4.0
The Color of Time
ByPublisher Description
Princess Cyrelle has always been faithful and true to her family, country, and Goddess. But now her brother, King Elias of Cicia, has asked for—no, commanded—her hand in marriage.
Desperate to avoid this incestuous union, Cyrelle requests a series of increasingly impossible gifts and petitions the Goddess for a sign to sway her resolute brother's proposal. As Elias persists undeterred, Cyrelle must risk everything to escape the only life she's ever known.
Soon, she becomes Green Scales, hiding and struggling to survive on her own, far across the galaxy. But Phau isn't the peaceful refuge Cyrelle had hoped for, and when the leader of its burgeoning rebel faction recognizes the runaway princess, she is forced to choose between safety and freedom. With the fate of two kingdoms on the line and nowhere left to run, Cyrelle must decide what it means to be true to herself, to her people, and to her heart.
"An expansive original parable of sapphic yearning, mistakes and redemption, and—most importantly—the fight for freedom." —Florence Chien, author of The Revenant of Surolifia
"A tour de force that pulses with political intrigue." —Jason Denzel, author of The Mystic Trilogy
"A wholly unique and positively delightful read!" —T.A. Chan, author of The Celestial Seas
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Color of Time Reviews
4.0
“The world building is definitely there, with enough immersion and explanation that it makes sense and is vivid. I would have liked to get more back story on the various gods and goddesses and the pantheon as a whole though.
More backstory on the Old People, and getting more into the lore and history of the worlds would have helped develop the world a bit more.
The characters also read as a little flat. This might be mostly due to the narration through another's point of view - where Sianna is telling the story of what happened and recounting what she knows. But it also might be because the character's aren't entirely fleshed out. Or maybe Cyrelle just seems very passive because she's been serening herself for decades.
Regardless, it was hard to understand why Sianna was drawn to Cyrelle to begin with. Cyrelle's passive, very "go with the flow," and feels a bit emotionally underdeveloped - although this does fit with her very sheltered upbringing.
Overall it's a cute story with a vivid world but there was a disconnect between the detailed world and the characters living inside the world. Elias was more of a caricature of a greedy king, Cyrelle the passive heroine, and Sianna - a freedom fighter that fell for a princess. The story definitely reads in more of a "telling" way than a "showing" way and is fairly short.”
“grateful to NetGalley, the Author, and Publishers for granting me the e-ARC!
this was definitely an interesting yet conflicting read. the atmosphere was probably my favourite part of the book; it had this dreamy, melancholic fairy-tale quality that felt very gothic and folkloric, even with the sci-fi setting.
the writing was beautiful, evocative and easy to sink into, and i really appreciated the darker themes surrounding identity, freedom, and control.
that said, i don't think the story completely lived up to its potential. for one, the book is very short, and because of that, both the worldbuilding and the romance felt underdeveloped. the sapphic relationship had emotional intensity, but i needed more depth and buildup to really connect with it.
the plot itself was also fairly straightforward and a little emotionally distant at times.
in the end, it just felt more like a beautifully atmospheric experience than a fully immersive story.
i can see it really working for readers who enjoy quick lyrical fairy-tale retellings, but for me, something was missing that kept it from being truly memorable.”
“I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
This started off fairly weak — repetitive and choppy. And it really throws you into the world unforgivingly. It’s pretty easy to get a grip on the world a handful of pages in but it was jarring at first.
I have to say, second person is not my favorite means of narration so that really colors my impression of the book. But eventually it did flow so naturally that I kind of forgot it was second person. Which I think speaks to how immersive it ends up being.
On a line level, the writing is gorgeous. It’s dreamlike in quality which I think lends itself properly to the setting.
The word irascible was used one too many times. It was noticeable.
The antagonist was well written. Slimy and ambitious and repulsive. It made the narrative very compelling. I was icked out.
As time went on I became more invested, which goes to show the author knew how to capture attention and keep it.
Overall, this was a short and well-contained read, I read it in a few hours. The book had themes of repentance, piety, and self-preservation/survival. I’d definitely recommend it to people looking for a quick high stakes sci-fi romp.
4 stars.”
“I received an ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review below:
"The Color of Time" is an enjoyable, relatively short look into a intergalactic revolution sparked by an unlikely heroine.
Abecassis gave herself a challenge by putting the story in second person, but I think it really works for this story. It reframes a tale that takes place over a long period of time and makes it feel more intimate. We are, quite literally, reading a retelling of events. I won't go into further detail here to avoid spoilers, but the narrator not being the protagonist is fully justified by the end.
I will say, there are moments when I felt too far from the story, especially in the last 10% of the reading. Instead of events happening on the page, the reader essentially reads a synopsis of things happening over a longer period of time as the speaker comes back to the protagonist. After such an exciting and more drawn out climax, it took me out of it somewhat.”
“I really enjoyed this one. Even though it's under 200 pages, it reads like a full novel rather than a novella. The story is fast paced and packed with ideas, but never feels rushed or underdeveloped. It tells a complete story without feeling like anything is missing.
This is a sci-fi retelling of Donkeyskin. I went into it completely blind since I'm not familiar with the original, so I experienced it as its own story without comparing it to the source and it worked really well that way.
The mix of first and second person POV caught me off guard at first, but I got used to it quickly, and it actually made sense within the story.
The concepts were a big highlight for me, especially the different suits (sun, moon, and the time-manipulating one). They added a lot to both the worldbuilding and the tension, and made the story feel bigger than its page count.
Some elements felt very grounded in real world style political ideas and tactics. One scene in particular even gave me vibes of a certain Mossad operation, which added an extra layer of realism for me.
The ending is a bit open, but I liked that it left me thinking about it after finishing.
Overall, a short but fully satisfying sci-fi story that proves you don't need 400 pages to tell something engaging and complete.
* I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, and this is my honest review.”
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