I really enjoyed this. And I’m not normally a second chance romance fan. But this one did it for me. Great narrating as well

Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt
Romance
Pub day: 5/20/25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 when I say I want a second chance romance read…THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT! I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of second chance romance. It has to be done really well, and Tarah Dewitt NAILED it! Wren and Elliot’s story was so believable and realistic. It’s so sad reading about two people falling out of love, but then it’s beautiful reading them piece it back together. I also loved that though there was a little bit of miscommunication in there, it wasn’t too much, and it was handled very well. Wren and Ellis are soulmates and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them finding their way back to each other.

🎧 The audio of this was SO GOOD! I loved the dual narration. Wren’s POV is narrated by Megan Wicks and Ellis’s POV is narrated by Connor Crais. Both narrators did a phenomenal job and their voices matched the characters very well. The audiobook is just over 9 hours long.

Thank you St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own.

I do not have words for this book that feels so etched onto me now. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to, not only read this eARC, but listen to it now as well. Left of Forever is a story of hope & resilience like no other romance novel. As a girl who will be getting married so soon to the man she’s been with since they were both 18, this story feels like inspiration. Like a pulsing heartbeat saying, “love can look like the hardest times you’ve ever faced, but true love will fight to set you right on your feet again.” The courage to always choose for love to be sustained—that’s what I’m taking away from Left of Forever. Mr. Rogers said that love is a verb, & Tarah DeWitt painted the perfect picture of that in this story. Wren & Ellis’ love story will always have a special place in my heart. I’m so grateful to know them & grateful for their roadtrip of learning to hope for & choose each other again. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again—well done. Easy peasy 5 stars, once again.

Shoutout to this incredible audio!! Audio lovers you will not be done wrong!! The narrators did a beautiful & faithful job of it, an absolute gift!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for this ALC!! I love you (left of) forever!!

I really thought I was not going to cry with this TD book but that ending got me real good. One of the types of books that once you finish you immediately want to go back to the beginning. What a great second chance romance. It is as hot as the cover.

A huge thank you to Macmillian Audio for this ALC!

when i started the alc and the first song listed in the playlist for this book was Exile by Taylor swift, I immediately knew this book was gonna hurt so good. And boy, did it deliver.

When I met Wren and Ellis in Savor It (one of my favorite reads of the year so far) I immediately wanted their story. I laughed, I cried, I blushed, and I enjoyed every single second of it. There is just something so addicting when it comes to a second-chance romance and I'm going to eat it up every single time.

The narrators, Megan Wicks & Connor Crais, did such an amazing job bringing their characters to life.

"We have whatever's left of forever, you and me"

If you are looking for a book with childhood friends to lovers, marriage redemption, a road trip with some spice to round it all out, this is the book for you!

Left of Forever releases May 20th <3

Gripping, steamy, sexy, evoking emotion, charming, thrilling and hard to put down! Left of Forever had me falling in love with Tarah DeWitt's writing all over again! Tarah DeWitt first came on my radar when I read and loved, Savor It. If you have read that book, you may recognize some of the characters in this book! If you love second chance romances, this is the book for you! I adored both Wren and Ellis Byrd. They fell in love as teenagers, got pregnant, got married, then got divorced. Both are likeable and enjoyable characters who had me rooting for them the entire book. They are both relatable, likeable, vulnerable, and warm. They grew up together, grew apart, yet always longed for the other. Sigh.

I was instantly invested in this book from the very beginning. I loved the sense of community, friendship, and family. I also loved how readers get both Ellis and Wren's POV's. This was a very nice touch and plays out wonderfully in the audiobook! As I mentioned, I felt for both characters and the journey they both went on individually and together. Their journey is not just an emotional one, they go on a physical one after they drop their son, Sam off at college.

Several of the pluses for me in this book, besides the characters, are the emphasis on communication, being open and honest, being vulnerable, listening, and working on oneself. There is also talk of therapy and growth. There are also fun moments, great banter, longing, heartfelt moments, steam, and adventure. The supporting characters are awesome as well.

Wonderfully written, well thought out and perfectly paced. My biggest beef in romance books is rushed endings. Nothing felt rushed or dragged out in this book. Everything evolved at a steady and realistic pace.

I was lucky enough to have both the book and audiobook version of this book! The narrators of this book, Connor Crais and Megan Wicks, did an amazing job of bringing this book to life. If you have not read a book by Tarah DeWitt, what are you waiting for???? I have loved the two books that I have read by this author and will be reading more as soon as possible.

Charming, heartwarming, sexy, streamy, emotional and brimming with love. I highly recommend Left of Forever!

Wren and Ellis are everything to me. I would’ve waited five years for them.

The catalyst for change in the post-divorce relationship is masterfully done. The past is woven in seamlessly. The separate lives of both Wren and Ellis are seen and felt and understood. The way they’ve grown and changed — and not changed — in their time apart is clear. And THEN we get the actual reconnection process and, again, it’s everything. The communication, the openness, the tension, the steam, the ever present love. There are so many things I want to talk about but don’t want to take away the experience of reading some of the special moments and truths and reveals for anyone.

*Second read/audiobook thoughts*

Megan Wicks and Connor Crais did an excellent job bringing Wren and Ellis to life. They nailed the emotions and spirit of everything this couple had to work through and come back from. It added a whole additional layer to this story that had already altered my brain chemistry to hear it performed for the audiobook.

The unrelenting pain — of loss and of recognition of a need that was still there and of hope and of misunderstanding — in Part One felt almost more visceral the second time around, and the audio really drove it home for me. The healing and reconnection that happens throughout the whole of Part Two felt completely immersive. Part Three once again left me in tears at the beauty and depth and richness of the love between Wren and Ellis and the entire Byrd family. I will forever hold this book in my heart.

This will absolutely be a top read of the year and I am a Tarah DeWitt fangirl for life. Thank you St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin via NetGalley for the eARC and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook specific comments: LOVE the narration. Both Wicks and Crais are phenomenal and really bring the story to life.

Review of ebook copy: 4.5 stars! Tarah put something in this book (was it her heart, soul and talent? probably) because it is truly all-consuming and addicting. I found myself desperately trying to slow down and make this book last longer but was unable to stop myself from getting sucked in and ended up reading it in a day. Wren and Ellis are so carefully crafted and beautifully messy that this story feels like it could not be anyone else's. Tarah contextualizes their story in the present with flashbacks, conversations and journal entries (as opposed to dual POV, which her latest release, The Co-op, is) and it builds and builds as the road trip continues and they get closer to coming home. While the book spends a lot of time outside of Spunes, the secondary characters help keep the story moving in their own ways, and I enjoyed how much of Sage, Fisher, Sam, Indy, Silas and Micah we got to see. Devastating, tender, romantic, emotional, sexy, angsty, hopeful, funny and genuinely fantastic, this is a story I will be thinking about for a long time.

Honey, my heart! Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt was an emotional and sentimental second-chance small-town romance that tugged at my heartstrings in all the best ways. Wren and Ellis’ road trip journey to HEA was full of longing, hope, and love that made me fall so damn hard for these two. DeWitt has truly created a memorable, steadfast romance that delivered all the feels.

Megan Wicks and Connor Crais perform this audiobook in dual narration, portraying Wren and Ellis PERFECTLY. They made me feel every single emotion! Megan’s warm, sensual voice embodied Wren’s doubts and desires as she worked through her conflicted feelings for Ellis. Adding a hint of timidity to her performance in vulnerable moments made Wren so relatable and real. Connor’s low, soothing tone added an enveloping depth to Ellis's determined, dedicated spirit to win Wren’s heart again, that you couldn’t help but root for and admire. Both narrators developed just the right amount of tension, angst, and steam to Wren and Ellis’s meant-to-be chemistry.

Overall, I LOVED this book. If you are a fan of a small-town romance with a hot, devoted firefighter, a hardworking baker, an ambitious teenage son, second chances after a divorce, letters to firefighters, origami birds, rekindling road trips, journaling, reminiscing beach walks, balloon darts, cooking classes mishaps, one cottage, a meddling mother, found family, secrets revealed, love declarations, Irish festivals full of dancing, slow burn spice, and a HEA that is finally forever, then you will love Wren and Ellis’s story. I always look forward to more from Tarah DeWitt.

For starters I gotta say I will listen to ANYTHING these two narrate. They are two of my favorites and I was thrilled to know they were performing these parts.

They both read incredibly well and fit the characters perfectly. THOSE LETTERS!!! Ugh.

I actually don’t think I can put into words how special, important, and overall beautiful this book is. But I will 💅🏻 I love love. I think it pours into everything we do and everything we are and I just knew this story was going to be a good one the second I met these two.

There is so much work and give and take in relationships. This book really walks you through the good and the bad of that. I live for a book with a pair that have been through it all and really want to come out of the fighting fight stronger and better and that is exactly what we have here.

You can feel every emotion on the page through your entire being, it’s moving, it’s honest, it’s desperate in the best of ways. There is a lot of beauty in heartbreak, in growth, in love. People are constantly changing. Sometimes you need to grow apart to be able to grow some bigger roots together.

I think it’s so apparent from the jump how much Wren and Ellis love each other. How much they care and desperately want to try.

Thank you to @authortarahdewitt @smp, and @netgalley for the GIFT of being able to read and listen to this masterpiece <3

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Left of Forever checked all the boxes and was really a breath of fresh air for me - I've read second chance romances before but not often and never a divorced couple rekindling on a road trip! This was well rounded, it made me laugh & cry but had a perfect balance of spice. Wren and Ellis have now set the new communication standard because no book couple will ever compare to them. I

Wren and Ellis were both beautifully written characters who were brought to life by Connor Crais & Megan Wicks. Both narrators were exceptional and engaging but Megan Wicks' performance really was something special.

