This is the perfect follow-up to FABLE. The stakes are higher, the characters are more committed to one another, and the world expands in exciting and interesting ways. While this duology has so much to love (romance, found family, adventure, mystery), what really shines is the complicated father-daughter relationship. This story will stay with me for a very long time.

This duology is spectacular. In Namesake we find Fable kidnapped by Zola with no idea if anyone would come rescue her. To top it off she learns Clove, who was basically family to her, is now working for Zola. Oh and Koy has been added to the crew. She has no idea where they’re going or what Zola wants with her. And that’s where the fun begins. I love that Fable basically never knows what’s going on. Poor girl has been abandoned and had so many secrets kept from her she can’t trust anyone and has to ply detective to make any decision. The schemes and double agents and plans gone awry are what makes these books so much fun. The darkness of survival is still front and center along with Fable and West’s hopes and promises for a better life. They’re stil dredging for gems and dredging up Fables past. If you enjoyed Fable I definitely don’t think this will disappoint. This review was in exchange for a free ARC on NetGalley

“Never, under any circumstances, reveal who or what matters to you.”

One of Saints rules that Fable lives by, but then everyone just throws out to sea in an instant. This whole book hinges on all the characters looking for revenge after someone is taken from them.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to those who enjoyed Fable, however, I did find it lacking the same magic.

The story didn’t seem to know where it wanted to go and could not pick a villain. The first half of the book carries the feel of Fable, but it then seems to shift and lose its way. The plot twists seem more of an after thought to try and keep momentum, rather than planned out events. The pacing was off, with all the “resolutions” happening far too quickly in the very end of the story.

The characters became stagnant as Fable's ideas and concerns were the only ones that mattered. I did not feel growth between West and Fable in their relationship. He states he loves her a few times, which she doesn’t seem to repeat back, but we never got the chance to see and experience their attraction beyond just the words since most of their time is spend apart. The rest of the crew gets few moments to shine, but even then, we don’t learn anything new about them. The characters that are introduced have singular defining traits and I did not feel invested in anything they did or how they effected the story.

I'm so glad I got to read Namesake as soon as I finished Fable because I hate cliffhangers and I needed to know what happened. *bites fingernails*
This is great world building and storytelling. I love a strong female heroine and Fable is complicated and relatable.
I read this book in one day with a big smile on my face the entire time. I can't wait to get all my high school students hooked on the series. I really think that the students who love Six of Crows will thoroughly enjoy Fable and Namesake.
Thanks to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Namesake is the sequel to Fable, and it did not disappoint! The story in Namesake follows Fable through her seafaring, where she gets caught up in vengeful schemes. She’s desperately longing to be free of her father, enough to join her old crew on the Marigold and go on with her life. Throughout all of this, you learn just how strong Fable is as well as how vulnerable she can be.

This book was set up in a way that I appreciated so much. It was a direct continuation from the end of Fable and immediately set us up with a new plot. It’s a pirate book, so most of the plot is backstabbing, but I can appreciate that. In comparison to the prequel, Namesake really expanded on Fable’s relationship with her father and left me in tears. I love how Adrienne portrayed their relationship. I appreciated her relationship with West in this book as well, and how they wanted to protect each other but they just kept lying and making a mess of things.

My biggest complaint about Namesake is that there were problems that could’ve been solved with the use of healthy conversation, but with a lot of YA, in general, there is never any healthy communication! I’m harking back to Divergent, The Hunger Games, and even parts of Court of Thorns and Roses, The Winner's Curse, The Jewel, there are so many fantastic books out there with two characters who are in a relationship but do not communicate. I've read so many of these books that I'm over this trope of there being no communication, just a bunch of lying between two people who are supposed to be in a relationship. We need to teach our teenagers that this is not how this is supposed to go. There were just some stylistic choices with the characters that I think could have been done better.

I think Namesake overall was a very strong book with great plot points. It keeps you on your toes. You never quite know understood where we were going because there's so much scheming going on that you feel like you're part of the schemes but that you also have no idea what's actually happening because every time you get to corner it veers off left or right in a direction that you can't even begin to expect. Even as a standalone, Namesake is really good.
I did receive both Fable and Namesake ARCs and got to enjoy them back to back. In Namesake, there are some moments of violence but I still think this is a pretty good High School read. There’s important representation in the story, important family tropes, definitely a lot to discuss about family. One of the most important aspects of this book is the way Adrienne explores the meaning and the complexity of family. I really appreciate having the opportunity to read this duology and I would highly recommend it to a lot of people, especially people who like pirate stories. But I truly enjoyed Namesake, as well as Fable, and if Adrienne decides to revisit this world I will be back in a heartbeat.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like YA books with more focus on strong family relationships than romance, this duology is for you!
Our heroine Fable is clever and fierce. She is different from other female protagonists that I have encountered so far. Why? Well, she's just so … human. I can't put it any other way. For instance: she cried a lot. (… I mean a lot a lot) But she picked herself up and kept going. That's what made her so real to me. The passion, the readyness to defend her loved ones, the nostalgia, the memories...

With “Fable” it took me a while to get into the story. It was slow-paced, with lots of worldbuilding and I didn't really understand where the story was going. But once I was halfway through, I couldn't put it down. Lucky for my I was able to read the sequal through Netgalley.
"Namesake" is very plot focussed and that's exactly why I liked this one more. The stakes were higher, it was fast-paced and we got more backstory to the characters. The ending was perfect, and the characters are still lingering in my mind. I will miss their adventures!

An absolute perfect ending to a perfect duology. It had plenty of twists to keep you interested.

I loved the new characters as well.

Just as amazing as Fable, I’m so sad this story is ending. I feel there is so much more that could be done with this world...fingers crossed. I would LOVE side stories.

(As an aside: I do feel as though some of this could’ve been cut to make for one longer, one book story. There wasn’t much new world-building material to work with. Nor much character development to worry about.) But still, just incredible. AY is a genius.

Helmsman. Dredger. Trader. Orphan. Father. Daughter.

The first book in the duology, Fable, ended with a surprising cliffhanger that made me stunned, shocked and silent for a moment I didn’t know what to do next. Hence, to say that I was excited and happy to get an e-ARC of Namesake is an understatement.

I thought Fable was fast paced but Namesake was more! This book did not give me time to think, the action is non-stop and like the first book, this was written in Fable’s POV thus the activity and plans of the other characters were always a surprise. The multitude of secrets is outrageous I thought the book is not enough to unravel everything but I was wrong. This provided the closure I needed.

The plot twists and turn of events were really interesting and the tangle of family issues became worse with the introduction of a new-ish character, Holland. There was an enemy turned friend, romance that I did not expect, family’s love expressed in different ways – there’s so much going on, the story is just beautiful.

The reason why I did not give this a five star rating was because of the lack of character and relationship development. Fable was herself from start to finish; strong, stubborn and a real trouble magnet, which made me love her, however, I wished she grew into something more. I was also hoping there was more to her about being a gem sage. Relationships could have been cultivated more for the Marigold crew to perfectly fit the new found family trope. The crew spent most of the time being angry at her and the acceptance was missing to be really called a family.

Saint was a bastard, but he was mine.

The scenes between Fable and Saint were my absolute favorite! They were always packed with emotion and anyone could relate to their story. Although I got the closure I needed, that doesn’t mean I am ready to move on from this story and I wish there is a spin-off about Saint because for me he is the most interesting character in the duology.

Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books/NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful ending to Fable's story! Fable is a strong-willed and loving character who would do anything for those she cares for. There was a lot going on in this book, but Young makes it work and ties up all the loose ends perfectly. West! Ah! What a great character as well. I feel privileged having been able to read this early, and will definitely push it as a must-read (along with the first book, of course) in my store!

