“I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his.” this book. this freaking book. It one speaks not to the rush of finally finding someone you love, but the constant comfort in loving someone who is your home. As someone who has been with my now husband for nearly 20 years, this book shook me to my core. i can confidently tell you this book changed me and wholly put a lot of things into perspective. i devoured this one and it devoured me right back. Wren is the most relatable woman I have ever found within the pages of a book; her insecurities, vulnerabilities, failures and successes were all mine, too. and Ellis. ELLIS freaking BYRD. are you kidding me, Tarah?! the man had me eating out of the palm of his hands. also, the yearning in thin book deserves some recognition... so utterly palpable and undeniable. i wanted to leap into the pages and shove these two perfectly flawed humans back together. i cried more than once and anguished when the book finished. I want to live inside of this book and you can bet your ass that when this is released on audio my earholes will be rejoicing. put this one at the top of your tbr- it is the most skillfully crafted second chance romance i have ever read. (plus we get a fun cameo of preggers LaRynn and i cheesed so hard into my kindle) you need this book. its just a fact.

I absolutely loved this steamy, emotional, second chance romance featuring childhood sweethearts, turned young parents, and currently divorced, Wren and Ellis Byrd. Sometimes I have a hard time with the 2nd chance trope, but this was so well done. I couldn't read it fast enough.

This is my 5th Tarah DeWitt book and easily my favorite.

Why I loved it:
Epistolary "You've Got Mail" element
Road Trip
Sweet and steamy serotonin boost.
Tender and honest.
Small town
Big/Found Family

"We're programmed to remember the bad so that we know what to stay away from and how to keep going. That's why the shit that hurts stands out in our minds. That's why holding onto the happy takes work."

OMG wow. I wasn't expecting this book to hit me like it did but knowing how The co-op had me feeling, I should have known better lol. We know I love a good second-chance romance but what I really liked about this one is that we truly see both characters think about what needs to change within themselves before attempting to try again at love. This book was filled with so much emotion and I love that we got to see Ellis truly put in his all to save himself from burnout and also save his relationship I love that man so much and I love our girl Wren for standing on business and knowing her worth! Ugh, let me go read funny feelings now so I can get my Tarah fix.

Wren and Ellis fell in love when they were just kids, got married young and had a baby young. they were happy until things started to fall apart. Now they are in their 30s and divorced living as separate lives as they can in this town. When their son gets accepted into college, Ellis convinces wren to extend their trip back from dropping him off. Giving them time to finally talk about all the good things and all the things that went wrong and by then end they will finally get the closure they have been lacking or maybe they will get back together.

I loved this second chance romance. Lately I have been really into romances that feature slightly older characters who have already established their lives and have to find out how each other fits. I really enjoyed that they didn't focus on only the good things and you got to really see how their communication grows which strengthens their relationship.

This book was breathtakingly beautiful. I was unprepared for this amazing book. The emotions the characters were feeling was so raw and real i couldn’t help but feel for them! THIS is a heart wrenching, emotional, and pull on your heart strings love story. A second chance for two people, wren and ellis, who are truly ment to be together. Their determination for each other and those around them was everything to me! This book pulled on you heartstrings to tear them apart just put them back together.. This book gave me all the feels!!

I’m so sad to say this as I have enjoyed her other books and really loved Savor It but I did not enjoy this book. Specifically the spicy parts were incredibly cringy and I had a hard time connecting with the main characters. It started heavy and just didn’t feel like it found its stride.

I want to start by saying most of my favorite books are my favorite because they’re unrealistic… but this book is so beautiful because it IS realistic. The mountains and valleys of life, the traumas, the heartbreak, resentment, losing yourself. It’s so relatable. But so is love, and making it back together, and finding what’s left of forever. A beautiful representation of life and love 🥹❤️

this book completely wrecked me (in the best way). I was not prepared. I completely sobbed at the entire last 30% of this book because the emotions the characters were feeling were so raw!!! THIS is a heart wrenching, emotional, and vulnerable love story. a second chance for two people, wren and ellis, who are truly destined to be together. their love and dedication and determination for each other and those around them was truly so beautiful to read about. a beautiful slow burn that’ll tug at your heart and piece it back together but oh it was so worth it. the writing was so beautiful it actually blew me away. this was an absolute masterpiece. 🩷

when I say that the yearning in this book is literally insane it’s absolutely PERFECTION and tarah DELIVERED. yearning, longing, pining, and tension so palpable 🥹 I’ll never get over it!!! I love spunes and I love the byrds!!! 🥹🥹🥹

I truly want to thank tarah, the publishers, and netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc and find my new favorite book. I’m forever grateful!!! 💌

This was my first Tarah DeWitt book, but it certainly will not be my last!!!

I absolutely love this book. Left of Forever follows a divorced couple as they take a mini road trip together to possibly rekindle their romance. The way DeWitt showed their growth and love was simply incredible. Throughout the story, the main characters revisit their marriage to figure out where they went wrong and work together to fix those mistakes. I was cackling and smiling and tearing up on numerous occasions. And I can't forget to mention the incredible spice!

I highly recommend this book to anyone that reads romance because it's just so beautiful. For non-romance readers, you should pick this book up anyway because of the phenomenal storytelling and character development.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What to say about near perfection? I mean, look, this book took some of my least favorite tropes and made me a fan. This book had me up at 2:30am, sobbing and cheering for fictional people like they belong to me. This book made me ache for those feelings of being 16 and in love and commiserate with the feelings of being (literally) 33 and still with your person. The timing of this story hit me like a ton of bricks.

