The two sides serve as excellent juxtaposed enemies that paint a picture of the two futures of humanity. These agents are on opposing sides of a time war, each trying to influence strands of time to work out such that the future favors their outcome. The agents spend each new chapter in a different setting, sometimes exotic and imaginative and other times familiar and tame.

The worldbuilding was excellent in a way that is best compared to a “soft magic system.” That is to say, it doesn’t outline the detailed economic systems and inner workings of a society so much as it gives you the impression of how things go. I will freely admit that I went in expecting some kind of time travelling insanity but became enraptured by the budding romance that I found instead. This is How You Lose the Time War fits into a similar category. I won’t lie and say that I’m now some kind of connoisseur of romantic media, but I’m much more open-minded than I once was.

Imagine my surprise then, upon reading The Cybernetic Tea Shop last year, that I absolutely loved a gentle, comforting romance. As a result, even in my reading, I gravitated towards action-filled heroic stories where even the “strong female characters” were super badass. I grew up scoffing at rom-coms, love songs and anything that would jeopardize the all-important man card. As a twenty-eight year-old male, I’ve found myself living with more than a small amount of toxic masculinity.

This how you lose the time war