This Is How You Lose the Time War Paperback – March 17, 2020

I don’t even know where to begin? This might actually be a very thorough review and not my usual short snippets. This book has altered my brain chemistry. The book is about 200 pages and I did it on audio but finished it on my kindle & audio together. I also already bought the physical because I want to reread it. I can’t explain how deeply intricate and beautiful this story was. It is poetic and lyrical. The world building and plot are both amazing but it goes beyond that…. It’s about a feeling. The feelings this book give you are so powerful. I definitely think it’s a book that as I read it more, I’d likely find more things to love about it.The best way to describe this without giving away too much is that it is a sci-fi sapphic romance. It has time travel. Enemies to lovers. No spice. Slow burn. That being said, it is beautiful, complex, emotionally poignant, a little weird but just perfect in every way. Just read it. Don’t look into it anymore than you have to. It is a book that must be experienced. I can’t wait to read the physical.

Context: I’d suggested this for book club and it was selected. I finished it in just a few days.Review: I think the length was perfect for this story. It felt slow at the beginning because it has a pretty steep learning curve - there’s a lot to adjust to with the world building and the writing style - but it really picks up speed at the end. Once I got used to it, it was beautiful and at a couple of points pricked tears in my eyes. The tone is more ponderous, romantic, and melodramatic than I expected a war story to be, and I ate it up. The sappy and over-the-top love confessions played my heartstrings like soulful harp, and felt very fitting for our characters because they would have to be so insanely in love with each other to betray their respective sides, and because everything in their life is extreme - from the bodies they live in, to the leaders they serve, to the jobs they carry out (how much more extreme can you get than to literally manipulate time to win). It was impressive that the focal point of the story was on Red and Blue’s relationship, yet it didn’t pull any punches with the scifi elements. Most of the book is their letters and them thinking about each other, with the scifi elements coming into play with how they travel through time and space, how they leave the letters for each other, how their bodies have been made into hyper efficient weapons, their different sides’ cultures, and how their leaders kept tabs on them. It packed so much into barely 200 pages and I’m glad it did. I was really satisfied with how everything wrapped up and where Blue and Red left off. This was a challenging read, and so I wasn’t quite able to enjoy the story to its full potential - yet! I think this will have incredible reread value when I reread it, and it’s a safe bet I’ll love it even more.- Sofia

I’m just now getting around to posting a review for this fantastic, beautiful, moving book which is one of my top 5 books in the last 10 years (at least!). I’ve re-read it several times and have gifted it to friends who have also raved about it. A gorgeous epistolary novel written by two incredible authors who each take on the role of Red and Blue, the primary characters in the book - I won’t give anything away but please give yourself the gift of reading this book.

Book was selected for our book club. Interesting read. I wanted to like it more. I feel like the writing tries to hard. There are many Easter eggs in the book, which I wasn’t looking for, but may have made the book more enjoyable had I known to hunt for them.My husband comment “ red’s grammar was akin to cybernetic red polished razor nails down a chalk board.”

This book is phenomenal. I just finished reading it, and I already want to start it again.It’s sci-fi. It’s poetry. It’s philosophy. It’s a love story. But no matter how hard I try, I won’t do it justice by trying to describe it, because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read.Two immortal agents travel through time and across different threads of existence, altering historical events and weaving realities to further their cause.Along the way, they begin sending letters that start as taunts but become so much more. And when I say “letters,” I don’t just mean emails or notes on paper. My favorite was a message etched into the rings of a tree over centuries meant to be read only once the tree was cut down.I listened to this on audio while reading along, because the prose was so rich, dense, and beautiful. I needed to fully immerse myself just to have a chance at understanding it.Extraordinary. Exquisite. Delightful. Delicious. Thought-provoking. And a thousand more words I could use.Spice: 1/5Plot: 5+/5Writing: 5+/5My Enjoyment: 5+/5

Giving it a 4 for its unique and weird fantasy. When you pick it up you won’t know what’s happening for awhile but stick with it for the satisfying ending. Beautiful prose carries you away.

Not for the faint of heart, but is an amazing read. It’s very easy to get lost considering the whole plot of the book, but I think it adds to the experience and really makes you think. 10/10!!!

The prose is stunning and the storyline, though baffling, sucks you in and leaves you spinning with your heart aching. Best sapphic love story out there I think. Highly recommend.