Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an advance copy!

If you love pirate stories with a bit of mystery, Fable is definitely worth the read!

Fable is has been trying to find her way off an island for four years, after having been left by her father - an incredibly powerful trader in the Narrows. She's had to scrape to survive, almost starving or dying more than once in the process. When she finally makes her way off, it's with the crew of a ship called the Marigold. She gets more than what she bargained for on her search for her father, including a found family and the danger she thought she left behind.

This book is beautifully written. It was a smooth read - excellent pacing and wonderful prose. The imagery was well done, and I loved reading about the different places the ships docked and the people in them.

Fable, too, was a good character. She was brave without being obviously so if that makes sense. It's just part of her central character to do what needs to be done. She's been desperate for long enough to know that nothing is beneath her. She's emotional, which could be seen as a flaw, but it was nice for me to see a girl who could be brave and brash and still emotional about what was an increasingly unfolding plotline.

The crew of the Marigold were my favorite characters. They were fleshed out enough to give them their own personalities and backstories, and they were good support for Fable's character. I do wish the romance had been given a bit more room to breathe. It's a slow burn to the point where there's not much burn until all of sudden there is.

It does feel a bit like drifting on open water in a rowboat in some parts. Not much happens. I felt like I was waiting for something but that something never came. As mentioned earlier though, the pacing was still great so it didn't deter from reading the book. Overall it was a quick read.

I loved this book: great world building and characters, excellent storytelling and a plot that kept me hooked.
I can't wait to read the next book, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley, all opinions are mine.

I absolutely adored this book and loved every second of it. All the hype of this book is so well deserved! I couldn’t put it down and was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. Highly recommend!!!

This was such an action packed and fun read! I’ve stayed up reading so late, because this story is one that draws you so far in it is hard to put down. Fable is such an amazingly strong main character. This story is so well developed. The world is created so intricately that it was if I was sailing the high seas myself. I love when I feel like I am watching a video in my head while reading.


I just reviewed Fable by Adrienne Young. #NetGalley #Fable

Fable
Adrienne Young
5/5
This book was absolutely amazing. I was hooked from the first page—and that’s saying a lot because I’ve been in a reading slump. The protagonist, Fable, is magnetic in her allure. Abandoned by her own father in an island of thieves after a shipwreck, she has been saving copper after copper to make it off the island and back to her father. To prove him wrong about her. To get what he promised her. Her perseverance and complete composure in the face of adversity is just incredible. I feel filled with strength and power just inhabiting her world. Without giving too much away, I’ll say there is romance, adventure, and camaraderie. Fable is fundamentally a social creature who has been deprived of all friendship and family for four years and now seeks that sort of connection. But like all good adventures, her journey is fraught with peril—not only from the sea, but also the various persons around her that take exception to her presence in their sphere. It is not so much that she has enemies but that she is an outsider who repeatedly intrudes and involves herself in the complex social workings of others. Her own background is complicated as well. Her father is well known, as was her mother. They have their own pasts that contribute to her problems. The people she falls in with likewise have made enemies and in helping them, she gains their enemies as her own.

I was an emotional wreck throughout this whole book, which I read over the course of a day because I could not let it go. I loved the simple yet effective—even evocative—writing style. I was transported to this world that was so ordinary and yet had a touch of magic, so foreign and yet so easy to comprehend. This story made me feel things. I loved the characters and the development. I loved the sly little foreshadowing moments that kept me paying extra close attention to the wording. Young does not mince words. She is not wasteful. Every sentence feels deliberate and calculated. The characterizations are sparing and yet I feel as though I really knew all the characters. And wow! It was so romantic. It was seamlessly romantic. It felt like taking a deep breath. Natural and calming and right.i loved how it wasn’t all about the romance and yet it didn’t feel out of place. So much happened, and none of it felt rushed...

But that ending. Brace yourselves for that ending because all of a sudden you’ll turn the page and see acknowledgements and wonder how you could possibly wait for the next book. It was so fast and yet didn’t seem unnatural. I honestly cannot wait for the conclusion. Wonderful book. Go pick this up! September 1st 2020.

Fable is the story of a young girl who has lost her mother and been abandoned by her father to learn how to fend for herself on a dangerous island. She survives by dredging the sea but her skills result in a target on her back. She makes a desperate escape from the island at the mercy of West and his crew. Her plan is to find her father and take her rightful spot at his side. But everyone has secrets. She can’t tell them who she is and they have secrets of their own.

I adored this book for several reasons. First, I feel it was well paced. It only covers a short time period, but it’s full of action. The mysteries are carefully revealed so you aren’t bogged down with any info dumping. Second, I appreciate that Fable is strong without being overly so. She has weaknesses that she has to overcome and struggles to find her way. Who she is might be important but she basically has nothing. She’s had a hard life but still finds a way to trust in people. Finally, the story itself evokes so many feelings. The side characters are vivid and lovable. I had so much anxiety rooting for this little band of misfits. I cannot wait to see how it ends next year.

Okay, crud, I saw "Fable, #1" and should have known this was part of a series, but it just didn't register until 90% that there was probably a sequel coming. Thank goodness there is s sequel coming because I did not want this to end! I love Fable and all the complex parts that make her who she is. She is a survivor for sure, and although she has rules for survival that she follows gleaned from her father's lessons as well as the lessons of the harsh "community" that she is living in, her goodness has not been completely stamped out. This is a spoiler-free review, but this book has pirates, sunken ships, treasure, intrigue, back-stabbing, heart-stopping chases, knife/sword fights, dangerous storms, even a bit of romance. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next one, whenever that may be!

FTC Disclosure: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Oh, goodness, where to begin? Fable is about a girl named, wait for it, Fable, who aspires to be a powerful trader (think pirate businessman) like her father and partner up with him. The only problem is her father abandoned her on an island in the middle of nowhere a few years ago, so reaching her goal is not as easy as it might sound.

The world-building in Fable is quite fantastic. Right off the bat, Fable, our narrator, starts painting a rich picture of the world she lives in, and it’s quite enchanting. That said, I hope the published version has a glossary or something because even with my inference skills, some of the terms Fable uses (mainly boating/ship related terms) threw me for a loop. Some of the transitions in the first few chapters certainly did not help my comprehension, and it got to the point where I thought my ARC might be missing some pages. That’s how confused I was. But don’t worry, I was able to make sense of everything. Eventually.

It was quite interesting to read about Fable herself. I admired her grit and strength, but most of all, I loved her development throughout the book. I appreciated how she learned to grow as a person as she dealt with all the twists life (and the plot of Fable) threw at her. I wish I could say the same about all the side characters. Let’s just say there was a real potential for them to feel like a found family, but they fall short of that. All the side characters are just too underdeveloped, so they feel like a bunch of friendly coworkers instead of a family.

But my biggest issue with Fable is its plot. I don’t know, it just feels kind of… empty, almost like nothing much happened? It’s reminiscent of a travel vlog that only documents a plane ride with a few bumps in the road (in the air?). It’s interesting, but also kind of stagnant despite its fast pacing.

Fable does have some nuggets of mystery mixed in with the plot that add allure, but none of it feels like it was going anywhere. Mostly, it planted a lot of seeds for things that might be explored more in the future but never really grow any plants in the story. In short, Fable felt like one massive setup of its sequel.

Oh, and about the romance. What romance? I liked how it didn’t play a significant role in the story but hate that it was even a thing at all. It needs more development to be even somewhat believable.

Don’t get me wrong, Fable is exciting, and a quick read and I genuinely did enjoy it. But I do think my experience of it was tainted a bit by my expectations. Everyone I know was hyping it up so much, and the synopsis really talked it up, and unfortunately, it fell a little short of that. I’m still excited to read the sequel, though. And I’m glad it’s coming soon because Fable‘s ending is the textbook definition of a cliffhanger.

In conclusion, I liked Fable, but I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as everyone else seems to. 😅 It’s a quick read and full of intrigue, and the world-building is really nicely done. I just wish the side characters were more developed, and the plot was meatier. The whole book honestly feels like a setup for the sequel, which I can’t wait to read after the way Fable ended. Good thing it comes out in March!

Fable is a seventeen year old girl abandoned by her father, a powerful trader in the Narrows, a harsh society full of pirates and criminals. Her greatest wish is to rejoin her father's crew, but in order to do that she has to find a way off the island where he abandoned her four years prior.

I was so excited to read this story based on the synopsis and the fact that I loved Adrienne Young's other books, and this may end up being my favorite Adrienne Young novel yet. The world that she has built is so detailed and rich. The story was exciting and fast-paced. I was cheering for Fable throughout the story. The ending definitely left me wanting the next book immediately. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who appreciates a fast-paced, adventurous tale!

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.

If you are looking for the perfect, seafaring, romantic adventure, look no further! Fable is such an amazing MC full of bravado and determination. The entire plot of the story was so fast-paced and energetic; I literally could not put the book down. There is a small amount of magical element in the story, but I'll leave that to you to find out about when  you read the story. Throughout my reading, I had so many theories about what was going to happen or who was going to do what and after finishing the book, I can safely say that my theory list has grown considerably! LOL. I desperately want to get my hands on book 2, Namesake, ASAP! This book focuses more on the adventure part of the story, but romance fans will also love it just as much (I'm secretly hoping for more romance in the next book)! This book also incorporates the idea of blood family vs. found family and found family is one of my absolute favorite tropes! Highly recommend picking this book up for a fun "piratey" type read! 5 stars all the way!

