✨ reread 1: Nov 8-9, 2022
This book is the heart of Ethan and Jack. Love this so much, it's the only pb I bought. (I might change my mind later on)

SQUEALLLLL!!!!!

I'm so happy we got this small snippet that was mostly focused on Jack and Ethan and their love for each other and we got so many sweet, adorable moments. It was nice to read a little bit about Ethan's time in Iowa.

This is just an amazing, light and fluffy read, and is a fun story to tide fans of this series over until the third (and last?) book comes out.

Loved loved loved this, and as always I love Jack and Ethan's relationship. Their love for each other continues to shine through the pages :D

“Hard choices require hard love. The kind of love that sometimes hurts it runs so deep. You have that kind of love for the world, Jack. And for everybody.”

Overall, I really liked this short story.

Tal Bauer knows how to write characters who are deeply in love. Jack and Ethan's utter devotion to one another, and their deep admiration for the other person, comes across on every page. They do a lot of putting the other person first. They do a lot of checking in, communicating, and offering emotional support during times of stress. Their love is there in every glance, every touch, every thought. And yet they are still distinctly their own people - capable, and intelligent, and strong. It was the sort of relationship that just made me feel good to read about.

The only tiny blip of discontent that I got while reading this one was when a bit of Republican anti-refugee rhetoric slipped into a crucial speech that Jack was making to the Security Council. I can maybe understand where it was coming from within the context of this series, but it still made me uncomfortable to see a real world (but completely ludicrous) justification for turning a blind eye to people in crisis slip into my m/m books out of the mouth of a character I like and respect. It felt wrong to me, but that is a completely personal reaction. You may not be as bothered by it as I was.

That said, the rest was just so freakin' romantic it made my heart go squishy, and that's what I was ultimately looking for from this book.

NOTE: I read this story in series order rather than in order of publishing date, and I, judging by the comments of some of my friends, I think that helped with my overall enjoyment of the novella.