It's the 1860s in Virginia City. Rhine Fontaine is a former slave who can pass for white and is grabbing that oppurtunity with both hands. Eddy Carmichael is a broke cook with a dream to go to California and open her own restaurant, and she's not going to let someone stealing her money stop her. There paths were not meant to cross, until Rhine drives out into the desert and finds someone passed out in the sand. But even if they meet, it's not like they could have a relationship...
I really like this book! I'm definitely going to have check out more of Jenkins' books, if they are like this. The characters are great. And look, I don't mind romance novel leads who have the problem solving skills of romance novel leads, but it's refreshing to have characters who try and solve problems like adults. There are actual reasonable barriers between their relationship that aren't characters going "i-it's not like i like you, baka!' Also it's got some delicious 'character makes reasonable assumption that is totally wrong,' I love that trope(?). (Early on in the book, Eddy asks about Rhine's past, and he tells her that he's from Georgia and moved to Virginia City after the Civil war, and Eddy pieces that together with the fact that he's rich and 'white' and has a moment of "Hmm. HMMM. ...not asking questions where there's a 50-50 shot I really won't like the answer." And it's just aaggghhhh.)
My only complaint is the prose can be a little sparse (but hey, that's better than purple) and it's a little structurally odd at times. (I can't describe the oddness without spoilers, and it's not necessarily bad oddness, it's just a little weird.)
(And content warnings for the book: racism, slavery, and attempted rape, and children with really terrible parents.)
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