NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK Filled with all of the action, emotion, and lyrical writing that brought readers to Sky in the Deep, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with Fable, the first book in this new captivating duology. Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. … dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.
As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.
But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.
Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue and adventure.
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I thought this was absolutely excellent. Super engaging, fast-paced without feeling like you’re missing anything, and a fascinating world.
The things that Fable lives through is amazing – she is so strong and determined and she makes an incredible protagonist. She survives and adapts to one situation after another looking for a place to call home and people to be her real family. But I feel like that last sentence makes everything seem light and fluffy…
This story has grit, grime, cut-throats, and a shady character just around each corner. In the story, there is so much going against Fable, especially in the beginning, that AY gives you little (definitely little) breaks where she has pockets of feeling relatively safe for a moment. She begins to bond with the people around, learning to trust.
The supporting characters are fully realized – they have hope and bright spots, but they are also flawed with complicated histories.
I’d definitely recommend this one!
Ummmm. When does Namesake come out?
One of the most immersive and gorgeously written books I’ve read this year. If you want a page-turning, blood-singing thriller of a read, snatch this book up because Fable has it. The MC is smart and tough but with a tender side that will pull in and leave you rooting for her to the very last page.
I loved Sky in the Deep and I loved this book. It is a fast paced story and the characters are amazing. I love pirate stories and this one does not disappoint. I also love Adrienne’s writing because it really takes you to places. You really feel that you are out there with the characters, experiencing and feeling everything they do.
The book ends with a cliffhanger, so better read it when Namesake is out. I’m lucky I got an Arc of the 2nd book. Namesake I’m coming.
If you follow me, you’ll know that I do read many fantasy books but I’m so grateful to the publisher for this review copy because it’s one of my favourite books of the year.
There’s no such thing as the perfect hero or heroine but the author has managed to draw me in this story from the first chapter to the last and to love the main characters so much. She has flaws and insecurities, she’s scared and young, but she’s also strong and driven to work out her way into the life she was thrown in.
It’s a magical story that will spread her spell on you throughout the pages and keep you waiting on the edge for the next books in the series because the adventure has just begun.
I can not recommend it enough.
Fable is the first book in the Fable duology by Adrienne Young. It is a oceanic ya fantasy about a girl who has to survive in this rough world all own her own and we follow her journey.
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Our protagonist Fable is a very inspiring character with a lot of staying power. She is hard working and clever and therefore manages to survive. Other people underestimate her and she was such a strong character and could not only surprise the people in her world, but also me as a readers. Her goal is to be reunited with her father and to demand answers of why she was left behind. Fable was so determined that she risked all for that.
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This brings her on the Marigold and away from the thief island Jewal. You follow along this journey that shows the rough life and struggles on sea, as well as other places in this world and the trading business. The world building is very vivid and atmospheric and how I imagined the oceanic life to be. My favorite scenes where when Fable dove underwater. This is also featured in the UK cover and I adored that.
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The crew of the Marigold was far from welcoming at first and they viewed her as a liability. But Fable has managed worse and slowly proves herself and they get closer. I especially liked West and Willa who you get to figure out more with each page. And I slowly started to like them as well. There was also a glimpse of romance between West and Fable and I hope this gets more explored in the next book.
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Overall, Fable was a stunning book with a atmospheric world and a strong female protagonist. I really liked it and I’m very excited for the sequel especially after the end of this book. 4,5 stars.
(ARC kindly provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Fable was one of my most pleasantly surprising reads of 2020, and while I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did going in, I’m so happy I picked it up.
From the very first page, I was captivated by Fable’s story and circumstances; I had so many questions. Why would a young girl be left on an island of thieves? How is she going to get off this island and find the father who abandoned her? What will happen when she finds him? Adrienne Young skillfully provides these answers in a way that draws you in and leaves you yearning for more, and it was a delight to go on this journey with Fable and co.
I loved Fable’s independence and practicality, and I applaud her for taking her fate into her own hands in a world that favors men. She’s strong and plucky—a fun heroine to root for—and I immensely enjoyed her interactions with West, the broody hero with secrets of his own.
This is a refreshing, well-written book that sticks with you. In addition to a fast-moving and engaging plot, the characters are fantastic, diverse, and have depth. I am a sucker for a solid found-family trope, and this immersive read transported me to the open seas; I could practically taste the salt in the air and feel the wind on my face. I can’t wait to experience what happens next in Namesake!
Definitely pick this up if you enjoy adventure, romance, and intrigue.
It’s more a 3,5 stars.
I had mixed feelings about this book… I love the story and the setting and the characters, but it didn’t wow me… Although I must admit that that ending was super intriguing.
First, I love West and I’m super curious to know more about him and his background. It seems that we didn’t know everything about him. Saint is also a very interesting and mysterious character and I truly believe that he wants the best for Fable, he just doesn’t know how to do it.
The crew of Marigold is so united and supportive, they really care about each other.
Fable is a character that I can figure it out yet. Sometimes she’s fierceless and strong and a woman with a plan.. Sometimes she has no idea what she’s doing. I know she’s only seventeen, but I can get her.
But that ending really make me what to know the rest of the story.
It took me a minute to get into but once I did it was a non stop adventure ride! Fable is a strong lead. I mean she is abandoned on an island AS A CHILD and learns the hard way to fend for herself just to survive. Her struggle to escape the island and find her father is filled with twists and turns, and we’re introduced to lots of cool characters along the way. Good AND bad ones. My favorites are the crew of the Abigail, pretty sure they could all have their own book series! I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel, I want more of this pirate world!
“You weren’t made for this world, Fable.”
In the world of the narrows, nothing is free, no one can be trusted, and you’re always safest on your own. Abandoned on the dangerous island of Jeval in the middle of the narrows, Fable has spent the last four years in a back-breaking struggle for survival. She’s lied, stolen, and fought for her own survival in a cruel world that would sooner crush her than care for her. So when the opportunity for escape suddenly appears, she seizes it with a vengeance. What ensues is a sea-faring adventure filled with storms, shipwrecks, cutthroat traders willing to do anything to survive, a world far more dangerous than even Fable’s time on Jeval might have predicted. Aboard the Marigold, Fable finds love, acceptance, trust, and family. But what will those things end up costing her? Because if there’s anything we’ve learned about the Narrows, it’s that everything comes at a cost.
Written with the lyricism of a long-forgotten sea chanty, Fable is filled with the type of gorgeous world-building that will leave you with the taste of salt on your lips and a crisp breeze in your hair. Fast-paced and breathtaking, Fable will have you flipping page after page to see just where this hearty dredger will wind up next.
After having read a few YA duds, I was really needing a ringer to deliver and let me fall back in love with the genre. I’ve read and enjoyed others by Adrienne in the past and was crossing my fingers that she’d come through again. And did she deliver!
While nothing was particularly shocking or surprising, I love how the story unfolded and that the ending felt clean with just enough of a cliffhanger to make me do an impatient dance until the second book releases. Fable’s character arc is entertaining and the supporting cast even more so.
This is a really hard review to write for me. I wanted to love this so hard and it wasn’t a bad book but I could not connect to the characters and for me, the pacing just felt off. I know other will love this book but unfortunately, it was not for me.
I have to be honest when I say I picked up this book really not knowing much about it and having never read any of Adrienne Young’s books before. But I kept seeing it everywhere on Instagram and the cover was too beautiful for me not to own it. I went in knowing very little. I knew it was YA and it was about pirates. That’s all. I haven’t read a YA novel in quite some time so it was a little hard to get back into that mindset. I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction, so very different. It took me at least 25-40% of the way through the book to really get into it.
There was not enough scenery description for me to actually envision Jeval and Dern and the places she went. Even the ship. There was also very minimal character description beyond hair color, scruff, and occasionally skin color. I’m a reader that likes a lot of detail to be immersed.
The story itself was a good one. When it was to the point where it looked like Fable was actually going to find her dad I was into it and ready to see that play out. I was not so much into the romance part of the story. I think if there had been a little more depth to the characters then I would have been more excited to read it. I did enjoy it, though, especially toward the end, and I will be picking up Namesake to continue the story when it comes out.