Fable has been one of my favorite books of 2020 so far, so when I saw the ARC of Namesake was up on NetGalley, I was ecstatic! In an alternate universe, I would live on a ship sailing the high seas, surrounded by jewel-toned waters with the wind blowing through my hair. While I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I love the first book, Namesake brought back all the elements we saw in Fable, with some new twists and turns.

Fable centered mostly around Fable and her father, their history and relationship. In Namesake, we learn more about Fable’s mother and that there was more to Isolde than even Fable knew. Fable’s character was just as strong and stubborn in this book. I was little upset that the rest of Marigold’s crew wasn’t featured much in this one. A big part of the story was Fable and West’s relationship. West almost seemed like a completely different character at times, and it wasn’t always one I liked.

For me, the plot seemed to take so many turns in this sequel, and while I was enjoying it, I wasn’t always sure where it was going. There was a lot happening, and by the time we reached the climax, Fable and crew had already been through so much. I do feel the ending was a bit rushed. I wouldn’t have minded a slightly longer book just so the pacing at the end matched the pacing with the rest of the book. I read in another review that both books could have been combined into one long story, and I can’t help but agree. There was a lot of world-building in Fable while Namesake is very plot-driven. The story would have balanced out nicely if it were to be combined! I guess that is just great incentive to binge read both books back-to-back once Namesake comes out! 😝

Being able to read installments of this duology only months apart was so awesome as the story was so fresh in my mind by the time I started book two. I will definitely be revisiting the world of Fable in the future!

The second part of the story was just as fun, as adventurous, as thrilling as the first part. There wasn’t too much additional character and world world building from what was established from book one, and I think that I’d I hadn’t just read Fable I may have forgotten some important facts. That said, the world is not too complicated that you can’t fall back into the story easily. I loved the atmosphere and the stakes of the story kept me invested and wanting to read more. Some relationships felt inconsistent, but I loved the progression of the plot and seeing how the titles in the duology tied everything together.

I'm really conflicted about this book. I really, really, really loved Fable — it was a 5 star review. But the plot here lagged in comparison, with less excitement and adventure than was present in Fable.

The book suffered because the crew we came to love so much in Fable wasn't present for 40-50% of this book. There was an exploration of new characters that I loved (Holland was a badass) but we still know almost nothing about Hamish and I'm honestly confused why he was even on the crew considering how little we know about him.

Additionally - and recognizing that I did read an ARC - the story retconned background details settled in the first book. For example, Auster's uncle was Henrik. The same name that West attributes to his own father in the last chapters of Fable. And yet this is never commented on or explored or really even considered. No flicker of eyes at the face or startling or anything. And then they never comment on how Willa would have joined Saint's crew with West, but she said she went with West in book 1 (or at least I'm pretty sure).

In general, the book suffered for lack of a theme or ability to stick to its purported theme. Book 1 was about discovering Fable and Book 2 seems to be about discovering her parents and connecting with them, and yet it feels forced as Fable travels from one place to another with a lot of wasted time that the characters admit is wasted.

But for all these faults, the book is still well-written, the characters are still interesting, and the stakes are high. It's a good, rompy read and hopefully people will enjoy the final version more than I did this one.

We still don't know who is buying the gems, though.

Such a strong sequel! This has so much of what I loved from Fable. I was excited to see what would happen next, throughout the whole thing. Fable was very strong, but clearly not perfect, and everyone had such interesting complex relationships!

**Review will be posted on my blog on 3/2/21 - nearer to publication date.**
I Liked:
*The covers for this whole series is gorgeous. The writing is beautiful, the characters are developed, the world building is creative! I love this world of dredging, gems and traders – it just takes pirating to a different place that I enjoy so much.

*Fable uncovers more secrets about her mother’s past. We meet some new characters not only connected to Fable but from Auster’s past as well. The deceptions are present too – who is Fable to trust?

