I have to say at the beginning of this book, I was not sure how to feel. It was a little drawn out and kind of all over the place that I could not focus on the story. HOWEVER by the second half of the book I was excited, into and really rooting for Wren and Elise to get back together. The trip really took the book in the best direction and I was very happy with the ending! The book was definitely a good 3/5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen and review this book. These thoughts are of my own.

i will never recover from this book, i fear.

this novel ripped out my heart and put it back together. i LOVE a good second chance romance - and this was beyond a good one. the absolute yearning these 2 main characters had for each other was perfectly executed.

i found ellis + wren to be so perfect in the way they were flawed. they were just so... raw, real, and vulnerable as characters. i feel like this book actually left me speechless. tarah was able to touch on some tough topics with this one, and she handled it beautifully. it was such a balanced story, with just the right amount of humor.

i also must compliment how wonderful the narration was! connor crais is always one of my favorite narrators, but him and megan wicks' voices worked together so well. she is a new to me narrator that i will definitely check out more from. i feel like they really were able to express the emotions of the story SO well, and this audiobook had me crying more than a few times.

thank you so much to netgalley, SMP, macmillan audio, and netgalley for the earc + ALC of this one!

I read this as an e-arc & rates it infinity stars for its raw, beautiful perspective on second-chance romance // growing up & out of love.

The audiobook took it to the next level. The Fmc’s raspy, seductive voice?! Incredible. ELLIS? Sir you sent me overboard. The audiobook just gave it the extra emotion that I didn’t have inside of my head. I loved every second.

The wedding speech at the end will never fail to make me SOB.

I’LL SAVE THIS BOOK THE BEST SEAT ON MY BOOKSHELF. 10/10

Connor Crais and Megan Wicks take a perfect book and somehow elevate it even further. There is humor, emotion and every single beat is well earned. Absolutely obsessed with this book and it’s already preordered because I WILL have a physical copy in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review!

everything tarah writes turns my brain into solid gold. i love every piece of heart she puts in her books and this one is no different.

wren and ellis cut me so deep (as deep as they can since i am not a divorcee who had a love child with my high school sweetheart and is aiming for a second chance at love with them). their journey in being more vulnerable and open to exposing the worst parts of each other was so beautiful to see. to watch them realize that those ‘bad’ parts don’t make their partner love them any less, but in fact open them up to be loved more fully really reinstates that there is someone who will love every part of you, even the ones you don’t like about yourself. a reminder not to settle or someone who loves you in spite of those flaws or for someone who thinks you need to be changed — you just need to be open. honest. it’s a raw feeling, and this book leaves you feeling raw and a little exposed but in the best way.

i love you so much tarah dewitt — thank you to her for this arc and to macmillan audio for the ALC 💚

My oh my! this was beautifully done.
We don't get enough (good) books with this kind of storyline and I was living for it. The romance was STEAMY but it was balanced out well with the tender plot and great writing. I was thankful we didn't get the same old sexy talk in here. There was no "good girl" which I was thankful for. I'm worn out on the same spicy content. Overall, I was very impressed, and it made me cry. I can't say enough good about the book and the audio narration was fantastic.

