This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and absolutely did NOT disappoint! The premise is wild and the story had me hooked right away, We NEED more dystopian stories published - this is so nostalgic but also modern feeling. Hunger Games girlies will LOVE this.

Set in a dystopian society where climate change has further stratified humanity by class, a large mega-corporation has devised an economy where all citizens can get the items and services they want, but at a price. If an individual goes into too much debt, they’re forced to nominate someone for the Gauntlet, a televised chase and brutal murder by superhuman women called Angels, that is broadcast to all devices and screens. Inesa has her relatively peaceful life with her family until her mother reaches the debt threshold and nominates her for the Gauntlet. With her background of knowledge from her now-missing father, and the help of her brother, she might stand a small chance of actually surviving, but the Angel assigned to hunt her down her has her own plans and motivations.

Despite its obvious Hunger Games references (acknowledged by the author!), this book did feel fresh and very thoughtful. Some twists felt a little too obvious, but there were quite a few events that surprised me. If I had to knit pick I’d say pacing dragged in the cabin scenes towards the last third and the final conflict felt a little anticlimactic, and the main human villain (i.e. not a corporation felt a little one-dimensional. I absolutely loved the ending and loved how it concludes neatly but also sets up an opening for a second book, but it might not be for everyone.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!

I’ve come to the realization that my love for Ava Reid’s books are at a 50% rate. I loved A study in Drowning and Lady MacBeth. I didn’t enjoy Juniper and Thorn or The Wolf and the Woodsman quite like I expected to. Fable fell into the later category for me.

In a very 2013-2016 era style of post-apocalyptic YA novels (think Hunger Games, Grace Year, Wilder Girls) featuring romance, gritty survival, humans hunting humans, this novel really tried and had moments that kept my eyes glued to the pages. And yet, the quick turn around from enemies to lovers, the way Inesa didn’t show much grit until the end, the untied strands of the parents’ plots, and the what-really-was-the-point of the Wends(?) left me wanting.

I adore Ava Reid’s lyrical writing. She is talented and has a beautiful mind when it comes to storytelling, and that’s why it pains me that I didn’t have that thrilling experience that I hoped for. It’s difficult to give a review for an author you respect and who has generously gifted 2 ARCs when it’s something that I didn’t particularly enjoy. But the point of the ARCs are for authentic reviews, and I need to gracefully leave a 3 star for this book.

2.75⭐️ rounded up to 3⭐️

I went into this book expecting YA dystopian with lesbians and you know what? That is what I received.

While reading I kept thinking that it’s probably something I would have devoured as a middle schooler obsessed with YA dystopian novels. It is almost a perfect cross between “The Hunger Games” and “Uglies,” both of which I loved when I was younger. I really appreciate a new dystopian novel, definitely written for tweens and teens, centering a lesbian relationship. It’s the only thing that, although not surprising, I think was desperately missing from the first YA dystopia trend in the 2010s.

With all that being said, I think this book was very middling. It wasn’t great, but it certainly wasn’t bad, perhaps just not for me. I think the world-building was a little clumsy and pretty surface level. I liked the idea that was beginning to be created: a flooding world due to human activity, ruled by companies and capitalism putting people into debt which, in turn, forces them to give up themselves or, more shockingly, a family member to be hunted for entertainment. However, I think that a little more time fully fleshing out what it’s actually like to live in this world and what the world outside of our two main characters’ lives looks like was needed before throwing them into the hunt.

I also think the romance was pretty rushed. Honestly, the book itself had a pacing problem and it felt like we were just flying through everything but I think where that was felt most was the romance. I don’t think either character really got to know the other before suddenly they were making heart eyes at each other. Mel is supposed to be programmed into being cold and unfeeling and seems to just flip and suddenly she’s in love with her target? Inesa, I think, is worse considering not only has Mel been literally hunting her and like actively trying to kill her. I feel like it should take more than like 12-16 hours before you’re like over that?

All that being said, I do think these are problems that won’t strike the average middle schooler who will pick up this book. I think that this book wasn’t written for me and, at the end of the day, that’s okay. Like I said before, I’m just really happy that a popular author is releasing a YA dystopia novel with lesbians as the main couple.

Wow. Just wow.

This is my third book by Eva Reid, and it is, hands down, my favorite.

Reid creates a dystopian world that feels like a terrifyingly real glimpse into our future—where the lines between capitalism and politics have blurred into something monstrous. It’s a brutal, unflinching look at consumerism and power, and I couldn’t tear myself away.

But what really got me? The characters. Inesa and Melinoë are the kind of strong, complicated female leads I love—flawed but determined, and impossible not to root for. Their journey together was raw, emotional, and deeply personal, as each fought to reclaim her humanity in a world that sees them as disposable.

