**Review: *Left of Forever* by Tarah DeWitt**
**Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

*Left of Forever* is a beautiful and emotionally resonant second-chance romance between Wren and Ellis, whose marriage ended five years earlier after they struggled to cope with a devastating loss. High school sweethearts, their lives changed forever when Wren became pregnant at just 17.

Years later, as their son heads off to university in another state, Wren agrees to a road trip with Ellis—an emotional journey that becomes a chance to explore whether there’s still something worth salvaging between them.

Tarah DeWitt handles this story with tenderness and depth, capturing the weight of grief, the complexity of forgiveness, and the slow, honest work of reconnection. Wren and Ellis aren’t just rekindling love—they’re rediscovering who they’ve become as individuals and as partners.

Themes of family, forgiveness, personal growth, enduring love, and friendship are beautifully woven throughout. I found this book moving, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful.

THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! Second chance romance at its finest. This book was emotional, heartfelt, fun, and romantic. I felt so much for these characters and felt like I was feeling their pain with them. Ellis and Wren were meant to be together in every lifetime. I loved how this book started with the cute little pen pal moment and REALLY built up to them admitting they still wanted each other back. The tension and the longing were so real. The banter and flirting was so cute and funny. I loved the trip part of this book, watching Wren and Ellis reconnect and work through their past. They are the king and queen of communication and I LOVED THEM for that. I loved getting moments with all of the Byrd family members and by the end my eyes were sweating! Such a heartfelt, emotional second chance romance that really makes you root for the characters. I believed from page one these two were meant to be and work through what tore them apart. The audio was amazing!! The narrators were so perfect for this story. Thank you to the publisher for the ALC!!

in a puddle of tears. i absolutely adore the byrd’s, and spunes, and tarah’s writing! the narrators for this were absolutely incredible and i loved wren & ellis so much.

Thank you @Macmillan.Audio and @NetGalley for this ALC, in exchange this is my honest review.

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt and narrated by Megan Wicks and Conner Crais is a heartfelt, spicy, second chance romance that I loved listening to. Wren and Ellis started off as young love with a son at 17 and now find themselves in their 30s having loved and now grown apart and this is where our starry picks up. Wicks and Crais both narrate in a way that illustrates the heartache, yearning, and desires both Wren and Ellis hold deep and create a beautiful woven love story that has listeners swooning for their success.

Dewitt takes us back to small town Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) to explore Wren’s and Ellis’s love story that had seemingly already came to its end, and yet has so much more to be explored. Due to a break down of communication and harboring resentments Wren and Ellis divorced to live their separate lives, avoiding each other as much as possible while still co-parenting their son. After 5 years of divorce and a series of an events leading up to them driving their son to college Ellis and Wren roadtrip back home to see if they can rekindled their lost spark.

While on their way home Wren and Ellis start communicating and learning more about each other and themselves adding to their unfinished their love story. The slow burn of if they won’t they and Wern’s consistent self-doubt and reservations had me screaming for them to get together! I loved listening to their story unfurled and come to life through the wonderful narration and writing, laughing, swooning, and cheering along the way. Overall a 4/5 star listen. Buy or pre-order Left of Forever by May 19, 2025.

An unflinching second chance romance that focuses on the work one couple put in to build back what was lost. DeWitt is going to have fans of the genre weak in the knees and full-on swooning with this offering. And Hello!👋🏻 If you get the chance to listen to the audio 🎧 narrated by the talented Connor Crais and Megan Wicks I recommend checking it out. The duo elevated the level of emotion the characters conveyed and made them POP! 💥

Ellis and Wren Byrd became teen parents 👶🏻 and married young.(Her name being Wren Byrd had me laughing)🤣 They pair faced struggles and end up divorced in their 30's.💔 After years of successfully co-parenting their son, Ellis suggests that they take a road trip 🚗 on the way back from dropping him off at 📚 college together. The separation here lasted five years and what I liked about Ellis as the male lead is that he worked on himself in therapy. I felt like he was a caretaker by personality default and the situations life had tossed his way.❤️‍🩹 That is a double-edged sword, and I liked that he owned his issues and worked on himself regardless of where he stood with Wren. I found Wren to be relatable and charismatic. She was genuine, caring and showed depth. The writing style is accessible which conveys the yearning these characters feel in realistic manner. There are big emotions batted around and learning to communicate through yesterday's problems and today's challenges to fight for a future is no easy task. The pace remained steady throughout. The charming supporting characters will have fans begging to hear their stories as well!

