5 stars of hopeful, messy perfection.

Respectfully, f you Tarah DeWitt (again).

It will surprise absolutely no one who knows me that this book CONSUMED ME. I thought nothing would ever top Savor It... and then freaking Tarah DeWitt writes Left of Forever and I'm just a puddle on the freaking floor. Literally from the dedication to the very last word on the last page, I was glued to this story.

Left of Forever: "This time, they'll get it right." *deceased*

I loved how we got to travel through Wren and Ellis's relationship, from their young start as parents, through being a season of pen pals, grief, the loss of their relationship, all the way through

Moments and things I absolutely loved about this story:
- THE LETTERS + Wren's journal *iykyk*
- Every little nod that Ellis still deeply loves Wren... the perfume, the origami birds, the memories of her body and the way he worships what it did to bring Sam into the world, THE BAKED GOODS,
- The freaking meddling family members that I love SO MUCH, especially Sam, Indy, and THE BYRD SIBS
- MEN IN THERAPY. THANK YOU.
- The most thoughtful road trip of all time.
- Dropping Sam off at college had me SOBBING.
- THE CAFE CO-OP EASTER EGGS
- The game Wren plays to keep her feelings offline during the road trip
- ELLIS'S FREAKING TATTOOOOOOOOOOOO
- "GOING SLOW" lolololol
- "Soft and firm and mine." (love a good "mine" possessive statement)
- Chapter 23, which I basically highlighted in its entirety lol sorry not sorry?
- THE COOKING CLASS + the chaos that happened..... after
- Ellis being all "Wren, I can still taste you in my mustache." *squeeeee*
- The vows
- All kinds of wedding festivities

"I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his."

"She's still a Bryd."

"I managed to go almost five years without your baking." This statement is shaded in innuendo. "Don't underestimate my self-control, Wren."

"She's kissing me. I'm home."

Okay, I'm off to reread this book now, bye. Thanks SMP Romance for the eARC!

* Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley, for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have rated every book I've read by Tarah five stars, and this one did not disappoint. This was so heart-wrenching and painful it the most beautiful way. I LOVED the found family aspect and how close everyone was. Plus, we got lots of Sage and Fisher moments. Ohh and the tattoos.. enter chef kiss. The tension, to banter, to baring the truth out of each other was perfect and just build on chemistry already there. This was so real and raw and I loved reading about them falling back in love with each other, but also just kept wanting more.

Where do I even begin. I’m completely and utterly obsessed with this book. We need more real life love stories like this. Stories that show us life isn’t always a fairytale but sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board and really give things one last try.

The older I get and the longer I’m married I realize that marriage is by far one of the hardest experiences- but oh so worth it when you find your soulmate.

This book is a road trip adventure giving love one more shot. I am so here for emotionally mature adults represented in our books. Real life struggles. Real life nagging thoughts in our heads that hold us all back.

This book made me want to jump into my husband’s arms and remind him that I love him so fiercely and I’m so happy we have each other.

This story is the ultimate love story for me. This book is for everyone- married, not-married, soon to be married, never getting married, divorced, and the list goes on. This book will make you feel so much and I needed this.

I love a book that doesn’t leave you after you turn the last page- this book will stick with me forever and a day.

A true love letter to giving life your best shot!

Immediately pre-ordering after reading the arc. 6 stars. The theme is HOPE!

"One day, when we're very old and gray, one of us will open our eyes to a day that the other won't, but we'll smile knowing how full life has been, knowing how we spent forever. Everything left of it, together."

This book. THIS BOOK. It's only February, but I have a feeling it will be a top 5 read for 2025. Left Of Forever is a second chance romance and it was so - well - done. THE second chance romance book to read if you ever want to read one.

We all knew Ellis and Wren's story wasn't finished when we read last years release, Savor It. Well, we didn't have to wait too long for their story and any wait we did have was more than worth it. I'm getting emotional just recalling the book.

If you have ever denied yourself potential love because you are unwilling to be vulnerable with those who love you most.
If you have been scared to have hard conversations because you're afraid loved ones won't understand or feel the same?
If you've been scared of rejection by someone you love.
If you've ever felt so very alone with your partner yet longed for them at the same time.
If you've ever walked away without a fight because it seems easier than trudging through more mud, or maybe down you felt at fault and the guilt makes you feel that you don't deserve happiness.
If you've ever felt like, maybe, the one you love deserves so much better than you can offer.

If any of the above ring true, read this book. Read it regardless. Being human can be so hard! Especially when life knocks you down and keeps kicking.

Ellis and Wren were babies when they met. They fell in love young, then got pregnant as teens. They've shaped each other. They are woven into the souls of one another. They could be the the definition of "you complete me". They were forced to grow up sooner than one would hope and life got heavy. When Wren and Ellis called it quits, five years after their divorce, life as they know it is changing and their son Sam is heading off to college. Ellis suggest a detour trip with Wren after dropping Sam at his new apartment. The two agree on some rules and set out for closure, in whatever form that might be.

