Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A young woman must unlearn everything she knows about her parents in order to find the truth. River, the daughter of a Filipino father and a white mother, finds her world irrevocably changed when her mother goes missing and her father dies in a house fire during her senior year of high school. She’s left with an additional mystery after an anonymous person donates $2,000,000 to her GoFundMe fundraiser. Together with her best friend, Tawny, her ex, Noah, and her new love interest, Logan, all of whom are cued white, River dives into her parents’ pasts. However, as she investigates, she realizes that everyone has a secret—and no one can be trusted. In this fast-paced thriller, Harlow captures the complexities of human emotions from grief to love. Her characters are well developed, especially Logan, who has an ideal blend of depth and attractiveness. Tawny, who’s adopted, has experienced grief of her own. Together, the characters move the plot with increasing speed through jaw-dropping twists. Letters incorporated into the story present other points of view, bringing texture to the story and increasing readers’ uncertainty about whom to believe. Harlow skillfully weaves together a page-turning mystery that’s enhanced by River and Logan’s steamy and passionate relationship. A sexy thriller where the ultimate prize is finding and embracing the truth—even if it’s difficult to understand.(Romantic thriller. 14-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

River’s mother left for a hike and never came back. River’s boyfriend, Noah, broke up with her on prom night, and that same night, her house burned down. River lost everything—including her father. Thankfully, she has a place to live with her cousin, Tita Anna, and her loyal best friend, Tawny, sets up a GoFundMe to alleviate costs. River is amazed when an anonymous donor sends her two million dollars. She tries not to think too hard about it, carrying on with her life and working as a waitress with Tawny at a local diner. No one is more surprised than River when her aloof coworker Logan starts showing an interest in her. This sets into motion a landslide of secrets, conspiracies, lies, and betrayals that culminate in an explosive revelation, changing everything River thought she knew. River is a sympathetic character, and her first-person-present narrative draws readers in as she peels away the layers of deceit to uncover the truth. Part mystery, part thriller, part romance, River’s story is difficult to put down.

Publishers Weekly
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Eighteen-year-old aspiring singer River Santos has lost everything: her boyfriend after he dumped her; her estranged mother, now declared “missing”; and her guitar, songbooks, and father in a devastating house fire. Not even an anonymous $2 million donation to River’s GoFundMe page can kindle hope from the smoldering ashes of River’s future. At least River’s best friend, Tawny, always has her back. And while Logan, her new coworker at the diner where she and Tawny work, is frustratingly aloof, he’s also a seriously hot distraction. Soon River’s innocent crush sparks, sizzles, and flares into breathless romantic entanglement. But as she struggles to make sense of her and Logan’s whirlwind romance and searches for clues as to the identity of her mysterious benefactor, River uncovers dark family secrets—and learns that she’s not the only one hiding something. Skillful plotting and shocking reveals propel this twisty, Arizona-set romantic thriller from Harlow (Everything We Never Said). River and Logan’s mutual yearning, rendered in alternating dual-perspective chapters interspersed with letters to River from her missing mother, balance palpable grief with steamy, page-turning drama and tense mystery. River is half Filipina and assumed half white; supporting characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (May)