This book sort of sneaked up on me. For at least a half of it, I wasn’t that invested; I only read on because it felt like a familiar, comfortable read, the kind of story I’ve already read quite a few times in more compelling iterations. And sometimes you just need to read something that’s… not at all challenging, you know? Just to give your brain a break. So I was just getting that break, fully expecting to forget these characters afterward and probably never come back to the series.

But then I started caring about Euan and his quest for revenge, despite him being only a side character. And then through him, I got invested in David and all his reasons for helping Euan. And for how stuck he felt between where he came from and where he was going, and between who he was and who he couldn’t let himself be. And for his stubborn insistence on doing the right thing, and for his belief that staying true to yourself trumps being happy—that’s the kind of philosophy that tends to resonate with me hard. And then through him, I started getting to care for Balfour, who's not just a love interest but also the perfect foil, and by their final scene together I was on the edge of my seat trying to imagine what it would take for them to become the kind of men who could, after all, make it work.

Well, I guess I’ll know from the next two books! Will the “series in progress“ section of my TBR ever stop growing? :D