In the years Ellis and Wren were separated, while reading Savor It and Left of Forever, you get the sense that they are living a life as shells of their former selves. It's almost like a self inflicted punishment, made even more brutal, because their lives are so intertwined in their small town and being around each other or hearing details about each other is inevitable. I'm amazed that all those fantastic side characters in Spunes haven't done some serious meddling over the last five years, and I respect the heck out of those fictional characters for minding their business!

I think a lot of us build walls in an attempt to further protect our hearts only to continue to ache? My goodness this book hurt, took my breath away (literally), filled me with hope, had my eyes leaking, made my heart break, and that little heart of mine was still tender when the book ended. It still is the next day. Sigh. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Left Of Forever and I can't wait to own my own physical copy.

For the complaints I've seen
- how did they not recognize each other's handwriting? If my husband wrote me a letter and 5 others penned the same, I'm not sure I could pick his out! Especially if it was coming from a location I didn't think he was in. Furthermore if it was communication I initiated to a stranger.
- how did they reconcile so fast? They had five years to marinate. Five years to reflect on expectations/demands they put on each other and what they themselves could have done differently. Five years to attempt to move on. Five years to work things out within themselves. Ellis and Wren weren't strangers just meeting. The broken pieces weren't beyond repair for either of them.
I had no problem buying into either of those issues.

This book is pretty spicy - I'm not sure if there is a guide to skipping those bits for anyone who prefers to avoid those scenes.

THANK YOU to NetGalley for the arc. May I be fortunate enough to continue to get to preview Tarah's books in this series!

Tarah, will we get Micah? Silas? Pretty please?

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy before the publishing date. this does not affect my rating.

amazing give me 14 of them right now. just trust me. i will be reading every single tarah dewitt novel and i WILL be reading this again once it releases 😌😌

I was able to download a free copy of this digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review. This was this my first book through NetGalley, but it was my second book from Tarah DeWitt, and I absolutely loved it! I love a good second-chance romance trope, and this one was done so well. The banter, the communication, the HONESTY. I LOVED that there was not a third-act breakup, but actually liked the fact that Wren & Ellis fought, but told each other true things during the fight and didn't just hold it in and break up over stupid things they never said but should have. (That's a big pet peeve of mine!) This was just the right amount of funny, and also very romantic and steamy.

My only "criticism" (if you can even call it that, since it didn't bother me enough to give less than 5 stars) is that the book is supposed to be a "standalone" in an interconnected series, but there were definitely times where I could tell I was missing some information about other characters or events, that must have occurred in previous books that were just not reiterated in this one. So, I would suggest starting with "Savor It" first, which I do plan to go back and read now...

I cried at this books 20% in and I’m not sure I stopped? The pining and the yearning between these two is god tiered, I heard Eucalyptus by the National playing gently in the background while I watched these two with all the power in the world to hurt each other lean back into the love they have always had. If you have an ex you still have love for, delete and block their number before reading this book, Tarah has the power to make even is seasoned cynics consider backsliding. This is DeWitt’s best and I loved every single page.

I must admit I am a new fan of Tarah since picking up Savor It earlier this year and she very rapidly has become one of my favorite authors. After being introduced to Wren and Ellis in Savor It, I was so excited to dive into their story!

While it has been hard for me to pick, Left of Forever might be my new favorite. I am but a simple gal, if there is a twilight reference, I am sold.

TROPES:
Second Chance
Forced Proximity
Road Trip
Childhood Lovers


SYNOPSIS: Wren and Ellis Byrd, once childhood sweethearts, married young and built a life together before ultimately divorcing. Now in their 30s, they reunite for a road trip after their son leaves for college, giving them a chance to rekindle their love while confronting their past. As they navigate old wounds and unspoken feelings along the California coast, they must decide if their love is worth a second chance or if it’s time to let go for good.


REVIEW: Second chance romances are often a hit or miss for me but this one was exceptional! This book had me giggling and kicking my feet, and at times in tears (correction: Ugly crying). Tarah’s writing is so magical and always writes the most swoony-worthy and passionate romances.

What I particularly love about this book is the journey our characters go through indecently and together to work on themselves and also address what went wrong in their relationship in the first place. Tarah always puts her men in therapy and I love it! We had our characters genuinely communicating and trying to better themselves for each other through letters and conversations. Their openness is really what makes this story believable.

While we were introduced to our cast of side characters in Savor it, they continue to be funny and lovable. I loved how everyone in Wren and Ellis’s corner were meddling to get them back together!

Overall, this book is a must read. It was packed with emotion and humor and overall heart warming. I am excited to see what comes next from Tarah. Until then I will be sitting here longly waiting for Silas's book....

