ellis left for their road trip and started to work through their relationship, I was a lot more invested. The spicy moments were great and I definitely got emotional learning about their history and seeing them find their way back to each other. I loved the dual POV and the fact that they were closer to my age. The ending was especially cute and left me teary eyed. I’m definitely interested in reading more from these characters.

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

oh my heart, this book.

I adored this book and Ellis & Wren's story SO much. It was hard to read, sometimes I had to set the book down, take a deep breath, and pick it right back up. There was heartache, angst, and so much redeeming love. I could not swoon more over Ellis... Thank you thank you thank you, Tarah, for including his point of view.

My heart was broken and then put all the way back together following these two. I will not soon forget them and will inevitably have to reread their story again and again (I'm a sucker for heartache).

Easily my favourite Tarah DeWitt book to date.

Five stars! What a story of redemption, love, forgiveness, and connection. Second chance to the nth degree. I was rooting for Ellis and Wren from Page 1. They were kind to each other, and communicated. It was a perfect love story. Even had me laughing out loud (the chili peppers - if you know you know.) 5/5

When I read Tarah’s other book ,”Savor it” last year I hoped we’d get a Wren and Ellis story. This book was everything I asked for and more. Both Wren and Ellis took their time apart to better them selves and heal before making to tough decision to try things out again. Second chance romance is something that is difficult to do well and “Left of Forever” won the top prize. I cried all the way through this book in the best way. The way Ellis talks about his love for Wren is so caring and passionate you can’t help but root for these two to get back together. I cannot wait for the audiobook to come out to so can experience this all over again in a new way.

"Dear Stranger. I guess that must be what we really are to each other now." 😭

I haven't had a book make me laugh and ugly cry like this since The Notebook.

If you’re a fan of second chance romances that tug at your heartstrings, this book is an absolute must-read! The emotional rollercoaster of Ellis and Wren’s journey isn’t just a romance; it’s a story about growth, self-discovery, and the possibility of second chances. This is goes down as one of my favorite reads of all time and I will be forever touched by the Bryds beautiful story.

I'm so lucky to have received this ARC from netgalley and the author Tarah. Thank you so much for sharing this personal heartfelt story with us and for being vulnerable. This story makes me feel less alone and grateful for what I have and it's an exciting feeling.

Tarah DeWitt is an automatic buy/read/love for me. I feel in love with her heart and the worlds and stories she creates in her standalone books. When I met the Wren and Ellis in “Savor It”, I was dreaming of their story. And Tarah did not disappoint with this second-chance romance.

To me, the pacing of the book was quick and relaxing to read. You could feel the love the characters felt not only for each other, but their entire world. Somehow Tarah manages to create these rich settings that make me feel like I'm right in the room with everyone. The side characters are just as entertaining as the storyline itself. I loved getting to be a part of The Byrds’s trip and rekindling. It was spicy and caring and wholesome.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early. I can't wait to read it again and again when published!

4.5🌟 I love tarah and everything she does 🧎🏼‍♀️

Ugh I absolutely LOVED being back in Spunes!!! This world is everything to me🫶🏼 I’ve never read a romance trope like this before and I was obsessed from the very beginning!! Wren + Ellis 4ever! He is so pookie and I love him sm

Their love is so sweet and caring and raw and vulnerable😭 what a joy it is to love and be loved

I loved this so much, honestly i’m so glad I could read this earlier because this was amazing. Second chance will always do it for me, there’s something so special about giving another chance to someone that loves you and knows who you are in every way. And this man yarns this woman okay? Like he did everything in his power to get her back. Ugh just chefs kiss!

Perfect!!! Tarah never misses for me, but this book especially is so so so special. Ellis and Wren, and their story, are so real and raw - I couldn’t get enough. I loooove real adult MCs!! This felt incredibly realistic while also true to Tarah’s writing / even with all the motions it was filled with her signature wit and charm. I LOVE Spunes and am hoping for books from all the Byrd brothers!!

Overall I enjoyed this. I loved the past and present point of views - I wish we would've gotten more of them as kids - past childhood memories were my favorite parts of this book.

