I am a sucker for romances with characters in their 30s. I was a little hesitant going into a second chance romance. I think a lot of times people split for a valid reason and those reasons don't disappear. Ellis really put in the effort to grow and be able to hear exactly what Wren needed. I loved their relationship so much. Being able to say this is what's wrong and have the other person hear and respond is so important. I think this is a beautiful story and Ellis is such an important character in a world full of morally gray men in romance. He's just a good guy who always tried to do his best for his people and someone's that caused him to stumble a bit.

Left of Forever is a stunning, emotional second-chance romance, and the audiobook version brings it to life in the most powerful way. Tarah DeWitt’s heartfelt storytelling is only enhanced by the exceptional narration from Connor Crais and Megan Wicks, who perfectly capture the soul of Wren and Ellis’s journey.

Their performances added incredible depth to each character—Connor’s delivery of Ellis’s quiet intensity and vulnerability was spot on, while Megan gave Wren a warmth and strength that made her instantly relatable. Together, they brought every moment of tension, tenderness, and hope to life. The chemistry between the characters was palpable through their voices alone.

This audiobook made me feel every beat of the story—from the bittersweet memories to the laughter, the steam, and the second chances. Whether you're new to Tarah DeWitt or a longtime fan, this is an audio experience you don’t want to miss.

Highly recommend for audiobook lovers and romance fans alike!

Truly one of the best books I’ve read in a while. An emotional roller coaster that I did not want to get off! Tarah is incredible! I love her so much! This is my second Tarah book and most definitely not my last!

This was a good read! I really enjoyed the situations the two main characters found themselves in—funny, heartfelt, and sometimes a bit chaotic in the best way. Left of Forever is the second book in the series, but can be read as a standalone. I actually haven’t read the first one yet (though I own it), but the opening line in that book is hysterical, so I’m looking forward to diving in.

As for this one, it delivered a sweet and satisfying second chance romance with just the right mix of humor and emotion. A solid pick if you're in the mood for something warm, romantic, and a little quirky.

I unfortunately don’t think this author is for me! I’ve tried a few of her books now and cannot vibe. I looove second chance as a trope but this one started so confusing I felt like I was missing the whole plot. Who are these people? Let’s normalize explaining the plot so we don’t HAVE to read book one to make this second book in an interconnected standalone make sense.

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING!!! 🙌🏼 I’ve read LOF 3x now and it’s just such an incredible book! I love Tarah’s books so much, they always end up being favorites of mine and this was no exception! Tarah’s writing is just so special. She has such a great way of sharing stories with imperfect lovable characters that feel so real. When I read Savor It and we got to see those glimpses of Wren and Ellis - it just made me crave their story! Wren and Ellis’s relationship was written with so much emotion and heart. There’s just something so impactful about watching two people who once loved each other, but fell apart, now come back to each other and piece things back together. You got to see so many layers to their relationship and really peel back what went wrong and how they’re now mending it. There’s so much love between these characters throughout all of it and you can tell just how intertwined they are with one another even when they were apart. This story is raw, emotional, angsty, vulnerable, and deeply moving. It’s a beautiful story and I just loved it so much! Ahhhh I already can’t wait for the next books in this series! 🧡 Tarah only writes ♾️⭐️ books and if you haven’t read her yet absolutely add to your TBR! 🫶🏼

If you enjoy audios the audiobook is fantastic! @meganwicks and @connorcrais were PERFECT for Wren and Ellis!! They killed it! Thank you so much Tarah and @youhadmeathea for an ARC and @macmillan.audio for an ALC! 🧡

🧡 Small Town
🌲 Second Chance
🧡 Childhood Friends to Lovers
🌲 Single Parents
🧡 Roadtrip
🌲 Forced Proximity
🧡 Marriage Reconciliation
🌲 Only One Bed
🧡 Meddling Family
🌲 Soulmates
🧡 Mutual Pining
🌲 Angsty & Emotional
🧡 Dual POV

I can see why people are loving it so much especially since I enjoyed book one. I bet this will hit a lot of top of the year lists!! Divorced parents- road trip- firefighter- baker- one bed and wine 🍷! The narrators are gold - perfect 🤩 also for this!

The firefighter parts would never happen but now I know too much 😂 but still worked and if you like second chance this is like the most second chance-y book!

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt is a heartfelt, second-chance romance that completely wrecked me in the best way.

Wren and Ellis Byrd fell in love young, had their son Sam as teenagers, and built a life together in the small coastal town of Spunes, Oregon. But now they’re in their 30s, divorced, and quietly orbiting each other — still connected, still aching, but unsure how to move forward.

They decide to take a road trip together after dropping their son off at college, to see if their love is worth another shot. Along the California coastline, old feelings resurface, long-held truths come to light, and they’re forced to truly face what they really want.

I was absolutely obsessed with Wren and Ellis. Their chemistry is palpable, their love feels lived-in and raw, and the emotional payoff? Incredible. The small-town backdrop, the community rooting for them, and the slow-burn pacing made this one hit so hard.

Tarah DeWitt’s writing is emotional, grounded, and so full of hope. She truly makes you believe in love after heartbreak. And I have to say — I did an immersive read for this one and loved both versions. The audiobook was so good and added even more heart to an already emotional story.

Tropes you'll find:
• Second chance romance
• Small town
• Road trip
• Co-parenting
• Slow burn

If you love slow-burn second chances, messy emotions, and stories that feel like a warm hug and a heartbreak all at once — Left of Forever is a must-read.

Thank you St Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for providing an e-ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Such a great audiobook. This may be my favorite Tarah DeWitt book ever. I loved Ellis and Wren's story so much. The ebb and flow up their relationship was so relatable. Sometimes relationships just change and this was a perfect example of how sometimes people who love each other lose focus of what is important. I fell in and out of love and back again right along with these characters.

Fantastically narrated and emotionally driven, this is my favorite book of Tarah DeWitt's so far!! Wren and Ellis are perfection.

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis’s second chance romance story. They were high school sweethearts who fell in love young, had a baby, got married, and never really got to find themselves in life. Together, the grew up and built a life in Spunes, OR. Now in their 30s and divorced, they find themselves back in each other’s live to celebrate their son’s graduation.

I love a second chance romance story. Wren and Ellis have so much history between the two of them. They fight so hard to get back to where they were before the divorce and they end up better than ever. I love both of these characters so much and the rest of the Byrd family.

While it’s not completely necessary to read Savor It first, I do think you have a better understanding of the characters and side characters more. Plus it’s another great story so I say go for it!

🎧 Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. The audio for this was fantastic. Megan Wicks and Connor Crais were amazing at bringing these characters to life. Highly recommend!

I liked this book, not as much as the first, but I did enjoy it. I liked that it continued the character's journey from the first boo,k mixed in with the journey of the second couple featured in this book. I liked the depth of the Wren and Ellis’s past, their struggles, how they misunderstood each other, and were about to be honest about it. I didn’t love the spicy scenes in this book, or maybe I just really wasn’t in the mood for it. Either way, I skipped over most of them. I loved the family aspect of this book and the letters at the beginning. The audiobook's narration was well done, and the two narrators kept me engaged and interested in the story. Overall, a decent read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

One of the best romance novels I have read this year! I am new to Tarah DeWitt, but you best believe I will be visiting her back catalog asap! This book was near perfect. A second-chance romance where the exes don't hate each other to begin with, the MMC is PINING for his girl... and when an opportunity arises for the dreaded miscommunication trope, Dewitt deftly avoids it and any 3rd act break-ups. This book is the blueprint! It is funny, it is sexy, it is full of wonderful side characters. They have supportive families and there are precious animals to boot. Not too mention the cooking scene at the winery which now lives rent-free in my head. I am already dying for a reread.

Highly recommend this on Audio - dual narration by Connor Crais and Megan Wicks was excellent.

I'm always going to be taken out at the knees with some angst, and this angst was top tier.

