This is absolutely everything I could have wanted from the sequel to His Quiet Agent, truly. I went in worrying about a potential disappointment, because the first book was just *so good* and I wanted the second one to be even better, but how would I do if it never lived up to my expectations? Well, we'll never know the answer, because Agents of Winter is, in fact, even better! And even though it's hardly longer than the first novella, this time, somehow I didn't come out of it wishing it was longer, because these ~150 pages contained so, so much. 

I remember when I finished His Quiet Agent, I had this frustrating feeling that despite already being in love with the two leads, I didn't know enough about them. The second book allowed me to get to know them really, really well. I loved seeing them apart and together and that there was no extra drama in the development of their relationship. When I say they were apart for some of the book, I mean, like, physically. I never felt any doubt that Martin and Arthur were in it for a good haul, and guess what, it took nothing away from the story. Gradual development of trust, getting to know each other better, and reaffirming the intention to stick together is apparently all I need from a romance novel. It's like their HEA has already happened, and the second book was a wonderful look into what happens after.

I loved that the book is set around New Year, because this holiday is a perfect symbolic backdrop to where Arthur and Martin are at: letting go of the past, looking into the future. I also really liked that this was a dual POV, and that so many parts of Martin's backstory were revealed so gradually: letting the reader come to a conclusion first, confirming and expanding on it later. It's interesting that while a lot of the things about Martin's history and personality weren't 100% what I expected, as a person he was kind of... exactly how I saw him through Arthur's eyes in book 1, I just got to see more? I think it's a testament both to Ada Maria Soto's writing ability (it can be hard to make sure a character comes across as *exactly* the same person, whether you're in their head or looking at them through a different narrator's lens, especially when said character is so closed-off and secretive) and to the relationship between these two (Arthur's seen Martin all along, even when he wasn't sure of that himself, excuse me while I go have way too many feelings over this).

Also! Not only is this an asexual romance, it's also an ace romance where there's so, so little physical contact. A lot of the time it's just holding hands and breathing together. And at no point does this low level of physicality take away from the super strong bond the characters share, their importance to each other, their mutual understanding, their feelings, their happy future with multiple winters in New York. This feels so, so important with me, and it's the kind of romance that makes me feel extremely seen. I'm so grateful it exists.