For those of you that don’t know what Fable is about the story follows a teenager named Fable. At fourteen she was abandoned by her pirate father on a dangerous island the day after her mother went down with his ship (great guy, eh? Why she would even want to find him is beyond me). For two years a ship crewed by equally aged teenagers came into port and bought gems from her, which she dives to the bottom of the ocean to recover. This crew has helped to keep her alive. Otherwise, she would have starved to death there on Jeval, the pirate island. She has saved her coin and finally, at eighteen she has enough to pay for passage to find her father. The ship that takes her is the same teenage crewed ship that’s been buying from her. Not to give too much away but they have some adventures as they stop on an island called Dern and then make their way to Ceros where her father is doing business with his ship empire. She has come for her inheritance, a spot on his crew. The entire time I was reading I was like “WHY? WHY WOULD SHE WANT TO CREW FOR HIM?” I think if I were in her position and he did to me what he did to her, I’d rather starve to death than work for that man, but that’s just me. Because of this, I found it hard to relate to Fable.
The book was worth a read, and I do think if you are more in the YA novel/teenager mindset it would be a fast-paced, action-packed pirate read for something different!
Fable’s father abandoned her on an island full of thieves when she was only fourteen, telling her “You weren’t made for this world, Fable. You want to prove me wrong? Get yourself off this island.” Four years later, she finally finds a lode of pyre in one of the reefs that she dives—enough to buy passage off the island and find her father. As the island’s residents start to suspect her find, she makes a run for it and ends up on a ship owned by West, the trader who’s regularly bought her small finds for years. Fable is ready to locate her father—but will she find the man who was wildly in love with her mother? Or will she find the hardened sailor who abandoned her? And what did he mean when he told her, “Get yourself off this island. And the next time I see you, I’ll give you what’s yours.”
This was exactly the kind of book that I needed right now. It was fast-paced with characters I liked who acted in ways that largely made sense to me.
Fable is a survivor who will do a lot of things to get by but she does have her own set of morals. She has a bit of the hopeful optimist about her. Most people would hate the father who abandoned them in such a place but she just wants to find him and prove that he was wrong about her. She’s a dredger (free diver) with impressive abilities to find things that others overlook under the water. But mostly she’s lonely. She misses her dead mother and wants to form a new family to journey with.
The book contains the barest touch of romance and it’s very well done. None of this insta-love that’s rampant in other young adult books. The relationship progresses slowly and naturally and when it finally becomes clear that the feelings truly are mutual, my heart was happy for them.
Other characters have their own mysteries and back stories. Some are explored here and some aren’t but I’m happy with the way everything unfolded. I enjoyed slowly learning about them along with Fable.
I don’t want to say much more about the plot but it definitely kept me turning the pages. This volume does end on a cliffhanger so I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I have to comment on the cover too. Isn’t it gorgeous? Notice the ship reflected in Fable’s eye.
If you’re searching for a fast-paced read with appealing characters, I highly recommend this one.
Let me start off by saying great book, easy to read, great story building.
Fable, a young lady had to grow up real fast and learn to be a Trader, fighter and a survivor. The one thing she knows best is the ocean and it’s waters. This book takes you in her journey to gain back the respect and what’s rightfully hers but it’s not an easy path.
I will be definitely reading the next book as soon as it comes out because this one left you on the edge of your seat!
It’s no secret that I’m a die-hard fan of Adrienne Young’s books. Her ability to weave mythology in with her stories, making them unique while paying homage to the ancient tales is simply captivating to me. The moment she released the title of Fable, I knew I was in trouble of falling in love with another character of hers like I did with Eelyn in Sky in the Deep.
Fable is quite simply, one kick-ass female! After everything that’s happened to her, from her mother’s death, and her father losing the father of the year award (see, leaving your daughter on an island…rude) and surviving said island, still she pushes forward, determined to prove herself. Every page of this book is full of lyrical writing, heart-fluttering romance, and more adventure than a 90’s action film.
I can’t wait until Namesake comes out. It’s one of my top 5 most anticipated reads for 2021, and knowing Adrienne, somehow, she’ll make it better than the first (which, like how does she do that? Magic… that’s how) and I’ll close the book full of all the feels like I did when I finished Fable.
