I'm amazed every time I read a Tal Bauer book. The words are weaved together in a way that always catches me off guard, grabs me by my heart, and squeezes so hard I have no choice but to be invested. Even in this shorter story, I felt close to the characters.
I felt like I was there with Ethan struggling to navigate a long-distance relationship while still effected by the paparazzi speculating about his love life and other agents thinking he has nothing else to give now that he broke every rule.
I felt close to Jack making hard decisions to save the world while missing the love of his life almost every day.

Their first christmas together was sweet and emotional. The way these two men seem to love each other unconditionally is so pure and definitely something to protect.

And while this was sweet and heartachingly lovely. I know there's some stuff coming in the upcoming books to mess with my feelings. I need to be ready.

How do you think this is going to end tonight, Reichenbach? Another shoot-out like the one in the Oval Office? A raging car chase through the slums? Holding a bullet wound tight as you imagine your lover calling your name?

. . . This isn't that kind of story. No raging gun battles. No shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. This one is just about hard choices and doing things for the ones we love.

i am so relieved to have made the choice to read this novella, even as easy as it might have seemed to jump straight into the second main book in this series. the author dedicated this read to all the readers who shared their love for jack & ethan and it did feel like a love letter to this pair for certain; but it wasn't so self-indulgent, it didn't feel like some simple kind of filler story. there's actually a lot of plot to it and the fact that it's set before the events of our final chapter in the first book was absolutely brilliant.

to get some more insight into what ethan was up to in his time in the Des Moines office while he & jack were split across far distances was even more fulfilling than ever because we got to see the media craze over their now public relationship; we got to understand the gravity of the situation that was here when it came to how ethan's career was affected and how he navigated all the glares and judgemental silence from his peers at the office. it was very awkward, to be honest, to see how much the public make a spectacle of a relationship that is incredibly significant but came with so many strings that in this political landscape, was only inevitable but still frustrating all the same.

i mentioned in my review for the first book how it took me a while to really see the chemistry that jack & ethan had with each other, to feel convinced of how strongly ethan's feelings were for jack and much more importantly, see how those feelings were returned vice versa. it eventually hit me like a truck and i was completely invested in their romance for the rest of the story as i reached a quarter of a way through. with this novella, however, i was immediately swept up in their love for each other, the story was absolutely radiant with it, there was no question. despite the long distance, they always kept in touch and they always supported each other in the ways they knew how, even trying new things to make their relationship stronger. i loved how this can be tagged as a christmas novella because we do get to see a lot of the holiday spirit in lighting up the big christmas tree at the White House and having a grand tour within the building to see all the decorations. christmas has always been something i associated with family and seeing jack & ethan bonded together among all the festive lights was amazing, even more so as the other agents who ethan worked with in the Secret Service were there to keep the energy alive. it added some heart to a story that can be categorized pretty easily as a political thriller, and so it all balanced each other out very well.

beyond that, seeing jack navigate this potential new alliance with the Russian president, and ethan navigating this financial crime case back in Iowa, it felt like they were still a team and their love for each other made their confidence grow a lot in the decisions they make, whether it's personal or professional. out of the two, my favorite subplot was of ethan's, because there's a case he has to hide as a ghost in due to his relationship with jack, the President, and there's a lot of red tape to meander through to prevent from stepping on any higher-up's toes. again, ethan's career takes a big hit in his newfound love for one of the biggest world leaders, and so he has to deal with the repercussions. even then, though, i love how driven and smart he is when it comes to handling what he's given. as stoic as he's described to be and very much was well before he met jack, i was used to seeing him so utterly vulnerable and absolutely gone over jack, that having some time spent away from him and focusing on his demotion revealed what a lot of characters have said in how serious ethan is when it comes to his work. no matter all the assumptions made about him throwing away all he worked for for a romantic relationship that crossed a lot of lines, he never once took it for granted and he put his foot down to keep his eyes forward and make the best with what he has.

the best thing to ethan is jack himself, and knowing he'll do whatever it takes to make them work was so gut-wrenching, and i absolutely loved it. i loved seeing how as good as they were managing their long-distance, we got to see them question if the other was willing to keep sticking to the strict rules set upon them in their relationship, and see their immense fear at losing each other if it was true. we as the reader know it's not, we know that, but it doesn't make that fear feel any lesser.

it really was a huge relief that i got to have this kind of insight because there was a lot of spectacle near the end of the first book due to the time jump, but it wasn't like the author could go any longer after everything he already invested into the narrative. the fact that this was only the beginning was a given because there's still so much at stake, with a war brewing along the horizon and a mystery sitting in the trenches as a prime antagonist went into hiding. i liked that the author took a step back from all that, and explored some of the time that was skipped over before and gave it its own space to shine. it made it feel much more of a smooth reading experience and felt like a nice prep for all the more chaos that is surely to come in the second book. i liked that we got to see a little deeper into the depth that was ethan & jack's relationship, while still getting some interesting mysteries that were the cases ethan worked on. i liked that we got to meet a new character that wasn't mentioned in the final chapter of the last book but that i really hope we may see again because they were the one person who made ethan's days at the office feel a little lighter, and even though ethan said there's a likely chance they'll never see each other again, their partnership still meant something and with where this character heads off to and what we know eventually happens to ethan, i'd like to think their paths will cross again.

overall, this was a really nice read that had a good balance of things where it didn't feel like a filler but it also wasn't too rushed within the 200-page mark. i can't wait to move on and get back into the present timeline of the series, because it really will be yet another long rollercoaster--and i'll enjoy it all the same, if not a little more.