I feel like Tara Dewitt does angst so very very well. And as soon as I heard that this was going to be a second chance romance, I knew it was going to be a good one. Both Wren and Ellis were great characters and the vibes were great the whole time. It's just really nice because the family vibes were excellent and it really gave meaning to the whole thing, and it was just really good.

All in all a wonderful time. The audiobook was a good time as well.

Thank you to Macmillan audio, and Netgalley for an early copy.

This book is a perfect second chance romance, you root for these characters from page one and want the best for them. This is deeply emotional and so sexy, it had me kicking my feet and wanting to give a big hug to both our main characters. Cannot recommend this enough

I had no idea this second chance romance would become not just one of my favorite reads this year but one of my favorite books of all time!!!

Ellis and Wren’s relationship felt so real and raw. It’s the best reconciliation romance I have ever read. Tarah blended loss, heartbreak, love, humor, spice and yearning in such an incredible story. You can just feel the emotional and vulnerability between the characters.

The audiobook was GOLD~can I give more than 5 stars because OH MY~the production was flawless! Megan Wicks and Connor Crais were perfect for Wren and Ellis. I could feel the emotion they delivered with their performance. They always do a great job but this one felt extra special.

This will be a book I’ll look forward to listening to over and over again! Thank you Macmillan Audio for the listening copy via NetGalley!

Second chance romances are fast becoming a favorite of mine. Left of Forever hit a lot of feels as Wren and Ellis begin to rediscover their romance. While at times Ellis was a little shady in keeping his secret, I also get it, Wren would have run, and run fast. I also appreciated how their son Sam played a roll in moving things along and helping them get back together.

I had a "notify me" tag on this one in Libby since I read about it in a "books coming out in 2025" list months ago. The tropes in this book are all right up my alley. While perusing netgalley I was thrilled to see they had the audiobook and I was selected to listen to it before publication.

First, as I mentioned above, this book has some of my most favorite tropes in the romance genre. I ate it up and loved it from start to finish.

So besides the tropes, here is what made this a 5 star book for me:

I love the main characters and how well thought out they are. Their relationship had the right amount of angst without too much reliance on miscommunication drama. They had done a lot of work to get back together and the emotional connection and pining were top notch. Great chemistry.

I love the side characters - they all seemed like real people and I loved how supportive they all were of both protagonists. Of course since it's a series they have to introduce characters in a way to set them up for their happily-ever-afters in the next books. While that usually annoys me it was not too glaring here.

The writing was really great. I don't love dual first person POV most of the time - I will only read it with the right author and the right tropes - but it worked really well for this book. Also the audiobook narrators were solid.

This cover is amazing, it catches the eye for sure.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me a preview copy of this great book!

5 easy stars. This book definitely deserves the ratings it has received so far.

Rating: 5/5

A second-chance romance rekindling of an old love with her ex-husband. I found this to be so raw, real and incredibly sweet. It was the perfect mixture of tender yet provocative. There are definitely spicy scenes that were so so loving and had depth and purpose that showed the love these two have for each other.

I ABSOLUTELY cried, smiled and laughed. I found myself in parts of this even though I don’t share the same journey as her and I hope it finds others as well.

Wren and Ellis Byrd fell in love as kids, had their son Sam when they were only teenagers, and built a life together in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon. They were made for one another . . . until they fell apart. Now divorced and in their 30s, Wren runs the bakery in town, while Ellis works as a firefighter. They live separate lives, though they are hardly off each other’s minds. When Ellis and Wren move Sam into college, Ellis convinces Wren to take an extended road trip back to Spunes to see if they can give their relationship one last chance.

I think this is a second chance romance summer as I keep reading new books with that trope. Wren and Ellis have been divorced for a few years and all thanks to an anonymous letter, Ellis begins to believe in repairing his relationship with Wren (after taking some time for therapy). This was the perfect blend of angst, regret, longing, love, and taking ownership of your faults and what you did in the past. The second chance romance felt realistic for the original breakup and the growth both characters did separately and together as people, parents, and lovers.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced audio copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#netgalley #bookrecs #audiobook #bookstagram #romanceread #secondchanceromance #noveslandneedlework