Well, this book absolutely tore my heart to shreds. I didn't look up in advance who Raphael would be paired with for this book, so I didn't know it was going to be Dmitri, and I didn't know Dmitri was going to be ace. As an ace person myself, this book had me crying like a baby. Dmitri's struggles to come to terms with himself and his journey throughout this book of trying to understand how he could be a worthy partner for someone who wasn't also ace was like looking in a mirror. I feel like the ace identity is so often misunderstood and misrepresented in media, and this felt so real and so close to my experience that I was not only weeping for this man but for how seen it made me feel. This book was a tough, emotional read with Raphael's struggles with his fears as well as Dmitri's uncertainty and martyrdom keeping them apart for most of it, but I truly enjoyed it. The side characters feel like family at this point, and it was so heart warming to finally see Rafael and Dmitri happy together.