Drenching with adventure on the high seas, Fable is layered with mysteries that the reader will have to wait to uncover—but won’t mind being patient. It’s the journey that makes this story so rewarding.
I haven’t had much luck with the last few young adult fantasy releases I’ve read by new-to-me authors. I was even starting to think maybe I’d grown beyond young adult fantasy. But within a few paragraphs of Fable, I knew I’d finally found the young adult fantasy I’d been searching for. This is my first book by Adrienne Young, and it won’t be my last. I loved every word and every character. Especially our heroine, Fable. She’s wily—fully capable of taking care of herself—but yearning for a place in her world, leaving her heart open even after life has been so cruel to her, which makes her rather unique among the heroines of the genre.
I picked up Fable coming down from the high of a major book hangover, so it took me longer than usual to commit. And while it did take me a few chapters to get all the characters straight and understand this new world, once I had it down, I didn’t want to stop reading. When I finished the book, I flipped back to the beginning so I could reread the first few chapters and what I hadn’t fully understood the first time around.
Young does a splendid job of establishing the characters and the dangerous world they encompass so quickly and flawlessly. I slipped right into the story with ease, and with each new term, the author introduced things in a way that wasn’t telling but revealing, cohesive with the story. But she only revealed what was necessary, keeping a few secrets to be answered in the next book, Namesake, which has promptly shot up to the top of my TBR for 2021! And with such gorgeous covers, I’ll be picking up physical copies to enjoy on my shelves.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader’s copy.
4.5 Stars
“I can’t care about anyone else, Fable.”
“Fable” is an interesting and beautiful tale of one girls fight to find her father and make her place in the unforgiving sea. This is such an incredible story. With enemies all around her Fable has to take what she learned from her late mother to find her way off the death trap of an island her father left her on. With the help of West and his crew she gets off that God forsaken island and is on the journey to get what her dad owes her. Fable is such a badass. She is incredible. Her connection to the ocean and the gems she finds is so interesting. West is such an amazing character. He is dark and mysterious and so handsome. The crew is such an interesting and amazing group. The romance between West and Fable is intense and angsty and such a slow burn. This entire story is full of mystery and action. With enemies around every corner, storms on the horizon and treasure to be found. This story takes you on an epic adventure. I loved it. The ending left me screaming!! I am so happy I picked this one up.
P.S. This Cover is ONE OF MY FAVOTIRTE Covers ever. It is so freaking beautiful!! Definitely one of the main reasons I picked this up!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of Fable by Adrienne Young.
Fable is a young adult fantasy novel about a teen girl (Fable) who has been left on an island of thieves and cutthroats by her father, the ship captain Saint. For years she makes her way by scavenging for gems in the reef saving up her money to prove to Saint that she’s a survivor. When she is forced to leave the island and join up with the crew of Marigold she finds herself heading toward her father earlier than originally planned.
I loved Young’s debut novel Sky in the Deep so I knew this was going to be an amazing read. There is nothing sappy or forced about her writing and even though the world of the Narrows is completely different than our own there isn’t a giant boring info dump at the beginning. She allows us to learn as we go along who Fable is and how life in the Narrows works. And of course the stunning cover and slow burn love romance with mysterious ship helmsman West didn’t hurt.
The last chapter alone has me dying to read the sequel and I look forward to seeing what is in store for Fable and the crew of the Marigold in March 2021.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for Goodreads
Fable is a young woman, trapped on a dangerous island because her father left her there 4 years ago. She dredges for pyre and other minerals and is saving to get off the island. After a dangerous escape she travels on the ‘Marigold’ towards the city to confront her father.
The writing draws you in and I was really into this story. Fable is resourceful and knows how to survive. She lived on her father’s ship until he left her after the death of her mother and hopes to crew for him again. Her mother was a talented dredger and Fable resembles her.
I just felt more and more detached from all the characters. Everyone has secrets and – even when the crew of the Marigold helps Fable – they all have their own reasons and life is very very harsh. I had wished for some more emotion and a little romance. The story ends on a cliffhanger and I must say I am very curious as to the ending. (2020)
The salty sea and the promise of something hidden in its depths, had me reading this book at a furious pace. You don’t simply read Fable, you are ensnared by it. This is Adrienne Young’s best work of storytelling yet!