Sully, Akara, and Banks must confront Ryke's rejection of their relationship as well as the pressures that may come with revealing their relationship status. It was a bit surprising to see Ryke be so uncomfortable with the relationship, but when I thought about it more it made more sense. Ryke and Daisy had a reasonably hard time having their relationship become acceptable in both the public eye and their private circles (as per previous books in the series that precludes this one). In context, they had a monogamous relationship and had a hard time so Ryke was likely concerned about how much more Sully would have to struggle in the public eye in a polyamorous relationship. I think by the end it is clear that his reaction was driven more by concern that selfishness. Thankfully, he seemed to come around at the end.

I appreciate that the friends and family of the main characters had individual reactions to the news of Sully's relationship. We got to see that even the most understanding people can be off put by relationships that challenge the status quo. I think books like this are a way to show that relationships like this can still be committed and loving if all parties are compatible and care for one another. Eventually most of the characters close to Sully, Akara, and Banks in general learn to be happy for their friends and accept the within their relationship.

I liked that the distinction between romantic and sexual attraction was acknowledged in this installment. We get a lot of moments seeing each character's thoughts and Akara questions what he feels for Banks several times. By the end, I believe that both Banks and Akara recognize that they love each other like they love Sully. However, for them this excludes physical attraction. I would like to see more representation like this in media because I think it can open up doors to other kinds of representation such as that of asexual and aromantic individuals.

On another note, we have gotten some foreshadowing to Donnelly and Luna's relationship. They seem to be on friendly terms at least and Donnelly continues to struggle financially behind the scenes. I'm excited to see where that goes and I'm looking forward to the book focused on them.