✨Second chance romance
✨High school sweethearts
✨Found family
✨Road trip vibes
✨Down bad MMC (yes after all this time)

My heart was shattered and glued back together in the best way after reading this book

Left of Forever is one of the most beautiful and romantic books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I have never felt more seen & understood by a book. This book follows Ellis & Wren taking an extended roadtrip home after driving their only son off to university. They have been divorced for over 5 years & are hoping to find their way back to one another

Ellis & Wren are absolutely everything. I feel like it’s so easy to escape into romance books with couples that are unrealistic, lovely, funny, quirky and perfect. BUT do you know what hits you like a truck & gives you what you didn’t think you needed. Couples like Ellis & Wren who are REAL. I experienced every emotion under the sun while reading this book. I cried huge tears, felt a huge elephant pressing down on my heart, snorted while laughing and stared at a wall while feeling all the feels

The road trip element added some much needed levity and forced proximity to a difficult journey and discussions.

We had secret letters, therapy talk, sunscreen smut (iykyk), tattoos, parent trapping moments and just the purest form of love.

It truly felt like you were on journey with this couple. There were such reflective moments throughout the book that felt like a mirror for me - looking at my own life and relating to the raw emotions these characters were experiencing in terms of relationships, parenthood, grief, loss and learning to communicate

Ellis & Wrens love for their son Sam and their loved one was so special but when you see the love that their people had for them - together or not- that hit the spot for me

The duel narration was fantastic & each voice actor was able to covey such emotion throughout

Ellis & Wren are it for me - that is all 🥹😭💖

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early access to this audiobook. This was the first book I’ve read by Tarah Dewitt after being recommended her books so many times. I’m glad I finally started.Love that the characters are 30+ years old so there’s no immaturity but some hard conversations (TW: fertility issues). It felt like the characters actually did the work to get back together instead of just getting back together because they have a past like so many other second chance romance books. Narrators are great. Perfect amount of tension and spice. The horse letters plot line fell kind of flat for me though.

Left or forever, is a second chance romance. When you have to get married too young it is hard to face. Trails together

I am a sucker for second chance romances, especially when they are childhood/high school sweethearts. Wren and Ellis had a bit of a mishap when they were seventeen and became parents, but with the support of their family and small town they were able to persevere. I particularly loved their story because life became the villain of their love story, sometimes there is no physical being that is the villain but life simply gets in the way. Now dropping off their son, Sam, at college they decided to take a little road trip on the way back home and give their love story a second shot.

I got to read and listen to this story and had it on at all times no matter what I was doing, I simply could not put it down. The audio had some dual narration which always makes me love it even more! This book had some of the best angst and tension build up throughout the book. You can tell both of them want to get back together but also want to take it slow and not brush over anything. There is even an iconic hot make out elevator scene that will have you clutching your pearls! Not every author can input the title of the book naturally in the dialogue between characters but DeWitt did it so sweetly it had me tearing up by the end of the story. Tarah DeWitt has yet to disappoint me with her outstanding character-driven romances that will make any other book you're reading at the time not even compare.

Obsessed with this cover. The colors, the passion. Yes. Just yes.


Second chance and some of this takes place in letters written to each other. Stop. I’m sold.


I cackled, I cried, I grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Allll the feelings and totally recommend! 4.5 stars!

Wren & Ellis have been divorced for years, co-parenting their son, Sam, while silently missing each other. When Sam gets into college & they are forced to go on a road trip together, sparks start flying again. But will they be able to reconcile their tumultuous past? They may have to write their feelings rather than speak them out loud.

This book was so beautiful. I am a BIG fan of marriage in crisis & second chance stories, they just make me feel so satisfied at the end. Ellis & Wren were so freaking sweet; two people who are magnets to each other & unable to pull apart. The yearning was UNMATCHED. The mouth on Ellis? unreal. The setting was gorgeous & I felt extremely immersed in the story. These two will be with me for a while.

I listened to the audiobook & I LOVED the narrators & how they brought the story to life, especially how each narrator read the characters messages. Couldn't recommend this more!

"She's kissing me. I'm home."

🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you so much to Macmillan Publishing, NetGalley & Tarah Dewitt for an ALC of this sweet story ❤️

4.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley, I received an ARC for the audiobook! This book was so beautiful and broke my heart and put it back together all over again. This was written so well and I recommend everyone picking this book up when it comes out!

Wren and Ellis thought their childhood love would last forever. However, when life kept happening, they grew apart. Years after their divorce, the young parents are ready to send off their son, Sam, to college. After Sam is moved in, Wren and Ellis embark on an unexpected trip to explore some of their unresolved issues and see if there is any hope of rekindling their relationship.