Normally, I avoid second chance romances--they're angsty, full of regret, and downright stressful! But when after being introduced to Wren and Ellis earlier in the series, I knew that I wanted to read their story, and I do not have a single regret. Tarah DeWitt gets it right: humorous, emotional, and resonating, I don't think that there's anything sexier than a husband who's messed up, owns it, and works hard to be better. Not that their break-up was all Ellis's fault; Wren had her part. Neither one is perfect, but they're better together, and their story is one not to be missed.

What can I say? Tarah is definitely an instant buy author for me and this story solidifies that. Left of Forever was such a beautiful read. I became obsessed with getting to the bottom of Wren and Ellis’ story in Savor it and Tarah DELIVERED. This may be my favorite second chance romance of all time. So tender and real. So much angst. I loved it. I was also given an ALC of the book and the narrators were so perfect. I absolutely NEED Micah and Silas books now 👀

Thank you so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC. I’m forever grateful.

Y'all. What a trip (literally). This was such a beautiful story of second chances (this trope has been on FIRE lately). Wren and Ellis 💔 I don't even know that I have all the words to describe the emotions this story stirred up for me. This was such a raw and real depiction of challenges faced in marriage. Definitely a top book for me this year.

I was gifted an ALC and I am a newer audiobook girlie, I couldn't tell you any narrators names, but these 2? Sign me up for any books narrated by Megan Wicks & Connor Crais.

“𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌."

I am apparently living in outer space and didn't realize this was in the same world as Savor It. I realized when they were talking about Silas and I was like WOAH.

childhood friends to lovers
second chance
marriage in crisis
road trip

Releasing May 20th

This was a well done second chance contemporary romance with some spice and a lot of heart. I appreciated that the characters were in their 30s—relatable and refreshing. Wren and Ellis had great chemistry, and their road trip was filled with sweet, emotional moments that made it easy to root for them.

Some parts of their past could’ve been explored more, but overall, it was a heartfelt story about love, timing, and second chances.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This was just as good as the first time I read it. Listening to it brought a different level of emotions and I recommend it.

This was my first Tara DeWitt novel, and I LOVED IT. The writing flowed beautifully and whisked me into the world of these characters. The romance was top-notch with the perfect blend of yearning and spice. The narrators were perfect. Their voices aligned 100% with my vision of the characters. A 5/5 romance for me. I can't wait for this book to hit the shelves.

Release Date: 05.20.2025

I knew in my bones that I was going to love Wren + Ellis. There’s just something about a second chance romance that has me in an absolute CHOKEHOLD. I love the tension, the history, the EMOTION, the nostalgic feeling of falling back in love with your person. It’s just *chefs kiss*, or maybe I just like having my feelings hurt.

Also, can we talk about how Tarah started the LOF playlist with exile x Taylor Swift?! CRIMINAL

“It terrifies me that I might’ve let this life go by without finding my way back to you.”

The way that these two ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it repeatedly before putting it back???? (and I’d let them do it again LOL)

“I miss you, too sounds glib. You have been missing from me is more accurate. There’s a void where you lived in my soul.”

Their relationship felt so real, and it warmed my heart getting to witness them find their way back to each other. I felt so emotionally connected to Wren and seen in a way I haven’t felt seen in a book before.

“We have whatever’s left of forever, you and me.”

I couldn’t tell you the number of times this book had me in tears, maybe I’m just a big ol’ softie who knows. What I do know is that every person with ears or eyes needs to read this book!! Connor Crais never disappoints. And Megan Wicks?! I couldn’t have loved this narration more.

A big, big, big thank you to Macmillan Audio, Tarah DeWitt and NetGalley for this ALC. I’ve been gnawing at the bars of my enclosure waiting to get my hands on a copy of LOF.

My first 5-star read in the past few weeks!
I loved this book.
Background: The MMC and FMC are childhood/teenage friends turned lovers who had a teenage pregnancy.
Current timeline: Now divorced, the main characters are moving their kid to college and trying to figure out how to navigate life post co-parenting.
Set Up: Road trip to take son to college.
Fun Fact: Pen pal representation - you will LOVE this premise in the book, trust me.
Theme: Journey to self-discovery and finding your way back!

This is such a good second chance romance book. You will not regret reading this book! I didn't want it to end!
Thank you to NetGalley and Tarah DeWitt for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Happy reading everyone and get this on your TBR immediately!

I am not a huge fan of second chance romances, but this cover was too beautiful not to try, and I was not disappointed. Usually, I feel like the excuses not to be together are either too big to reconcile or so dumb that I'm mad they were idiotic to work it out the first time around, but this was beautifully crafted. Childhood friends to lovers, become teen parents, life and their own issues come in the way. I have read a lot of smut, books with page to page hot action, but the tension, the lead up, the need! This was chef's kiss, perfect execution