Left to forever by Tarah Dewitt
ARC from Macmillan audio
Release date: May 20th 2025
-not me obsessed with their love and I’m just in the beginning
-love their son Sam he’s so cute but also can relate with him having divorced parents
-Tarah descriptive writing ✍️ is chefs kiss
-love a second chance woodsy adventure forced proximity vibes
-maybe the 30s is where it’s at
-I’m just obsessed with Ellis he’s a rugged man and a FIREFIGHTER YES LAWD ❤️‍🔥
-“I grew up with my great love so I think maybe my heart took shape around his”😭♥️
-I love seeing the good and bad moments in marriage and divorce it’s honestly not shown enough and so beautifully done
-the letters 🥹🫶🏾
-their banter you can feel the love and connection between them my heart 😩♥️
-I’m all giddy and warm 🥹
-not her dropping poetry just in the way she describes a jellyfish swimming away as a being with barely anything but has a purpose TARAH the woman that you are 😭❤️‍🔥
-the way they pay attention to each other and their details I can’t
-the spice 👀❤️‍🔥😩
-“you robbed me of you” 😭 I AM NOT OKAY
-ahhh I love them so much 😩❤️‍🩹
-this book made my heart beat fast , dropped it, picked it back up then healed it
-the audiobook was very immersive, fun and smooth
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Having enjoyed "Savor It" and the crazy-high ratings thus far, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I find myself in the minority... "Left of Forever" just wasn't for me. I love second chance love, married love, mature love, older characters... but this one felt like it had so much opportunity to infuse displays of growth and comfortable love and for me, it missed the mark. Most of the book felt like circumstances that served as devices for the sole purpose of getting them in bed.

As I listened in audio format (thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this ARC), I thought the female narrator specifically was great but seemed a little too mature/buttoned up for the FMC, to me.

I will probably try Tarah's next book in physical book format again next time to see if the audio tainted my overall opinion of the angle and tone of the book.

Left Of Forever is an emotional and spicy second chance romance that will have readers turning pages to see how the love story of Wren and Ellis develops.

Wren and Ellis fell in love as kids, had their son Sam as teenagers, struggled with infertility and eventually divorced. When their son, Sam, leaves for college Ellis and Wren embark on a trip to save their marriage. We go on their emotional and spicy journey as they travel the California coast and ultimately find their way back to each other. I adore a second chance romance, and Left Of Forever, was an absolute winner. I loved it

I wish I had the eloquence to truly express how beautiful this book is and how deeply it resonated with me. This story broke my heart and put it back together in ways I didn’t think were possible. When I say this book is perfect, I mean it. It’s a masterpiece, it is incredible to watch two people navigate their past to find their future together. Wren and Ellis have known each other since childhood. They’ve shared a lifetime together: friends, young lovers, parents, spouses, and eventually, divorced. As Wren says, “I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his.”

I still haven’t emotionally recovered from this book. I don’t think I’ve ever cried this much during a book. It wasn’t just from the sadness and yearning, it was from the intense emotions that came from Wren & Ellis. I felt their pain, their struggle, and, most profoundly, their love—the way they crave and missed each other, body and soul.

I laughed through tears as they reconnected and found themselves again in this beautiful and messy world. This is raw, it’s real, it’s everything. Even though they tried to move on, you can see that they left so much of themselves with each other when they separated. As the author’s note tell us, this is a story about hope. That even when life chips away at you, you can still find your way back home.

As someone with a young child in a committed relationship, this book destroyed me. It tapped into some of my greatest fears but also gave me so much more. The small things we let slip away, the beauty of sharing life and parenthood together. It also brought to light the fear of losing yourself (and your relationship) in the process, the ways in which you can become secondary in your own life.

Thank you, SMP Romance and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. Left of Forever is a book that you finish, but it stays with you. You’ll want (YEARN) to return to it as well. Thank you, Tarah, for creating this beautiful story and sharing a piece of yourself with us.

If it isn’t obvious already, 6 juicy beautiful, heart wrenching stars for this book. I will never stop thinking about Wren & Ellis.

this is the best romance book i have ever read. it was phenomenal. i have no notes. this was just perfection. the audiobook made it that much better

I fell in love with the characters of Spunes in the first book, so I was so excited to revisit this little town and the Byrd family in book two! Left of Forever begins right in the middle of the last chapter and epilogue of Savor It, and we get to see some of those events unfold from a different perspective. I love the dual POV between Ellis and Wren, the way we were able to see both individuals as they struggled to move on, processed their past, and eventually realized their true feelings for each other. This second chance romance takes the main characters and the readers on a beautiful journey of rediscovery as they explore potential after dropping their son off at college together. I loved everything about this so so much! I think second chance romance/"it's always been you" are my new favorite tropes and I can't wait to read what this author writes next! Hopefully more stories for the other Byrd siblings??

I loved the narrators for this book, they made the story feel even more heartfelt and emotional!

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt is a sweet second chance romance between Wren and Ellis Byrd who were once high school sweethearts. Wren and Ellis fell in love as teens and married after a teenage pregnancy. Life was not easy, and their marriage unraveled after many years together. Both stayed in the coastal town of Spunes, raising their son, Sam. The two co-parented, Sam, however kept physical distance from each other, while often thinking about each other privately.

Sam is accepted to a college in California and proposes that they all take a road trip to drop him off. After much hesitation, Wren agrees, and Ellis Byrd devises a plan to win over Wren Byrd's heart again. Ellis, not a planner in their marriages, plans the entire trip with much detail to Wren's special desires and a second chance at love begins to bloom.

This is a cute story with a cute little cross-over with the characters from The Co-Op (which I just read and still had on my mind).

The spice was little much.

The narrators did a great job.

Overall, 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

♾️ stars

Best audiobook ever for the best book ever. I’ve read the earc for this one as well and being able to hear what I’ve read previously, especially what Ellis says to Wren was insane!!!! This man is the bookbf blueprint and I can only wish for everyone to meet their Ellis in their life because he has set the bar so high I fear …

What an absolutely amazing read! I cannot get over how this made me feel. The story, the humor, spice and the development. And what a relief it was that about 85% there wasn't some predictable break up then make up. Gah. I loved it so much. And the narrator, top tier!

Tarah DeWitt is one of few romance writers that can make me a believer in the second chance trope (and make me shed a tear while at it). In a way that is unique to her, she weaves Wren and Ellis' story together with heartrendingly big feelings, cackle-worthy humor and sexual tension.

I’m typically not a huge audiobook consumer, but I read the eARC of “Left of Forever” and loved it so much that I was desperate to consume it in any form that I could and this audiobook did not disappoint.

I don’t know if I will ever be able to adequately find the words to express how deeply I loved this book. I have been a fan of Tarah’s since she was an indie author and Funny Feelings was the first book of Tarah’s I read and have since been a huge fan. I have cried while reading each of Tarah’s books but never before have I been choking back sobs at the end, which is where I found myself at the end of Left of Forever.

Tarah has a remarkable way of diving into the messiness of life with such care, tenderness, and humor and the experiences of her characters are immensely relatable. I love how in each of her books, Tarah’s voice rings true as she delivers her signature humor, heart, big feelings that crack your heart ALLLLLL THE WAY OPEN, and perfectly imperfect characters.

Ever since Ellis uttered “she’s still a Byrd,” I have been on the edge of my seat for this story - and that’s a testament to Tarah’s writing that something like that single line had so many of us in its thrall. I am feral for a second chance and marriage in crisis/trouble, and while Ellis and Wren might not be together on paper anymore, their hearts are very much still tethered together. My heart ACHED as these two made serious strides to grapple with the fears, miscommunication, and heartbreak that led to their parting and OOF, it absolutely wrecked me. But In Tarah We Trust and she masterfully mended our hearts and this story will forever be imprinted on my soul.

The audio was truly brilliant and my god, the narration exceeded every expectation I had. The narrators were spectacular and I need to preorder the audiobook so I can cry all over again.

I absolutely love Tarah DeWitt books and this one lives up to the rest. This book is filled with yearning. The characters are learning so much about themselves apart from each other, but relearning what it means and what they want from being together. This book deals with emotionally deep and hard topics in a graceful, real way. It was also hot. I loved this book.

I had already had the pop to read (and loved) an eARC of this one but I was dying to see how it was done an audio. No regrets! Connor Crais was already a fave of mine, no notes he is perfect for Ellis. Megan Wicks is new to me, but she is ABSOLUTELY perfectly cast for Wren. This story I already loved is an audio delight.