I love this universe of the Byrd family and Spunes, Oregon. I loved Savor It, so I was very happy to see the Sage and Fisher moments we got! I have wanted Ellis and Wren’s story since he stood up in the town meeting in Savor it and announced, “She’s still a Byrd.”

This book made me ugly cry quite a lot. As someone who has been married for over 25 years, and has buried two kids, I know how life throws such devastating bombs at you that a loving relationship could crumble to dust. There are always moments and pathways where the relationship can keep going, or it turns towards destruction.

It was completely believable to me that two people who got pregnant as teens while also raising Ellis’ younger siblings would fall apart from grief, infertility struggles, and life overwhelming you. They had no examples of healthy communication in a loving marriage, and they divorced when their frontal lobes were barely finished developing.

I appreciated that they did all they could to co-parent their son in a way that tried not to make him be a pawn in a bitter tug of war. The siblings all loved Wren because she helped raise them. She was their friend- Sage’s best friend. I appreciate how Tarah Dewitt held the nuance of all of that. She didn’t have them have to pick sides. It was painful for EVERYONE. No one won in this breakup.

I loved that the spark for them to start to try again was Sam getting into college:
““We did it” comes Sam’s reply. He peels his trapped arms out of our embrace and scoops me and Ellis into a hug of his own, forever pulling us together. When he spins back to look at his packet again, Ellis and I lock eyes. “We did it,” he says quietly to me.”

It was the “We did it” between them that made me believe they could find a path forward together.

The road trip and how Ellis planned it out also made sense. They needed to be away from all the prying eyes of Spunes and from their son to try to work it out.

Was I glad Ellis was in therapy? Definitely.
Did I love the secret pen pal scenario in the beginning? Undecided but I went with it.

Ultimately, I bought in to them reuniting. I think they will figure out how to make it work. Because what’s Left of Forever is everyday life, where illness and injury and death will test them. When I closed my Kindle, I felt like they were going to be able to cling to each other through all those storms.

These ending lines were so beautiful.

“One day, when we’re very old and gray, one of us will open our eyes to a day that the other won’t, but we’ll smile knowing how full life has been, knowing how we spent forever. Everything left of it, together.”

There truly is so much I could gush about when it comes to Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt. The situational comedy, the nostalgia, the romance, and, of course, the relatability. But what drew me in from the very beginning were. the. letters. By structuring a reintroduction of Wren and Ellis to each other through the intimacy and safe space of letter writing, we, the readers, are enveloped in their story in a way that shows us who they are individually and together instead of telling us. Receiving love letters seems to be every girls dream, and Tarah fulfilled our fantasies in the most brilliant way possible.

I love Tarah's writing and feel as though she crafts stories for those of us that have experienced the roller coaster that life can be. Although we know that happily ever afters are part of the formula for our beloved RomComs, it doesn't mean that the road to that happy ending doesn't get rocky and veer off course from time-to-time. It is through Tarah's willingness to examine the realities and dualities of life through her stories and characters that make her books more relatable than others in the genre.

And can we please take a moment for Tarah's Left of Forever playlist? I am a sucker for books with curated playlists by the author, and Tarah's might be the best one I've found.

So much love and spice in this book. I love a second chance romance and this was a great one to see unfold. From the beginning with the letters til their romantic week away. It was just so well written and I love all of the cameos from Fischer and sage. Very cute. Tara did it again.

I’ve been wanting to read a book by TDW so I’m so pleased I got to eARC read this one! I can see why there are many TDW fans - this was a fun, emotional read, with plenty of tension and all the feels.

Tarah can do no wrong and this book is no different. The tension, the banter, the romance. Daddy I love them. This book made me feel 1000 emotions all at once and I never wanted it to end. She crafts such relatable and believable characters who make you want to wish only the best for them even when they make mistakes. I loved it!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Like every other Tarah DeWitt book, these characters are so lively and fun to get lost in. We meet Wren and Ellis in Savor It, and it felt comforting to be back in Spunes to continue with this group of family/friends.

I love a second chance trope, and this one felt special because the plot wasn't some huge miscommunication or weird act of fate. This was true life hitting them, then bringing them back together after staying connected through co-parenting for five years. They stayed civil and yerning for FIVE YEARS. The angst was just glorious.

After dropping their son off at college, they decide to take a road trip home and test the waters of getting back together. It had a 'People We Meet on Vacation' x 'Out of the Woods' vibe. The chapters of their trip were my favorites. I was actually crying laughing at one point. I pray this makes it to theatres one day becuase seeing the post-cooking class on screen would heal every bone in my body.

The writing in this was beautiful - the perfect mix of poetic longing and crafted humor.

