Lizstar

Gay Murr Girl

Liz, Goblin, Part-Time Shark, VTuber, retired speedrunner, author, GDQ staff, Sega fan, "Yuri Sommelier", Walking Encyclopedia of All Things Useless, Twitch partner, general menace. Says "Murr" a lot. This is not a place of honor, views my own, etc. Avatar art by me.


Lexie-Plays-Fast
@Lexie-Plays-Fast

A review of All the Time in the World by Elizabeth "@Lizstar" Dumler

TL;DR: A bargain at twice the price for any fan of fantasy lesbian romance (get it at twice the price!)

Get the full (spoiler free) review below the fold.


The Story

There are few things in this or any world more powerful than ideology, but when mage cop Victoria Soothblade meets with the triple threat of goblin wizard Evelynn Bookburn, time folding back on itself, and the realisation that 🥺 women,,,, she is forced to recon with the weight of the law, and her own relationship to it. As time steadfastly refuses to flow, the two of them work together to unfurl the mystery of broken time, until they manage to open a window of opportunity to mend the world with the power of girlfriendship, and restore proper cause and effect.

The Romance

The relationship between protagonist couple Victoria and Eve is played with the straightest of bats. It could be called a slow burn romance, but the accelerated pace of a light novel makes even that something of a misnomer. Rivals, miscommunications and slights are dispensed with in favour of straightforward and steady development of the relationship, and what there is in terms of conflict is quickly resolved through open and honest communication. The relationship is comfy and sweet, perhaps verging on saccharine, but whether this works for you is a matter of taste! The focus on "what can be achieved when working together" over "what it takes to get together" helps the book keep a lively pace, and can be a breath of fresh air in cynical world.

The Action

The story is not one that is very focused on combat, but what is there is a heady mix of swordplay, sorcery, and a dash of pugilism thrown in for good measure. Every blow, whether magic or material, is weighty and final in its presentation, and combat is grounded and straightforward more than it is flashy and choreographed. Outside of combat, travel both on foot and on horseback, magically enhanced and not, is given its consideration, but is not lingered on.

The World and its Magic

The presentation of the world is economical, without being overly sparse. On the whole, every mystery presented is explained only just enough to understand what is going on, but for a few occasions where we are given a bit of a peek behind the curtain. Still, the explanations given, while definitely enough to understand what's going on, certainly leaves the reader hungry for more. This, again, is a matter of taste, but either which way it helps the book keep its quick pace.

The Rest

As of time of writing, the book does have some minor technical issues, in both its EPUB and PDF versions. These issues are at worst minor distractions when reading, although sadly both versions are published without the beautiful cover by @robinandcat as part of the book metadata. At $3, the price of the book is hard to argue with, and when I picked up the book at Itch.io I personally made sure to bump that number up!

Conclusion: ✨ Recommended! ✨


You must log in to comment.

in reply to @Lexie-Plays-Fast's post: