This was a perfect prequel novella, balancing a central storyline and romance arc that is meaningful as a stand-alone, while effortlessly bridging into our namesake brothers and the series to come. As a new reader to the series, I loved the conclusion and the hints of our future characters. I'm also so heartened by how deftly Milan handled heavy and traumatic topics and gave two undervalued characters the happily ever after they each deserved. Milan expertly creates tight novellas with believable story arcs, and this was another 5-star Milan novella for me.