The Things We Leave Unfinished

The Things We Leave Unfinished (2021) is an adult romance novel by Rebecca Yarros, published by Entangled. Yarros is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of contemporary romances, including popularThe Empyrean Series, which includes Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and the upcoming third book, Onyx Storm. The Things We Leave Unfinished follows two couples across two timelines. As Georgia Stanton battles with romance author Noah Harrison over finishing the book left behind by Scarlett Stanton, Georgia’s great-grandmother, alternate chapters explore the romance between Scarlett and American pilot Jameson Stanton, whose love is imperiled by the dangers of World War II.

This guide quotes from the first trade paperback edition released in 2021.

Content Warning: This guide discusses references to domestic violence that appear in The Things We Leave Unfinished.

Plot Summary

The novel unfolds in chapters alternating between the first-person point of view of Georgia Stanton—who returns to her small hometown in Colorado after her divorce from film director Damian Ellsworth—and Noah Harrison, who has been offered the opportunity to complete the unfinished manuscript of Scarlett Stanton, Georgia’s great-grandmother. These chapters take place in the present day and are prefaced with excerpts from love letters between Scarlett and Jameson Stanton. This romance is interwoven with the story of Georgia and Noah, who fall in love while working on Scarlett’s manuscript.

Scarlett Stanton, daughter of an English baron, and Jameson Stanton, an American pilot flying for the Royal Air Force, meet during their World War II service. Their stories are told in the third-person point of view and alternate between the perspectives of Scarlett and Jameson. A fifth point of view emerges after the reader learns the truth about the identity of Georgia’s great-grandmother.

After her husband’s affair and their subsequent divorce, Georgia stops by the bookstore in her hometown of Poplar Grove, Colorado, and runs into a handsome out-of-towner examining the books of Noah Harrison, a bestselling romance author known for his tragic endings. At the house where she was raised by her great-grandmother, Georgia finds her mother, Ava, negotiating a deal to sell the rights to Scarlett’s unfinished manuscript. Scarlett left Georgia, not Ava, Georgia’s absent mother, in charge of her literary estate. The man from the bookstore turns out to be Noah Morelli, who writes under the pen name Noah Harrison. He has been selected to finish Scarlett’s book, which is about her real-life romance with Jameson.

With some persuasion, Georgia agrees to hire Noah to finish her great-grandmother’s book. She gives the money from the sale to Ava, hoping to repair their relationship. As soon as the contract is signed, Georgia and Noah disagree over how the book should end. Noah thinks he should write a happy ending, in alignment with Scarlett Stanton’s brand, and Georgia wants him to be faithful to real life, where Scarlett’s romance ended in tragedy. Meanwhile, the sexual attraction between them is strong, but Georgia won’t budge on the book’s ending.

The historical chapters describe the meeting between Jameson and Scarlett, who work at the same airfield in Britain. He is an American pilot from Colorado volunteering for the Royal Air Force, and Scarlett works for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, which supports RAF operations. She is at first reluctant to date him, knowing that pilots lead short and dangerous lives, but Jameson wins her over with an outdoor dinner date and dancing. When they experience a bombing raid on their airfield, they fully succumb to their strong attraction. Jameson is sent to form a new squadron of American pilots, and Scarlett requests a transfer so they can be together. They marry and find a house near the airfield.

In the present, Noah rents a cottage in Poplar Grove to settle things with Georgia. To try to win her over, he brings her the gift of a rosebush and takes her rock climbing. Georgia shows him the gazebo where Scarlett typed her novels, waiting for Jameson to return. Georgia is hurt when her mother leaves, and Noah suggests a compromise: He will write two endings to Scarlett’s story, one happy and one tragic, and Georgia can choose. He knowingly risks his career, but he wants Georgia to trust him.

