Sophomore Effort Arguably Stronger Than Debut. This is number 2 in the series and blatantly labeled as such, but it *can* be read independently of the first book, if you don't mind major spoilers of what happens in the first book. I was fortunate enough to read that first book as an ARC as well, and Marie is absolutely beginning a pattern - but a pattern which I've never seen from any other author. The books are strong, relatable romances featuring a large extended family on at least one side (the connective tissue in the series) that could work no matter the genders of the pairing. But where Marie truly shines is picking up on "less than normal" kinks and sexualities and building strong characters that happen to have them. Very nice to catch up with the couple from the first book and the entire extended family originally introduced there, and devastating to have some secrets hinted at in the first book revealed here. Absolutely looking forward to the next tale in this series and future work from this author.