”she grows like ivy on the insides of my eyelids. the roots of her are in my rib cage, winding up around my heart.”

fable for the end of the world is so sweetly reminiscent of the dystopian books i grew up with. it’s clearly a love letter to the genre, specifically the hunger games, but it holds its own and is unique in its exploration in capitalism, corporate greed, and climate change.

as always ava reid is so masterful at creating the landscape for her stories. in esopus creek it almost never stops raining, and beyond the city limits lies forests filled with mutated deer and once-human creatures who have succumbed to the poisonous environment.

i really loved both of our main characters. although they come from polar opposite ends of society, they both just have the desire to survive. they both have been hurt by the corporation, caerus, that controls all of their lives. i wish there was time to give them a little more depth, but they both had very satisfying character arcs. the romance was perfectly executed. it didn’t happen too quickly or abruptly, it had the perfect crescendo for an enemies-to-lovers standalone.

although fable for the end of the world feels so bleak and eerily similar to the direction our current world is headed, it’s also romantic and, ultimately, hopeful. the ending tore my heart apart, and there were many things that didn’t feel totally tied up, so i would absolutely love to see a sequel. it’s still satisfying, as i don’t think there was a way to finish this book any differently without being unrealistic about the circumstances, but id really enjoy seeing more from inesa and melinoë

”im seventeen, and i have a thousand brilliantly hued hazardous sunrises to spare”

This is a YA dystopia that will feel familiar to anyone who loves 2000s YA dystopia and I enjoyed it a lot because of it. It feels modern and adds enough new elements to make it different from the stories it takes inspiration from. 3.5 stars.

Fable for the End of the World is set in a world where a corporation, Caerus, controls every aspect of society and has built a credit system that encourages the lower classes to rack up massive amounts of debt. When the debt gets to its limit, the person is nominated to the Gauntlet, a live-streamed event where they get hunted and killed by an Angel. Angels are girls that the corporation modifies and trains as assassins from a very young age; they're made beautiful, lethal, and emotionless through a bunch of means. Here's the kicker, though: if the person who racked up the debt has family, they can nominate someone to replace them, essentially sacrificing them.

That's what happens to Inesa, a 17-year-old girl whose mother has gone into debt behind her and her brother Luka's backs despite their best efforts to avoid using the system to get by. Fortunately for her, the Angel sent to Inesa's Gauntlet, Melinoë, has had a lot of trouble recovering from her last kill. The trauma of it is fighting memory deletion and it's essentially rewiring her brain; she's having feelings, primarily guilt, and killing is no longer as easy as it used to be.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this and virtually read it in one sitting. The writing is nice and descriptive, the world is interesting, the dynamics between the characters are engaging, and though it's quite predictable for most of it, it still managed to excite me. This post-apocalyptic world felt very creative to me and the commentary on climate change, oppression, the vilification of needing/relying on one another in society, capitalism, and the commodification of violence/trauma is done quite well and makes the story compelling.

The issue for me is that the execution falls a little short and some things in the story are unsatisfying, like Inesa's confrontation with her mother, [spoiler]the way that Luka reappears after he's separated from Inesa during the Gauntlet, Melinoë's confrontation of her maker/handler[/spoiler], among other things. Characterization also felt surface-level overall. While we learn a lot about Inesa and Melinoë's lives through their POVs, I wanted to learn more about *them* as individuals. Secondary characters felt like cardboard cutouts when they shouldn't have because they had influence in the story.

I also felt that the relationship between Inesa and Melinoë moved a little too quickly. I wanted more development, more getting to know one another, more tension. And, omg, there are so many questions left unanswered. The last 20% of the book moved incredibly quickly, the climax felt rushed, and the ending was a little too open for my taste. Worst of all, I suspect it was done that way to leave room for a sequel if this does well. I hate that if that's the case. If you're going to make a duology, make a duology, have that be the plan from the get-go, and make sure the first book feels whole on its own. But I digress...

Overall, I liked quite a few things about this book, but it doesn't quite hit that threshold of greatness for me.

Lastly, I want to comment on this comparison the book description provides: "The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." The Last of Us is maybe my favorite piece of media of all time, and I didn't find any of it here. Just cause two people reluctantly go on a journey together and end up caring for each other doesn't make it comparable. Terminator would've worked a lot better. I do agree with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, though. There are way more elements here that can be compared to that book and The Hunger Games in general.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the eARC!

4.5 stars. I missed the era of dystopian novels and I was elated to hear that one of my favorite authors was writing one. This felt both nostalgic and brand new as Reid took this Dystopian novel in a way I was not expecting while still reminding me of The Hunger Games and how impactful it is. It was incredible and I can't say that I didn't cry reading this. I can't wait for my preorder of the special edition so I can hold this book in my hands. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the story within will be lingering in my head for a very long time.

4 ⭐️ Falling In Love With Dystopian Again

I’m sick of just surviving, I whisper. I want . . . more.



Quick Thoughts:

What a nostalgic feeling this book brings to the era of my childhood. I know Ava wrote in her author letter that this is a love letter to that era, and it hits like that. It's beautiful and haunting, how realistic bits of this were to our current everyday. I'm glad Ava didn't shy away from the morality of man, and how it is decaying.

I loved:

Plot
I was unsure if I would enjoy this book because I felt I might have outgrown the plot based on the back. I thought it might feel too much like hunger games, yet I didn't feel that. The plot was more than an Angel hunting a Lamb, and the Lamb trying to survive. It was Inesa and Mel trying to survive in different extremes of the world. Mel being this “angel” that from the outside sounds like the pinnacle of the society, but in reality she's a slave to an industry and can never truly escape. Inesa being the lamb is the bottom of the industry, and she still can't escape. Her daily life is miserable, and it shows the decay of family/human values as Inesa’s life is forfeited by her own mother. It's unique the layers of the plot that Ava was able to weave together.


Inesa
Inesa had many layers to her that I loved that the story unraveled. It starts right from the beginning with money vs. morality, and in a society where money is the highest value, Inesa continues to pick morality. The complexity of emotions she feels towards others I loved, and I wish was explored a bit more. Her relationship with each family member is touched on and some are explored a bit more than others. I wish this aspect was explored a bit more in depth before the plot picked up, but the book is very fast paced so it was understandable.

Mel
Highly complex does not even describe how Mel comes across. There was so much I wanted to learn about her, and her past which I didn't fully get. I feel the “wipe” and unknown piece did make sense with the world, however it cheapens the value of Mel’s past to her current self. I think Mel was one of my favorite characters, but the complexity of her was not explored enough.

The World
I enjoyed the breakdown of the decay of the world. It was from the aspects of technology, culture and science with the world on the brink of ending. It was terrifying at times because it definitely felt like a world we could fall into. Each small aspect of life had a new bit of horror which I enjoyed. I do think it could be built up a bit more, but I overall really enjoyed it.

The Ending
I am not spoiling the ending, however I didn't expect it to fully go the way it did. I think it was a creative choice to end more “neutral” or “negative” depending on how someone views it. It definitely made me more hopeful for a second, even though I believe this was marketed as a standalone.

The downfalls

Romance
I loved that this book was sapphic in a soft gentle way. It was beautiful in that regards, however my issue lies in the enemies to lovers. The tension to turn to lovers seemed almost immediate when Mel had just almost killed Inesa. The build up of their relationship wasn't there, which was highly disappointing to me.

Side Characters
This was weak overall with each side character. As a stand-alone, only so much can be built in but I didn't understand Mel’s connection towards others. She's wiped, she had training to be emotionless yet these connections were formed and not fully explored. Similarly, Inesa had complex relationships with her family members that were surface level explored. Her brother could be explored more, and I understood the choice of him disappearing however, it left a bit more of a lack of depth.


Overall, I will buy this book. I have it preordered and rumors of Owlcrate doing it, so I should have two copies. Ava continues to be one of my favorite authors, and I highly recommend this book still. I hope it gets a sequel because I think Ava could flush out this world so much more with her current characters.

Quotes I loved:

“It was easy once I understood that it was the girl’s life or mine. Survival is the most natural thing in the world, as natural as breathing. “

Moments drip by, like water through a crack in the wall. Then, in the same low tone, she says “I've been paying attention”

“Websites that use AI technology to transpose my face onto naked bodies, so men don't even have to use their imaginations.” This was haunting for me to read with the rise of AI

“But beneath the surface, there is a metamorphosis taking place, in the mud and the flower buds, just curling out of their seed hulls.”

This was so good!!! The Hunger Games but make it sapphic and of course with very applicable commentary on the current political climate. Stories that tackle these issues are so important, especially following this most recent U.S. election and everything going on elsewhere in the world, so I really appreciate the opportunity to read this novel.

