Annabeth Albert is a total pro and always worth reading for thoughtful, complicated romances. This one was good too but didn't hit my personal buttons for a couple of reasons: one, I don't really like when the heroes have other romances when they already know each other. I know that's realistic in a 10 year friends-to-lovers story but I don't want to hear so much about their other, prior relationships. That's not a complaint against Albert, just a me thing that I mention in case it's a thing for other readers. Also, I kind of misread the blurb (or the blurb misled me) and thought that the mission-gone-awry would be more important to the story: that they'd realize more during their crisis or get stuck alone for longer or something. It was a turning point, I guess, but only because of the near-death experiences, not because of anything they figured out or said to each other at the time. So that was confusing. I found the long medical recoveries a downer too. Again, that's realistic and I get it but that's not what I read romance for. It's always a tough call to balance realism and HEAs and I give Albert lots of props for putting these interesting characters in a tough situation with real stakes and then writing about it *so* well! Worth reading, like all her work. 
 **I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**