This book was utter perfection - an over five stars for me, and I will be accepting no criticism. I love, love, loved these two and their second chance after divorce so much. I thought there was stellar growth and reflection from these characters. I liked the honesty and vulnerability. I liked how DeWitt explored the idea of knowing someone so well, yet after time apart, there's new things to get to know. Wren and Ellis were easy to root for. It was a joy to spend this time with them, and I don't know that I have much more besides gushing about how perfect it was for me. I will definitely be seeing her when she's in St. Louis on tour.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Releasing on May 20th, 2025!

Content Warnings: ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy struggle & loss, and divorce

Ellis and Wren are childhood friends to lovers who divorced five years ago. When they take a trip to drop their son off at college, they decide to detour on their way back home to see if they can rekindle what they had.

This book is a companion sequel to Savor It and we’re following Ellis and Wren in this one. I made sure to read that book before picking this one up and I am so glad I did. Small town romance has been a trend for me recently, so I was very excited to pick this one up. This is my third experience with Tarah DeWitt’s books and I think it’s possible that this one is my favorite! This one was heart wrenching and beautiful. I loved learning about Ellis and Wren’s past and their journey throughout this book.

The spice in this book is also so good and there were more spicy scenes than I was expecting. It really picks up in the second half of the book, but I think they are done really well. There are also some events on this journey that I will classify as “of course something is going to go wrong”, but it was also kind of funny. I want to stay vague to avoid possible spoilers, but I did not see it coming!

Now that we have had a book for each of two of the siblings (Sage and Ellis), I really hope we get books for Silas and Micah. I love the small town setting of Spunes and I like that all of DeWitt’s books are set in the same world. I cannot wait to see what she releases next because after two 4 stars reads and now a 5 star one, Tarah DeWitt is an author I will actively seek new books from. Five stars. I loved it so much!

I'm in the minority here - but this was just okay. I couldn't really get into the story, or believe that she couldn't realize it was his writing.

The characters were good, the plot was good, but there was something about the execution of it that just didn't do it for me ..

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advance copies!

I said last year that Savor It was one of my top 3 books of the year so it’s always a little worrisome if a second book will stand on its own as great in a series of interconnected standalones. Look, I know Tarah DeWitt had to have lived some of the stuff in this book because so have I and when I tell you it felt like she had reached into my brain and put my feelings on paper I am not even being dramatic. And I know how that sounds before I even write this next sentence… This may be my favorite contemporary romance of all time. But it’s that good. Second chance romance always feels a little kitschy to me because it just seems so unrealistic. This did not. It was raw and real and showed two people who had to work through all the stuff that hurt them the first time around. It shows that sometimes people who have loved each other their whole lives still find it hard to have the hard, often life altering conversations. Tarah managed to do all this with the road trip trope. She is magic I tell you.

This book is a masterpiece. The way I love Wren and Ellis, their relationship, their love and just everything about their entire story. They had me in tears a couple times. These two are soulmates and truly meant a beautiful happily ever after. Falling in love, getting pregnant at a young age, Ellis having to take care of his siblings and ultimately Wren stepping up too, being parents and all the other things in life really put them through it. Despite getting a divorce, these two never stopped loving each other. Ellis is the best dad, so sweet, swoony, a caretaker and has the biggest heart. Wren is a sweetheart, a great mom and loves fiercely. I loved the way Ellis was determined to get his girl back and the things he did to show her he was all in. He had me falling for him right along with Wren again it was so dang sweet. They were able to connect again, open up about the good and the bad, communicate and find that love for each other again that truly never went away. This story displays the good, bad, raw and real emotions of marriage. Their growth is perfect and the story is just overall one you will fall in love with.

📖 Book Review 📖 I wish someone had warned me that life gets exponentially harder the older you get and at this point, I am just waiting it out and praying that this wild journey is a bell curve and at my mid-life, I am starting the downward slope. In Tarah DeWitt’s emotional return to the beloved town of Spunes, Washington, we follow teenage sweethearts who rode the emotional rollercoaster of parenting and hardships to a breaking point of their marriage. Can their son’s graduation from high school and a road trip down memory lane to their roots bring them back together! Left of Forever is a heartfelt romance of second chances that brings cathartic introspection and a longing for hope.

Holy holy shit this really was perfect and worth ALL the hype it's getting! Tarah's best yet!!! I absolutely love the interconnected moments with Savor It and The Co-Op! It happens so naturally and just warms my insides! Second Chance is arguably my favorite trope so I may be a little biased here but I just love the history and knowing and pining that comes with second chances! And Left of Forever was done so beautifully- it just felt so perfect for Wren and Ellis to come back to each other again at this point in their lives.

While on their road trip of re-discovery, they get to have fun together, try new things, learn new things, and deal with things that hurt them in the past. As a married person, I just loved seeing the re-kindling and maturity between Wren and Ellis. I do wish we could have had even more glimpses into their past, as the ones we got felt pretty vague and short. I felt like the reason why they ended their marriage was pretty brief. I think it would have added so much more to their story and the yearning they felt.

I know Tarah wrote this book as reflection of her own life, getting married before being fully developed, and I relate to that 100%, plus add in a high demand religion and a couple kids. That is why this story hit so close to home for me. It reminded me why it was so easy to lose myself in a relationship and new role. But it also inspired me to always hold on to hope for the life I want and always dreamed of.

I think lovers of You've Got Mail and The Notebook will love Left of Forever by one of my favorite authors, Tarah DeWitt. Thank you St Martin's Griffin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVE THE BYRDS SO MUCH OH MY GOD

this was everything i wanted and more from wren and ellis's epic second chance romance and i honestly just want to re-read this book for the rest of my life! tarah always writes her stories with such care and affection for her characters and you can tell that her love for these characters bounce off the pages of the book.

i've been anticipating ellis and wren since that fateful scene in 'savor it' when ellis shouts out 'she's still a byrd," and boy did tarah deliver! it was angsty, emotional, funny and so HOT! like those two are made for each other!!! i loved getting to see the growth both of them went through to find their way back to each other and rediscovering each other after years apart. it hurt so good and only tarah can land such a devastating blow and then soothe it with a balm to the soul ending/epilogue.

my favorite thing about this series is the byrd family and I could read about them for the rest of my life!!!!! highly anticipating the next few books in this series and go byrds!!!

thank you SMP Romance/You Had Me at HEA for this eARC! It's out everywhere on May 20

Wren and Ellis Byrd fell madly in love and had their lovely son Sam then they came upon hard times and their love fell apart. Years later while moving their son into University and they were reunited and sparks flew.

i will never recover from this book, i fear.

this novel ripped out my heart and put it back together. i LOVE a good second chance romance - and this was beyond a good one. the absolute yearning these 2 main characters had for each other was perfectly executed.

i found ellis + wren to be so perfect in the way they were flawed. they were just so... raw, real, and vulnerable as characters. i feel like this book actually left me speechless. tarah was able to touch on some tough topics with this one, and she handled it beautifully. it was such a balanced story, with just the right amount of humor.


thank you so much to netgalley, SMP, macmillan audio, and netgalley for the earc + ALC of this one!

rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

“I’ll save you a seat, Byrd.” 🕊️

Wow what a beautiful book! This one got me out of a month and half long reading slump. Left of Forever is a book that will suck you in and not let you put it down! It is set back in Spunes, Oregon (book 1 Savor It), and follows Wren and Ellis Byrd, two complex characters that had to grow up fast when they had fallen pregnant at a young age.

The vibes in this were amazing. the chemistry. the banter. the entertainment. and the top tier yearning and angst in this were absolutely immaculate! also the tension was so so good and full of deliciousness! 🤌🏻

I loved these two characters so much. I loved seeing the glimpses of their past and how it reflected on their present, and reading about how they regained their spark for each other. They truly went through some great character development, both together and by themselves. I loved the emotional journey that these two went through, they will definitely have you rooting for them.

There was definitely some heartbreak and emotions in this that were strong and powerful, and it shows real life scenarios that people deal with all the time, which makes it so real and relatable. Just everything about this was so good and beautifully written.

I highly recommend adding this to your tbr!

Tropes/What to expect:
🌻 second chance
💛 found family
🌻 forced proximity
💛 dual pov
🌻 only one bed
💛 romantic road trip
🌻 small town romance
💛 divorced couple
🌻 firefighter x bakery owner
💛 slow burn
🌻 infertility issues

thank you netgalley, st martin’s press, and tarah dewitt for the arc 🫶🏻

My oh my! this was beautifully done.
We don't get enough (good) books with this kind of storyline and I was living for it. The romance was STEAMY but it was balanced out well with the tender plot and great writing. I was thankful we didn't get the same old sexy talk in here. There was no "good girl" which I was thankful for. I'm worn out on the same spicy content. Overall, I was very impressed, and it made me cry. I can't say enough good about the book and the audio narration was fantastic.

CONTENT: Heavy, and explicit descriptions of sex. heavy language.

What can't Tarah Dewitt do? I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the characters being older but I ended up absolutely loving it

This is my new favorite book by Tarah DeWitt! Hands down with out a doubt no notes this book was truly amazing!

This book was so beautiful and an emotional read. Wren & Ellis love story was absolutely something special, they deserves so much and definitely deserved to be loved by each other and their character depth and growth and the way the found their way back to each other just warmed my heart so much.

Left of Forever is a book that will stay with me forever!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Ebook (arc)

Quick Plot Summary:
Okay, so this story is a sequel of sorts to Tarah DeWitt’s Savor It (following Sage and Fisher). Now, we are following Sage‘s brother Ellis and his ex-wife Wren. Ellis and Wren are childhood friends to lovers. At age 17 they have an accidental pregnancy and are quickly married. We follow them present day where they are five years post-divorce and co-parents to their 18yr. old son, Sam.

My Thoughts:
I’ve said it before and I will say it again second chance romances are my kryptonite However, it is very easy to execute them poorly because it has to make real world sense why this couple broke it off and also why they should actually be together. And I can confirm that Tarah Dewitt nailed it with this one!

Our story is in dual POV meaning we are able to see and understand clearly our main characters’ thoughts and how their respective actions harm one another. The miscommunication in the story really makes sense when you learn each of their backgrounds and the hardships they endured. The nuances of their arguments and what ultimately led to their split make you fully understand them as characters! When we got to the crux of their conflict, I felt like screaming at the page. We the reader get it. Their hurt makes sense and we are hurting right alongside them. We are also begging them to drop their pride and to be open, honest and vulnerable. You want to shake their shoulders and be like “look just be together please…. you are perfect for each other”. And that’s how I know this is a book that will stay with me forever!

So their relationship alone is enough for this to be a five star read for me but add to that the lovely cast of characters from book one that come back! I adore this town and all the side characters. I also have to commend the writing. The dialogue felt incredibly realistic. I felt the tension and the gravity and the seriousness of their conversations. The tone was incredibly appropriate yet I was also laughing out loud at some of the hijinks that they get into. It was easy to follow along and yet I felt like this was actually a very complex emotional story. I’m so grateful to have read the advanced e-copy. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin! I will definitely be reading her next book (which I really really hope set in this world/series because let’s get real we need Micah‘s redemption arc!)

Wren and Ellis speak to my soul and pulled on my heartstrings. I love second chance romances, and this one might hold the cake. Having them being married young and then life/kids/everything gets in the way and then them finding their way back together was beautiful. And also relatable.

I hope we will get to spend more times in Spunes. I love it here.

