While I went into this book with high hopes, the second chance between these characters didn’t feel fully worked out. I would have loved if this book went back and forth with timelines more.

Was not aware I needed a second chance marriage romance in my life until I picked up Left of Forever, my first book by this author. I LOVED these characters, the road trip aspect and the mutual pining. I think Tarah does a fantastic job of mixing light moments with heavier moments, giving you the perfect balance of a book that will entertain you while also pulling at your heartstrings. I cannot wait to dive deeper into this author's backlist.

took my sweet time reading this because i wanted to soak up every single sentence, every single emotion, every single moment with these two beautiful humans. these characters felt so real - which is truly why i love Tarah’s books - her books make you ache in the best way possible. they’re so comforting it hurts. you want to live inside of them.

as someone who got recently married but was in a very long term relationship - this was so incredibly relatable. just a gorgeous story about two soul mates who lost their way in the middle of life and found themselves together again.

tarah’s books are so beautiful but especially this one - this needs to be a movie. just everything was a vivid kaleidoscope of feelings.

✨ “make it better” ✨

if you get a chance to listen to this on audio please do - SUCH great voice acting from both narrators that made the yearning and ACHING even more real. easily top read of 2025

That was probably my favorite second chance romance ever. It was so beautiful and touching (and spicy!) I read the whole book in a day. I love the Byrd family and hope that there is a book 3 in the works!

left of forever has altered my brain chemistry!! this book was everything and more for a second chance romance. it has the perfect portrayal of a love that is real and raw. it's emotional and heartfelt, from the tenderness to the pining and yearning and everything in between. i'll forever be swooning over "she's still a byrd." it was truly beautiful to see wren and ellis reconcile and fall in love with different versions of one another,

if wren and ellis were a song, it'd be spring into summer — "and now I'm here forever, runnin' back to you. always."

thank you to smp and netgalley for the arc!

tropes: second chance, small town, forced proximity, childhood friends to lovers

10/10 loved this book! I read book 1, Savor It, a while back and loved it. In it we met many of the characters in this book. It was so fun going back and seeing where those characters are now and how they relate to the ones in this book. You could definitely read this as a stand a lone but you will get a way better reading experience if you read them in order.

This book follows Wren and Ellis Byrd. They fell in love young and had a son, Sam, when they were very young. They got married and lived a life together but then ultimately ended up getting a divorce. Sam is now going off to college and they decide to take him together and then make a road trip on the way back to Spunes. Which ends up being so fun! And such a good trip for them 😉 there was also some town meddlers involved with this road trip fun too!

This book and the characters felt so relatable. They were in their 30s, just trying to raise their son right in their small town. I loved the divorced and then the way they got brought back together vibes. It was somwthing different that I dont feel like we see in a lot of books.

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

Okay, where do I even start? This book hit me right in the feels, in the best way possible. It’s a second-chance romance that’s so raw and real, had the tears rolling that’s for sure. Make sure to grab your tissues!

Wren and Ellis? Childhood friends turned teen parents turned husband-and-wife turned divorced—and then maybe, just maybe, soulmates again. Tarah DeWitt does not hold back (check triggers), and all the miscommunication hell. But she also sprinkles in laughter, family chaos, and that magnetic pull between two people who just fit even after years apart

Ohh.. and that road‑trip? Perfection. The vivid settings, the side characters who are hilariously invested (looking at you, nosy Byrds), and the slow melt between

Wren and Ellis… it feels like falling in love all over again
✨ What I loved most:
•Emotional honesty – This felt earned. There’s real grit behind every apology and re‑connection. No cheesy miracle fixes
•Chemistry & steam – When these two reunite? 🔥 Not gratuitous—just honest and needed
•Found-family feels – From siblings to ex‑in‑laws, the cookouts, the meddling, they turn the story into a real community, not just an isolated romance

Overall? Five stars plus infinity. It’s one of those stories that lingers—because it’s not just about finding love, but about finding yourself and choosing it all over again. Even if it shouldn’t work.

#SecondChanceRomance #FoundFamily #RoadTripFeels #EmotionalHealing #ContemporaryRomance #TarahDeWitt #LoveWorthFightingFor

if Tarah writes it, I’m gonna read it. I loved book one in this series and was so eager to fall back into this small town world she’s created. her characters are given so much depth! Wren and Ellis are the definition of right love wrong time. to see them rekindle a flame that could have been extinguished forever thru their divorce has me glued to the pages, invested and so hopeful! such a great balance of Tarah’s classic heartfelt feels and heavy heartache. loved! (so much so that I switch over to audio for some immersive reading!)

This book was so incredibly beautiful. I'm not normally a fan of second chance romances, but this one stole my heart. The writing was so passionate and raw that you could feel the emotions coming right off the pages. It's also more of a story about finding the love with each other again, even though it never really went away. I loved Wren and Ellis and was just rooting for them the entire time.

Is there anything more beautiful than a second chance? Wren & Ellis lost 5 years when their marriage went south, forever linked through their son and family. The bitter heartbreak of watching these two try to live parallel lives while never walking it together broke my heart. I could feel their pain and their longing. That is the true strength of a good second chance romance, the longing and the pining and the redemption. Ellis pulled no stops in his journey to win her back. His planned trip was full of levity and truth and that is truly all they needed. Open & honest communication. Their story is told with delightful humor, true family love and an abundance of strength. A fabulous story full of pining and hope.

I got to tell you that the hyper is definitely there. It's not a must-read, but definitely worth it to read. I would say that I found the miscommunication a bit annoying when both of them had the opportunity to communicate. especially Wren. I just don't understand how you could not explain or talk to him. Ellis literally worshipped the ground that Wren walks. Just communicate your needs instead of festering for years, especially since both of them are still missing for each other.

