What do you think?
Rate this book
Things We Loved Before War
Some love stories are not written in the stars.
Some love stories are meant to change everything.
Arzhel was born knowing his place in the war. A Star destined to follow, to obey, to burn for a cause written in his blood. Maxence was the Sun. Untouchable, untamed, and radiant enough to make Arzhel question everything. His duty. His legacy. Even his own name.
Fate is cruel, and love is reckless. Against all reason, the Star and the Sun meet in the same sky, and they burn—so brilliantly, so violently—that the world below will never be the same.
But love cannot outshine destiny, and the higher you fly, the harder you fall. Maxence Wright had been too perfect of a dream. Always just beyong reach, always a little unreal.
Love can be a revolution. And sometimes, the most beautiful things are the ones that destroy us.
Some love stories are meant to change everything.
Arzhel was born knowing his place in the war. A Star destined to follow, to obey, to burn for a cause written in his blood. Maxence was the Sun. Untouchable, untamed, and radiant enough to make Arzhel question everything. His duty. His legacy. Even his own name.
Fate is cruel, and love is reckless. Against all reason, the Star and the Sun meet in the same sky, and they burn—so brilliantly, so violently—that the world below will never be the same.
But love cannot outshine destiny, and the higher you fly, the harder you fall. Maxence Wright had been too perfect of a dream. Always just beyong reach, always a little unreal.
Love can be a revolution. And sometimes, the most beautiful things are the ones that destroy us.
509 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2025
52 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 26, 2026
Things we Loved before War by Masquedelune
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 /5
Quote: “Someone like you is like the sun to their darkness. And sometimes, if that darkness is deep enough, it will feed on the light, but it won't ever truly disappear. The light fades, but the darkness stays.”
Thoughts: I am not prepared for the next book in this duology - it is for sure going to break me. For all the fluffy moments in this book, there is an equal amount of pain, trauma, and tragedy. I loved all the characters here, we were introduced to them in the TWIW series, and getting to know them now makes their stories that much rougher to digest. Maxence and Regulus have my heart - and I just want to wrap Regulus up in bubble wrap and a big hug 😭.
Book tropes:
🥀 prequel
🌟 MM romance
🥀 hate to love
🌟 tragic romance
🥀 trauma
🌟 found family
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 /5
Quote: “Someone like you is like the sun to their darkness. And sometimes, if that darkness is deep enough, it will feed on the light, but it won't ever truly disappear. The light fades, but the darkness stays.”
Thoughts: I am not prepared for the next book in this duology - it is for sure going to break me. For all the fluffy moments in this book, there is an equal amount of pain, trauma, and tragedy. I loved all the characters here, we were introduced to them in the TWIW series, and getting to know them now makes their stories that much rougher to digest. Maxence and Regulus have my heart - and I just want to wrap Regulus up in bubble wrap and a big hug 😭.
Book tropes:
🥀 prequel
🌟 MM romance
🥀 hate to love
🌟 tragic romance
🥀 trauma
🌟 found family
Displaying 1 of 1 review