this was such an amazing book! i loved it a lot! loved the story, the characters, the relationships! everything was so well executed!! can’t wait for the second book! i can’t recommend this enough, READ IT NOW!
thank you for providing me with the arc in exchange of an honest review!

Fable is the only daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, and the sea is the only home she's ever known. After watching her mother drown and their family's ship sink after a brutal storm, her father leaves her on the cutthroat island of Jeval the next day with a promise--survive, make it off the island, and he will give her what he owes her. Fable ekes out a meager life on Jeval, trading and saving for her passage off the island while trying to stay alive. To get back to her father, she succeeds in hiring the help of a mysterious trader named West and his crew. However, West has enemies, and the trading industry has only become more cutthroat and deadly, and she soon learns that even West isn't who he seems. Together, Fable, West, and his crew will have to learn to trust each other and survive if they're to survive the seas.

I absolutely adore Fable, and I think this is one of Adrienne Young's best novels so far. I also feel like this is a huge thing for me to say, because I usually do not gravitate toward books that are set on the high seas, deal with pirates, or such. THIS TOTALLY CHANGED MY MIND. The setting in Fable is limited compared with other fantasy novels--you see a few islands and most of the book takes place on the ocean, but Young makes a singular setting feel unique with every scene, full of its own changes. Added to this is a world full of rich cultures and people that are full of depth, richness, and are deeply developed.

Young is particularly skilled at character development and creating a dynamic cast of characters in each of her novels. This has never been more true than in Fable. Fable is a completely sympathetic and likable character with believable and relatable faults, and it's a pleasure to read her story and go through her journey as she fights for what she wants. She is fully rounded and never stagnates through the story. The same goes for West and his crew aboard their ship, the Marigold. Each character comes with a backstory, their own fully realized personality--no one feels like just a "side" character. Everyone adds an extra layer of depth to the story, and readers will find themselves at home and in love with characters that feel like real people.

The action and plotting of Fable is high-octane and full of tension. From the very beginning, Fable is caught in the middle of back-stabbing intrigue as we watch her fight for survival among thieving dredgers and pirates. This dynamic shifts and surges once she finds her way onto the Marigold and into her place in West's crew, which comes with its own problems. The plot points in these moments never waver, and readers will find themselves flipping pages faster and faster, wanting to know what happens next. Before they know it, they'll come to the last page, which is where I find myself. I now have a gaping hole in my life because of THAT CLIFFHANGER at the end. I was left gasping for breath at the end, and I CANNOT WAIT for the followup: Namesake.

And yes, for those readers who love a bit of romance, Fable is full of the BEST slow-burn romance I've read in awhile. JESUS, I need more.

If you like pirates, high-seas adventure, fantasy, and action-adventure plots that sweep you along with a hurricane tide, Fable is the book you've been waiting for.

I really enjoyed this book! Just like with Sky in the Deep, Adrienne Young completely sucked me into the world of this novel. Her writing is captivating! I couldn't put this one down until I finished. The descriptions were so lush, and the action nonstop. At one point in my life, I wanted to become a marine biologist, so I absolutely adored the scenery (especially the diving scenes!). I enjoyed the hints of romance and hope there's a bit more in the sequel. Overall, I'm really excited to see where it goes! Definitely recommend!

*I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I admit, I wasn't too sure about Fable at first. This was my first time reading any of Adrienne Young's work, so I wasn't sure how I would like it. But, I really enjoyed it.

Fable has heart, in an extremely slow-burn romance and a found-family crew. It's a place to weather any storm, recover from a battle, and just rest.

Fable follows its titular characters as she flees an island of thieves and murderers, trying to find her father. She hitches a ride on the Marigold, a trading ship. The crew and its captain aren't the friendliest bunch, Fable must work to earn their trust and the ability to survive aboard the ship. It's not an easy journey, but if Fable's got one thing, it's determination. She is determined to find her father and regain her rightful place by her side (which is mighty forgiving of her considering the last time he saw her, he carved a scar in her arm and left her to die on that island).

I was waiting for a bit more magic to reveal itself in this world, but aside from Fable's talent, there is nothing supernatural. Still, I really enjoyed the story set on the waves.

4.5 stars

Loved this book! I love the worldbuilding and the lush, lush prose. Adrienne doesn't disappoint! I'm eagerly waiting to read the next book in the series!

Fable: A Novel by Adrienne Young

**Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday Books for the chance to review this eArc.**

Description

Trader. Fighter. Survivor.

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. 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.

Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive.

Review

Such a wild ride!

Pirates and adventures, tales about the open seas, Treasure! Newfound families and strong female leading characters! ALL the makings of an exciting adventure! Who doesn't like pirates?

