Oookay. Unsurprisingly, this release did a number on me (affectionate). The first ~⅓ of the book is Waiting for the Flood, which was released several years ago as a part of the Spires series. The rest of the book was Chasing the Light, a new novella that follows Waiting's protagonist's ex.

Part 1: Waiting for the Flood
This has always been one of my favorite of Alexis Hall's books, even though it's relatively short. It's such a quiet and atmospheric book, and it so achingly FULL of emotion despite its brevity. The story's protagonist, Edwin, is so wonderful and one of my favorite book characters, and his grief and loneliness is so palpable. And Adam, his love interest, is such a calm and steady presence...I just love them both. I often grab this book anyway during a storm, even if I only read a few pages. It's just so lovely.

Part 2: Chasing the Light
I have been waiting for this edition on bated breath. After Waiting for the Flood, and his small cameo in For Real (another Spires book), I wasn't ever overflowing with sympathy for Marius to say the least. But when Alexis Hall announced that he was getting his own story in the rerelease of WftF, I prepared myself to have a change of heart. If there is one thing Hall is good at, it is absolutely amazing and very human characters. And sure enough, even though Marius was still needlessly and purposefully hurtful to those around him, I was crying for/with him by the end. We are also treated to way more Edwin and Adam cameos than I thought we would be, and some truly wonderful and moving interactions between Edwin and Marius that made me kind of want to just stare at the ceiling and cry for a while (but I was almost done with the book so I powered on). I won't spoil anything since this is a very early ARC, but if you are in the mood for something beautiful and hopeful, but still kind of painful.....this book is my recommendation.