I daresay 5 stars!
I read this book today. The entire book, more or less in ONE sitting.

Fable by Adrienne Young, is the first book in a new series that begins with a girl , Fable, who was abandoned on an island at the age of 14. Everything she has (which isn’t much at all) she has worked hard for, diving deep into the sea. When she’s attacked she defends herself and has to barter passage to another island, with the trader who buys her merch when he’s in port she has to give him everything she has. But there is something about the ship, and it’s crew that they’re hiding. And they aren’t the only ones.

This book captured my attention from the first line and didn’t let go. It is apparent that sailing was well researched. Beyond that the storyline is beautifully paced. The characters are rich and so well developed, and the world building is phenomenal. I was captivated.

I highly recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. (My enthusiasm is 100% my own!)

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Y’all should know by now that I love to start a review by gushing over the cover, so what comes next shouldn’t be a surprise, right? THIS. FREAKING. COVER! Can we just all agree that Wednesday Books is killing the cover game right now? One slow clap from me, keep up the good work. (If you need further proof that Wednesday Books has gorgeous covers this year, I will put some of my favorites at the bottom of this post for you to drool over.

While Sky in the Deep was an unequivocal five star read for me, I had a harder time with The Girl the Sea Gave Back. While that one was a one sitting read for me, it didn’t quite have the pull of Adrienne Young’s debut. The moment I saw the cover and read the synopsis for Fable, I knew it was a book I NEEDED to pick up. I am beyond happy to report that Fable absolutely blew me away.

Fable as a character is likable, fierce, tough and just someone I constantly found myself rooting for. She never gave up and showed an incredible determination to see her goals completed. Even in the face of rejection and failure, she maintained a strong will and persevered.

One of my favorite things about Sky in the Deep was the cast of side characters and the connection that I formed with them as a reader. The supporting cast in Fable is just as wonderful and likable, if not more so. Fable’s entire friendship with them was a kind of slow burn and I enjoyed watching that develop slowly.

There is romance and while it is ridiculously swoon worthy and actually brought tears to my eyes, it did not overtake the plot. Fable was the start to an incredible story about a girl finding her family and her place in the world, and I can’t wait to see where the stories goes in the sequel. Definitely preorder these gorgeous books – I already have!

This book takes off running from beginning to end and I couldn’t take my eyes off the pages in between. I love the strength of Fable. As a protagonist she’s resilient and gritty with just enough of a conscience to allow her to be slightly vulnerable without being weak. Please tell me there’s a sequel because Im totally left hanging and it’s frustrating. A special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion which is you should read it. 😊

You know when you are eating a good piece of cake and you don't want to finish the last bite because you know nothing will ever be as wonderful as that last bite until you have more next time? That's how I felt while reading Fable by Adrienne Young, I did not want to finish this story at all.

Fable, the main character, is someone who had to adapt to her new surroundings, in four years she learned to survive, trade, and outsmart others, all with a goal of one day having enough coins to secure passage off the island. Things escalate faster than Fable had planned but she doesn't waste any time in getting things done. One of the things that stood out about Fable was her resilience, her mother died and her father left her there; life threw her curveballs and knocked her down but she still kept going.

I enjoy stories about crews so when Fable left the island with West and his crew I was beyond excited to see how the relationship dynamics between them all would be and I was not disappointed. Also have to mention that learning about the side characters and their stories was just as important as Fable's.

Adrienne Young is a pirate, there I said it, she captured the pirate life flawlessy, it never felt forced or fake, it was smooth sailing while I was reading. Fable is her best book and definitely my favorite, I couldn't get enough of the characters, the high stakes, and the sea.

Even though, the last page has a cliffhanger, I was left with a huge smile on my face, I really loved this story and hope that this year moves faster so I can get my grabby hands on the sequel, Namesake.

