This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, LGBT+
Published on: July 2019
Publisher: Saga Press
Format: Audiobook
Language: English
My Rating: ★★★★
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.”
My Thoughts:
This was a very surprising read. Going into it, I didn’t know what to expect and maybe that was for the best.
The writing is beautiful and feels like poetry despite not being in verse. It’s lyrical and every sentence is so well crafted. The book structure is a bit unconventional and I was very confused for the first few chapters, but eventually I got the hang of it and started to enjoy it.
The story was a bit confusing at times but fascinating, and the characters were very interesting. For such a short book, it was great at making me care for the protagonists and what happened to them. Their romance felt very natural and not forced at all, which was great. It also has one of my favorite tropes – enemies to lovers – and it was done so well that you could hardly point out where they passed from the former to the latter. However, I have to say that I did guess what the mysterious shadowy figure was about early on.
The ending felt a bit rushed and abrupt, as I would’ve liked to see what happened to them afterward. But then that is to be expected from such a short book (it almost felt like a novella, really).
Overall a beautiful book, with a different kind of storytelling and a breathtaking sapphic romance.
Have you read this book? What did you think of the writing?
Until next time,
I’ve been meaning to read this for quite some time! It was also nominated for the Nebula or Hugo Award?? I forgot hahahah nevertheless, I hope I’ll love it as much as you did. Thanks for this review :>
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Oh yes, I remember reading something about it winning a prize but I can’t remember which one 😅 I hope you enjoy it as well!
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I’ve been hearing so much about this book recently and have it on my TBR! I’m really glad you liked it, even if it was a bit confusing at times. Lovely review, Juli 😄!
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Thank you so much 😊 i hope you pick it up and enjoy it as well!
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