This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌘🌑

Publisher: Saga Press

Published: July 16, 2019

Format: e-Book

Pages: 209

Synopsis:

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

Thoughts:

A sapphic romance following two rival agents who fell in love the more they communicate with one another.

That premise alone makes me want to read the book. If you add the time travel and futuristic world, I am super sold. However, I am very disappointed with this book. I’ve been hearing lots of hype about this book since it came out, but I have to say that it’s one of those books that does not live up to the hype.

The story is confusing at best. The book is set in a futuristic world with various means to travel time. However, the terminology of how the characters travel is just dumped to the readers without explaining what it is. I wouldn’t mind reading an extra page or two if it means I would get an explanation as to what’s going on. However, as you read more into the book you wouldn’t even care about the terminology, but it is still confusing at the beginning.

Moreover, there is no explanation as to how the war began and what’s at stake. All we can see are two rival agents trying to sabotage one another’s plan. I’m pretty sure I would have liked it more if I knew what’s at stake and how much trouble these rival agents would face by falling in love. Instead, we are told rather than shown of the stakes of falling for one another.

What I like the most in this book are the letters. I don’t even care about the characters as they are not that developed in my opinion. But I loved reading their letters. If someone would write me a letter like that, I would swoon immediately. Furthermore, how the letters were written and hidden makes it more interesting to follow. But if it weren’t for that two elements in the story, I am not sure I would like this story, let alone give it a 3-Moon rating.

If you are someone who likes reading books where things are not fully explained with penpals who are so brilliant at hiding their letters, then highly recommend this book.

That is all for this review.

Until next time!