I appreciated that this book took one of the mainstays of the romance genre—the man with the secret—and said "yes, but let's maybe make that the least interesting part of the story". The ongoing conversations about what it means to do something truly versus falsely and the degree of art that exists in all interactions...
It was also super interesting to hear the characters take apart and choreograph their interactions (NTs can DO that?) as a way to have the conversation about what lying is (and isn't) and also when and how it matters.
Also, Lerner is one of the few authors who write Jewish characters in romance I actually want to read. Which is, believe me, a hell of a high bar.