SO GOOD. This is a second-chance romance done SO well. Wren and Ellis were bffs as little kids, got pregnant while they were super young, raised their kid, and then fell apart after some big infertility issues. They divorced but live in the same town, raising their kid and still sharing family. They don't really speak.

Their son graduates high school and goes to college, requiring a road trip to get him moved in. Ellis invites Wren to take it slow on the way back home to go sightseeing and try to rekindle what they had, because there is still so much love between the two of them. Shenanigans, emotional unpacking, reconnecting, and lots of steam ensue.

I did not read the first book in this series, but I wasn't lost at all. I really enjoyed getting to know Wren, Ellis, and their extended family. Ellis was just so wonderful, and Wren was so relatable. I was rooting for them from the beginning when THEY WERE WRITING ANONYMOUS LETTERS TO EACH OTHER, NOT KNOWING WHO WAS ON THE OTHER END!!!! Probably my biggest romance catnip of all time.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts-- I will be talking this one up!!

I thought the letter-writing was too much of a forced contrivance, and Wren and Ellis had all of about two conversations before they decide they're still in love. Somehow, though, it managed to be fun.

It was so great to be back in Spunes, Washington. Part second-chance romance, part road trip romance, Left of Forever tells the reconnection between Wren and Ellis as their kid heads off to college. These two were childhood friends who became young parents and married. They tried hard to make it work, but fertility difficulties drove them apart. That being said, they have always remained friendly as they coparent Sam. When Ellis is remotely working as a firefighter, he exchanges letters with an anonymous writer who he soon figures happens to be Wren. He also figures out that he wants her back.

I loved seeing Wren and Ellis figure out who they are to each other now that Sam does not need them as much anymore. I also loved how DeWitt takes them out of their familiar settings as they reconnect. This was a sweet, heartwarming romance. The reasons they separated were believable and we still could clearly see how much these two still loved one another. I found myself cheering them on throughout the book. If you are looking for a romance with characters who have lived life a little and can still bring the chemistry, this may be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The structure of this was off. It starts with a prologue of the main couple’s son saying he’s going away to college. Then we get a flashback for a few chapters. Then we jump forward back to present. It just didn’t work for me. It would have been better to just start with the events from the past then that leads to the son’s announcement which leads to the trip. It would have built the narrative in a stronger way that would have made the couple reuniting better. We need to see and understand why they want to try again.

That’s the other problem. It feels like it happens too fast. This is about two people who are obviously supposed to be together but ended up divorcing because of several big life events. I get why they separated and I get that they are going to be back together. But the whole point of this book is to have the tension of will they or won’t they? It starts with the woman being a little resistant and guarded but she drops that on day one of their trip. The rest is her basically begging the man the hook up with her and he has to stop it because the whole point of the trip is to work through what broke them up. They do stuff anyway.

Most of this trip is them being physically intimate. Ok. But the point was to show them rectifying what broke them up. They barely have serious conversations. He does many nice things for her. She nurses him through a very ridiculous medical ailment. And then they talk once, briefly, about the big things. But by then they were already back together. Just whats the point?

Stars are because DeWitt is a good writer and I think she’s getting better with each book. This just had structure problems.

Tarah DeWitt has delivered a masterpiece. I felt every word of this book deeply and in my soul. It is stunningly raw and vulnerable, and so heart achingly full of love. This is the kind of book that takes your breath away and has you clutching at your heart. The imagery and dialogue immediately pull you in and the hope Wren and Ellis offer is unflinching. This book is a case of if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more! The pacing and story is perfection and these characters obstacles felt so realistic.

She’s still a Byrd and they have whatever is left of forever and I am in a puddle on the floor in love with them both :,)

Oh my gosh, I fell in love with this story. Wren and Ellis were so it. I usually don’t love a second chance romance if the couple has already divorced, but this right here!!! It was done so beautifully. Unpacking the hurt of losing your love and friend and family to me was handled with precious care. The road trip back to finding what went wrong in their relationship and speak about it honestly, was definitely my favorite part. I just can’t get enough of this one.

⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️

Wow! So, so dang good! The emotion in this book and invoked by this book were next level. Wren and Ellis has such a unique and special connection and history making their story so much more worth it than a typical second chance romance. Their history broke my heart because of their individual struggles and struggles as a couple. The longing each of them had in the chapter made for poetic internal monologues which I am a sucker for. I loved getting to follow Wren and Ellis fall back in love with each other and the new and healthier versions of themselves they had become.

Tropes:
- second chance
- divorced couple
- road trip
- forced proximity
- emotional
- small town

Taylor song: exile

“You were my town, now I’m in exile seeing you out”

4.5/5⭐️

I loved this book so much I read it twice before the release date! Both characters felt like they had depth to them that you don’t always get when both MCs are a main focus. I loved all the background info we got and how Savor It really set the stage for this book. When I first started reading, I expected more pining and angst, but this really wasn’t that kind of story, and the more I got used to that idea, the more I enjoyed it. There definitely was some pining, but it was pretty obvious, and the characters were very honest and upfront about it, which made the book a little different than other second chance romance books I’ve read.

Overall, I definitely prefer this book to Savor It and would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a sucker for a good second chance, I really am. I think there's a part of all of us that really longs to know that nothing is ever so damaged that it can't be fixed.

I didn't read Savor It, so this was my introduction to Wren and Ellis. And I just really liked them. Their situation is really the best case scenario you can hope for when you're co-parenting, isn't it?

Left of Forever really struck a nice balance between conflict and a read that won't leave you feeling stressed out. The road trip was such a fun idea to throw these characters back together. I would definitely recommend this to any contemporary romance fan.