My thoughts, in no particular order:

Given how short the story is, I was really happy that it built on the decades-long friendship Tess and Jake had. That made the friends-to-lovers change more meaningful to me, and by the last scene (which was a delightful way to end the book), I totally believed in their HEA.

There's a lot of sex in the story (it's from the EC Taboo line, so this isn't a surprise) but I think if there had been another 20 pages more of story/character exploration I would have been happier with the whole. I think the BDSM elements of the h/h's relationship would be considered sugarkink?

The set-up made me a bit concerned, but fortunately the author took the approach of acknowledging the heroine's need for mental health care in a frank, loving way.

This is definitely the best in the Truth & Lies series. It makes me happy to see Ms. Dryden's writing continue to improve, and gives me hope for even more wonderful stories from her in the future. ( )