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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Somehow both fast and slow paced at the same time, and very cryptic worldbuilding. The relationship between the main characters started quite abruptly, going from mortal enemies to best friends within 50 pages. Additionally, while the elements of worldbuilding that were present were very well done, call me a toddler that needs to be spoon fed, but very little of Garden and Agency's actual motives/goals were actually revealed. Personally, I think that at the very least, some knowledge of their end goal would have made the ending more impactful. However, the masterful use of imagery and allusions was a treat. I also loved how a diverse array of historical events/locations were used, as I find many "time traveling" concepts often restrict themselves to locales within Europe and the USA.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this is how i like my love stories. especially my enemies-to-lovers love stories. in red and blue’s terms, i hunger for their happiness. this was my first co-written work read and i can proudly say that i enjoyed every moment.
the exposition of the war is confusing at first and i thought i’d never understand. however, i have come to realise that it was never about the time war but about how red and blue navigate the struggle of finding themselves (they found themselves in each other) amidst the warring agencies that stripped them away from what makes them an individual. they cosplay many lives, and yet they can still see past their many forms and into their real selves.the seeker aspect intrigued me, and throughout the book i had already guessed that it was either red or blue all along (having watched interstellar). yet, the reveal of the lengths red went through just to save blue still embedded itself deep into the romantic part of my brain.
they love and they love and they love, and i hope red and blue finally get to be neighbours, keep dogs, and share tea :)
oh to find love that yearns like red and blue.
the exposition of the war is confusing at first and i thought i’d never understand. however, i have come to realise that it was never about the time war but about how red and blue navigate the struggle of finding themselves (they found themselves in each other) amidst the warring agencies that stripped them away from what makes them an individual. they cosplay many lives, and yet they can still see past their many forms and into their real selves.
they love and they love and they love, and i hope red and blue finally get to be neighbours, keep dogs, and share tea :)
oh to find love that yearns like red and blue.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Too abstract for my tastes. It’s more poetry with a bit of story. The entire premise is built around a war though, which always triggers sadness for me.
A bit confusing but what an amazing read!
I'm usually not for writing that's more poetic/less grounded but I loved this. I found it highly romantic without being clichè (but I know this will not be for everyone).
The writing is high-caliber from the start, and the characters and setting are introduced gradually in a very natural way. I really enjoyed the creativity with the post-human colonies and forms of communication, because I find sci-fi can be unimaginative at times (e.g. humans a million years from now are virtually the same but now they live with aliens).
Will need to reread for sure.
I'm usually not for writing that's more poetic/less grounded but I loved this. I found it highly romantic without being clichè (but I know this will not be for everyone).
The writing is high-caliber from the start, and the characters and setting are introduced gradually in a very natural way. I really enjoyed the creativity with the post-human colonies and forms of communication, because I find sci-fi can be unimaginative at times (e.g. humans a million years from now are virtually the same but now they live with aliens).
Will need to reread for sure.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
7,5/10 - 3,75/5 good book but also nothing too special.
I think this is a book where I can't even say that much.
It was short and a pretty unusual read. The worldbuilding was really mysterious and you don't understand that much about how the time travel works or why it's even happening, just that red and blue are from vastly different uhh, places and they're trying to outsmart each other until they fall for each other.
The love was really beautiful and intense. I liked the progression, it happened quick but also not?? It just made sense and suddenly they were madly in love. The way they sent each other letters despite their circumstances and the letters, they were so beautiful. I really liked that.
While I didn't mind the mysterious world (the book was way too short for worldbuilding) I have to say that whenever the current place they were at was described i was a bit confused and couldn't really get into the setting.
This was also the type of time travel story that I like, which is the one where everything has already happened. Right from the start I was intrigued by the seeker and what the hell it was doing, why it was acting so weirdly.
At some point i guessed it was one of the two and later that it was red but I still really liked how it all played into the whole picture.
When blue died I was sobbing so hard, probably also because I just had watched a bury your gays movie and I can handle only so much queer suffering. Her coming back was a relief but i have to say because it was “unclear” while simultaneously very clear that she would come back it somehow didn't hit as hard??
And the end was disappointing, i wish they would've met up at least once that wasn't when blue was “dead”.
I think this is a book where I can't even say that much.
It was short and a pretty unusual read. The worldbuilding was really mysterious and you don't understand that much about how the time travel works or why it's even happening, just that red and blue are from vastly different uhh, places and they're trying to outsmart each other until they fall for each other.
The love was really beautiful and intense.
While I didn't mind the mysterious world (the book was way too short for worldbuilding) I have to say that whenever the current place they were at was described i was a bit confused and couldn't really get into the setting.
At some point i guessed it was one of the two and later that it was red but I still really liked how it all played into the whole picture.
When blue died I was sobbing so hard, probably also because I just had watched a bury your gays movie and I can handle only so much queer suffering. Her coming back was a relief but i have to say because it was “unclear” while simultaneously very clear that she would come back it somehow didn't hit as hard??
And the end was disappointing, i wish they would've met up at least once that wasn't when blue was “dead”.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes