I am pretty sure this book changed my life. I am a mess 😭

I am a sucker for a marriage in crisis (or in this case divorced couple) book. It's so real and raw and had me so unbelievably emotional. The way Ellis was yearning for Wren had me in my feels!! And the character growth, ughhh.. spectacular!

This was so incredibly beautiful from start to finish. The little moments during the road trip were legit everything & I will forever be thinking about this heartwarming second chance between Wren & Ellis.

Marriages are never perfect and sometimes the struggles can be heavy at times. This book just hit specifically hard for me as a married woman. It truly made me reflect and had me so emotional thinking about the love my husband and I share for one another. It is truly a beautiful story and I highly recommend it!! (read Savor It first if you can)

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

"The alchemy of our bodies and the way my skin still remembers his is a part of that. He said it himself before: he's altered my very DNA."

What to expect:
-Divorced Couple
-Childhood Lovers
-Small Town
-Second Chance
-Road Trip
-Child (off to college)

‘I’ll save you a seat, Byrd’

When I say I squealed, when I opened up my email to find this. I really mean it.
I laughed, I cried and then I cried some more.
Wren and Ellis’s story, was beautiful. Tarah shows the realistic parts of marriage, the great love and the hardships that come with it. This second chance love story, was everything I wanted it to be.

(ps. Silas? Micah? We need more)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

Left of Forever left me all up in my feelings. I saw pieces of myself and my own life in this story, and that heightened my reactions to the range of serious to spicy situations that Tarah serves up here. This story is beautiful, raw, and honest in its portrayal of how couples face complications and challenges over the years, highlighting how easy it is for adulting to take center stage and for us to forget ourselves and each other.

Things I Enjoyed:
• Wren - This Bird whips up desserts that’ll bring a man to his knees, will do anything for her people, and has been so thoroughly through it that her POV chapters hit hard.
• Ellis - He may have some piss poor timing, but he is a true caretaker and one determined man who does not shy away from a good baking innuendo. The things he says… and I’m not just talking dirty, here. This man bears his soul in more ways than one, and I audibly swooned.
• Their Origin Story - That adorably innocent OG compliment (**moo**), the Wrangler, the origami!
• The Byrd Family - I love the way they rib one another and enjoyed the little flashbacks from their teens. I also appreciate how no one shies away from crying because they all care so deeply for one another. Their son, Sam, added another emotional layer that made the whole of them one of my favorite fictional crews.
• Silas - Tarah, please tell me we’re getting his story. It’s a need at this point. I ain’t too proud to beg.
• The Depth - Their journeys required some heavy soul-searching and self-reflection. I love that therapy was involved and that the tough topics weren’t shied away from.
• The Humor - I cannot with that cooking class. I laughed so hard. Not the doodle!
• The Longing - I felt this in my bones. When it finally started to unravel… phew.
• The Letter Writing, Journaling, and E-mails - As someone who needs writing to express myself, this aspect deeply resonated with me.
• The Ending - This may have caused me to single-handedly keep the Kleenex brand afloat for the day.

I’ve been a fan of Tarah’s work from the beginning, and I’ve only fallen more in love with her characters and worlds each time they grace us with their existence. I am a sucker for a second-chance romance, and Tarah delivered it in peak form with this one. Left of Forever may be my new favorite story of hers.

** A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **

4.5⭐️
Left of Forever is a sweet story of restoration and redemption to a broken relationship. Told in dual POV, this book was full of beautiful, raw, emotional moments as the main characters fall back into love for the second time and really discover the importance and freedom of being truly open and honest with either other, forgiveness of themselves and each other, owning past mistakes, and moving forward together. The banter was swoony and the emotion paired with humor really added to the story, created tension that pulled you in, and made you invested in the characters. I will definitely have to go back and read the previous book in the series. Thank you to Tarah DeWitt, St. Martin’s press, and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

i’ve been impatiently waiting to get my hands on this book since i read “she’s still a byrd” in savor it. i’m very happy to report it was worth every long minute of the wait. i haven’t read a tarah dewitt book that i didn’t like, but there was something extra special in left of forever. i don’t normally like second chance romance, but i pinky promise these two deserved another shot at making their relationship work. there was so much love still there, they broke down and communicated with each other, and consciously chose to move forward together after all the cards were on the table.

