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

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It took me until the very end to figure out what the actual f*ck was going on. For that reason, I initially gave this 4 ⭐️ but then, I sat with my thoughts and feelings for about 30 minutes after ending it, and the more I contemplated it, the more I felt pushed to change it for 5 ⭐️. I’ve only ever been affected by one other novella the way that this one made me feel. It was romantic, poetic, lyrical, and witty. The characters against the backdrop of a unique world were gorgeous. The fact that my jaw dropped multiple times at how effortlessly beautiful the letters between Red and Blue were is what ultimately made me change my rating. I feel the need to go and get a physical copy of this just so I can annotate, and any book that elicits that response from me deserves my full praise. Finally, it’s just really impressive to me that not just one, but TWO people melded their minds and creative juices to create this work of art, and I can’t imagine how they made it seem so easy.