this is the benchmark for all second chance romance now! tarah dewitt absolutely hit it out of the park with this story, it's funny and sweet and romantic and steamy as hell, the perfect romance

This is the MVP of second chance romance. A glorious book 👏 I loved Ellis and how he hard he was trying to deal with his emotional constipation, it was adorable. I’m even more obsessed with Spunes and need more of the Byrds asap!

What to expect:
- second chance romance
- forced proximity - road trip
- small town
- spicy

Summary:
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, can they get it right this time?

🏡 Small Town
💖 Second Chance Romance
👨‍👩‍👦 Found Family

Review:

Disclaimer: I hadn’t read any other work by Tarah DeWitt before this BUT since reading Left of Forever I’ve added every other one of her books to my TBR.

This book absolutely blew me away. It brought up so many emotions for me but was also lighthearted and funny at the same time: it was honestly just perfect.

Tara DeWitt’s writing is masterful - she has such a way with words that really brings the characters to life. Wren and Ellis were so deeply intimate with one another. Sometimes when authors try to describe characters falling in love, it sounds forced or too much like a fairytale but DeWitt absolutely smashes it in Left of Forever. There is so much growth in both Wren and Ellis. They not only put in so much hard work to recognise what went wrong in their marriage but actively work together to rebuild their relationship. Ellis and Wren’s love felt so natural and realistic. It’s completely different to other romances I’ve previously read. I was a bit skeptical about the divorced/rekindled style romance and wasn’t sure it’d work but oh my goodness I was hooked immediately.

This is without a doubt a five star read. I have recommended it to everyone and anyone that would listen!

“If you're lost, I'll find you. I'll give you my body, my heart, and my soul. I'll cherish every bit of yours in return. I'll fight with you. I'll fight for you. I'll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.”

Having loved Tarah's previous books, I was over the moon to get the opportunity to read Left Of Forever. What a book, I loved Wren and Ellis so much 💕 I was laughing and crying. A wonderful romantic read.
Thank you so much Netgalley and Little Brown Group UK for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I was so happy to return to Spunes and catch up with the Byrd family! After loving Savor It, I was thrilled when Left of Forever was announced—it was such a treat to revisit Ellis and Wren’s story.

These two were childhood sweethearts who became young parents, but life took its toll and they ended up divorced. Now, five years later, they’re still connected through their son, Sam, and Wren remains close to the Byrd family.

When they take a road trip together after dropping Sam off at university, things start to shift. Can they really just be friends when old feelings are clearly still there?

This second-chance romance is heartfelt, nostalgic, and full of emotion. With a bit of mystery woven in through letters and a journal, it’s a story about love, timing, and whether two people can truly find their way back to each other.

💫 Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt completely stole my heart! The premise had me hooked instantly, and it delivered in the best way possible. It’s the perfect second chance romance—emotional, tender, and beautifully written. I’m so grateful I found this book, and I’ll be recommending it to everyone who loves love. 💖

Tarah DeWitt Left of Forevery is such a a beautiful book. I really enjoyed the plot, the little flashbacks to their relationships whiche helped to understand the characters better and gain further insights into their love story.

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 Sam gets accepted into college and the pair agree to help him move in together, Ellis convinces Wren to take an extended road trip back to Spunes with him to see if they can give their relationship one last chance. Amid the gorgeous scenery of the California coastline, dreamy destinations, and a great deal of long-yearned-for proximity, Wren starts to think it just might be possible. But the two still have to contend with their tumultuous past in order to move forward. And when spoken words fail, sometimes the written word must bridge the gap.


Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Second chance romances are not my thing, never have been but oh my god this is one of the best stories I’ve ever read. An absolute must read

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy to review.

I liked the dual POV but I didn't buy them being divorced for 5 years and finding their way back to each other so quickly. I also liked that Ellis was in touch with his feelings and wasn't afraid to show emotions. I didn't like that they vowed not to sleep together too quickly but they did and then it seemed like their connection was based on sex and lust. I would still like to read Tarah's other books in the future.

Thank you for the advanced copy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’d held off reading it as lots of people had said it was very sad, however I didn’t find that. For me it was more hopeful. I loved Wren and Ellis and seeing them enjoying being together again. The writing was great and there were many funny moments and spicy moments which were really well done.

It was so close to being a 5 star read, but for me it felt like they didn’t really have any of the big, difficult conversations they kept alluding as they always distracted each other physically.

Definitely my favourite of this author.

Left of Forever is raw, romantic, and achingly real - Tarah DeWitt has absolutely wrecked me in the best way.

This second chance romance hit all the right notes. It was equal parts tender, sexy, and soul-crushing in those moments that matter most. I fell hard for Ellis and Wren; their chemistry is undeniable, but it’s the depth of their connection and history that really got me.

Heartbreaking at times, hopeful at others, this story felt like being cracked open and gently stitched back together. I’m now fully committed to bingeing DeWitt’s entire backlist - if she writes it, I’m reading it.

4⭐️- this was such a good second chance romance, I loved it so much more than the first book in the series. Tarah Dewitt really took us on the journey with Ellis and Wren, so that you could feel exactly what they did as it happened.

I really loved the setting of this book and the idea of them going on a road trip after dropping their son off to try and see if there was still something there between them. I adore dual POV in books, I love being able to get into both characters heads to really know how they’re feeling instead of trying to guess. And I love the town this is set in, it has such a Gilmore Girls feel to it with the tight-knit community and how everyone knows each other.

Ellis made my heart literally hurt when he had the realisation he was still in love with Wren, I love that he didn’t just rush into things and took the time to better himself before approaching the idea. He was upfront about his failings and you could literally feel him pining for Eden, the yearning was immaculate.

The only thing I found myself wishing for was a little bit more time and heartfelt moments into getting their relationship back on track. At times it felt like their feelings were very physical and it was very easy to resolve whatever it was that made them divorce and separate for four years. I like my second chance romances to hurt a little (I’m sick I don’t know what to tell you) to really justify their time apart.

This is a perfect summer read that will leave your heart feeling full, I really hope the rest of the Byrd family are going to get their own books!

Thank you to Netgalley and LBBG for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Cried my EYES OUTTTT. I knew these two would ruin me. The writing was so poetic and moving I’d get some of the quotes tattooed on my skin. Ellis Byrd is a book HUSBAND. I NEED A SAM AND INDY BOOK TARAH!!!

I am loving discovering Tarah DeWitt!!

I read Savour It last week knowing I needed to get to my ARC of Left of Forever soon - and honestly maybe I actually read them a little too close together, because I was comparing them a lot and I felt like I was still on my high of Savour It - so perhaps I'll reread Left of Forever at some point and it will become the 5 star read that I feel like it should be!

To be honest, second chance romances are not my favourite, but that goes to show how talented this author is that she made me love the trope in this book! Wren and Ellis are so painfully, clearly made for each other, They felt so real, and I loved watching them learn to properly communicate with each other, it was so tender and heartfelt and sincere. The yearning!!! I am a sucker for yearning and this had it in SPADES.

While the vast majority of this book features only Wren and Ellis as they are on this roadtrip, we do get little snippets of the other characters we know and love, and the dynamics between this whole family is my favourite thing. They feel so genuinely real and fill me with such warmth!

I am so excited for the next book in the series, whether it's Micah or Silas, I don't mind, but keep em coming!!

This was a second-chance romance done right! There was a real, raw, understandable reason for them breaking up the first time that felt realistic for their ages and relationship, and it didn’t feel immature (unlike many second-chance romances). I loved the main characters and the side characters were fun. I think I would’ve liked them more if I’d read the first book. I did absolutely fucking adore the romance and seeing these two people come back together.