*Nothing about Fable’s life is easy, not even when it comes to loving West who has his own complications. But this story shows that Fable is her own hero and yes, she now learns to trust others to help her in the bind she is in – she isn’t alone anymore, she has a new found family.

*Everything in this story comes full circle yet and it’s a satisfying ending to a wonderful duology.

Random Notes:
*Will we get more of this world in the future? I feel like there could be more written about some new characters that we met in this book. I’d love to return to this world.

Final Thoughts:
I gave this book 4.5 stars because I felt like some of the intensity from book one was missing but it’s not a bad thing because overall, the whole series is a 5 star series for me. This book had danger, deception, secrets to unravel, and it was emotional too when it came to Fable’s relationships: West, her love and Saint, her father. This is a series not to miss – it’s creative, intense action, and emotional. Namesake was the perfect ending to this amazing duology.

I loved Fable and was really excited for this sequel, but sadly it did not quite live up to my expectations.

The good:
- It picks up exactly where Fable left off.
- The world expands beyond the Narrows.
- We learn more about Fable's mother.
- We get to learn about Holland.
- More diving adventures.

What did not work for me:
- The crew of the Marigold feel barely present in this book, and are completely missing from the first half. And when they are there, they don't really do much--things just happen to them. I wanted more development from Willa, Auster, Paj, and Hamish, and that didn't happen. Everyone is mad at West for a while, but their anger just sort of unexplainably fades.
- The tension in the main relationships is not really resolved, specifically between Fable/West and Fable/Saint. There are major issues in both of these relationships that just seem to be resolved at the end of the book by virtue of the plot being resolved. There was a great scene of resolution with Saint and Fable but I thought the build-up to it was lacking, and there was a lot of build-up between Fable and West--with no release. It felt like the issues just went away without fanfare because the plot was finished.

As much as I love Fable's POV, I kind of think this book would have benefitted from a second perspective, the likely choice being West's. There was just too much action happening off screen in this one.

I still enjoyed reading this book, and I'll recommend this series to friends, though probably with the caveat that the first book is better than the second.

Adrienne writes so beautifully. This was a wonderful story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I adored Fable and this was a beautiful continuation of a timeless story.
Looking forward to picking up her previous books and I can't wait to see what stories she creates in the future.

Thank you so much netgalley and wednesday books for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

I really don’t want to give anything away so this review will be the non spoiler edition. Namesake starts off after the most infuriating cliff hanger I’ve ever read, the adventure in this story just grabs you and takes you along for the ride. The characters are beautifully written with meaningful back stories that connect and intertwine. The main character Fable is what every young girl can be proud to look up to. She’s brave, strong, but also makes mistakes and learns along the way. She deals with hardships, love, adventure and drama throughout. I loved these books and could not put them down, but I did find that Namesake didn’t quite have the same touch as Fable. I would suggest to everyone and anyone read both of these novels, you can’t go wrong.

I received this book in exchange of an honest review.I just finished this book and it was amazing it pick right up from where Fable left off. It answered all my questions and more. It was a perfect book, I really don’t want to get anything way... this book is filled with action,, love and adventure. I could taste the salt in the air and feel the waves beneath the Marigold, I was totally transported to this world that Adrienne.

Omg!!



Fable is back and still bad @ss in the sequel to the duology. I love these characters so much!! Fable is my spirit animal. She’s tough and doesn’t take any crap from anyone. She does have an inner soft side, I promise she does 😉



All I can say is if you loved the first book, you will love this one even more. It’s total swashbuckling peeps! 😘

We were salt and sand and sea and storm.

We were made in the Narrows.


*Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for a digital copy of this book!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

Namesake picks up where Fable left off and explores more of Fable's background. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters better and seeing their development. I also loved how we got to explore more of the world in this book! Namesake is filled with adventure, twists, and is a beautifully written conclusion to the duology. Looking forward to reading more books from Adrienne Young!