As a blogger, you occasionally come across a book where, upon completion, you think to yourself: I have no idea how to review this. This is How You Lose the Time War is one of those books. How do I review a book who’s plot I barely managed to follow, who’s prose both captivated and confused me, and who’s world-building confused the everloving fuck out of me? Well, I suppose I’ll start with the basics.
This is How You Lose the Time War is a love story. A romance between two agents on opposing sides of a war that spans the length of time. The classic to enemies-to-lovers trope, if you will. They meet in one lifespan, fight each other in many others, and occasionally pass love letters through the formation of DNA in a handful of berries, the arrangement of rings in a felled tree stump, and… wait what? Yeah, that’s about where I got lost.
But let’s set the plot and time-travel shenanigans aside. Those aren’t the reasons I gush about this book. No, the reason I gush is due to the sheer beauty of the letters (and eventually love letters) Red and Blue pass each other. I have never read love letters so beautifully and intricately crafted that I wanted to just pause after each one to let myself just sit and take in what I’d read. Because truly, the prose in those letters is simply gorgeous. And while each letter reads unique to the life Red and Blue are living at the time, they still manage to capture Red’s brashness and Blue’s subtleties.
Similarly, I also adored is the slow-burn surrender as these two characters find themselves further and further entangled with each other. Admittedly, both characters are spending most of their time trying to out-do each other’s plans for a particular timeline, with no actual direct contact. However, there’s this slow development as the two get to know each other better and when the first ‘I love you’ is written, it became the most beautiful thing I read.
Overall, I rate this book a 5/5. This is How You Lose the Time War is a beautifully crafted novel with gorgeous prose and fascinating characters. Definitely one of my favorite reads in 2019.
This is How You Lose the Time War is a love story. A romance between two agents on opposing sides of a war that spans the length of time. The classic to enemies-to-lovers trope, if you will. They meet in one lifespan, fight each other in many others, and occasionally pass love letters through the formation of DNA in a handful of berries, the arrangement of rings in a felled tree stump, and… wait what? Yeah, that’s about where I got lost.
But let’s set the plot and time-travel shenanigans aside. Those aren’t the reasons I gush about this book. No, the reason I gush is due to the sheer beauty of the letters (and eventually love letters) Red and Blue pass each other. I have never read love letters so beautifully and intricately crafted that I wanted to just pause after each one to let myself just sit and take in what I’d read. Because truly, the prose in those letters is simply gorgeous. And while each letter reads unique to the life Red and Blue are living at the time, they still manage to capture Red’s brashness and Blue’s subtleties.
Similarly, I also adored is the slow-burn surrender as these two characters find themselves further and further entangled with each other. Admittedly, both characters are spending most of their time trying to out-do each other’s plans for a particular timeline, with no actual direct contact. However, there’s this slow development as the two get to know each other better and when the first ‘I love you’ is written, it became the most beautiful thing I read.
Overall, I rate this book a 5/5. This is How You Lose the Time War is a beautifully crafted novel with gorgeous prose and fascinating characters. Definitely one of my favorite reads in 2019.