And let me tell you—between that ending and the sharp social commentary, this book has been on repeat in my brain since the last page. If there’s a sequel, I will cry tears of joy.

I loved it, and it has officially cemented Reid as a permanent fixture on my must-read list.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Back in my dystopian ERAAAAA! This was such an interesting premise and it was executed so dang well. Ava Reid continues to stun me with her exceptional world building and storytelling skills.

Thank you netgalley for my ebook arc!

Fable for the End of the World kept me on my toes the entire time. This Hunger Games inspired novel tells the story of Ines and Melinoë. Fable for the End of the World can be dark but damn I could not put this down. I really loved the ending, it was a realistic ending to their story.

I will always recommend this book!

3.5⭐️
This book gave me so much nostalgia for my dystopian era when I was younger! If you loved The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, or This is How You Lose the Time War or enemies to lovers and sapphic love stories, then I highly recommend picking this up!

We follow Inesa, who gets chosen for The Gauntlet, and Mel, an angel assigned to hunt her in this fast-paced dystopian ya romance! The Gauntlet scenes were very fast paced and filled with action scenes that had me not wanting to put the book down. I enjoyed Inesa and Mel working together to survive while getting to know each other on a deeper level. I loved the overall vibes of the story and the action scenes but found myself not connecting with the two characters as much I normally do. Despite this, Ava’s writing and storytelling pulls you into the story has you wanting more by the end. I know this is a standalone but I would love a sequel or maybe a novella because I feel like there is so much left to explore in this world and story!

Thank you to Harper Collins for the e-ARC in exchange for my review!

Fable for the End of the World is a dystopian high stakes adventure for all the lovers of The Hunger Games and people who wish for a better world. This fast-paced sprint through poisoned woods filled with mutations and unknown danger is the setting for small rebellions and redefining survival, life, and love.
The Lamb’s Gauntlet is the ruling corporation’s way of giving the citizens a chance to erase their crushing debt. The selected Lamb faces an Angel, a cybernetically enhanced assassin in a live-streamed spectacle. Inesa’s cruel and negligent mother offers her up as a Lamb. Melinoë is the cold and calculating Angel who’s never failed. But this Gauntlet is haunted by the girls’ pasts and when they are forced to help each other their views begin to shift. They find in each other what they’ve always craved. Love.
Oh, this book is amazing. It’s a loving homage to The Hunger Games so it has a glimmer of nostalgia. But like all her books Ava Reid does something a bit like magic. She digs deep into the dark pain of humanity while holding up a light for the reader. We feel the helplessness but never forget the hope. Fable is a high-stakes dystopian tale where the greatest risk is to believe there is more. This is a story of queer love and human understanding in a landscape where empathy has been forgotten.

Feeling like a dose of dystopian nostalgia, anyone?

3.5/5 stars

Fable for the End of the World is a love letter to The Hunger Games, but with corporate corruption and a rotting, polluted world, and of course Ava Reid’s signature gothic poetic prose.

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘷𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘣 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵."

The story follows Inesa, a hardworking, poor shop girl chosen as the Lamb for slaughter in a livestream assassination spectacle, and Melinoe, the beautiful, brutal Angel sent to track her down.
It’s a fast-paced, bingeable sapphic ya romance that feels nostalgic yet relevant.

However, I found it lacking in the visceral, hauntingly atmospheric style that I associate (and love) Ava Reid for. It feels like a well written version of a book I’ve read before with more depth; meaningful social commentary beneath its murky surface.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵… 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺…”

Overall a decent and thoughtful read, but lacking in originality and that extra *spark* that makes me feral for a book.

I am wrecked by Ava Reid's Fable of the End of the World. This one takes a lot of processing power. My immediate thoughts are thought-provoking and heart-wrenching.
Reid gives us a dystopian future where drinking water is toxic, floods are prevalent, the land has been irradiated, animals and people have mutated, and the divide between the haves and have-nots is perpetuated by the ruling corporate government through a credit system. When the debt gets too high, they come to collect, and the debtor can "sponsor" a family member to the gauntlet where they will be hunted by a genetically altered and mechanically enhanced killer known as an Angel. Henceforth, canceling said debt.
I am left with these questions: What happens when an Angel experiences a bit too much humanity and is haunted by memories? To what extremes will people go to survive? What does it mean to be human? What happens when that last vestige of hope is extinguished?

'"I think individuals are capable of compassion. Actually, I know they are. And maybe that’s all it takes— at least at the beginning. Just a few people who care. And that caring matters, even if it can’t cool the earth or lower sea levels or turn back time to before a nuclear blast.”'

This well-written, visually immersive, exploration of these ideas is hauntingly close to what our reality can easily become. I was absolutely fully invested and am still thinking about it afterward. Melinoe and Inesa will live together in my mind for a while. The climax was so suspenseful that I had to fight my anxiety not to skip to the end before finishing it. 
Even so, the end is not satisfying. It is hope and hopelessness battling through the last page and beyond. 
The relationship between Inesa and Melinoe is powerful. Trauma bonding, for sure, but the level of vulnerability they share, and their chemistry is well above that. I melted when Inesa thought of Melinoe as her Angel.
The relationship between Inesa and her brother is also complex and solid.
I do hope that this isn't the end of their story. There is so much more to be said unless we are meant to accept that the worst of humanity will, in the end, ultimately retain power. But I think there will always be someone somewhere with enough hope to carry on.

"The love is what Azrael— and Caerus— can’t afford to lose. And maybe that makes love the most powerful force in the world, after all."

#enemiestolovers #dystopian #youngadult #sapphic #corporatocracy #creditocracy #environmentaldestruction #notHEA #UnitedStates #worldbuilding #actionpacked
I received a free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

i am blown away and also sick to my stomach and also on the verge of tears. like i am actively running around my apartment yelling and my roommate is calming me down. this book is fantastic. a phenomenal dystopia with excellent political/societal commentary that captured my attention and never let me go. i loved inesa and melinoë so much and i wanted them to find freedom and peace and love. i should have known better. i was first outraged when the dogs showed up and melinoë found out that every intimate moment between her and inesa had been shown to the world. every but of vulnerability on display for everyone in what should have been a private moment. yet again, i let myself hope, and i really thought that they were going to make it to the drowned county. i was naïve. when azrael showed up with lethe and luka, my heart cracked. melinoë getting stabbed and taken was painful, but nothing was worse than the headline that she had been given to visser and wiped. the nothingness behind her eyes and the pain that inesa felt was horrible. i wish they would have died together, rather than have this horror inflicted on them. this book offers insight into the state of our environment, our norms, and the people we place in power. it is a statement on how quickly things can go awry and how greed and malice can ruin us.

“Fable for the End of the World” by Ava Reid is a standalone dystopian story about survival, sacrifice and love.
Thank you HarperCollins for an ARC. Opinions from this review are completely my own.

You should enjoy this book if you like:
- dystopian story
- enemies to lovers
- sapphic love story
- dual POV

The story takes place in a world afected by climate change and corporations led by greedy and corrupt people. Inesa lives in the poor part of New Amsterdam and tries her best to survive. She lives with her brother and mother. After her mother goes into to much debt, she nominates Inesa for The Gauntlet (a reality show where she will be hunted by an Angel for entertainment).
Mel is the Angel assigned to hunt her. The story of how Angels are “created” is very sad and emotional.
The Gauntlet part of the story was filled with action, but also with a lot of feelings. The fact that Mel and Inesa need to work together to survive means that they get to know each other and find things about the world where the other lives.
Mel was traumatized by what she was trained to do and Inesa finds out that the Angels are not some robots as they seem.

I liked the story and the writing, but the ending left me wanting more. It would be great to have a sequel because there is more to this story and I want a brighter ending.

This is a beautiful love letter for the YA Distopian novels of the 2000's and any fan of the Hunger games would love this novel and fund it to be a fast paced and thrilling read! I loved everything about the world building and the charaters! My rating for this novel is 5/5 stars! Thanks Happer Collins, Net Galley and Ava Reid for an E-Arc for an honest reveiw!

Review for Fable For the End of the World by Ava Reid

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for a chance to review this book. I promise this review is an honest review. May contain spoilers for some.

For the Fable For the End of the World is a Dystopian story about two young girls. A lamb, one meant to be hunted. An angel, the one to hunt the lamb. A gauntlet, a game to end the debts. So what happens when the lamb and the angel fall in love? Can it really change the game forever?

Inesa lives with her mother and her brother Luka. After their father leaves the family behind they struggle to survive. Their mother's illness pulling a debt that soon pulled Inesa into the Gauntlet. There she tries to survive from the Angel, Melinoë. A Caerus assassin who is trained to hunt the Lamb. When it begins Luka and I Inesa soon run, hoping to go North to get away. There they are attacked by Melinoë and The Wends. The Wends being zombie like creatures that lived off the grid and fed off of the contaminated lands. Inesa and Luka are soon separated and she and Melinoë have each other to live and protect each other. From hating they soon fall in love. A dangerous love. The angels are never supposed to feel for the lambs.

Melinoë is struggling from her last Gauntlet. In it she had to hunt a young girl. A match that never was supposed to happen as each of the Angels are paired to the lambs in a certain way. Bringing in the entertainment for all to see. Fair yet keeping the eyes hooked to the screens as long as they could. However Melinoë had broken down after she had killed the young girl. Now haunted by the past of it all... This new Gauntlet with Inesa is supposed to change what had happened. Help her get back to being a favorite in a sense. Liked among the people. Or have herself wiped and become a bride for a CEO. An empty shell.

