Published by St. Martin's Griffin on May 20, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
An emotional, spicy, second-chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Tarah DeWitt.
This time, they'll get it right.
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 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.
Will they make the most of what’s left of forever? Or will they let each other go for good?
Brimming with big feelings and packed with steam, Left of Forever is bestseller Tarah DeWitt at the top of her game.
Five years ago, these high school sweethearts called it quits. Encouraged by some recent developments, Ellis is determined to remind Wren why she loved him because he never stopped loving her.
My chest is an empty, barren cavern without her. My heart took shape around hers, too, and it will never go back.
THIS is a perfect example of why I love second chance romances so much. Ellis and Wren had been through so much together. They weathered many storms, but there came a point where they could no longer be together. They were broken and needed to heal, but were they really able to do it apart? As much as these two tried to go their separate ways, they were still left feeling with a missing piece while they were apart.
“All I know is that if I found out heaven was real and got there first? I’d hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat.”
I LOVED what lit a fire under Ellis, and the road trip was one spectacular master plan to win Wren back. He was finally showing her that he heard her and he cared. There was something really special about them seizing the moment and choosing embark on what they had left of forever. It was so beautiful watching Wren and Ellis remember why they fell in love in the first place while also seeing them realize that they are not those two teens any longer. They had experienced so much, survived so much, and those experiences changed them. Their years apart allowed them to develop parts of themselves that were new to their former partner. But most importantly, they were ready to do some of that growing together.
I’ll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.
This story was fun and touching and emotional, and gosh darn it, I wanted Wren and Ellis to get their second chance at forever so badly.
Published by Berkely on June 17, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism, Romance
Goodreads
A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from Ashley Poston.
Joni Lark is living the dream. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA…and she can’t seem to write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it.
When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes that the sand, the surf, and the concerts at The Revelry, her family’s music venue, will spark her inspiration. But when she gets there, nothing is how she left it. Her best friend is avoiding her, her mother’s memories are fading fast, and The Revelry is closing.
How can she think about writing her next song when everything is changing without her?
Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with hangups of his own.
Surely, he’s a figment of her overworked imagination.
But then the very real man attached to the voice shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s aggravating and gruff on the outside—nothing like the sweet, funny voice in Joni’s head—and he has a plan:
They’ll finish the song haunting them both, break their connection, and hope they don’t risk their hearts in the process.
Because that song stuck in their heads? Maybe it’s there for a reason.
After scoring a major hit, Joni finds herself unable to meet her songwriting deadline. Hoping a change of scenery will inspire her, she returns to her family home where she begins hearing a song and the voice of a man in her head. When she finally meets the voice-in-her-head, she is surprised to discover who it belongs to, but Joni is determine to shake her writer's block as the two attempt to finish the song together.
Both Joni and Sebastian were complex characters with a lot of baggage to unpack. It was wonderful they got to take that personal journey together. I was thrilled with how both recovered pieces of themselves while working towards their future goals. Even more delightful was the deep, deep history they shared. It was sweet and well worth the wait to find out.
This was another warm and wonderful romance from Poston! The magical element was different and subtle, but when it all came together, there were tears. I really loved the way Poston connected all the dots, and obviously, my heart was slayed by the storyline involving Joni's mother which was done well. I appreciated how gently the weightier topics were dealt with and the humor that was infused in the story to balance it out.
With a focus on love, friendship, family, and following your heart, Sounds Like Love hit all the right notes for me.
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