I was very down when I thought this was going to be a story about two people who'd lost their daughters and their relationship. Instead it turned into the white savior trope. That was the whole plot of the book.

Julia's daughter died in a car accident five years ago (which may or may not have been suicide, but who cares because it's never really discussed) and she meets Roberto, who lost his daughter when he was crossing the border from Mexico to the States. Roberto's daughter's whereabouts are unknown, although she is presumed dead, so Julia decides to help him track her down. Although "help" isn't really the correct word. Roberto has basically no agency in this book and just goes along with Julia.

But mostly it's the ending. I can't get too specific because of spoilers, but essentially there's no closure to the story of Julia and Roberto. Their relationship doesn't matter. It doesn't pull any heartstrings. There are other plotlines that get closure, but nothing for the main couple. Just a whole boatload of white savior trope. Like this book could have worked and for a second I thought it did. It was interesting to see them bridge culture gaps and work to help one another in their grief. But then Julia's grief stopped mattering (I think Rice forgot to keep bringing it up) and the whole book became about her finding Roberto's daughter and treating them both as objects. I felt nothing over their relationship at the end.

The characters are so flat and bland. The writing is dry. There's no chemistry between Julia and Roberto. I'm not looking for a steamy romance here, but I need to at least believe they love each other since it's allegedly changing the trajectory of their lives. I tried so hard to get into this and for a moment in the middle, I really thought I would.

There are some weird perspectives in this book. Outside of Julia and Roberto, there's an old movie star and a former border patrol agent (and some others). Particularly with the movie star, I saw no point to his inclusion in the book. He's a friend of Julia's family, is in love with her happily married aunt, and cares about Julia like a daughter. That's his entire character, emphasis on in love with the aunt. His character has no growth, his subplots go nowhere, and at point they just stop mentioning him in the story. I have no idea what he was supposed to add. His entire character could have been cut and it wouldn't be noticeable.

Wouldn't recommend. Mostly I'm mad that this book tricked me into thinking I was reading something worthwhile.