I fell in love with the characters of Spunes in the first book, so I was so excited to revisit this little town and the Byrd family in book two! Left of Forever begins right in the middle of the last chapter and epilogue of Savor It, and we get to see some of those events unfold from a different perspective. I love the dual POV between Ellis and Wren, the way we were able to see both individuals as they struggled to move on, processed their past, and eventually realized their true feelings for each other. This second chance romance takes the main characters and the readers on a beautiful journey of rediscovery as they explore potential after dropping their son off at college together. I loved everything about this so so much! I think second chance romance/"it's always been you" are my new favorite tropes and I can't wait to read what this author writes next! Hopefully more stories for the other Byrd siblings??

This book was everything.

Synopsis: Wren and Ellis were high school sweethearts, got pregnant young, and have been divorced for a few years. When it's time to drop their son off for college they realize neither are realize to let go and they take a long trip back home to see if reconciliation could be possible.

Romance books about married couples or couples going through a rough patch are hard to come by. (I know Wren and Ellis were divorced, but it's close enough.) I ADORED reading about a couple working through all the hard, unromantic parts of their relationship in order to come out stronger on the other side.

I was very excited to read this book. It started off good and only got better and better. I was seriously so impressed by how well their relationship progressed. I was hooked. They worked through hard things without making me the reader feel like I was being forced through my own therapy session. (That's not to say I didn't feel like I learned things I want to apply to my own marriage, because I did. The book is really thoughtfully done without it feeling like "too much".)

I laughed. I cried. I sweated a lot. (The steam was so good omg. I can't decide which scene was my fave but wow.)

Oh, and read the Author's Note. Sometimes I skip them but I'm SO GLAD I read this one. I was very moved.

🌲Second Chance
🧡Divorced Couple
🌲Firefighter MMC x Baker FMC
🧡Letters
🌲Hidden Identity
🧡Road Trip
🌲Small Town
🧡Meddling Family

The first book by Tarah I read was Savor It and I am one of those people who desperately hoped Ellis and Wren would find their way back to one another and wished for their book. Well…I👏🏼AM👏🏼NOT👏🏼DISAPPOINTED👏🏼AT👏🏼ALL!!!!

I was a mess after part 1. The heart ache, longing, the words left unspoken between Ellis and Wren and the things they could not say all had me deeply invested and honestly hurting. But by the end of this book my heart had been mended. The sobbing in the end was because I was so happy and felt like my faith had been restored in the power of true love in all its forms, phases and iterations.

I am usually pretty specific about second chances, wanting a dual timeline or multiple parts in linear timed format or many, in depth flash backs. But the way Tarah brought the past to life in a string of consciousness that felt concise but emotional complexity made their past come alive in my mind. To see the emotional growth of this couple both independently and together, the careful and cautious(Wren)/diligent(Ellis) and focused way they moved toward reconciliation was so endearing and poignantly moving.

My heart was bursting and me kicking my feet to see how blissfully happy Sage and Fisher were. I may be crossing my fingers that the remaining Byrd siblings get their on books but if not I feel at peace with the ones whose stories were told.

I don’t know if I will ever be able to adequately find the words to express how deeply I loved this book. I have been a fan of Tarah’s since she was an indie author and Funny Feelings was the first book of Tarah’s I read and have since been a huge fan. I have cried while reading each of Tarah’s books but never before have I been choking back sobs at the end, which is where I found myself at the end of Left of Forever.

Tarah has a remarkable way of diving into the messiness of life with such care, tenderness, and humor and the experiences of her characters are immensely relatable. I love how in each of her books, Tarah’s voice rings true as she delivers her signature humor, heart, big feelings that crack your heart ALLLLLL THE WAY OPEN, and perfectly imperfect characters.

Ever since Ellis uttered “she’s still a Byrd,” I have been on the edge of my seat for this story - and that’s a testament to Tarah’s writing that something like that single line had so many of us in its thrall. I am feral for a second chance and marriage in crisis/trouble, and while Ellis and Wren might not be together on paper anymore, their hearts are very much still tethered together. My heart ACHED as these two made serious strides to grapple with the fears, miscommunication, and heartbreak that led to their parting and OOF, it absolutely wrecked me. But In Tarah We Trust and she masterfully mended our hearts and this story will forever be imprinted on my soul.