This is how you lose the time war, but better

Don't be mad at me if you liked this one, okay? Hahaha I'm having the worst time trying to get through this book. I thought I would love it, because it has all the right ingredients, but I can't understand a thing and it's driving me crazy. I have a bit of aphantasia and can't imagine any of the scenarios, so I'm super bored reading the descriptions.

But it makes me eager for a similar book. Some yearning, messages or brief encounters, sapphic, gay or straight, don't care, but I need a better background for the story. I would also prefer a happy ending for the characters, but I can work with an open ending. Scifi, historical fiction, fantasy, I don't care! But I need to get invested in the characters and what are they experiencing that doesn't allow them to be together from the start while they fall in love.

Thank you!