I love them.

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

From the moment in Savor It that Ellis Byrd yells “she’s still a Byrd”, when someone tries to call his ex-wife by her maiden name, I knew I was going to love their second chance romance.

As always with second chance romances, there needs to be a plausible reason for breaking up and then an actual change/growth and plausible reason for getting back together. I definitely felt both of those criteria were met well in this book.
Without giving too much away, the trauma that Ellis and Wren experienced towards the end of their marriage has caused many marriages to fail. And once they’d been divorced and removed from that trauma and both grew in their own way, they could find their way back to each other and it was believable.

I loved seeing pieces of their practically lifelong friendship/relationship through Wren’s journal. And I loved the secret penpal moment they had together briefly before they ever decided to try again.
It was all beautiful and heartbreaking and what every child of divorce (cough cough me) dreams of for their parents.

I thought this was even better than Savor It, absolutely adored their story of reconnecting 😍

L“I’ll fight with you. I’ll fight for you. I’ll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.”

I love Wren and Ellis with my entire heart. They were such well-written character’s, and it was impossible not to root for them. Finding their way back to love each other after drifting apart, this is my new favourite second chance romance!! I am so honoured to be able to read and review this book. Thank you for the ARC Tarah and NetGalley!

typically not a huge fan of second chance romance, but this one hit!!! these two were so sweet and I loved their journey!

half the time i had a stupid smile on my face and the other half eyes brimmed with tears!!! everything tarah writes is pure gold!!!!
i’ve never been married, or divorced, or co-parented a child with my ex but ellis and wren’s story tugged at all of my heartstrings— i felt every single emotion poured into every page like it was my own!
i am mesmerized by tarah’s writing and will forever be grateful to exist at the same time as her bc this book is truly a masterpiece! every page is laced with her heart and soul and you can FEEEEL that!

i will never get over wren and ellis!!!!! i want everything that they have! their connection was so strong it was almost tangible and it made for the most delicious tension! the spice in this book is actually life changing! it brought me to tears and i think healed me! and the moment they finally let it all out and left nothing unsaid— i could cry all over again just thinking about it— it’s forever etched in my brain!

this town, this family, these stories, they’re my favorite of all time and perfect in every way! i cannot wait for the next books in this series!


thank you so much to st. martin’s and netgalley for this earc! <3

so happy to be tucked back into the pocket of love that is spunes, oregon. tarah dewitt blew it out of the park with this romance. the tender-hearted devotion that she has to these characters is truly something special.
i felt so safe and comfortable while reading this story; watching the rekindling of a relationship between two people who had a true connection gave me a sense of knowing. these two characters specifically knew each other in a way that pushed them to want to better themselves for one another, however that may take shape. wren and ellis had spark, and i fell in love with how in love they truly were. the overall environment of them taking time away from the people and place they are most comfortable allowed them to step outside of their usual zone and take a chance on their feelings. ellis is the actual definition of "written by a woman", and i adore him for it.
i will always love the cameos from other characters and i am hoping we don't have to leave spunes quite yet... I am looking at you, micah and lennon...
the only thing i wanted was more sage and fisher but... just means it's time for a savor it reread.

This was pretty cute. I love a second chance romance. This book is super interconnected with the last book, Savor It, so you have it read that book first.

I like how hard Ellis worked to get Wren back. All this things he planned were sweet.

My only issues were that all the speeches were too long. I found myself skimming over them. Especially at the end with the wedding toasts. The end felt like it dragged on too long. It would have just cut to the wedding.

Pretty dang spicy so beware of that if you don’t like spice

Ending had me smiling & sobbing!!! this book was STUNNING (Tarah’s best work!!!) I’m just in awe with how beautiful Wren & Ellis’s love story is. Truly a perfect second chance romance. The character build up and love confessions took this story to another level. I felt the love through the pages of this story. This was such a vulnerable love story. I love them, I love the town, I love the side characters. READ THIS!!


Thanks a million @netgalley for the ARC!!!! :)

"Everything left of it, together." Putting that one my bedroom wall asap. Sobbed through the last 10%... for real! Savor It was one of my favorites from last year so this was one was highly anticipated for me! I am very grateful I got to read it early.

I freaking love a second chance with divorce/married couple situation. This delivered BUT I will admit my qualm was it felt like they hooked up a lotttttt. I'm good with open door but I maybe I wanted a little more adventure or communication or *something*.

That being said we better be getting a Silas and a Micah story?!?!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this e-ARC.

I don’t know if I can properly describe how much I loved this book. It was tender and heartfelt and made me feel so many things. The yearning throughout was actually insane.

It made me giggle and kick my feet and I was biting my hand to keep myself from screaming out.

Tarah DeWitt does it again, another amazing book! I can’t wait to read more of her stuff.

This book deals with some hard themes, so I would definitely look up TW/CW!

Tropes:
- Second chance
- Small town
- MUSTACHE
- Road trip
- Childhood friends-to-lovers
- One bed
- Yearning
- Slow burn 🔥

Second chance romances have grown on me. Couples finding their way back to love after overcoming a painful backstory are stories of hope and humanity which are much needed right now. The only problem: who could ever love me like Ellis loves Wren?? Impossible, that man is down bad to the end for his since-childhood love. The pacing of the plot was slow at the beginning. I feel there needed to be more set up for Wren and Ellis's relationship, especially for readers who didn't read the book in the series before this. However, thematically I felt this romance was well executed and emotionally grounded.