Ahhhh, this was an incredibly sweet and heart-warming second chance romance! I sometimes struggle with "friends to lovers" or "second chance romance" stories when the author is brief with how the protagonists fell for each other and how their relationship flourished. I am so happy this was not the case with Tarah DeWitt!! DeWitt did a wonderful job balancing the the flashbacks and made us fall in love with the characters as they did with each other. The challenges that came with growing their family and everyday life weighted down on Wren and Ellis to the point of divorce, even when they still had so much love for each other. It was so fun seeing Ellis be a flirt at the start of the trip and Wren doing her best to resist him! However, old habits die hard and the steam was STEAMY!!

Overall, it was so rewarding seeing these two come back together, especially Ellis' growth and him finding ways to show up for Wren. I was a bit worried about a third-act breakup with the secret letter reveal but was relieved we were spared from it! The supporting characters were so funny and warm. I enjoyed how DeWitt incorporated them along the way, especially when they are all such central figures in Wren and Ellis' lives.

This my first Tarah DeWitt book and I look forward to reading more of her works! I also highly recommend listening to the audiobook or having it as a reading companion. Connor Crais and Megan Wicks were phenomenal in bringing Wren and Ellis to life!

I adored this book. Left of Forever is a super sweet and sexy second-chance romance with the added fun of a road trip. I also loved being back with the Byrds. They are such a great family, and it is always great to hang out with them.

Clearly, Wren and Ellis still loved each other, but what I appreciated most was how they took the time to earn back each other's trust. It made the romance feel that much richer. They’re also such great parents to Sam. The way they co-parented and truly prioritized his well-being added so much depth to the book. It wasn’t just about romance. It was about building something solid and healthy for their family.

The character growth stood out for me. There is honesty in how the characters process their past and try to move forward. Wren is incredibly relatable, and Ellis' growth was fantastic. I love authors incorporate themes of therapy, especially when male characters are given space to do that kind of work. It never felt rushed or surface-level. The emotional work really mattered and paid off in the story.

The narration was great. The performers brought each character to life.

This is the author’s best book yet, and I already can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This second chance romance is so full of hope & new beginnings. It is a perfect read for late spring/early summer. The audio is narrated by Megan Wicks & Conner Crais. They could not have picked more perfect voices for this project! The audio recording is clear & very well done. Reading this story felt like eating a warm chocolate chip cookie. It unfolds slowly and then gains major steam (if you know what I mean). The love is so genuine and the pining/longing is A+.

4.5 rounded up to 5

"Why do we let the bad stuff win?"

I love a good marriage in trouble trope. This one gets bonus points for the couple already having been divorced from each other. I appreciated the author's writing skills to take them from not getting along to finding their way back to each other.
The narrators were excellent. I can't think of anyone who would've done better.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

Loved it so much! Get ready for all sorts of emotional turmoil. Wren and Ellis became parents at age 17 and 18, got married young, and got divorced about 5 years ago. Now, their son is off to college, and Ellis is suggesting a victory road trip, just the two of them. He’s clearly got motives of getting her back and it’s nice that he’s actually up front about it before they begin. This book is emotionally heavy as they deal with all the things they bottled up those years ago, and try to learn to communicate between in the present. I loved seeing these two work out their issues and actually talk to each other about their worries and dreams. There’s also a really good mix of humor and spice throughout the book. Excellent read.

This cover is gold, the audiobook narrators were perfection, and even though I recognize I'm a sucker for high-school sweethearts/second chance romances, I think even if that's not your thing this is impossible not to love. It's one of my new favorite spicy romances! Thanks to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for the ARC

Ugh, loved this story. The audiobook narrators were great. Tarah DeWitt just has a way when she writes her characters-they are so realistic and relatable. I will read anything she creates!

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for letting me listening to this story.

I absolutely loved this second chance romance. Wren and Ellis Bird have been divorced for five years after a long period of mistrust and miscommunication. When their son goes off to college they take a road trip, will this be a start to their old romance or something completely new?

I loved all of the Birds and I need more books of their whole family. They are all very different and their varying personalities makes their whole family relatable. I think that’s what makes their story so wholesome and important. Ellis and Wren had people relying on them and neither of them wanted to disappoint.

I tend to not like the second chance romance especially if they are divorced. I feel like it is so unrealistic but this one was easier to believe. They have had time to grow and become their own people.

Overall I loved this story and the audiobook version was very fun to listen to! Especially the Australian accent was crazy.

ALC REVIEW

This was my first book by Tarrah and I thought it was real sweet. I kind of wish I had read it with my eyeballs or had the ebook to follow along since I’d never read her before and could keep up with some of the amazing quotes, but I did still enjoy it!

This was also my first book about a divorced couple so that was new. I thought it had a great amount of emotion. I do wish there were more chapters from Ellis’s POV though.

Connor Crais does a phenomenal job as Ellis Byrd. He really doesn’t have a bad performance as his voice is so smooth. And Megan Wicks was a great Wren!

Thank you to Tarrah and MacMillan Audio for the early copy!

This is the first book I've read/listened to by Tarah DeWitt and I could not have loved it more. I'm a sucker for second chance romances so as soon as I read this description, I immediately requested it.

I've been in a reading slump lately and have had a hard time finishing books. However, I finished this book in less than a week. I did not want to stop listening to the audiobook. I found myself sitting at work staring at my computer because I was so invested in the story. I loved Wren and Ellis so much. You could tell they still loved and cared for each other but weren't sure if love was enough.

I loved how Wren and Ellis slowly started opening up to each other again as the story progressed. Ellis was seriously swoon worthy. He loved Wren so much and you could tell he was putting in the effort. He listened to what she had to say and worked to change. The entire trip he planned was the sweetest thing ever. I think I fall more in love with Ellis every time I think about it.

The Left of Forever audiobook was amazing. I really liked the narrators and think they did a great job bringing Wren and Ellis to life. They were perfect and I would not change anything.

I'm officially a Tarah DeWitt fan after this and will definitely be working through her backlist. Left of Forever is my favorite book this year and one of my top contemporary romances. If you're a fan of second chance romance with a swoon worthy MMC, I highly recommend Left of Forever.... Now I'm off to binge Tarah Dewitt's backlist!!

This was the book that I didn’t know I needed. I loved every single character and the family vibe they were giving off. This was such a beautiful story. I love second chance stories. The cherry on the top was there was no third act breakup. I’m so sad it’s over.

As it says on the cover, this book is pure magic. As someone married to their high school sweetheart, I could really relate to a lot of the things the main characters did, said and thought. The comfort and safety in that person as well as the need/difficulty to grow together rather than apart. I took away so many quotes and thoughts and truly enjoyed this entire book. I loved being able to see characters we’ve met before too! This is a great book to add to your list if you live a cozy romance!

Audio note: I read an early ARC and loved it, then got to experience the story again in audio, which made my love of the characters grow even deeper. Megan Wicks and Connor Crais deliver the emotion and angst, bringing the story to life in a whole new way and developing the tension even further. Crais is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, and I loved his chapters. The angst works well in the format, and you can feel the longing. The runtime (9 hours) is short enough to binge in a single day, and the story will keep you hooked. There is some spice sprinkled throughout, but it's definitely not the focus. The story might be too heavy for an office listen, but this is great on audio.

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My chest hurts just thinking about this book, and I felt the ache throughout the reading experience. The story is RAW, real, and angsty AF. I think there's a subset of readers who will feel this in their bones, because it felt so visceral and authentic. The moments of deep angst and hurt were punctuated by flashes of joy and hope, making it the kind of story that will absolutely put the reader through their paces emotionally. I loved how this couple could acknowledge all the ways they've gone wrong and fight for their future together, which made it such an impactful read. They're two people who have spent most of their lives together, but let their marriage end without speaking the words they truly needed to say. It's a true second chance romance between two people who thought they'd be together forever, and I loved watching them find their way back. I didn't always find the journey "entertaining," but it was powerful and real.

The story follows Wren and Ellis, two people whose lives have been intertwined for as long as they can remember. They were childhood friends who became teen parents, marrying young and loving each other through it all. Years later, struggles with fertility and lack of communication slowly drove them apart, until unspoken resentments built up to the point of no return. They got divorced five years ago, and have been living separate lives in the same small town ever since. As their son prepares to go off to college, Wren and Ellis find themselves feeling a little sentimental. When Ellis proposes a road trip to see if there's any chance of reconnecting, the two find themselves opening up in a way they never have.

This book... well, it hurt. The first portion is nearly unrelenting angst, so I both kinda wanted to set it down and also pick it right back up and see them find their happy ever after. It's the kind of story that's likely to resonate most with readers who have been in a long-term relationship that's grown and shifted over time, revealing some uncomfortable truths and being forced to confront them. Which is exactly what Wren and Ellis do throughout the book, communicating the ways they've gone wrong and trying to figure out if they could finally get it right. What I loved the most is Ellis and what a determined sweetheart he is; that man is GONE for his girl, and I so appreciated that he is steadfast and patient. I was slower to warm up to Wren because she seemed to have moved on in some bigger ways, but it's easy to see how they'd gotten to the place they were in. It's a refreshingly honest love story that slowly gets brighter and swoonier as it goes, with some serious moments of spice along the way. It's not a story I'll forget anytime soon, and it certainly made an impact.