However, I felt like the book lacked…something?? We spent the first 25% with both characters realising they still have feelings for each other, and the first obstacle is wondering if the other party does. Suddenly all is revealed in one scene and resolved very quickly. Yes, great, very healthy communication! We’ve now established they do still have feelings. So the next question is okay, why don’t you just get back together?

Probably the reason they broke up in the first place. The mmc very clearly states this reason, and it’s not exactly an issue that applies to them anymore. It then takes them FOREVER (the entire book) to even have a conversation about it. This is the ONLY reason they are not together, everything about their relationship is otherwise perfect. I was getting so frustrated reading about them discussing surface level annoyances and not getting to the root of the issue. Most of the book was just waiting for that conversation to occur.

Looking back, I feel like not much happened other than them daring. The letters felt like a different book entirely and barely had a purpose. I did enjoy the book but a bit more plot would’ve benefitted it!

Thank you so much to the author, netgalley, and Little Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an arc in exchange for a voluntary review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.

The two main things that annoyed me about this book is the lack of communication at times, especially when the whole point of their trip was to see if they could work through the issues that ended their marriage the first time round. Also I don’t get how Wren couldn’t recognise Ellis’ handwriting despite them being married for like 10 years.

Other than that I really enjoyed most of the aspects of this book. I don’t really read too many second chance romances these days, but this book has made me want to read them all. I always love meddling family members and friends, so I was happy to see their son changing their hotel booking to force them to spend more time together and push them back together. I also really liked that this wasn’t a spur of the moment plan and Ellis put a lot of effort into planning an itinerary full of all the things that Wren had always wanted to do but never got the chance. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her books in the future, especially the Spunes series.

Trigger Warnings: Ectopic pregnancy (off page), conversations about past infertility, death of an unknown character by a fire (off page).

This was a great example of a second chance romance, which I adore. This book is connected to ‘Savor It’. Set in the same town, it centres on a new couple who got married young, had a child, and had been divorced for five years. With a road trip, steamy scenes, and a lots of friendship, family, and reunion, this is an honest look at what went wrong, what went good, and how to move on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Left of Forever is a story about love that bends but doesn’t break. It's a standalone book but is interconnected with the first in the Spunes series, Savour It. I would recommend reading that first, as it does introduce you to the context of the relationship presented here.

Left of Forever is second-chance romance at its absolute best - tender, grown-up, and brimming with emotional honesty. We follow Wren and Ellis, once teenage sweethearts turned young parents and eventually ex-spouses, now facing an empty nest as their son heads to college. What starts as a slow re-entry into each other’s lives - sparked by anonymous letters (we love letters!) - turns into something so intimate and quietly powerful, and I was completely absorbed. There's a nostalgic road trip as they drop their son off to college, shared memories, and long-held emotions bubbling back to the surface in the best, most soul-stirring way.

Tarah DeWitt handles complex themes like infertility and grief with so much compassion, without ever weighing down the story. And Ellis Byrd? Be still my swooning heart! He's thoughtful, patient, emotionally intelligent, and so full of quiet longing...he's one of the most swoon-worthy male leads I’ve read in a while. I fell hard for both of them, but Ellis just owns the page.

Left of Forever isn’t just about rekindled love; it’s about choosing each other again, with open eyes and understanding, knowing what’s been lost and what’s still possible.

If you love stories with depth, heartache, healing, and characters you can root for, this romance novel is a must-read. You'll be thinking about Ellis and Wren long after the final page.

This author is fast coming one of my faves bc what do you MEANNNN this was such a gorgeous small town romance. Second chance, slow burn, forced proximity all of the best tropes. It’s also a childhood friends to lovers which I ate up, she’s a baker he’s a firefighter and let me just say - we need more firefighter romance.

I loved this story. It’s heartbreaking but also sweet and comforting. I appreciated how it handled mature themes like divorce and having a grown-up child. The road trip added a nice touch, showing their emotional journey. Overall, it was a meaningful and well-written second chance romance.