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The Color of Time
Not yet published
Expected 19 May 26A science-fantasy retelling of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Peau d'Âne,”
The Color of Time
blends the whimsy of classic fairy tales with the sapphic romance of Fable for the End of the World and the large-scale politics of The Mercy of Gods.
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.
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.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 19, 2026
58 people want to read
About the author
Millie Abecassis
6 books46 followersMillie Abecassis is a French-American author of adult speculative fiction born and raised in France. She is the founder and host of #SmallPitch, a pitch event centered on independent presses, and the co-founder of the Small Spec Book Awards. Besides writing, Millie works in the biotech industry, has two cats, and loves playing video games whenever she has the time between two manuscripts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I have mixed feelings about The Color of Time. Most of my negative thoughts are ones that can be addressed before the book comes out or are just symptoms of it being an earlier draft, so take them with a grain of salt as I am reviewing a book set to be released in May in January.
So many aspects of this story add to the fairytale-esque nature of this book; the narration style, the pacing, the length. It’s told retrospectively from the perspective of a character in the story while being in second person. The perspective character is not the protagonist (“You” or Cyrelle) and actually isn’t introduced until about halfway through the novella (I’m not sure if their identity is really a spoiler, but I’ll avoid details nonetheless). They will sometimes introject and add little notes (ex. “I wish you had told me then.” – not an exact example, but in a similar vein) that builds the tension and the world, as well as further develop the relationship between Cyrelle and the narrator, which is difficult to do due to their limited on-page time together. You get a deeper sense of their closeness due to this reflection, but it can come off as disingenuous due to it being telling rather than showing. There are also moments where you would expect the narrator to express knowledge of what’s to come and just doesn’t, even when they have before in similar situations. It’s good, but not consistent.
There is also the issue of the writing itself. This is not a very long book, my ARC copy was 122 pages, but a lot of it felt like fluff in a way. A character would make an action then the narrator would describe exactly why they would be making that action (ex. “Jimmy tripped and spilled soup all over Jules’s suit. Jules’s exasperation was clear when they sighed, Jimmy had just ruined their favorite suit by spilling soup all over it. It was their favorite suit because….” – not a real in-text example). I promise, I understand without it being spelled out. Some of the dialogue feels like placeholder dialogue that should have a note that says: “Rewrite to make it more natural later.” Characters will say exactly what they’re thinking, which can be the case, but often people don’t talk like this.
There is a scene about half-way through the book that feels quite weird consent wise. It’s not sexual but involves Cyrelle probing the perspective character’s mind with magic, exposing their secrets. This is after they find out Cyrelle’s identity as the runaway princess but it’s clear this is a violation, one which causes physical pain. The narration gives it a pass and reasons it away, but it’s stuck with me as being kind of icky, but if they’re cool with it…. I don’t think the justification of them having found out a secret from Cyrelle as well justifies Cyrelle’s actions. Different people are going to have different takes, though, and others might not read it in the same way.
My last note is very subjective. Part 1, which involves Cyrelle escaping her brother, feels wildly disconnected from the rest of the story. It’s entirely backstory and motivation for Cyrelle that shouldn’t be cut, obviously, but does not really tie into the main plot line, especially in Parts 3, 4, and 5. I have my own ideas for tying it in more seamlessly, but I would just be writing fanfiction at this point (which I am known to do in reviews for books with so much potential).
This novella has a lot of potential, but I do hope my issues get addressed in some way before publication. I will definitely try to read more of Abecassis’s backlog because she has such unique ideas.
I have mixed feelings about The Color of Time. Most of my negative thoughts are ones that can be addressed before the book comes out or are just symptoms of it being an earlier draft, so take them with a grain of salt as I am reviewing a book set to be released in May in January.
So many aspects of this story add to the fairytale-esque nature of this book; the narration style, the pacing, the length. It’s told retrospectively from the perspective of a character in the story while being in second person. The perspective character is not the protagonist (“You” or Cyrelle) and actually isn’t introduced until about halfway through the novella (I’m not sure if their identity is really a spoiler, but I’ll avoid details nonetheless). They will sometimes introject and add little notes (ex. “I wish you had told me then.” – not an exact example, but in a similar vein) that builds the tension and the world, as well as further develop the relationship between Cyrelle and the narrator, which is difficult to do due to their limited on-page time together. You get a deeper sense of their closeness due to this reflection, but it can come off as disingenuous due to it being telling rather than showing. There are also moments where you would expect the narrator to express knowledge of what’s to come and just doesn’t, even when they have before in similar situations. It’s good, but not consistent.
There is also the issue of the writing itself. This is not a very long book, my ARC copy was 122 pages, but a lot of it felt like fluff in a way. A character would make an action then the narrator would describe exactly why they would be making that action (ex. “Jimmy tripped and spilled soup all over Jules’s suit. Jules’s exasperation was clear when they sighed, Jimmy had just ruined their favorite suit by spilling soup all over it. It was their favorite suit because….” – not a real in-text example). I promise, I understand without it being spelled out. Some of the dialogue feels like placeholder dialogue that should have a note that says: “Rewrite to make it more natural later.” Characters will say exactly what they’re thinking, which can be the case, but often people don’t talk like this.
There is a scene about half-way through the book that feels quite weird consent wise. It’s not sexual but involves Cyrelle probing the perspective character’s mind with magic, exposing their secrets. This is after they find out Cyrelle’s identity as the runaway princess but it’s clear this is a violation, one which causes physical pain. The narration gives it a pass and reasons it away, but it’s stuck with me as being kind of icky, but if they’re cool with it…. I don’t think the justification of them having found out a secret from Cyrelle as well justifies Cyrelle’s actions. Different people are going to have different takes, though, and others might not read it in the same way.
My last note is very subjective. Part 1, which involves Cyrelle escaping her brother, feels wildly disconnected from the rest of the story. It’s entirely backstory and motivation for Cyrelle that shouldn’t be cut, obviously, but does not really tie into the main plot line, especially in Parts 3, 4, and 5. I have my own ideas for tying it in more seamlessly, but I would just be writing fanfiction at this point (which I am known to do in reviews for books with so much potential).
This novella has a lot of potential, but I do hope my issues get addressed in some way before publication. I will definitely try to read more of Abecassis’s backlog because she has such unique ideas.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book did actually shock me so much, I didn’t know much going into it, I just recognized the author and jumped at it, I am SO glad I did. There’s truly nothing you can compare this book to, I know I said The Locked Tomb series but even then it’s nothing like it besides both being sci-fi. It is like an adult version of those space adventure books for kids, but then also there’s a runaway princess. A Runaway Space Princess! I don’t think there is another of those out there.
Cyrelle is such an eventful (?) character, I mean her best friend literally just died, now her brother wants to marry her, he literally is the king and pays for people to do the impossible for her, multiple times, then suddenly she’s a runaway bride to a new planet. (this isn’t spoilers it’s literally basically just the book description, I think)
Cyrelle has a lot going on in very quick succession.
The romance was also SO adorable- with how the story is told, the reader knows that Cyrelle will end up with this character and their love will be beautiful, but also because of how the story is written we get to experience it happen from such a lovely perspective. That was truly my favorite thing about this book, having someone who cares so much about Cyrelle tell her her life story, it is told so beautifully and with so much care, decisions Cyrelle made at one time explained with care, it’s just so nice honestly. Heartwarming if you will. Anyway, the actual romance when it happens on page is so adorable, there is patience, curiosity, respect, but also desperation, there is so much action that there truly isn’t much time to think about romance or feelings, but once that opportunity arises? BEAUTIFUL, Chefs Kiss.
