A cosy, second-chance romance between two divorcees who once shared a childhood romance. I think this could have benefitted from being a little longer so we could explore Ellis and Wren’s history more, but overall I really enjoyed this and would recommend reading

I'll start by saying second chance romance isn't usually my favourite, but when i saw this I couldn't resist. This book is just a reminder of why communication is so important. I was hooked so fast with this one. The spice was so good as well!

I would die for Wren and Ellis.

I loved them in Savour It and I love them now. Ellis is such a grumpy teddy bear with such a tender, loving heart. Wren is such a soft but badass mother who is truly looking after every single person. I loved the acknowledgment that Wren had made everyone family rather than the Byrd family adopting her; I loved Sam's quiet rooting for his parents and acceptance of their hard work.

I loved that the author showed us the extent of the pain and hard work and choice that rebuilding a relationship required and how reflective and genuine she made the characters. She didn't let them brush their pain or their mistakes under the carpet and this made this just so achingly gorgeous (but sexy and witty and delightful as well!). I loved that we got to see them seeing each other at all ages and still finding new ways to surprise each other - this book is a testament to all loves that continue to evolve and grow. Ahhh I could eat this up with a spoon!!

Left of Forever had me stifling a sob on the bus. Tarah DeWitt writes her love stories with so much depth and yearning and love that I am truly in awe of her. Would give a million stars if I could.

I was really excited for this book! A second chance romance between two divorcees who are childhood sweethearts going on a road trip together? I was ready for the angst and tension and pining… and I was left severely wanting.

The book was so blasé for story with themes The Left of Forever had. I was just bored because the moment Wren and Ellis step foot in that car for the road trip, they’re as good as back together with no real angst or turmoil, or hard won build up. I was just like “oh? that’s it?” They were divorced for YEARS after being the love of each other’s lives so I expected a hell of a lot more of “yes let’s try again :)” after years of them refusing to speak to each other or be in the same spaces as each other, as two people who have a fully grown adult son. I wanted this to make me cry and feel gut punched by the themes, but instead by the halfway point my eyes were glazing over and I just wanted to book to end :/ honestly it should have because it’s not like anything was actually happening on the road trip beyond sex. They may as well have just stayed at home or took a plane back instead of wasting all that petrol.

The cover is lovely though. But it doesn’t make up for an incredibly major letdown of a book.

I don't read 18+❌ however that has not shaped my review at all🙅🏽‍♀️.

While there were some questionable👀 things that happened thoughtout the book, I did enjoy it👍🏽. In terms of believability and realism🧐, I didn't find the book convincing🤷🏽‍♀️. To not recognise the handwriting of someone you've had a relationship with for many years is not realistic 👁️👄👁️. I understand if they're like me and don't have consistent writing📝, but I know that's not the case.

Wren and Ellis divorced📑 eachother due to communication issues☎️, yet they only had that problem once throughout the book🫂. How they got divorced, is how they got divorced, okay. But the author should have kept in mind that that was an issue for the period of time🗓️ that lead to their split. Although they had strong feelings for it eachother, it shouldn't rule out ❌the struggle they had.

Thinking back to the story now, it felt like there wasn't much happening🗯️. However, I did enjoy reading it and thought the writing was good🔆.

Thanks Netgalley and the author for the ARC 🎳🎀🧳

3.75 STARS

Another classic, cozy romance from Tarah Dewitt.

I have absolutely adored all of Tarah's books, so I was really excited to dive back into Spunes. I think we've all been excited about Ellis and Wren since he firmly proclaimed "She's still a Byrd." in Savor It.

While I felt that this story still had Tarah's signature sweet, cozy vibe, I didn't feel as connected to this couple as I have others. Due to all the history the couple had, I felt like the length of the book did them a disservice. Has the story been a bit longer, I think we could have maybe explored a little more of them falling in love the first time round.

