A review by lotecider
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.25

An actual waste of time and unlike the characters in this book, i don't have the ability to time travel to make up for lost time. 

I did not enjoy this book at all. It was so hard to understand- I found myself having to reread parts and use ai to understand what some phrases/sentenced even meant. I get some people would pass it off as poetic and descriptive but it was just straight up unreadable and poetry is meant to enhance the story, not drag it down and make it incomprehensible.

There was not enough world building and you don't really find out anything about the characters to grow fond of them. The plot points don't really make sense and I don't think I would've understood anything if it weren't for previous reviews and ai 😭. 

The plot had so much potential- a time travel adventure and a forbidden romance trope honestly sounded so so so interesting and something I'd enjoy but the execution was not there at all. I almost fell into a reading slump just trying to get through this book :(