This is an easy YA Fantasy to pick up. You get to follow Fable as she journeys to get back to what was taken from her. Along the way she runs into adventures and treasures and romance.

I had a feeling that I would love this book before I picked it up because the summary is so intriguing. From the first page, I was invested. And that cover is absolutely GORGEOUS!! How could this book NOT catch your eye?

The ending of this book is a pretty intense cliffhanger, so be prepared to be anxiously waiting for book two when you get to the last page. Fable is one of those stories have you thinking about it for days. It was that good. I recommend this book to all those looking for adventure and just good writing!

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.

Fable knows what it's like to lead a hard life. After her mother dies Saint, her father, abandons Fable in Jeval claiming she will be safer away from him. Only he abandons her with nothing, no coppers, just the clothing on her back. To survive she has had to train as a Dredger, diving down finding pyre, the stone that is local to Jeval. She has spent the last 4 years dredging to earn enough money for passage across the Narrows and back to Saints side. After an incident with another dredger, Fable has to escape Jeval and ends up begging West, the trader who has been buying pyre off her for years, for passage through the Narrows. Only West & his crew don't seem too keen to have Fable on board, and Fable has to fight to keep the secret of her birth. But it's not just Fable who is holding secrets on the Marigold, and some just might prove their undoing.

I'm going to start off by saying there were a lot of things I liked about this book, and a lot of things I didn't so this is going to be a bit of a mixed review. Fable as a character was well written and easy to bond with. She’s resilient, head strong & loyal, just not necessarily to the right people. She’s a typical teen in so many ways, but a teen that has had to age quickly, one that has had to survive by themselves, made hard decisions to ensure they survive & this plays a large part in her character arc. However, in my opinion, the side characters were tragically under-developed. Apart from a few none were really vital to the plot, they didn't further it or Fable's story along. I enjoyed reading the parts with the crew of the Marigold but just felt that they could have been given a little more page time to develop.

Young's descriptive writing was one part of the book I thoroughly enjoyed, Susan felt parts were a little repetitive, but I was fully transported onto the deck of the Nightingale and down into the depths of the ocean when Fable was dredging. One of the first ‘set at sea’ books I’ve read where I really felt the descriptions come to life, I could easily picture the scenes in my head and had a lot of fun reading for that reason. We also see quite a bit of the 'world' Young creates, each town/ port has its own vibe and I could fully imagine the hustle and bustle of trading life, meeting all the different merchants and trying to sell your wares.

I've read a lot of people saying they loved the 'will they wont they' style romance in the book and, I think I can speak for Maddie, Susan and I when I say we just didn't get it. Yes, at the start of the book there is a certain spark that isn't acted on, but then it flits from one page saying they can't care about one another to making out under the sea... the realities of which I feel might be a little off. If anything I felt it was more insta love and wish it had have been dragged out a little more.

I mentioned in the group chat that this was a sort of 'palate cleanser' book for me. Nothing big happened, there were no massive revelations, no page clenching or nail biting moments. The book kind of flits between plot point to plot point without anything really happening. Now that's not saying it wasn't fun. I definitely enjoyed the book, it was fast paced and enjoyable, a kind of guilty pleasure, you know it's not great but you can't help but love it anyway, and I think with the amount of high stakes books floating around atm, it was nice reading something without being absolutely terrified of characters dying, or scream worthy cliffhangers.

I think, and hope that the author used a lot of the information she gave us in the book to set up book 2, and even if I was a little disappointed at the ending ( we had come up with some epic cliffhangers in the chat) Young has gripped me enough that I will be picking up book two.

I adore everything Adrienne Young puts out into the world. She is such a fabulous writer and has the best style and characters. I cannot wait to read more from her.

I LOVED this book. It gets all the stars. I was first sucked in by the gorgeous cover, which makes me want to dye my hair that same shade of red! and then sucked in again by the plot! There is so much going on in this book that is so wonderfully set up. The world building is outstanding, the set of characters is amazing and so complex and detailed that you want to know so much more about each of them and the plot is one that makes this book super hard to put down! The storytelling here was just phenomenal and I am dying to get my hands on book two!!

This one can be summed up as a story of a young girl, Fable, that quite literally was abandoned by her father on an island, and her journey to find him again after 4 years, with hopes of rejoining his life. Throw in unpredictable sea adventures, buried treasure, merchant trading politics and you’ve got FABLE.

I have to be honest, after finishing the book, I’m torn how I feel. Fable teetered between being closed off from the world, and someone who wants to let everyone in, and her main mission being to search out her father, trying to reclaim his love, or at least some semblance of wanting her back in his life. The book is full of beautiful descriptions of the sea and landscapes, world building around ports and trade routes, but I feel this first installment was meant to create the foundation, and character development for the follow up book(s), which was done decently, and being left with an interesting cliff hanger I’m anxious for the sequel.