Regardless, I still enjoyed this book and would happily revisit Spunes if Tarah wants to continue writing about the rest of the Byrd family.

i have been eagerly (rabidly) anticipating left of forever since savor it and it did not disappoint. tarah dewitt is magic writer, i really believe that, and this book made my heart glow. i am super picky when it comes to second chance romance (can’t explain why, i just am) but i knew this was gonna be good from the crumbs we got in savor it. left of forever is a beautiful, emotional story of two people finding their way back to each other and the love they deserve. watching wren and ellis fall in love {even harder} for a second time filled me with so much joy. they had a lot of hard moments to work through but they learned to open up and be vulnerable, and that gave them the strength they needed to rebuild their foundations. their love is golden and it touches everyone in their path, as is evidenced by sam, sage, silas, and micah’s hope and excitement for them to give their love a second chance. i also love a good road trip and seriously enjoyed the scenery elements of this book as well. honestly everything about left of forever is perfect and will remain on my heart. BE GOOD, BYRD.

thank you to my queen and favorite ever tarah dewitt + Little Brown UK for the advanced copy i am forever in your debt and will do anything for you XOXOXOXOXO

4⭐️

Very sweet romance. Sometimes I did find it to be a little cheesy at the very start but I cringe fairly easily so take that with a pinch of salt. I like the characters and thought their relationship was great and there was so much emotion to it. I thought the characters were well fleshed out and relatable. Definitely going to pick up more of Tarah’s books!

Thank you for my earc of this book.
This was my firsts of Tara’s books and I really enjoyed myself. I love second chance romance!! For the same reasons I love friends to lovers: the history, seeing each other in a new light, re-learning each other. I love that they have a kid already and seeing how they parent too.
I loved the plot and thought it was so lovely and fun! Definitely will be reading more of this author

Left of Forever is a really enjoyable second chance romance between our two main characters Wren and Ellis. We got hints of their story in Tarah DeWitt's previous book Savour It and I had been really looking forward to reading this one. This book had lots of fun and entertaining parts to it especially when the two characters are on their road trip but also focused on the more emotional aspect of their relationship breakdown and the communication around resolving their problems. I think this created a good balance of a fun romcom whilst also tackling some heavier, more emotional points as well which worked really well for me. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters and I hope we get more books from this group in the future!

4.5 Stars

“I want the chance to be lazy with her on a day off. I want our boring life back”.

I was really excited to read this book since it was my first one by Tarah DeWitt. I loved Wren and Ellis! Wren surprised me at times, but in a good way.

I thought Wren and Ellis were as real and raw as it gets for a couple trying to give love a second-chance. They both had their doubts, but you could tell they genuinely wanted to make it work. I liked that it wasn’t a rushed reunion and it felt more like, “Okay, what didn’t work last time, and how do we fix it?”. This whole situation needed both sides to look in and work on themselves individually. They had a lot of history with being young parent’s and taking on the responsibility of looking after siblings.

The trip gave them the space to actually feel things and process everything. Without giving too much away, I’m not sure if I liked the external factors that played on the choices that were made during the trip. It would’ve been nice if it was just about the two of them, but I get that it all came from a place of love.

The yearning was there, the flirting was there and the excitement really brought out this beautiful love story. This was definitely Rom-com material and I enjoyed every second of it. There was so much romantic suspense in this.

There wasn’t an epilogue, which isn’t a bad thing as it was all wrapped up perfectly at the end.

Thank you Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for this arc.

Oh I just loved this book so much, it was warm and fuzzy but also really poignant and funny. It really had everything you could want from a romance novel. This is a second chance at love story and they are not usually something I enjoy because I tend to think relationships end for a good reason and should stay that way. But Wren & Ellis’s story totally changed my mind on this. The emotional growth and maturity shown by both characters was really refreshing to read in a way that showed they were still flawed humans but that they were really trying to be better. I promptly went and bought two other books from Tarah DeWitt!

3.5 ⭐️

Childhood sweethearts Wren and Ellis had baby Sam aged just 17. It’s now been 5 years since they divorced and they began living separate lives. Now Sam is about to head off to college, and Wren and Ellis agree to help him move in together. Ellis convinces Wren to go on an “unromantic” road trip to celebrate their success as parents, and maybe give them a second chance to be together.

It took me a while I get in to this one, and I had a hard time keeping up with who all the side characters were (I did read book 1 some months ago) but once they went on their road trip I was really enjoying it, especially the scenes settings.
I’m a sucker for a second chance romance but I found I was a bit confused about what their relationship had been like for those 5 years, considering Sam seems completely unaffected by their divorce, so I found the yearning not as hard hitting as I would have liked.

