All We Lost Was Everything

352 pages

English language

Published 2025 by Penguin Young Readers Group.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-85594-2

View on OpenLibrary

(1 review)

A sexy, dark romantic thriller—with a shocking twist—by the author of Everything We Never Said.

When eighteen-year-old River Santos’s house burned down, she lost everything. Her clothes. Her guitar. Her songbook.

Most importantly, she lost her father.

But when someone anonymously donates two million dollars to her GoFundMe, it’s like she’s won the worst sort of lottery. She’s a millionaire, but at what cost?

With every person who comes into the diner where she works, she wonders, "Was it you?" The only person she’s sure didn’t donate the money is her extremely hot—and extremely standoffish—coworker, Logan Evans. Ever since he started at the diner, he’s acted like he hates her. Which is why she’s shocked when he helps her save face in front of her ex…

Their attraction can’t be denied, but when River discovers a long-hidden family secret, she suddenly finds herself questioning everyone in her life. Her dad, …

A sexy, dark romantic thriller—with a shocking twist—by the author of Everything We Never Said.

When eighteen-year-old River Santos’s house burned down, she lost everything. Her clothes. Her guitar. Her songbook.

Most importantly, she lost her father.

But when someone anonymously donates two million dollars to her GoFundMe, it’s like she’s won the worst sort of lottery. She’s a millionaire, but at what cost?

With every person who comes into the diner where she works, she wonders, "Was it you?" The only person she’s sure didn’t donate the money is her extremely hot—and extremely standoffish—coworker, Logan Evans. Ever since he started at the diner, he’s acted like he hates her. Which is why she’s shocked when he helps her save face in front of her ex…

Their attraction can’t be denied, but when River discovers a long-hidden family secret, she suddenly finds herself questioning everyone in her life. Her dad, who wasn’t as perfect as he seemed. Her chaotic mother, who left without so much as a goodbye at the beginning of her senior year. The anonymous donor, whose intentions may not have been altruistic after all. And most especially Logan, who has dark secrets of his own.

After the fire, River thought she had hit rock bottom. But as it turns out, there’s always more to lose…

2 editions

WhiskeyintheJar reviewed All We Lost Was Everything by Sloan Harlow

Young/New adult romance/mystery mashup

2 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

My mom is gone. My dad is dead. And my life will never be the same.

All We Lost Was Everything was a young and new adult feeling fiction story about how lies and covering up painful pasts can lead to hurting the people you were only trying to protect. Newly graduated from highschool, River has just survived a house fire that took her father's life and all her belongings. She's staying with her aunt as her mother took one of her mental health hikes before the accident and hasn't been heard or seen from since. When her bestfriend Tawny starts a GoFundMe for her, she gets a mysterious donation of two million dollars. Not willing to spend the money before she learns who donated it, she continues working …

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

My mom is gone. My dad is dead. And my life will never be the same.

All We Lost Was Everything was a young and new adult feeling fiction story about how lies and covering up painful pasts can lead to hurting the people you were only trying to protect. Newly graduated from highschool, River has just survived a house fire that took her father's life and all her belongings. She's staying with her aunt as her mother took one of her mental health hikes before the accident and hasn't been heard or seen from since. When her bestfriend Tawny starts a GoFundMe for her, she gets a mysterious donation of two million dollars. Not willing to spend the money before she learns who donated it, she continues working at the local cafe, where she can't keep her eyes off the new employee Logan, but he seems so angry towards her and she can't figure out why.

Because if she knew who I really am, what I’ve done? It would be the end of everything.

The first half of this leaned into those young and new adult feelings and issues of not quite knowing what to do with yourself after highschool and having the hots for a boy. River was previously dating someone that she thought she was going to marry but he broke up with her out of the blue, so she's dealing with trust issues between the ex and her disappeared mom. The story is mostly told from River's point-of-view but the middle brings in Logan's pov and readers learn that he has feelings for River but there's a mystery reason that makes him feel like he should stay away from her. The middle loses itself to focusing in on the physical relationship, kisses and having the hots for each other, between River and Logan for awhile, but the latter second half races on as numerous reveals start happening and the reader gets a bit of whiplash from it all.

Someone who loved me enough to walk through fire.

Some of the reveals you'll probably see coming and others will most likely be a surprise. They all were worked in believably but there were some that also felt like a soap opera sweeps week, especially when they are revealed and then moved on from fairly quickly, not letting the reader absorb and try to feel some emotion about. River had that late teen angst attitude at times that colored her with some narcissism, she wanted everyone to act the way she wanted them to act but when the reveals happen, they were so dramatic, it turned me back to her side. This bounced from keeping me engaged in the beginning with the introduction to these characters, to wanting more depth developed in their relationships between them, to barely hanging on for the soap opera drama reveal ride. I could see a younger audience (mostly making out with one open-door scene) enjoying this more as a starter that could lead them into reading Gillian Flynn or Oyinkan Braithwaite. Most of the story was hiding and only sort of working to unfold the mystery, and then raced through the reveals too quickly for them to really emotionally hit, but younger and newer readers might enjoy this step into a romance and mystery mashup.

Subjects

Children's fiction