This one had all the elements of a great book, and it could have been but I felt it stopped short. The (dis)organization of revealing back story, the almost awkwardly inserted love twist (I wish would have been left to fully reveal itself in book 2), and the overly descriptive elements of the sea and elements just didn’t do it for me the way I hoped. And I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but we can't always fall in love with every book. *shrugs*

***Eh...3.5 stars***

Quick Stats:
Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 3/5
Awesomeness Factor: 3.5/5
Review in a Nutshell: Fable is the start of an addictive new fantasy series that will have you dreaming of the high seas.

// Content Warning: Violence, Death, Abuse, Murder //

Fable follows Fable, the daughter of a renown trader, who is abandoned by her father on the shores of an island of thieves with nothing. After four years, she’s eager to get off the island, find her father, and claim her rightful place in his crew. But to do so requires the help of a mysterious trader named West, who isn’t what he seems.

- Writing & Setting -

Adrienne Young’s writing is really fun to read. It’s both beautiful and easy to understand, hooking you in from the start and not letting you go. The setting is like that as well. The world-building is minimal, but what we do get is fascinating.

- Plot -

Fable feels like a fast-paced read, making it easy to read in one sitting (speaking from experience here). However, there isn’t much going on in terms of plot. Mostly, a lot of traveling, sailing and talking, with a few action scenes thrown in. It is definitely more character-focused, which can be either good or bad depending on what you’re looking for (for me, it’s good, although it wasn’t what I was expecting from this book).

- Characters -

Speaking of characters, I loved Fable’s growth over the course of the book and I can’t wait to see where she goes in the sequel. I also really enjoyed her dynamic with Saint.

Unfortunately, some relationships don’t feel as fleshed out as I would have liked. Mostly the romance. I think how Adrienne Young writes romance just doesn’t work for me, but other things make up for it. Namely that character development. Plus, there are also some great side characters!

- Conclusion -

Pros- Great character development, interesting world, fast read
Cons- Weak romance plotline, plot if fairly straight-forward and simple
Overall- 3.5/5 stars.
If you’re looking for a dark, character-focused pirate book, definitely give Fable a read.

[Review also shared on Amazon and Barnes & Noble]

I knew I would be sucked in the moment I saw this stunning cover! So beautiful and so much emotion communicated in just one half of a face. This was my first Adrienne Young novel, and it certainly won’t be my last. Her prose is magical without being overly flowery, with just enough to give you vivid pictures to go along with the story at hand.

I love seafaring books, but this is the first fantasy book I’ve read that deals with diving - and it may have taken over as one of my top plots. As a certified diver and someone who’s been snorkeling and diving my whole life, it was refreshing to see this hobby turned into such a major part of a fantasy plot. While I would NEVER be able to free dive like Fable (and there are very few, if any that can) it was a fantastic element for the story.

We quickly learn that Fable was abandoned by her father on the island of Jeval to survive on her own amidst cutthroats and thieves. She’s been scraping by and biding her time to leave by keeping her head down and squirreling away enough money and pyre to buy her way on a ship. She’s dead set on confronting her father and essentially proving to him that she is worthy of being part of a ship’s crew under his captain. While she is mostly looked down upon by various characters for being a woman (and a dredger) in a man’s world she is determined to prove them all wrong.

In a moment of desperation, she’s able to buy herself passage across the Narrows on the Marigold, Captained by West - a handsome, slightly roguish trader. He’s reluctant to help her and his crew also keep their distance. What transpires on their journey is a life-changing opportunity for all of them - only if they can stay together and learn to trust each other.

As much as I loved the vibrant descriptions I think I loved the characters more. Fable is the ultimate heroine who is strong, determined, and self-reliant despite her less than stellar circumstances. This book isn’t steamy and would be appropriate for a younger audience and I think Fable would be a great role model for many girls. In addition to Fable, the Marigold’s crew is equally dynamic and their backstories captivating.

I’ll be (im)patiently waiting for Namesake to see how all of our seafaring friends navigate the problems they’ve dredged up in Fable!

Another excellent book by Adrienne Young that better be the beginning of a new series because I am very invested in Fable and her crew. Fable is the daughter of Isolde and Saint, a rare and valuable gem mage and one of the most successful traders in the Narrows. One fateful night their ship, the LARK, goes down killing her mother. Fable is stranded on the dangerous island of Jeval by her father who tells her to come find him in four years. Some how Fable is able to survive among cutthroats and thieves by using her own rare talent to find precious gems under the sea and sell them. She only sells to one trader - West - who helms the MARIGOLD. As Fable gets close to saving enough coppers for passage, she's hunted down by the man who has figured out that she's hiding something. She barely makes it aboard the Marigold alive. Labelled a "bad luck charm" by the crew, Fable is determined to work her way to her father and to work alongside him. She has skills and talent she must keep hidden, but the crew of the Marigold are not what they seem and West, especially, rouses feelings Fable never knew she had.

