This book had me kicking my feet and crying the whole time. I could hardly put it down. Give me 10 more!! I have loved every Tarah Dewitt book I've read and she is now a auto buy author and I can not wait for whatever come next. Hopefully more of the Byrds!

- divorce couple
- childhood lovers
- second chance romance
- road trip
- found family
- slow burn and spice

I am obsessed with Ellis and Wren. Heartfelt romance of the two of these losing each other and then coming back together. The tension, rawness and love between the two of their during the road trip after dropping off their son to college was everything. This is a MUST read!

Thank you to netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Tarah DeWitt for the advance copy!

This was incredibly well done as a second chance romance!
I felt the chemistry between the characters from the first page and I felt like the story/pacing flowed very well.

At first I thought that I wanted slow burn but actually I really enjoyed that it wasn’t. With characters that have almost 2 decades of history, it made sense that they fell back into their love quickly.

Loved this read. I couldn’t put it down

Oh man did I love this book with my whole heart.

We got a glimpse of Wren and Ellis’s relationship in Savor It and I knew we were in for a treat with this second chance romance (you can read it as a standalone though!) but it blew my already high expectations out of the water.

It was a tender second chance story, between a couple who met when they were young, had a baby while they were still young, and tried to make a marriage work despite the odds being against them. Though things didn’t work out as planned with their marriage,there was obviously so much love and affection between them.

I loved the careful way Ellis worked to win Wren back. He was thoughtful and considerate, and his love for his wife shined through his every action. I just really loved him as a character. I also really loved Wren, she was strong and competent and did her best at life.

Their journey was at times heartbreaking, but also heartwarming. I really really enjoyed this!

I had the opportunity to read "Left of Forever" prior to publication and this is my review of the arc.

"Left of Forever" centers around a couple (Ellis and Wren) once in love, and now divorced, co-parenting a college-bound son. This is a follow-up to author Tarah DeWitt's novel "Savor It". Both novels feature the Byrd family and while this book focused on one couple, the entire family is prominent in both books. They are an incredibly close-knit family and one of the things I found endearing in the novel was Wren's relationship with her former husband's siblings.

DeWitt does a great job of setting up why Ellis and Wren divorced in the first place, and I think many couples who have been married for a significant length of time, especially at a young age, will be able to relate to their relationship. DeWitt helps the reader understand the exact feelings that Ellis and Wren are going through such as tip-toeing through their interactions, avoiding each other when possible, and being overly polite when the need to co-parent arises.

I am sucker for written communications between characters, and this book starts with letters between the two (although only one of the characters knows who the other writer is). I think it would have been fun to see more of this throughout the book, but the plot doesn't really allow for it as it is.

Ellis and Wren embark on a roadtrip and it's evident their relationship isn't over early on their journey. This allowed for a lot of romantic exchanges and I appreciate how they find each other again without the drama of a third-act break-up.

As with DeWitt's other novels, this book is beautifully written, full of swoon-worthy moments, and just enough spice to keep things interesting. Bonus points for the cameo of the couple from her novel "Co-Op"!

The second THE SECOND, Ellis says, “She’s still a Byrd,” in Savor It, I thought, “I need that book.” And my gracious, did Tarah deliver. There’s just something about a story centered on enduring love — when you’ve been through the highs and lows, yet still choose each other. I absolutely loved Left of Forever. Wren and Ellis were so committed to communication, never falling into the trap of the classic miscommunication trope. The ice cream scene had me laughing out loud, and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time! Plus, it was a treat to catch a glimpse of LaRynne and Deacon from The Co-op. Tarah DeWitt truly knows how to write a love story like no one else.

Be still my heart.

I am not normally someone who reaches for second-chance romances, but if Tarah DeWitt writes it, I know I am going to love it. Seeing a snippet of these two in "Savor It" was such a tease and I am so thankful to Tarah for listening to her readers when we begged for MORE from Ellis and Wren.

There was such a beautiful balance of reality and fiction. Recognizing the history, the deep love, the YEARNING between the two as they worked separately (and then eventually together) to find themselves and what they want in life. Not only did they find that, but Ellis made sure he helped Wren find her pleasure again... and again...and again. Whhhhhhewwww Ellis, my man. Everything I want to say about that mustache and what he does with that mouth is too inappropriate so I am going to stop right now.