5 ⭐

I just love Tarah Dewitt! She hasn’t missed for me yet! Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of Left of Forever. If you love deep feelings and emotions in your romance, this one’s for you. Left of Forever is a second chance romance with elements of found family, pen pals, and a MMC who deeply yearns for his woman. Although this is considered a standalone, I think it would greatly benefit the reader to read Savor It first. The Byrd family plays a big role and you meet them in Sage and Fisher’s story first. Wren and Ellis were high school sweethearts who got pregnant at 17 and 18 but made it work. Years later they grew apart and divorced. The story starts as the two have been divorced for 5 years. When a crazy twist of fate allows Ellis back into Wren’s mind, he realizes he has never stopped loving her and needs her back. The two will later embark on a journey after dropping their son off at college that will one way or another change their relationship for what’s left of forever. Tarah does an incredible job of writing complex, messy, and very real characters. Just like in previous books, there is quite a bit of humor including one scene I won’t forget anytime soon (🌶️🍆 iykyk). This was a 4 star instead a 5 star like all of Tarah’s previous books for me probably just due to the second chance trope. When it comes to second chance with characters who have been married, I struggle sometimes. Clearly a me problem. I did also feel like there was a tiny bit of dragging in the middle of the book. All together though another strong effort from Tarah Dewitt and one I will definitely be recommending!

Absolutely loved this one. I always love Tarah’s writing and this book was perfect. Loved the characters and the storyline.

Alrightyyyyy, I just finished Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt, and I’m still reeling from it. It’s a gut-punch of a romance in the best way possible.

LoF centers on Wren and Ellis Byrd, childhood sweethearts who fell hard and fast, became teen parent, and built a life in this cozy coastal Oregon town. They were that couple you’d bet on, the Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum of high school—until they weren’t. Nowadays they’re divorced and living separate lives. Wren’s running the town bakery, while Ellis is out there as a firefighter. They’ve been orbiting each other, co-parenting their son, Sam, but never quite letting go, even if they won’t admit it.

The real kicker starts when Sam heads off to college. Wren and Ellis drop him off together, and Ellis—bless this man—convinces Wren to take a road trip back home with him along the California coast.

🎶 California here we come, right back where we started from, Californiaaaaaaa Caaaaaliforrrrniaaaa! 🎶

Ahem.

He’s got this quiet desperation to see if they can fix what broke, and Wren, hesitant but curious, says yes. That’s where the magic happens. The trip is this mix of stunning views—think crashing waves and golden cliffs and the scenery into to The O.C.—and these little moments that crack your heart open. Like when they’re sharing a bed (yes, one bed!) and Ellis just watches her sleep, or when they stop at a diner and he remembers how she likes her coffee without even asking. It's the little things.

Wren’s a tough nut to crack at first. Our girl has moved on (or has she?), and has walls that rival The Great Wall of China. But Ellis? He’s all in. He’s spent years figuring out where it all went wrong (and holding himself accountable for his parts), and you can tell he’d move mountains for her.

The road trip’s not all swoony vibes, though. They hit some proverbial roadblocks, like why they fell apart, the resentment, the silences that grew too big. Wren admits she felt lost after Sam, like she didn’t know who she was without him or Ellis, and it’s such a gut-wrenching truth of motherhood and how women are expected to be the glue of the family and hold up the world like Atlas and often lose themselves along the way. I wanted to linger with them a bit longer at the end—see more of that hard-won happiness.

Left of Forever is about second chances, sure, but it’s deeper than that. It’s about choosing love when it’s not easy, about two people who’ve been bruised but still fit together. Wren and Ellis aren’t perfect—they’re real, and raw, and that’s why I couldn’t put it down.

i expected it to be more better. I felt the characters didn't have proper communication and I also wanted more character depth. no hate to the author but I guess this book wasn't for me.

This is DeWitt’s best book yet. This is Second Chance at its finest. I love a man who knows what he wants and Ellis knows he wants Wren - he’s known it his whole life and now he’s ready to fight for it all back. Seeing Ellis take so many tangible steps to not only better him self but also his relationship with Wren and his siblings AND seeing Wren confronting her own part in their downfall just has you reading page after page as if your life depends on it. It’s so clear that they desperately love each other but also desperately need to make changes and have TOUGH conversations if it’s ever going to work. The scene where they are yelling at each other?? MY GOD. Another book that makes my chest heavy with emotion.

“His DNA altered mine, and our souls shaped themselves for each other.”

as much as I loved savor it…this book was everything I needed.
as soon as I picked it up, I knew it was going to be a new favorite. there were moments that had me crying, blushing & cheesing too dang hard. ugh this was sooo good.

I adored wren & ellis story. I love how it felt realistic. Seeing those raw emotions from them was so touching. I loved being able to see their povs on how they were both feeling. their chemistry is literally the best.

as someone who married & had my first kid at 18, this one hit home. I find myself relating to wren in so many ways.

I can’t wait for this book to hit stores so I can add it to my library at home.

thank you netgalley for the early copy. <3