I must preface this with the fact that I have always disliked time travel in fiction. Not once have I ever enjoyed any depiction of it. I find it frustrating and uncomfortable and this iteration, though definitely a unique take on the topic, was no exception.

This is a very difficult book to pin down and review because it felt like it almost didn't want to be read. While it was extremely formulaic (one chapter told from one of the two protagonists' POV, followed by a letter left by the other, then switch places) the prose was so flowery that I had difficulty understanding just what was supposed to be happening at times. Though I suppose when your two lead characters are literally named 'Red' and 'Blue' it shouldn't be surprising when the rest of the book is absolutely purple. rimshot

There's a war between two factions that both have some sort of time traveling technology that is never explained. Why the two factions are warring with each other or for how long (if that's even a possible question to ask) is never explained. And I understand that it's left intentionally vague because it's not the focus of the story the authors wanted to tell, but I found what was happening in the background to be more interesting than what was being handed to me.

A slow and careful romance between two combatants on either side of a deadlocked conflict should be an interesting premise. And there are certainly voiced concerns about possible betrayals and thoughts of, "what if this is just a long con to make me a turncoat?" that I'm glad were brought up. I just struggle to believe that a relationship can arise at all when these characters have no direct in-person interactions with each other and spend entire lifetimes without hearing from one another. I just found that the eventual culminating romance to be unearned and wished that it had resulted in a genuine betrayal or a more tragic note than what I got.

(Also, it feels disingenuous to market this as a "sapphic romance" when the two leads are essentially shapeshifters and have a loose association with gender beyond using she/her pronouns. This didn't feel queer in a way I could recognize.)