All that to say I LOVED it... oh and the little check in we got with a certain tall couple who enjoy playing volleyball.

This book is the definition of hope.
I honestly think it will help a lot of couples not to give up. Wren and Ellis story was truly beautiful.
The author did an amazing job writing two flawed characters who know how to communicate and who know how to admit their part in their divorce. The way you could feel the love they had for each other, despite everything, and their ability to co-parent for their son's happiness... speechless. I hope we'll have a book for Silas and Micah because I really want to read again about The Byrds.

I’m writing this review with tears in my eyes because this book emotionally destroyed me and then put me back together. Second chance romances are always so special to me and Left of Forever was no exception. The love and tenderness between Wren and Ellis was palpable from page one and I couldn’t help but feel what they felt.

It would be impossible not to root for Wren and Ellis both as individuals and as a pairing. This book is raw and vulnerable in the most beautiful ways. I truly felt the ups and downs throughout this story. They feel like such real individuals with real emotions and problems!

I will be needing 3-5 business days to recover emotionally from this book. Which means I need everyone I know to also read it. This book is the true embodiment of the saying that love will always find a way.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.25 stars! I didn't love Savor It, but am so glad I read it last year so that I could fully appreciate this book! Second chance romance isn't my favorite trope, but Tarah DeWitt did the trope justice with some beautiful writing. I could really feel their deep love, history and pain. It was so gratifying to see them find their way back to each and fight for and earn their happily ever after. Wren and Ellis are truly meant-to-be and Ellis's devotion and desperation to be back with Wren was truly swoon worthy. There was a lot I could relate to as a mother and as someone who has been with her husband for many years. I also loved getting to know the other brothers (Silas and Micah) more and wouldn't be mad about Tarah DeWitt writing some books about them.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ⭐️
Left of Forever is a story of two people who love each other figuring out their issues and making the effort for each other. The way Ellis went about reconnecting with Wren was so romantic and so thoughtful. Ellis isn’t an outwardly flowery type of male lead, but he’s solid and dependable and even when he isn’t saying it, he’s showing how much he loves Wren. I really enjoyed how open their lines of communication about the issues in their marriage were. I feel like a lot of second chance romances really breeze by the reason the couple broke in the first place, but in Left of Forever the characters really took the time to actually address their problems, from small annoyances to bigger picture things. I also appreciated that this was low on third act drama. There was one secret Ellis kept from Wren that I was worried would blow things up, but I was pleasantly surprised it did not go that way because third act conflict doesn’t go well in a second chance romance for me.

Reading this, you could just feel the love between Ellis and Wren and that’s exactly what I look for in second chance romances. This was another solid book from Tarah DeWitt, and I’ll definitely be tuned in for whatever is next!

This was a rough read. I was intrigued by the premise, the adorable cover, and the raving reviews. I've never read a second chance before and was excited to delve in.

However. I felt the two leads were dull, dopey, and incessantly annoying with their regrets. I also can't quite pinpoint the exact reason this wasn't working for me, but maybe the conflict itself was just so uninteresting? They werent together even though you still had all the feelings, had great sex, etc...because you couldnt deign to speak to each other for some reason? I just dont know. 5 years of that nonsense! I rolled my eyes at the penpal portion. No recognition of the handwriting, really? I also found the letters to be a bit try hard and overly flowery.

The Journaling and the questioning and the blah blah blah of it all was just not hitting for me.

It took me a long time to get to the 50% mark and it was painfully boring the whole way through. I believed this was considered a stand alone in a multi book universe and I honestly felt like the side characters were more interesting than our two mains. Yikes.

The roadtrip piqued my interest, but by the time it gets to the intimacy, I realized that i didn't care about either of these characters one bit. Not for me, unfortunately.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

I finished this book in a day because I could not put it down! I'm a sucker for childhood friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance 🥰 Ellis’s POV chapters were my favorite–he’s so earnest and genuinely tries hard to get Wren back 🥲 Ellis’s siblings are SO fun and bring humor to the heavy emotions throughout the story 💗 absolutely obsessed with this book and it’s my favorite Tarah DeWitt yet!!