This is a true page-turner, well paced and extremely well written. There is a lot going on, intrigue and adventure and a little romance, all against the back drop of the high seas and the kaleidoscope of trading towns. I read Sky in the Deep and loved it. Fable is an entirely different novel but equally exciting and enchanting. I can't read the next book - the way this one ended will drive me nuts! Fans of Adrienne will devour this as will anyone who enjoys great fantasy adventure. I am eternally thankful for the chance to read the ARC!

Such a great read, I love this author and I find this one fantastic!It was fast paced and I was intrigued and excited while I was reading it!Loved the world build up! Fable is amazing, such a badass and strong heroine!

There is action and I liked the romance a lot!I fall in love with the characters!Such a unique story!

Looking forward for the next book!

Fable, the first book in Adrienne Young’s YA fantasy duology of the same name, is my third read from this author and I swear her writing and storytelling just keeps getting better and better. Seventeen-year-old Fable is the daughter of a powerful sea trader. She hasn’t seen her father in four years, not since he abandoned her on a remote island after their ship sank during a terrible storm and her mother drowned. Since being left on this island to fend for herself, Fable has worked as a dredger, locating gems at the bottom of the sea, and trading them for coin. Her goal is simple: to earn enough coin to purchase passage off the island so that she can then track down and confront her father. Fable’s plans get turned upside down, however, when she runs into unexpected trouble and needs to get off the island sooner than planned. She begs a young man named West, her primary buyer, to take her on as a passenger. Even though no one from his crew wants her on board, West reluctantly agrees to help take her to where she thinks her father is. Fable has no idea what kind of danger she’s getting herself into though, as nothing and no one, including West or her father, is what it seems.

Fable is such a fantastic character. I love how strong and resilient she is, and how she refuses to take no for an answer. Most thirteen-year-olds dumped on an island to fend for themselves would probably have died, so the fact that she survived and managed to secure some semblance of a living for herself says a lot about her character. Fable also possesses a rare gift that was fascinating to read about. Somehow she is able to actually hear gems when she’s near them. It’s this gift that made her so successful as a dredger and it’s also something she needs to keep hidden. If any of the other roguish traders out there knew she could do this, it would put a target on her back. Aside from Fable, I also really enjoyed West and his crew. There’s a bit of a ‘found family’ vibe there as they grow to slowly accept Fable’s presence among them.

Aside from great characters, I also thought the worldbuilding was fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the sea, beautiful and serene one moment, dark and deadly the next. Young paints an incredibly vivid and realistic portrait of this dangerous environment Fable’s father has thrust her into. Not only is the sea itself dangerous, but practically everyone around her is a dangerous scoundrel as well.

Fable is a story that is beautifully written on every level. The characters are all so well-drawn and complex, and the story itself is fast-paced and action-packed. I breezed through it in a day and immediately wanted to get my hands on the second book because this one ends with a major surprise and I just have to know what happens next.

If stories about the sea that feature scrappy resilient heroines, found families, and a hint of magic appeal to you, definitely check out Adrienne Young’s latest novel, Fable. You won’t be disappointed. 4.5 STARS

This is my first Adrienne Young book and I absolutely loved it! I loved the characters and the world building!! I already purchased a physical copy for my library. I can’t wait for book 2. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an amazing story!

This one was really a delight to discover and read. Fable was a character that held my interest and followed throughout this one. Heart goes out to her knowing what she witnessed. Being too this is the first one in this series. I don't know about that father of her's though. I truly like what this girl is made of though. We also meet West whom she needs his help. This one will truly capture you imagination going with the characters on this adventure. Oh the things that come out of the tale too that weave around us. Yet again though a woman who has to push herself and show herself among men.

Spellbinding, mesmerizing, and absolutely captivating, FABLE immerses the reader into a cutthroat sea adventure with fantastic world building and character development. This is a strong entrance into a new duology.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book.

I was a bit scared I wouldn't like this book since there was so much hype around it. I've found that super hyped up books generally let me down. That was NOT the case with Fable.

I absolutely LOVED this story with it's morally grey characters in a grey world. I quickly became attached to Fable and the crew. I even appreciated Saint.

This was written in such a way that you can smell the sea and feel the sun on your skin. This world was painted in vivid strokes and I cannot wait to go back!