Wren and Ellis have such a beautiful story. When they were first introduced in Savor It, I actually paused reading to look up and see if Tarah was going to write their story too. I was so excited to see it was only a few months away.
Ellis was such a refreshing male lead to read. He realized very quickly how badly he wanted to win back Wren, and how much work he felt like he needed to do on himself in order to get there. There was so much longing and heartache, and you could feel how much he loves Wren on every single page.
Wren was a beautifully written female lead. I loved watching her self acceptance, while also recognizing there was still so much to learn about herself. Their journey back to each other, and a stronger pairing was so beautiful. Tarah really delivered the heart, the humor, and the giddy feeling you want from romance. Making a second chance romance feel brand new was really special.
Also the book playlist was PERFECT.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this eARC. I read this book in one sitting. If you are looking for a story that is going to grip you from the beginning and drag you along for the ride, fully invested, this is it.

I often struggle with second-chance romance, thinking that it can leave everything a little too bruised for a ready I can truly enjoy. But Ellis and Wren are each characters you are cheering for alone, and even more so together. Meeting them originally in Savor It, I knew theirs was a story I was going to give a try.

Tarah has managed to write such emotion here, interspersed with a lot of humor, and spice, and the most enjoyable other family members as well. This was a very easy 5 stars. (Here's hoping for a Micah story next??)

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

My god this was adorable. I have been SO exited to read this one, from the moment I finished Savor It, and Wren and Ellis did not miss. A VERY well done second-chance romance

My stance on the second-chance trope is that the author has to get you invested in the relationship and show us how good the couple was. If we're only ever told that these people use to be together, it doesn't feel the same. TD used short memories and recollections and letters written between Ellis and Wren to give us an understanding of their marriage. We get to see how they got together as teenagers, how they were childhood friends, and the ups and downs of being husband and wife and raising Sam. And gotta say, it worked really well. The tension between them was so good! I could really understand the complicated feelings they had for each other, and how they were ultimately underlined with love, despite their divorce.

Why only four stars than? Honestly the pen-pal letter situation, which sort of started Ellis's road to bettering himself and trying to win Wren back, felt a little superfluous. I think it's meant to be like fate, Wren writing a letter anonymously and sending it out to fire fighter aid groups and having it end up in Ellis's hands. But it sort of just felt highly unrealistic? Like she writes this letter and sends it to Colorado, and Ellis just happens to receive it? And then when this thread was picked back up later and felt like it was going to matter, it was acknowledged and resolved in like a single page

I think my other hang-up was the speed at which Wren and Ellis reconciled. Their marriage had been on a downward slope with both parties too caught up in their heads to fight for each other anymore. So they divorced and spent the next FIVE YEARS basically doing everything possible to avoid each other, despite co-parenting a son. They spent holidays together and always acted cordial around Sam, but never spent any time alone together or talked about anything other than Sam. Then they spend a season separately realizing that they're not quite as over each other than they thought. Ellis proposes a week-long road trip, and they IMMEDIATELY reconnected as partners and best friends? Like I get they know each other on a soul-deep level and had been friends since they were five, but still. Five years is a long time to go with minimum contact, but they're instantly comfortable together again. It just felt like they went from divorced and looking for closure to 100% back together at the speed of light. I know we were told about the reasons for their marriage ending, but it sort of felt like, damn why the hell did you guys even divorce in the first place?!

I enjoyed getting to go back to Spunes and I'm really hoping TD takes us back! Honestly both Micah and Silas felt like they were getting set up for their own book, but I also would love to see more of Sam

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I never read Savor It when I got the ARC for this book which I had heard was SO anticipated. After devouring it in just four days, I can absolutely understand why. Ellis and Wren’s love story is so raw and honest, and beautifully depicts the way life and time can ravage a relationship, while also highlighting the ways in which we continue to choose our person again and again - in all every lifetime.

“Holding on to happy takes work”
This book was such a realistic view on marriage and how even with great love it is work. It was a beautiful second chance love story about a love that life just got in the way of. The communication and the way they talked about their feelings 🙌🏻. Highly recommend.

I think I’ve met my yearly quota in February of romance books that absolutely wreck me? Like can I REST?

This was beautiful. I’m so glad I also ordered Savour It because Tarah does no wrong in my eyes. I typically don’t like second chance romance but this was so well done- I need to know WHY things didn’t work and for them to dig into that meat. This was like the opposite of a miscommunication trope and I loved everything about it.

I also made a Pinterest board already for Micah who was mentioned like four times and I need an intervention.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for letting me throw every arc to the wind to jump straight to this one. I appreciate you.

We finally got the backstory (and the future story) about Wren and Ellis, while also getting more of Wren’s found family with the rest of the Byrd’s! In terms of a timeline, this one overlapped with Sage and Fisher’s book, “Savor It.” Wren is a delight of a character - dynamic and bold and bright, and someone I’d genuinely want to be friends with! Most of the character development was found in Ellis who seemed to come back to life as he got closer to Wren.

As much as I love Wren and Ellis and their second chance romance, my biggest hang-up with this book is that Tarah Dewitt seemed to be going down one path with having them write letters to each other anonymously, and then she pivoted and had the roadtrip be the catalyst for their reuniting. It seemed like two separate stories, and the former didn’t really add anything to what ended up happening. So, long story short: the characters were wonderful but the plot could’ve been better.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Tarah DeWitt for the early access copy of Left of Forever.

Left of Forever was my most anticipated read of 2025 and surpassed my expectations. After reading Savor It, I hoped to read Wren and Ellis’ story. There was something left untethered with how it was left in Savor It.

Left of Forever tells the history and growth of Ellis and Wren. The love and reality of how difficult life can be and how it can throw even the most solid of relationships. It shows the necessity of communication and vulnerability. Wren and Ellis are the depiction of what it’s like to have your love woven to another. I cannot express how real this story felt.

Reading Left of Forever felt like being home. The intricacies of the story blending with the timelines and story arcs of Savor It made Left of Forever feel more like being welcomed into the Byrd’s family. I will reread these stories any time I need a sense of family. Thank you Tarah DeWitt for creating this beautiful space. I cannot wait to read Silas and Micha’s stories.

5 ✨

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

I absolutely absolutely absolutely loved this. Is it a beautiful, heartfelt, delicious second chance love story. It was also a delight to be back with the Byrd family and I am dying for (at least) two more (Micah! Silas! Please!!!).

The slow burn. The 🌶️. The letters!

There isn’t much to say because this book is perfection and I think Tarah DeWitt is so wildly talented. The end.

I squealed when I got this book through NetGalley. I have been looking forward to this book since the scene in Savor It when Ellis Byrd reminded everyone in town that Wren was still a Byrd. I could not wait to see how their second chance love story would unfold, so much so that I had to pause a new release book that I had been eagerly waiting for just to go back to the town of Spunes. This love story crushed me and exceeded my hopes. I loved the format of letters and journaling, getting to see glimpses of their past and observe their growth now. The whole book was perfect and definitely a five star read for me. I’m begging for all the Byrd siblings to get their own book.

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

4.5 stars. We’re back in Spunes!! After meeting the Byrd family in Savor It, I was elated to find that our time with them was not over. Ellis and Wren were immediate standouts, it was obvious there was more story to tell, and that is further confirmed by the author in the beginning. “She’s still a Byrd” had me SQUEALING in Savor It. Thank god we’re back. While the author states that you don’t need to read Savor It before Left of Forever, I demand that you do. Me, who's opinion is not at all more important than the literal author. Mostly because Savor It is beautiful and you should read it regardless, but also that’s where the angst starts between Wren and Ellis. Who doesn’t love angst??

Tarah DeWitt taps into that same electric chemistry we saw between Sage and Fischer, but with a deeper history and existing love between Wren and Ellis. Both parties were involved in the ending of their marriage, and after years apart we’re all wondering if anything has changed. Wren and Ellis, both together and individually, do a lot of self-reflecting in this book. It’s healthy, it hurts, and it’s full of mutual respect. DeWitt’s ability to tap into very real and raw emotion always leaves me with an ache in my heart. I truly hope this isn’t the last we see of the Byrd family. Give Silas his own book, PLEASE!

This book was everything I wanted and more. I devoured it in less than 24 hours. Plan to read again and again!

I absolutely loved Savor It and this book felt like a super second book in that world! My only hold up was the amount of letter writing and journaling involved where the contents were driving the storytelling - it felt like there was a lot of telling instead of action/showing. But I am really excited for the author to stay in this world for bools for the other brothers!! And anyone who loves second chance romance will be so happy with this one!

10/10 no complaints. This is perfection. Tarah’s best work yet. Emotional, sexy YET beautiful. Top read of all.

Wren and Ellis have been divorced for five years. They have done their very best to avoid each other and move on despite how intertwined their lives are. Their son is going to college and they go on a road trip to celebrate their accomplishment and see if they should try again.
This book is a beautiful example of meeting the right person too young and having to fight everything life throws at you to stay together until you find your way back. It's emotional and hilarious. It's sexy and uplifting. Its everything you want from a romance. I love the books that show you not only the falling in love but the hard parts after and that is a very real look at the hardest parts that are worth fighting for.