The personal struggles the girls go through is valid. Both come from different backgrounds. Both trying to survive in said backgrounds. It's a beautiful and heartaching story of young love. What you have can soon be all you have to completely nothing. Ava Reid masterfully brings life to her characters and their stories. Two lost souls finding each other in a hope for a better life. A story that leaves you wanting more.

I would love a second book. Inesa trying to move forward in trying to find Melinoë. A hope to bring in a better life they had promised each other. The story had left my heart aching for more and I've yet ti stop the tears. What a beautiful story...

Thanks to HarperCollins for letting me read this book early. All thoughts are my own!

DNF @20%

I think this was more than likely just case of bad timing for me with this book. I would probably try the audiobook at some point, but I am DNF’ing at 20%. There wasn’t really anything holding my attention, which at 20%, I feel like there should be. I wasn’t connected to the characters, and I really struggled to stay attentive to this book. I haven’t read anything else by Ava Reid, but I still would even after not really vibing with this book.

This book is definitely for the Hunger Game girlies and the This is How You Lose the Time War fans!

This book is set in a dystopian future where a single company has its citizens in a continuous debt chokehold- our main protagonist Inesa sadly ends up qualififying for the Gauntlet- a series of live televised assassinations as a form to repay family debt.

There Inesa meets Mel, who is her killer who is not quite human- and they strike a bond. This is definitely a darker read (dead children, creepy af taxidermy children haha) and overal this was not for me- but I can definitely see fans of the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and This is How You Lose the Time War would gobble this one up.

Thank you to HarperCollins for this arc!

Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

In their half-sunken town, Inesa and her brother are trying to get by with their taxidermy shop and by hunting, but unbeknownst to them, their indolent mother has accumulated an enormous debt and she offered Inesa for the Cearus', the city corporation, live-streamed assassionation: The Lamb's Gauntlet.
On the other side, Melinoë is a Cearus assassin, her body and mind modified and creating a perfect weapon, who never failed to kill her marks.
When she discovers her mother's betrayal, Inesa is destroyed. The Gauntlet is a way to succumb the population, to kill the weakest part of it and none survives. But with the help of her brother she's willing to fight and not to lose. But for Melinoë too the stakes are high. After breaking down on national television and getting painful flashback she's terrified of being decommissioned and her memory wiped down, losing everything about herself and becoming only a thing to be used. So she has to kill Inesa. But while fighting to survive in the wasteland, both girls start to question the world they live in and what they can do to do more than just survive. And maybe falling in love, too.

Set in a post- apocalyptic world that reminds a lot of The hunger games, mostly how Capitol and Cearus and The hunger games and the Lamb's Gauntlet are similar, Fable for the end of the world is a brilliant novel who tackle abuse, poverty, government's abuse and oppression, violence, misogyny, sexual abuse, death and so much more.
Told by two different Povs, Inesa's and Melinoë, the reader is soon able to empathize with both of the girl for their lives. Inesa because, with her brother, has always fought to survive in an hostile world, with an unloving and selfish mother and Melinoë, who was sold and hurt, modified and changed by a corporation, molded to be an assassin. The Pov of Melinoë gets the chance to see the brutal reality behind Caerus and how female, women are seen and oppressed by them.
I was really impressed by Ava Reid's talent of storytelling and their ability of creating this hostile world and, at the same time, two strong characters fierce and ready to do anything to survive, who are also able to find the comfort and beauty in each other.
I recommend this book so much. It's a gem!

4.5/5 stars

I really loved the direction this story was taking. The world building at the start was rich and detailed, especially in the pacing of the story. Ava is a pro at incorporating world building into character establishment and development and this was no exception. I loved the premise although I did feel I had some lingering questions but due to the shortness of the novel I didn't look too far into this. I did think that the character development was missing something towards the 60% mark. It felt nicely paced until it wasn't but recovered quickly. It was like there was a slight gap I can't quite put my finger on but the rest was so good that it covered up for it.

Overall this was really good and considering this is so far out of Ava's usual range this was an absolute hit!!

I love a dystopian novel so when I saw this was releasing I requested it immediately.

I loved the set-up of a post-apocalyptic world, and all of the characters were done really well.

The nostalgia from 2010s dystopian novels was definitely there, but where I felt like it lacked was the romance aspect.

Being a standalone I think it was hard to make the connection feel fully developed. I wish this was a duology so we could’ve had more development in their relationship and more from the world as well.

This book was fast paced and did keep my attention and I definitely would recommend.

3.5 stars!

Thank you Harper Collin’s and NetGalley for this eARC.