(Thank you Net Galley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an E-Galley)

I adore Adrienne Youngs writing, and after reading her last book, The Girl The Sea Gave Back, I knew she would be an auto buy author for me.
When I saw she was coming out with another book, I screamed! That cover is gorgeous, and the synopsis sounds even better!
This was such a great read and I loved the world building and characters.

I want to start off by saying that I was in a bit of a book slump recently. I couldn't get into anything. It took me forever to read a single book. It was miserable. That being said, I sunk right into Fable and finished it in less than 48 hours. This may not seem like a feat to many, but I have a ten-month-old at home and my reading time is limited.
Fable wasn't my favorite of Young's works; that spot is still held by The Sky in the Deep, but it was a quick read and such a deviation from her first two books. The imagery is fantastic and I cannot wait to see where the next book finds Fable, especially after the twits and turns at the end.

AY took a fascination I had with pirates and turned it into a full-blown obsession. This story is EVERYTHING I need to feel like I'm living a stolen life on the open seas with the salty wind in my hair and a map in my hand.

This book holds masterfully built worlds and perfectly crafted characters. There is such a great balance between who the story is about and the places they navigate. I was constantly enamoured by each character and their motivations, as well as where each scene was set. I just really cant get over how great this kind of storytelling is.

It's the kind of storytelling that made me panic when I realised I only had a couple of chapters left because I didn't want it to end. So praise the book gods that there's a sequel coming!

This was such a fantastic story. A little bit of a slow build in the first third of it; the storytelling hadn't yet hit its stride and you weren't sure where it was going, what was important, and it was a bit confusing what the stakes were. However, as soon as those were established, phew. I flew through this book. The writing is wonderful. The characters are so 3-dimensional and so darn real. There isn't a ton of magic explained, just a smidgen, but I think the next book will help illuminate more on that.

The characters are the best part of this book. They are well written and realistic. I was engaged from the first sentence. Also that cover is beyond beautiful! I love how fierce it is and that the sequel matches is even better. I can’t wait to share this one with students!

I cannot recommend this book enough. I was excited to read something different and this book did not disappoint me.

When I first saw the cover of this book I got super excited! I have always been a huge fan of red hair! This cover just had so many vibes that gave me pure enjoyment and I haven't even read the book. When I saw it on NetGalley I knew I had to try and get my hands on it. I read this book in one day and found it very hard to put it down to do my daily things. I really enjoyed Adrienne Young's Sky In the Deep and I felt the same way that I did with that book! Her writing is just really capturing! I can not wait for Namesake!!! Huge Thank You to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this opportunity! I can not wait to have the final book in my collection!!!

What would you be willing to do to feel like you're home?

Fable fights for her life and a place to feel safe in this thrilling new novel. With nothing left to lose, she sets out to earn back what is rightfully her and finds a new family along the way.

I loved all these characters. Fable is scrappy and loveable. You can't help but root for her as she continually has to fight for space. The crew of misfits she falls into will leave you yearning, and the ending leaves you desperate for more.

Adrienne Young sweeps readers off their feet again with this poignant and moving fantasy. Readers will be anxious for the next installment.

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. - Goodreads

Fable is one of the most anticipated books coming out this fall. I was more than happy and surprised that I was approved for an arc for this book.  I liked Adrienne Young's debut novel, Sky in the Deep and that is what prompted me to read this one. 

However, when I finished this book all I can say is that it was okay. There was nothing special about Fable other than who her father was. She did more getting by than actually having any form of skill. The story was predictable. Everything about it was predictable. 

The only saving grace for me was that the world building was done really well. I love pirate stories and although I wished this to be a little more ruthless, Young was able to create a world fueled by money and things not being what they seem. I was extremely interested in the world. But Fable was mediocre at best and relied way too much on other people. She survived but barely. 

The plot was slow as half the book was spent with a whole lot of nothing going on. There was a lack of depth in this novel and if it would have had it, this book would have gone a lone way. 

Overall, 

2 Pickles

Despite my body's willingness to get sea sick on boats, for some reason books that take place on boats are fine with me. I've heard nothing but praise for Adrienne Young's books, but this was the first one I've dove into and it did not disappoint. Fable centers around a young dredger, abandoned by her father four years ago with the promise that if she made it off the island, she could make it in the world and he would give her what belonged to her. The promise fuels her and she does everything possible to survive, dredging up pyre that she sells to crews that come to Jevali to fund her way off the simple island. In a moment of panic, she asks West, the helmsman of the Marigold to take her to Ceros, where she knows her father will be. He agrees, but only after the crew heckles him into doing so. With a crew beside her and the hope of everything being righted in her life, Fable finally thinks things are going her way. But when it seems like everyone is out for the Marigold and her father, the famous Saint, doesn't live up to his promises, everything might be unraveling faster than she can handle.

After reading Fable, I feel that I know more about boats and ships than I ever needed to know, but it was a strong lesson in understanding what it takes to survive at sea and the power of a found family. I was impressed that it never felt like overkill and that terms and phrases were being thrown out left and right. Everything was written organically and flowed so smoothly. It made it enjoyable to read! Fable's characters were well developed and included throughout the story. They felt like they belonged and the small differences with each of them helped with the plot and the diverseness of this world. Young sets up a world that has plenty of life left in it and leaves us with a cliffhanger that makes the reader desperately anxious for more of the series. This was a refreshing read that I will officially create a countdown for the next book.

Looooove. Sign me up for the second book - because I am IN. What a great story - this has everything. Mystery. Romance. Deception.

Fable by Adrienne Young is an excellent and thrilling book that is part historical fiction, part fantasy with wonderful elements of romance, adventure, and epic storytelling all fused into one excellent novel. This book is marketed as young adult, however as an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I feel that this can easily appeal to audiences that include young adults and young adults alike.

I loved reading about this alternate world of far away seas, islands, ships abound, and competing and rival pirating/trading groups that created wonderful images of a new age, time, and place where magical things could happen any day.

I loved learning more about boating, ships, navigation, and survival on the relentless sea. I loved the action, adventure, twists, turns, and the cliffhanger. But most of all, I loved the characters. Fable, West, Willa, Saint, Paj, Hammish, and Auster. The descriptions of their physical attributes, the complex histories, the flaws, their loyalties, and their relationships won me over. I love Fable and Wes (but Fable most of all). She is strong, growing, maturing, seems to find herself into spots of trouble, but she is kind, passionate, and loyal to no end. I cannot wait to read what happens next!!!!

5/5 stars enthusiastically

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St Martin’s Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

I really enjoyed this book but I didn't get a lot of the lingo or occupations. It was beautifully written and I could picture Fable, fellow mates, and the setting so wonderfully. It was a fun read and very action packed.

After a terrifying shipwreck that took her mother, Fable was left on a seashore of a trading dock. Her father carved a symbol into the inside of her forearm and left her without any protection. Just a child, she did what she could to survive, and taught herself the lowliest of trades, dredging the reefs from precious stones. Fable is saving her coppers to buy her way off the island and to her father. When she is attacked by her competition and has to beg her way onto a ship, Marigold, a trading ship leaving port. As she get close to finding her father, she is ensnared in secrets of the crew abroad Marigold, and connections to a sinister world of people who will do anything to survive.

Fable is my hero! OMG it's be a while since I so utterly loved a main character so deeply. She is strong and brave, made of power and so much yes, and yet, she's real and raw and deep inside there is a part of her you want to hold and protect.

The story starts in way that leaves you no doubt the kind of world Fable is navigating. Hard, beyond hard, the edges are everywhere and it's no wonder it created such a powerful woman. I was holding my breath for the opening until we meet West and then, wow, things shift, but do they? The Marigold crew and what happens next is just as tense/intense, not letting up. There is a darkness to the story that adds so much and really lifts this low fantasy to great heights.

This is a cutthroat pirate/sea fantasy that raises the bar... or should I say sails? to a new level. Must read. I need the next part.