4.5 rounded up

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

I am a sucker for a well done second chance romance

Wren and Ellis have known each other since they were kids. They fell in love and had their son in high school. They are now divorced sending him off to college. Ellis convinces Wren to go on a road trip together after dropping Sam off. This time alone shows them how much they truly miss each other. They take time to work through what went wrong in the past and realize how much in love they still are. Dewitt does an amazing job writing about mature love and reigniting the flame. I fell in love with Wren and Ellis - their second chance, the way they treated the other, the flirting, admiration, sweet tender moments, origami birds…it all gave me butterflies and had me shedding a few tears at the end 🥰

truly i have no words, normally i avoid these tropes, but honestly, i am learning i will read ANYTHING Tarah writes. this was the most beautiful story and i think it topped savor it to be my favorite read of hers. This story was heartbreakingly beautiful and i think i will probably re-read it many times in the future. It's only February and this actually might be one of my top reads of 2025, hands down.

thank you so much to Tarah for writing the most wonderful stories and characters for us to get to know and love. actually, beyond grateful for this story.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I really enjoyed this follow up to Savor it. The characters, story line, small town setting, all make this story great! The heartache and rejoicing in this story were great!

Thank you NetGalley and SMP for this early copy!

Savor It was one of my favorite reads last year and when I saw Ellis and Wren were getting a book I knew I HAD to read it!

I absolutely adore 2nd chance romance, especially when it’s a marriage in crisis and falling back in love with your partner.

Ellis and Wren have such a great connection and origin story, childhood friends to lovers to having to grow up quick when she becomes pregnant at such a young age and then making it work while they both become guardians to his younger siblings. THEY WERE PUT THROUGH THE GAUNTLET!! Even though in later years they started to grow apart and their communication stopped they still had such a yearning for each other even while divorced. While on their road trip they decided to each name 2 bad things from their time during marriage every day and then they TALKED about it!

This book had me going from tears over the “realness”of marriage to laughing the next moment over Ellis and his “potty dance”, iykyk 😂😂😂

Tarah, thank you for this beautiful book and pouring your own personal experience into the story. 💗

Brb, just let me wipe my tears before I can start writing this review.
The way I highlighted so many quotes in this book because Wren and Ellis just resonated for me so much. This was the most beautiful second chance romance book I have ever read. Watching Wren and Ellis deconstruct what went wrong in their marriage while simultaneously remembering all the things that were so right between them, honestly felt like a gift. It was also so much fun to see Sage & Fisher again and watch their story continue on through the eyes of their closest supporters. While I loved Wren and Ellis’ love story, a huge part of this book that truly pulled at my heart-strings was how much their friends and family were rooting for them. Just the community in Spunes is so wholesome and the Byrds are just so adorable.
I truly hope that we get another story from Spunes ( Silas???) and I cannot recommend this enough.

I cannot get over how much I loved this book. I’ve thought about it and talked about it daily since I finished it.

I fell in love with both of these characters in Savor It and was so glad when we heard we were getting their story because it deserved to be told. I loved seeing the glimpse into the past and what caused their relationship to break, because it just made their journey back to each other even better. All the little hidden moments where he’s put so much effort and attention into. It felt like such an honor to be able to witness their journey, and their love. All the additional characters just made this better and the locations were perfect.

Also, my favorite microtrope is secret tattoos, so this just checked all the boxes for me. I can’t wait to listen to this again on audio when it comes out. I already have it preordered!

Oh my goodness, this was so adorable!! I didn’t read the first in the series but was taken in by this premise because I’ve been loving the reconciled marriage trope lately. I absolutely loved both Wren and Ellis! This was heartwarming and funny and hopeful and steamy, so many great things to be. No third act breakup, we all cheered!!!

While beautifully written, I was honestly very bored a lot of the time. The last 25% was really touching, but all the rest was just too slow for me unfortunately. The storyline is a lovely one though and as always I am grateful to have access to this ARC.