I struggled a bit in the beginning with book, but once things got moving with the second chance road trip I was hooked. I loved Ellis' & Wren's banter, their honest to confess their truths was brave. Ellis' family we're everything! And I loved their relationship. Would love move books from the Byrd family.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to check this book out :)

I rated Savor It 5 stars and i loved this ten times more so idk where to go from here. I adore Wren and Ellis and their family that they’ve brought together. Infinite stars.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. This is second chance romance done right. Ellis and Wren’s love story is one of my favorites. I had such an emotional connection to these characters, and couldn’t help but think that if my marriage ever went sideways, I’d hope we would come back together just like them.

This book follows Ellis and Wren who have been divorced for 5 years. By happenstance, while Ellis is away fighting a wildfire, he grabs a care package that came from his wife and her bakery. Wren sent the care package not knowing who would receive it, but hoping whomever did could write her back and let her know if 2 horses she saw on the news were ok. Ellis starts writing her back without telling her who he is. He realizes through these letters that he still loves his wife and wants to win her back.

The journey they take together and the growth each of them go through is beautiful. This book will have you laughing at times and tearing up at others. Definitely add this one to your list to read!

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy!

I don't know the right terms, but I would consider this book a interconnected standalone to Savor It (which I also LOVED). You don't necessarily need to read Savor It, but a lot of the characters are the same and some of the back story is referenced. This book focuses on Wren and Ellis, who got pregnent and married and teenagers and have been divorced for 5 years are sending their son Sam off to college. They each realize they still feelings for each other when Ellis, a firefighter gets a carepackage Wren sent to a wildfire he is on and he arranges a road trip to try and win her back.

4 1/2 stars- I have been looking forward to reading Ellis and Wren's story since it was announced last year. I was so excited to get an arc for this and it definitely did not disappoint! I really enjoyed this book. It was an emotional book and I was rooting for the both of them so hard. I am really hoping we get more books in this world in the future- maybe Silas and Micah!

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have no words! This is Tarah Dewitt’s best book yet! Second Chance romances are one of -if not- my favorite tropes…only if done correctly. That being said, I always have such high expectations for books with that trope and oh my god Left of Forever delivered in every single way possible. Depth, pining, tension, growth, healing, groveling, swooning—it was all there.

Ellis and Wren leaked such an intrinsic connection that exuded itself on every page. The way that despite being separated for five years they still know every inner working of each other just had me in. Wren is such a fierce, driven, and loving woman and Ellis is such a beyond gentle, determined, and observant man. Getting background into their past and how it shaped them into their individual selves and watching how overtime the growth they underwent in such a short span of time because of life’s cards dealt was nothing short of awe respect.

When Wren and Ellis undergo a trip planned on the way home from dropping Sam off at college, their second chance at getting their love story right was just delivered perfectly. The pacing of this book was done immaculately. And despite wanting to sit and read the whole book in one sitting, I read it over the course of two weeks just trying to absorb everything that was put down.

The two POV’s really allowed such an immersive and fluid experience in gaining a grasp of their current relationship. Tarah’s skill in writing both parts of Wren and Ellis’s story with such detail rounded out a book that feels so personal, so emotional, and so raw. I have not been in an experience similar to this but I felt their pain, I felt their love, I felt every single emotion threaded into their story.

Left of Forever is a timeless story for the people who need a reminder that authenticity still exists, that second chances can lead to a world of magic, and that love is not some far fetched, out of reach, concept only for the lucky few.

I will carry this book with me for as long as possible. Can’t wait to shout from the rooftops about how incredible this novel is!

Absolutely amazing. DeWitt does it again. You think “there’s no way it can get better than the other books”, and yet it does. I love Ellis and Wren, their story was beautiful to read and it was so fun getting to see old characters from her other books.

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and I am happy to report that it surpassed my expectations. In Left of Forever, we return to Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) and are reunited with the Byrd family. This book is Ellis and Wren’s story, a couple of who met at kids, had a kid as teenagers and divorced in their 20’s due to the difficulties that life threw at them. Now, they are in their early 30’s, their child is headed off to college and they take a road trip to bring him there and decide to make a trip out of the way home to see if they can rebuild some sort of relationship now that their son is living away.

This book is filled with raw emotion, focusing on two people who have grown and changed and put in the work to come back to each other and communicate better, not shying away from the tough conversations to truly give themselves a second chance.

This story fits in seamlessly where Savor It left off. An added bonus was getting to find out what the rest of the Byrd siblings are up to. If you loved Savor It, you will not be disappointed by Left of Forever.

This book does deal with some tough subjects such as teen pregnancy, secondary infertility, death of parents (off page and in the past) and divorce.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.