There is plenty of steam 🔥in this one so be advised according to your personal preferences. Mature communication being at the heart of reconciliation made it impactful. The quirky characters bringing the banter made it fun!😊 The warm family vibes made it cozy. Feeling like a second chance might work out made it hopeful. 🤞

These characters were authentic I liked them flaws and all. I couldn't help but to hope for their happy ending.🥰

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the Advance Listening Copy. All opinions are my own.

This story is a second chance romance done right! Ellis and Wynn were teenage sweethearts and young parents, seemingly soul mates until they weren’t anymore. After a divorce they keep their distance but peacefully coexist to raise their son Sam. When it’s time to move Sam into college, Wynn and Ellis take a road trip that forces them to confront their past and their feelings.

Ellis was the star of this book for me. You have to love a MMC that owns his part in the end of his marriage and goes to therapy to work on himself. There were so many endearing parts of this story, and I loved how it alternated between in-person conversations and letters between Ellis and Wynn. The banter between them was very sweet, and that cooking class scene! I laughed out loud several times!

In the audio format, narrators Connor Crais and Megan Wicks did a beautiful job of bringing out all of the emotions in this story. They also described the abundant imagery and scenery in this book very well. Having dual narrators made the experience of listening to this book much more impactful because of the exchange of letters in the story; it really allowed the listener to experience the inner feelings of the characters.

My only complaint about this book is the amount of spice because there is a lot!! I found myself skimming past it by the end because I was more invested in the characters themselves than their bedroom activities and wanted to get back to their conversations. It started to take me out of the story after a while.

If you are not normally a fan of second chance romance, this one will change your mind! It’s a fun, spicy, road trip romance with some hilarious moments that I really enjoyed.

Where do I even begin.

This book is incredible. Jaw droppingly incredible. This is definitely my favorite Tarah Dewitt book thus far. I found the story to be insanely relatable and it was such an amazingly done second chance romance. I got to listen to the audiobook of this one and WOW.

Left of Forever gave us a slow burn and I enjoyed how the romance progressed. There's Wren and Ellis who were childhood best friends, fell in love, had a teenage pregnancy, got married before an ectopic pregnancy and fertility issues weighed on them to the point where they felt divorce was the only option. Both of these characters were relatable, well rounded and has such interesting personalities that captivated me. While they were convincing themselves to move on from the life they couldn't have-- they were still so clearly longing for one another.

Throughout the book, while they were rekindling their flame-- they were also digging into their past and it was an emotional rollercoaster and I cried happy and sad tears. There was such an insane sense of communication between Wren and Ellis and is was goals. I loved how open and honest they could be with each other regardless of how vulnerable they had to be. Plus, there was a lot of self growth and therapy for the characters and it was beautiful to hear their stories.

There was a superb balance with plenty of laughs, fun moments, banter and spice. It showed how relationships aren't always sunshine and rainbows and that it's normal. Love is a complicated yet beautiful thing were are fortunate enough to experience.

I highly HIGHLY recommend this book and cannot wait to get my trophy copy for my shelf.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, Tarah Dewitt and NetGalley for this beautiful book in exchange for my honest review
My review will be posted this week on Instagram and I will update my links then. Thank you.

Oh this book is all the feels.

"Left of Forever" by @authortarahdewitt is so perfectly written. That ending? Five. Glorious. Stars.

Why should Left of Forever be your next read (or listen—because the audiobook is absolute perfection)?
1. Second chance romance? Check. And the way she tells their back story really is all the feels.
2. Wren and Ellis will steal your heart instantly. And their chemistry🥵
3. An adventure with so many shenanigans.
4. So much growth, love, and downright loveliness.
5. Narrators Megan Wicks and Connor Cras bring this story to life in the best way.
6. The found family for Wren❤️
7. And if you haven’t read anything by Tarah yet, fix that immediately. Her books are a whole vibe.

Thank you for the ALC. It was a delight!

I'm a new reader of Tarah DeWitt, Spunes are my first series by her! I'm so happy I stumbled upon her books, Left of Forever was exactly what I was hoping for with Wren and Ellis! We know them from Savor It, and it's so fun to see those characters again! Second chance couples can be frustrating to read, especially when they are divorced, like Wren and Ellis, but I loved the way Tarah wrote them out! They clearly have done the independent growing they needed too to find their way back to each other. I hope we get a book about Micah or Silas next!
I also enjoyed the narrators, I thought they did a good job voicing Wren and Ellis!

Great narrators. I love a good second chance romance. This was a good story. Sexy and hopeful and emotional with great banter.

This book is literally EVERYTHING!
Such a good slow burn second chance romance.

Ellis and Wren have a long history. They fell in love as kids, had their son when they were just teenagers and built a life together. But not couples who are made for one another stay together.
Years later, they are older, more mature and living their separate lives when their son Sam is accepted into college. It's when Ellis pitches a roach trip that changes everything.

Immediately drawn to Wren and Ellis. The history, the tension, the realness of a divorced couple. I love to read about characters and the storyline be realistic and relatable. I felt so much of this in my soul.
Tarah Dewitt has a way with words. The character development was perfect. I think this may be her best book yet.
I laughed, I cried and everything in between.
5 Stars

I listened to the audiobook of this story and the narrators were chefs kiss. PERFECT presentation of the characters and the raw feelings.

Thank you Tarah Dewitt, Macmillan audo, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchanged for an honest review.

I knew from the moment we met Wren and Ellis in Savor It that I NEEDED their story, but this went far beyond my expectations!!!! I love the emotional vulnerability of Tarah's writing so, so much. Megan and Connor did an incredible job bringing this story to life. They really embodied the characters so well.

I loved this! If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. If you aren't a fan of second chance I beg you to try this one, the Byrds are special, and they just might change your mind.

Wren & Ellis Byrd are childhood sweethearts turned divorced coparents to their teenage son who is leaving for college so the Byrds decide to make a trip of the drive back and see if they can find their way back to each other.

This book will make you tear up at some point, and it does discuss some topics that might be triggering so please check content warnings!

I listened to the audiobook and HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC!

Left of Forever releases May 20, 2025!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Left of Forever by Tara Dewitt. Releases May 20th.

This was a cute second chance love story. Wren and Ellis are ugh, so cute!! They were high school sweethearts, and teenage parents. They took on a lot of roles and because they had to grow up extremely fast, the love they had forever had suffered. However, they became accidental (or fate) penpals, and both realized that they needed love again. This book was wholesome, and as someone who is almost 30, it’s nice reading romance with older main characters.

Highly recommend!

P.s: the ending has my whole heart! The horses! 😭

I also really loved the audiobook. The narrators truly encompassed the hearts and spirits of the characters.

I am not sure I have the words to review this yet, I need to dry my tears first.

I’ll be back.

Okay, now that my tears have dried.

This book follows Wren and Ellis who we met briefly in Savor it. They were married young, had a falling out, now on a road trip together years after their divorce. I’m hesitant to read Second Chance romances, but this was a perfect story for that trope.

The New Moon soundtrack is mentioned, which is a top tier soundtrack (movie not so much).

If you want a real, raw, messy story with a lot of heart and happiness* this is it.


*happiness by Taylor Swift

Thanks St Martin’s Press for the eARC and ALC! I was able to be emotionally destroyed in both forms. The narrators brought the characters to life and it hit so much harder.

I loved the narration on this audiobook! The maturity and depth of connection between the two main characters was so lovely and a breath of fresh air. The spice was compelling too

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Tarah DeWitt for this advanced audio copy. I will be giving my honest review.
Okay to kick it off the playlist that accompanies this book is perfection. Banger after banger to where I knew I was in for a great story.
The humor throughout Tarah’s book is top tier. My favorite moment is when she has the fmc talking about overdicking something. (Don’t think spicy though think Zoey deutch in Set It Up.)
I also am a sucker for a road trip microtrope so that element of the story really worked for me.
The harshest part of this for me was the miscommunication which is unfortunate but necessary to some degree for a second chance/marriage in trouble trope. Hence the mid rating. Overall though brilliantly executed and the author’s humor & not to mention skill at writing spicy scenes shine throughout.

Tarah DeWitt writes books with so much soul that the characters jump off the page and feel like living, breathing people. I was hooked from the beginning of this book and I truly don't have the words to capture how sweepingly romantic this book was and how much it made it feel. The sheer amount of pining and yearning in this story was immaculate. I fell hard for Wren and Ellis and the reasons they broke up were painfully realistic. I adored this book and highlighted an obscene number of lines because they all made me feel so many things. I laughed, I swooned, I cried. I couldn't put it down because I was so in love with these characters and invested in them finding their way back to each other. This book made my heart ache in the best way. It's going on the all-time favorites list for me. If you're looking for a book to make you feel things please pick this one up.

The narrators were absolutely incredible! If you like audiobooks you MUST listen to this book with your ears because both narrators really elevated the reading experience. The yearning was palpable in both of their voices and the angst was dialed up several notches with their delivery.

I'm fairly new to DeWitt, but this is easily her best book yet. I loved the second chance romance storyline and the growth from both Wren and Ellis. The audio narration was fantastic!