I was also confused about the letter thing? I didn’t really understand how that came about and how Wren didn’t know she was sending letters to Ellis. Also it seemed VERY far fetched that she put 2 and 2 together just because it’s mentioned that Ellis has a lot of pencils?

Overall, not my favourite romance personally but still a good palate cleanser book; and I do think for the right person this would really resonate.

✨4.5 stars✨

This is my first book by this author and I loved it!! A second-chance romance between a couple who had been together since they were teenagers and have been divorced for 5 years.

The writing was funny and engaging (so much so that I read it in 24 hours!). I couldn’t put it down. I found myself sympathises with both Wren and Ellis’ struggles and watching them grown individually and as a couple during their trip was beautiful. The way it all came together in then end felt incredibly rewarding as well.

I hadn’t read Savour it (the FMC in that is Ellis’ sister Sage and that couple makes appearances in this book) but that didn’t affect my reading experience. That’s definitely on my TBR now!

I would 100% recommend this.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Oh how I loved this book!
I was so looking forward to Wren and Ellis’s story after reading Savor It, and this exceeded all my expectations. I absolutely adored them both and was rooting for them the whole time.
Such a beautiful story, it felt real and genuine and is definitely one of my top reads of this year so far.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this arc, it was perfection!

Heartwarming, real, and sexy. Tarah DeWitt is now one of my favorite romance authors.

This story about second chances explores why communication is so important, and how easily it can slip away when life gets hard, even when love is still present.

Ellis is the husband we all deserve.

Those final lines made me cry. DeWitt’s writing is easy to read and incredibly touching.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis Byrd, who fell in love as kids and had their son when they were only teenagers. Now divorced and in their thirties, they are seeing their son off to college. Ellis convinces Wren to take a road trip back to their small town to see if they can give their relationship one last chance.

This was my first Tarah DeWitt book, and it definitely won’t be my last! I could not put this book down and finished it in two sittings.

Tarah’s writing is absolutely stunning. The story flowed so well, and Tarah’s prose made me swoon, laugh, and cry. There are so many beautiful quotes that it would be impossible for me to pick a favourite.

I also loved that this book was dual POV, allowing the reader into both of the main characters heads. Although there wasn’t a “past” and “present” timeline as such, letters, flashbacks, and journal entries gave a good insight into Ellis and Wren’s history and relationship - the highs and the lows.

The characters had great depth and development, and did not shy away from the difficult conversations they needed to have. It was raw and heart wrenching, with so much yearning and angst. But there were lighter moments too, and I loved seeing them have fun on their road trip together and hearing all of their little inside jokes. Seeing them come back together was so beautiful to read. The intimate scenes were also very well written.

The small town setting and the family/found family aspect was so heartwarming. I’m excited to go back and read Savor It, so I can get even more of these characters!

I really appreciated the lack of a third act breakup, and the ending had me tearing up. This was truly such a beautiful story and I’m so glad I got to read it early! Thank you to NetGalley and Piatkus/Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Nothing short of a masterpiece! From the very first page, I was completely captivated by the depth of the characters and the rich, immersive world Dewitt has created. The story is an emotional rollercoaster, weaving complex themes of love, loss, and identity with such raw authenticity that it stayed with me long after I finished reading. The writing is beautiful, poetic even, and the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat. Each chapter felt like a journey, with twists and turns that I never saw coming. The depth of the protagonist’s journey, both internal and external, is portrayed in such a relatable and compelling way that I couldn’t help but root for them every step of the way. This book touched my heart, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thought-provoking, unforgettable read. Tarah Dewitt’s talent shines through every page, and Left of Forever is a book I will return to again and again.

"She's still a Byrd"
The second I read this line in Savor it I knew I needed a second chance story for Wren and Ellis.
Tarah has such a beautiful writing style, and whilst second chance/divorced couple isn't one of my favourite tropes, I knew she would do this justice and make me love it.
I sobbed a few times, I laughed a few times, and I just loved being back in Spunes with the Byrd family.