Side characters are also great, well, the majority rude and ignorant but still. I don’t know how to say this without spoiling anything so basically, they were well written, had full stories of their own that were well established in my opinion, I understood them.
I did guess one of the twists at the end, I wouldn’t say it was obvious, but obviously when it happened it was obvious, to the reader and some of the characters. HOWEVER, the Ending Ending? HEARTBREAKING, as much as the perspective makes it obvious what will happen from the beginning, it was SO heartbreaking to read it happen and what led up to it. It is a Hopeful ending though, I would say Slightly Happy? It’s Sad Happy, like everything should get better from that point, but that’s where it ends, so we don’t see the happy better future.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME READ THIS BEAUTIFUL HEARTBREAKING STORY 🤍
Cyrelle is such an eventful (?) character, I mean her best friend literally just died, now her brother wants to marry her, he literally is the king and pays for people to do the impossible for her, multiple times, then suddenly she’s a runaway bride to a new planet. (this isn’t spoilers it’s literally basically just the book description, I think)
Cyrelle has a lot going on in very quick succession.
The romance was also SO adorable- with how the story is told, the reader knows that Cyrelle will end up with this character and their love will be beautiful, but also because of how the story is written we get to experience it happen from such a lovely perspective. That was truly my favorite thing about this book, having someone who cares so much about Cyrelle tell her her life story, it is told so beautifully and with so much care, decisions Cyrelle made at one time explained with care, it’s just so nice honestly. Heartwarming if you will. Anyway, the actual romance when it happens on page is so adorable, there is patience, curiosity, respect, but also desperation, there is so much action that there truly isn’t much time to think about romance or feelings, but once that opportunity arises? BEAUTIFUL, Chefs Kiss.
Side characters are also great, well, the majority rude and ignorant but still. I don’t know how to say this without spoiling anything so basically, they were well written, had full stories of their own that were well established in my opinion, I understood them.
I did guess one of the twists at the end, I wouldn’t say it was obvious, but obviously when it happened it was obvious, to the reader and some of the characters. HOWEVER, the Ending Ending? HEARTBREAKING, as much as the perspective makes it obvious what will happen from the beginning, it was SO heartbreaking to read it happen and what led up to it. It is a Hopeful ending though, I would say Slightly Happy? It’s Sad Happy, like everything should get better from that point, but that’s where it ends, so we don’t see the happy better future.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME READ THIS BEAUTIFUL HEARTBREAKING STORY 🤍
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
This was a great concept, and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy the book! As a relatively short story (200 pages ish), it was a good refresher and quick read for me, and I appreciated the retelling of the French classic, Peau D'ane, which I grew up watching the film for. I think that knowing the traditional version of the story may have skewed my enjoyment of the book, as I kept thinking of the original that is extremely nostalgic for me, but for new discoverers of this tale the author reinterprets the story well. The other main thing that lowered my rating a little was the second person narration (particularly at the start)- I have read other books like this, but still find it slightly strange as a narrative perspective, and very hard to pull off.
Overall, this was a fun quick retelling of Peau D'ane, and my thanks again to the publisher and Netgalley!
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
This was a great concept, and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy the book! As a relatively short story (200 pages ish), it was a good refresher and quick read for me, and I appreciated the retelling of the French classic, Peau D'ane, which I grew up watching the film for. I think that knowing the traditional version of the story may have skewed my enjoyment of the book, as I kept thinking of the original that is extremely nostalgic for me, but for new discoverers of this tale the author reinterprets the story well. The other main thing that lowered my rating a little was the second person narration (particularly at the start)- I have read other books like this, but still find it slightly strange as a narrative perspective, and very hard to pull off.
Overall, this was a fun quick retelling of Peau D'ane, and my thanks again to the publisher and Netgalley!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Hmm.. the summary sounded very interesting and my type of book. For me though it didn’t quite reach my expectations. I found the writing style a little flat and it did not pull me into the story. I am sure it will have an audience. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews