Book: Lost and Found by Tarah Dewitt
Reviewed by Maggie Hayes
Rating: God Tier
Lost and Found by Tarah DeWitt
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
Bea and Silas's inevitable, slow-burn love story may just be Tarah DeWitt's best. It walks the tightrope between joy and grief so perfectly, blending humor and sexiness in just the right amount without ever taking away from the emotional core.
The premise felt completely unique to me. After losing her best friend, Merritt, Bea learns that Merritt had willed her the eggs she had frozen eight years earlier. Suddenly, Bea is faced with the impossible decision of whether to undergo IVF while also navigating the overwhelming grief of losing the person she loved most. Things become even more complicated when she ends up living with Silas, a longtime friend she's distanced herself from in recent years.
It is impossible not to feel for Bea as she learns to live with her grief without letting it swallow her whole. Her decision about Merritt's eggs is incredibly nuanced, and I appreciated that the people around her didn't all react the same way. The range of opinions and emotions made the story feel much more honest than if everyone had immediately rallied behind her choice.
And Silas? My heart absolutely ached for him. He's struggling in the aftermath of an accident while fighting wildfires that fundamentally changed how he sees himself. The way he shows up for Bea without ever expecting anything in return is exactly what she needs. His love is patient, unwavering, and entirely focused on her happiness. Watching him quietly love Bea for so many years melted my heart.
Through dual timelines, we see that Bea and Silas have always been the right people at the wrong time. Merritt's unrequited crush on Silas kept them apart for years, making Bea's guilt over her own feelings feel painfully real. Every moment they lost because they refused to acknowledge what was right in front of them felt like another knife to the heart, which made their eventual romance all the more satisfying when it finally happened.
I have not cried this long or this hard over the ending of a book in years. By the epilogue, I was full-on sobbing—tears, snot, the whole thing. It emotionally wrecked me, and I wouldn't change a single page.
And somehow, knowing it was also the end of the Spunes series made it even more bittersweet. Saying goodbye to the Byrd family was every bit as emotional as Bea and Silas's story itself. I know these characters are going to live in my heart always.
Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC.