Arggggg. 🙄 A damn cliffhanger, it was just getting good and it's a cliffhanger hanger. I was already geared to read the next book, but now it's like I have to now because of this. 
To me this was one of those books where I'm not really sure how to lean. I can't say it's bad but it's not all that great either. Not awesome enough to warrant a cliffhanger. 
A lot of things didn't really make sense, like why did Saint leave Fable on a island where one person would kill another person just for a drop of water. His motives in the larger scheme of things just didn't make much sense. 
But all in all, it a ok, middle of the road read. A decent thumbs up.

Fable is a fast paced and action packed novel set mostly at sea as the main character desperately tries to reunite with her father. I love a pirate themed novel, and Fable was no different, it had traitorous rogues, life-threatening storms and an adventure filled with intrigue and excitement! We meet our main character, Fable as she tries to gather the remaining coins she needs to leave the island she was abandoned on four years ago by her father. She’s a very typical main character who was left to fend for herself on an island of ruthless castaways, however I couldn’t help but root for her from the very first page. Fable runs into trouble almost instantly in her quest to gather more resources to sell, leading to a fast-paced chase through the island to supposed freedom. If novel includes thrilling action from the beginning, I am most definitely hooked!

The story of Fable is one of the best told fantasy stories I have read in a while, I was fully immersed in this tale from the very beginning. I was sailing the Narrows alongside Fable and the crew of the Marigold, I was dredging up pyre from the bottom of the sea bed and facing down enemies with an angry glare (I can’t fight)! Fable definitely succumbs to a few popular story tropes, but when you’ve read as many pirate themed novels as I have you can’t not expect the same tropes every now and again, so I was totally on board with them all.

However although there were some elements of the story that I predicted quite quickly, there were also parts that left me surprised. Just after halfway through reading Fable, the story took a turn I wasn’t expecting and I loved the fascinating turn of events. Sign me up as the next crewmate for the Marigold, as I am desperate for the sequel to this story! Fable and her crewmates have utterly bewitched me with their wit and camaraderie. If you’ve been considering adding Fable to your TBR or are looking for your next swashbuckling tale, then I highly recommend this fun and fantastic story.

I love everything about this book! It drew me in and hooked me from the very beginning! That ending! It was spectacular!

I loved every bit of this story. Fable is a strong, self reliant female lead who has been on a mission to make it off the island her father dropped her off at years ago. He thinks she wasn’t meant for this world and if she makes it off the island that would be proof that she is. This is a cold-hearted world. As a woman she is vulnerable but she is also underestimated. I realllllly don’t want to give specifics because I don’t want to ruin the story but just know that I cannot wait until the next book comes out. Read the book yall. Trust me.

Seriously solid book. Best of Younges  works to date! 
Great character arcs and development, cunning plot twists, good super solid pacing. I loved the setting.  I won’t stop raving about this one. Thanks netgalley!

AHHHH! FABLE! THE MARIGOLD! WEST😍
It was a true adventure, excitement and more. I loved Fable as the Mc and her strong character! The story itself was well executed, the world building is on point and Aomg i need the sequel right now!

This book has scratched every sea-faring adventure itch I have had lately. Maybe it’s the quarantine, but I’ve been craving adventure stories with ragtag found families like this for a while now. I feel like I really just scratched the surface of all the characters in this book, but it was written in such a way that I’m honestly ok with that. The pacing, story, and characters are all phenomenal, and this book really believes in show-don’t-tell, which I always appreciate as a reader. Also, WEST. Just give me more West and I will be a happy girl. Very excited to read the sequel. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5, rounded up because I just really enjoyed it!

Seafaring adventures, themes of both grief and survival, complex family ties, and a world where anyone can betray you (and almost everyone eventually will): in <i>Fable</i>, Adrienne Young renders these elements with straightforward, visceral prose, and tosses in just a smidgen of magic for good measure. Though the story itself is solid, with a couple impressive twists along the way, what really holds it all together it is the fierce determination of the main character as she fights to survive in a world that seems determined to crush her at every turn. I was also a big fan of how much of the story incorporated freediving. It's such a fascinating sport/activity, and seeing a world where it is widely practiced as a full-blown trade skill was cool. The writing on the underwater scenes was lovely and atmospheric, combining the beauty of the sea with the omnipresent dangers its depths contain.

The only things I didn't completely love were:
(a) the sudden, strong romance near the end--not that I didn't see it coming, but there was so little romance throughout the whole book that it felt almost excessive, given the context
(b) the depth of the side characters--I want more about the crew members of the <i>Marigold</i>! Especially Auster, Paj, and Hamish; I feel like they were a little bare-bones despite being present for almost all of the book. Maybe we will get more of them in the sequel?

Still, overall, a great read, and one that it is very easy to sit down with and instantly lose track of time because you are just. so. engrossed. Dive into this one and prepare to be carried off on the currents of a compelling story.

A review on my blog and an Instagram post on this book will be posted later this week :)

Survival is paramount, and only the strong survive.

For Fable, a young woman stranded on the island of Jevali, her skills as a diver mean the difference between life and death. Dredging up precious gems from the tropical waters, she sells them to a trader named West, hoping to someday earn enough coin to get herself off this island and back to the scoundrel named Saint who marooned her. A scoundrel who happens to be her father.

When the predatory gang of divers on Jevali threaten Fable, West and his crew reluctantly agree to take Fable across the Narrows. As the prickly crew begins to embrace their newest crewmate, Fable begins to feel, for the first time in forever, that she has found a family. But when Fable finds Saint, the welcome she hoped for, is far from forthcoming. The only thing he offers her is a map to sunken treasure, and as it turns out, the key to her inheritance has been with her all along. Heartsick at yet another rejection by Saint, Fable sets out with West, to claim a treasure that can give new life to them both–but rival traders in the Narrows have other plans for the daughter of a sinner like Saint.

Immersive world-building continues to be a hallmark of Adrienne Young’s prose, and the gripping storyline makes this duology even more compelling than her last series.

Fable is about a girl abandoned by her (basically) mob boss father and needing to survive on a cutthroat island. When this happens she is just a child. But Fable has plans.

Great story, fantastic plot, excellent characters! This is a fun, exciting, well written novel that explores tried and true situations in new and interesting ways. Even though the title and cover a reminiscent of a fairy tale, this book is not so much Disney and a bit more The Princess Bride. I found so many of the plot choices and decisions made by the characters a refreshing change from the usual in novels today. I am very glad there is a sequel!

I am crushed. Such a whirlwind of emotions is still fighting within me. I still have goosebumps... I can't believe the book is over. I fell in love with the characters, with their stories, with their uniqueness. Fable is a fierce young woman that had to fight her way into life. The descriptions in this book are so well detailed, I could smell, see, live everything with her. It's an incredible read.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

While this wasn't my favorite young adult fantasy book, I appreciate the fierce heroine, vivid settings, and unique magic.  I think a lot of teens will connect with Fable and be swept away by the adventure in this book.  The book is great for fans of PASSENGER and ALL THE STARS AND TEETH.

I got through about 10% of this book and ended up not finishing. I didn't find it really interesting and maybe just wasn't the right book for me. I thought it was boring with just too many characters which made it hard to follow along.

Hmmm, this was an odd book for me. It had interesting worldbuilding and characters and the writing was certainly good but reading this book, something just felt off. Like I felt like something was missing or maybe the pacing was off? I feel like I kept waiting for something to happen, some big confrontation but then it wouldn't happen and then it kept not happening and even though the book ended on a tense cliffhanger, I don't feel like things ever really came to a head. Fable felt like only half or part of the story without any of the usual conclusive notes we get at the end of a book. Given how quickly Namesake will be coming out, it is likely that that is exactly what happened because this just feels incomplete. Viewed as half of a book I could say that this was a great setup and good start but as an actual book on its own, it feels incomplete and unsatisfying. Given the buzz around this title, I'm clearly an outlier in that belief but oh well. This book just didn't hit the spot for me.

Four years ago, fourteen-year-old Fable was abandoned on a legendary island filled with dredgers, thieves, and hardly any food. She is the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, who left her with nothing but his rules the day after her mother drowned in a terrible storm. To survive she must trust no one and rely on the unique skills she inherited from her mother until she can save enough money to get off the island, find her father, and demand her rightful place as a part of his crew.

This is the first duology that i've ever read, and Fable spent most of the book laying the groundwork for its sequel. There was a lot of world building and introducing the cast of characters. I really enjoyed the setting and excitement, and I suspect that the second book in this duology will be action packed!

I am not a fan of cliffhangers, especially when the sequel hasn't been released yet, but Adrienne Young did a great job writing this one! There was a hint of romance that seemed to arrive with minimal buildup, but the adventure story is where Fable thrives. I enjoyed the descriptions of Fable diving for gems and bartering with traders, and I love any story that involves ships. I have been listening to sea shanties since I finished Fable and cannot wait for Namesake to be released!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fable is the daughter of notorious, pirate-like seaman who controls a vast armada. But when her mother drowns, he leaves her to fend for herself on a godforsaken island. It is a miracle that she 
survives her cutthroat co-habitors and dredge enough precious stones to buy her way off the island. She escapes with West and his small crew, whom she has been trading with for several years. But she is not quickly accepted or trusted by the crew, and they seem to be hiding something, too. When the truth comes out, they must all band together to survive violent enemies. 

I wish there had been some hint of diversity. This is a completely fictional world. Why couldn't Young have characters of color? There's an adorable gay couple, but it's not super important. West's secret about his employer is pretty obvious, but I didn't see his crush being so heavy or so long-term. There isn't enough sexual tension between Fable and West before they fall into bed. Although, despite being completely  PG-13, Young does a *wink* stellar job of ramping up the heat. Give this to fans of Tricia Levenseller's Daughter of the Pirate Queen duology.

To say that I can't wait for Nameshake will be an understatement. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I was provided an advanced digital copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

Wow!  What a great book!   It was a little hard for me to get in to. fantasy can do that, a world that is so confusing, but once I jumped in, I was hooked.
Fable has been on her own for four years.  Ever since her mother died, and her father abandoned her on the coast of a remote island to fend for herself.  She becomes a practiced freediver.  Selling the stones that "sing" to her to the highest bidder.  She is determined to prove herself and make it back to her father.  Finally able to secure passage on a ship, it proves much more dangerous than she thought.
From the the author of Sky in the Deep, and The Girl the Sea Gave Back, another rich fantasy world, with a strong female protagonist determined to make it on her own,

I loved everything about this book. I love the author’s two last books and this one was no exception. I liked all the characters and what they each individually added to the story. I found the plot well developed and at times surprising. I liked the world it was set in. I liked where it left off at the end of book one and  all the potential avenues it can go in book two. I liked that all the characters had depth and not just the main character. I liked how they each have a story you want to know more about. I am excited to read Namesake and see how it ends.