In the historical story, Constance, Scarlett’s sister, learns that her beloved, Edward, was killed in the bombings. Constance is devastated and decides to marry Henry Wadsworth, the suitor Scarlett spurned, so his money can save their parents’ baronial estate. Scarlett realizes she is pregnant and resigns her post. Her parents, upon learning of the baby, immediately want a boy to be their heir, and Scarlett feels more alienated than ever from them. Her son, William, is born the same day the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. While Constance remains committed to her marriage even though Henry abuses her, Scarlett refuses to surrender William to her parents. As the Germans begin to bomb Ipswich, where they are living, Jameson asks his uncle Vernon, who is also a pilot, to help get Scarlett and William to the US. Scarlett is distraught at the thought of leaving Jameson, but for William’s sake, she agrees to go.

In the present day, when Noah takes Georgia climbing at a gym, she realizes she can trust him. She shows him the family albums and invites him to finish his manuscript at Scarlett’s desk. Her ex, Damian, requests film rights to the upcoming book, but Georgia rejects him. Damian then approaches Noah, who rejects him, too. Moved by his support of her choice, Georgia acts on her attraction to Noah. As with Scarlett and Jameson, their passion for one another is all-consuming. Noah realizes he is in love with Georgia, but she is still cautious. He finishes the book with both endings but wants more time with Georgia, so doesn’t tell her. Instead, he arranges to fly Ava in for the opening of Georgia’s new glass-blowing studio, hoping to help Georgia heal from past wounds.

Georgia is exhilarated with the success of her studio opening and touched that Noah flew in both her mother and his sister. She realizes that she is in love. But the next morning, she finds Ava scanning Scarlett’s manuscript to send to Damian, who has offered Ava money for the rights. Ava informs Georgia that Noah has both endings finished, and when Georgia realizes Noah has deceived and manipulated her, she’s crushed. She orders him to leave.

Across time, as Scarlett’s departure nears, she and Jameson say goodbye. Jameson’s squadron is attacked as they fly over the Netherlands. His fuel tank is hit, and his plane crashes. Scarlett is working on a story when another pilot, Howard, knocks on the door to tell her they saw Jameson’s plane go down. She insists he is only missing and asks the squadron to search for him. Constance consoles Scarlett in her grief and reminds her of Jameson’s plea to take William to the US.

In New York, missing Georgia, Noah follows a hunch about Scarlett Stanton. He runs into Damian at a party, and Damian describes Scarlett’s romance with her second husband, Brian. Back in Colorado, Georgia feels guilty about the bad advance reviews coming out about Noah’s book, with readers hating the sad ending. Damian flies to Colorado to try to win the film rights from Georgia. She kicks him out, then gets a delivery from her great-grandmother. The package contains a letter for Georgia to open after she has read the manuscript.

Across time, Constance helps Scarlett pack her visa documents, her typewriter, and the box of stories she has begun writing, including a story about her and Jameson. As they depart, they are caught in an air raid. Scarlett at first thinks Constance has been killed, but Scarlett herself is fatally injured. She begs Constance to take William to Jameson’s uncle, Vernon. Vernon mistakes Constance for Scarlett, and Constance realizes the best way to protect William is to fly to the US herself using Scarlett’s visa.

Georgia is stunned to read this revelation in her last letter from her great-grandmother, who apologizes for the deception but explains that when she saw her own name on a casualty list, she realized she could protect William and not return to Henry. She is grateful for the way Jameson’s family accepted her and encouraged her to start writing. She asks Georgia to forgive Ava, who was changed and broken by the death of her parents. Georgia realizes all that Constance sacrificed for the people she loved, and she calls Noah’s publisher to ask them to change the book to incorporate the happy ending.

Noah returns to the US to widespread praise for his book and its happy ending. He rushes to see Georgia, who confirms that the Scarlett Stanton who authored the books and raised Georgia was really Constance. Georgia reveals that she asked the publisher to print the book with Noah’s happy ending because she loves him. They reconcile with a kiss, and three years later, Georgia is happily pregnant as she helps Noah with a book signing, enjoying their own epic romance. A penultimate chapter shares Noah’s ending to Scarlett’s story, with Jameson finding Scarlett waiting for him in the gazebo.