I finished reading Fable by Adrienne Young through NetGalley. I had pretty high expectations of this book and it did not disappoint.

The book follows a girl named Fable who is a dredger. She is trying to earn money so she could escape from the island where her father abandoned her. She wishes become part of her fathers crew. Fable ends up in Marigold, a ship owned by a trader named West.

I loved Fable as a character! She is very hard-working and tough. She is also quite funny character. Adrienne Young’s writing style is something I like. It took a while to get used to but then I couldn’t stop reading! The book has adventurous feeling. I enjoyed the romantic tension between Fable and West. So subtle but good! I will be waiting for the next book.

Fable's mom died four years ago. That's also when her father abandoned her on an island full of thieves. He told her that if she could find her way back to him, then he would give her what belongs to her. She almost has enough stashed to get back to her father, but on an island of thieves nothing is safe for long.
I was really surprised by how much I loved this book. I usually go for books with a lot of magic. This isn't magical, but it is fantastic. I loved the characters and I loved the story. And with this ending, I can't wait for the next one!

So many of my bookish friends loved this book and adore Adrienne. I unfortunately have come to the conclusion that this author's work (in addition to pirate stories) is just not for me. And that's ok. That's the beauty of the book community. We all have different tastes and stories.

Great book. Looking forward to the next one. Adrienne young is a fantastic author. This book was everything the hype built it up to be.

I am such a huge Adrienne Young fan so when I heard about this book, I KNEW I needed to read it!

It has everything I love: pirates, a badass female lead, and a slow burn romance! I devoured this book and loved every moment of it! I cannot wait until the next book because that CLIFFHANGER WAS PAINFUL!

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At this point I will read ANYTHING written by Adrienne Young! I love her writing and the worlds she describes and puts us in, I feel like I know each and every one of these characters! I need/want Namesake right now! I'm so happy there isn't much time between these two books in the series. Do yourself a favor and go read & buy all of her works, you won't regret it.

Also these covers are amazing, I'm truly in love!

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fable is my first book by Adrienne Young, but it definitely won’t be the last. I was particularly drawn to the pirates theme, which is far less plentiful in fiction today than I would like (it’s not completely absent, but doesn’t appear to have ever had the mileage vampires once had, for example).

And it definitely delivers, starting with the protagonist. Fable has the strength to find her way off the island after really having to scrape by to survive, pitted against the nomadic criminal residents. And while I didn’t get why she wanted to reunite with her father, given he was the reason she ended up in that situation to begin with, I still admired her gumption, especially as she finally found her way off, and ingratiated herself with the ragtag crew of the Marigold.

This definitely feels darker than most YA fantasy, while still feeling age-appropriate, especially since it avoids the sense of outright “good vs. evil,” with many of the major characters, including Fable herself, having a sense of moral grayness to them.

This is a fabulous book, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. If you’re looking for an edgier take on the YA fantasy genre, you should definitely pick this one up.

I'm easy to please: a rich fantasy world, magic, pirates, badass female leads? I'm here for all of it. This story has a little bit of everything that makes for a good book (for me): romance, high seas, ruthless pirates, found family, and magic.

I had pretty high hopes going into Fable simply because the cover is stunning and Adrienne Young is such an amazing author. And this book did not disappoint. I loved it from beginning to end. I'm a big fan of how Adrienne Young starts her books right in the middle of everything and then the readers slowly learn about the characters past.

The world building is intricate but done in such an easily digestible way that that there is no fear of info dumps or losing interest. I felt like I was part of the Marigold crew and walking the streets of The Pitch.

These characters!! The depth and personality in each character really made this book for me. Not just everyone in Marigold's crew, but Saint and Zola and Koy. These characters that have small but important parts are so well done. I just loved it.

But, that freaking ending! Like just whyyyyy? Why do authors do this to us?? I'm so excited for book two and need it nowwww!

I've had a soft spot for good seafaring adventures since I was little and this hit all my sweet spots.
Fable is the quintessential urchin fighting for survival who loves the sea and dreams of finding a home on a ship once again. She manages to get onto the Marigold and the adventure truly begins.
It's gripping, character-driven, and expertly plotted.
The only negative thing I can possibly find to say about it is that it ended too soon and the next volume is still months away. I can't wait to read how everything plays out.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the early read!