At first, I wasn't sure that I was enjoying the pacing, as it felt a bit slow, and I was wondering how the author was going to continue the story in only half a book. BUT- the payoff was so well executed, and I grew to really care for the characters. On top of that, Reid's writing style was impeccable as per usual and allowed me to visualize the setting and political commentary very well.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for fans of 'The Hunger Games' or anyone who appreciates commentary on real-world issues tackled in a very humble and real way.

4.75 stars. This was one of the most memorable reads I’ve read. The dystopian future Ava Reid has written is not that far fetched from what’s relevant today. This book had me thinking about everything and I was so engrossed in the world and story. I have spoken about this book to many people and it’s a book I think about constantly. I’m so grateful to netgalley, Harper Collins, and Ava Reid for this arc. I was a little shocked by the abrupt ending. It did add to the shock of what happened but also I really hope there might be a sequel in our future bc I would love to dive back into Inesa and Melinoë’s story. I will be re reading this book and can’t wait for my pre order to get here. This was a great book and in my opinion a must read for any hunger games lover.

A unique hunger games inspired dystopian following two girlies who fall in love. Should be entertaining right?

And it was. Kinda. Until it wasn’t.

Fable starts off with an interesting premise following a taxidermist and a hired assassin! In their world, everyone is in debt and in order to pay off this debt you can hire someone to hunt and kill your selected target!

What started off as a thrilling fight for survival turned into an insta-love relationship causing all the action to completely disappeared. There was so much lead up for the chase only to then be cut short a few chapters later. The relationship between Mel and Inesa wasn’t fleshed out AT ALL. It felt more like a trauma-bond than love. So many components of the story could have led into a 5 star read, but everything felt short and rushed…SO MANY PLOT HOLES????

I was really into the first 30% so I’m super bummed it didn’t live up to the first few chapters!

This captivated me immediately. Reid describes this as a Hunger Games retelling and I loved what aspects she brought into this story. With that said, this still felt fresh and different. The way this story comes together is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It does however leave you with a longing that feels incomplete. I hope we see more from this world in a continuation of the story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - arc & monthly book box pick reviewer

This is one the most hyped books of 2025, and since it has a queer main couple, I was all grabby hands. I just needed to read it! I haven't read any f/f dystopia, so I was very excited for it! However, it just didn't do it for me.

We have chapters from both girls, of Inesa's and Mel's. You really feel for both of them, that's for sure. Inesa has a brother with whom she has an agreement not to talk about both elephants in the room namely the dad who abandoned them and a mother who is self-absorbed and who blames everything on Inesa while her brother is a golden boy who can do no wrong.

Mel has been stripped of everything that makes her her. Her memories get wiped, her face altered, her body pumped with various substances. She is at the mercy of Azrael, her handler and creators of the atrocious Gauntlets. She is also a victim of her circumstances, of poverty, of lack of privilege. She is designed to be a weapon that kills at the Gauntlets. Anything else should not exist. But her feelings still exist.

I rooted for both girls, and I liked both, but I didn't feel the romance at all. Each girl starts having feelings for the other because they're pretty? Their attraction, I can get. But actual feelings just like that when one of them is meant to kill the other? To me, it felt forced, and I couldn't get invested in their romance.

I haven't read any of the author's previous work, but many readers say that she is known for her atmospheric prose. This book didn't have it, in my opinion, and perhaps, it was by design. I don't know. I just felt like it was very wordy, paragraphs were long, and there were plenty instances of page after page of commentary and/or worldbuilding descriptions. I did feel the author's heart on the story, though. This book certainly means a lot to her, and I felt her devotion to it. However, for me, the worldbuilding didn't feel fresh, it felt like a natural devolvement of our society seeing the world's current state.

I'm not a fan of the ending, either. It felt very anticlimactic, an awkward bittersweet ending that had me sighing.

Suffice to say, this was def not for me, but others might feel different! I mean, we finally have a YA queer dystopia! This can open the path to so many other stories by authors of marginalized backgrounds.

It is the monthly pick for a YA March box, and I will skip.

Fable for the End of the World is perfect for fans of The Last of Us, The Hunger Games, and The Uglies Trilogy from back in the ol' 2000s.

As a lesbian woman I'd never picked up a sapphic novel out of fear that I wouldn't feel represented well (and likely a thousand more reasons which include how picky I am) but I loved this book. It hurt my heart a little, the bruised little damsel that it has become as of late, but I cannot stress how much I enjoyed the pain.

The action was riveting, the stakes were high, and my heart was flip-flopping between hurting and yearning over and over again. This is an incredible dystopian stand-alone novel that I will be thinking about for a long time. I loved the world that was created and the loose threads left for us to cling to so that we can make up our own ending good or bad out of the scraps of knowledge that we were given in the final chapters.

In the acknowledgements Ava Reid talks about old roleplay forums and fanfiction websites being a part of how she found her passion for writing - and I feel that everything in this book is perfectly crafted to give aspiring writers inspiration for fanfictions that would seize loopholes or ambiguities and write new stories for the characters after the end of the book. If I had it in me, I'd do just that.

Ive loved all of Ava Reids books so far and am a huge dystopian fan. I think I've settled on a 3 1/2 stars for this book. The beginning and the buildup of the plot was really interesting. It got me really excited to see where the story would go.
But the relationship between the 2 main characters didn't feel believable. The story felt fast-paced, but not in a good way. It felt more like rushed. The transition from "enemies" to lovers was WAY too fast. There were some beautiful quotes that I highlighted about the state of the world, loss, grief, what it means to be a woman, what it means to be poor in capitalism, all those dystopian themes.
Overall okay but I think I need some time to digest this one.

3 Stars!

As the younger, much more sapphic cousin of the Hunger Games, Fable is a story about survival in a world where everyone wants a piece of you. Inesa, a woman from the sunken town of Esopus runs an animal taxidermy shop. Her brother, Luka hunts the last few non-mutated animals left, while the siblings take care of their hypochondriac mother. Their world is built upon debts, and when their mother racks up too many, she submits Inesa to be a Lamb in the upcoming Gauntlet. Inesa will be chased by an Angel, a cyborg girl named Melinoe who has been bought and reconfigured by the company Caerus and her handler, Azreal. Melinoe gives chase to Inesa alongside her brother Luka, all while their world watches live.

This book was interesting and definitely pays homage to it’s predecessor. As someone who was a little too old for Hunger Games mania, I didn’t love this as much as I felt I was meant. the characters were well fleshed out, especially the mom (hated her!) and the story was well paced. It offers no answers to your questions, so know that you won’t leave this book feeling satisfied. Ava Reid always tells an interesting tale full of twists and turns.

Oomph, I can't believe I didn't love this one, it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I really just felt like this was lackluster and not "enemies to lovers"... AT ALL. The world building was minimal and so was the character development. The main character Inesa was very wishy-washy and a Sad Girl™, while the trained assassin Melinoë had the personality of a cardboard box. This might be a personal preference, but when I read a book about the girlies dismantling a corrupt system I want them MAD, not sad and I will take angry or crazy (or a little of both). If you are looking for that type of book I would recommend Iron Widow. If you didn't like how blood thirsty that MC was however, you might still enjoy this one. I think I will stick to Ava Reid's adult gothic books instead, I think Reid's writing style and character work just works better in that genre.

Fable for the End of the World is like a sapphic Hunger Games. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. This book about a dystopian world where people indebted to a corporation to the point where they are hunted once they reach a certain debt level, was savage and sad. Inesa, the FMC is given up to the Gauntlet by her mother when she reaches that debt level. What follows is Inesa’s fight to survive, while Melinoë hunts her down.

There was plenty of action, great work building, great characters and some romance. I will say that the insta love was a bit of a stretch for me, but I just enjoyed it for what it was. Why am I expecting realistic romance in a fictional dystopian novel?

Overall, the book was very engrossing and intriguing. I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s Children’s Books for the advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 10%

What drew me to requesting this book was the comp titles of The Last of Us and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. However, I couldn't get past the first few chapters to really see how the story stood on its own. The scenery was beautiful and the establishing of the horrific capitalism cycle that the characters are subject too were interesting though. Just a poorly timed pick up for me, I hope to get over my reading slump soon to try again.

One thing Ava Reid is going to do is write a good stand-alone. This is no exception. Ava Reid has a talent for writing across genres and Fable for the End of the World is an excellent dive into dystopian fiction. It was intense, fast-paced, and, at times, difficult to read because of how relevant it felt to current times. As someone who loves The Hunger Games, this satisfied the part of me that wishes I could read it for the first time again. We will absolutely be getting this for my library.

I was sent an early review copy in exchange for my honest review! Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins for the ARC. This doesn’t affect my thoughts about the book in any way. Out on the shelves on March 4, 2025!

I truly love lesbians in fiction. Unfortunately, this didn’t deliver the way I expected it to. Essentially a Hunger Games fanfic, anyone could see the love Ava Reid has for the dystopian trilogy that has shaped at least two generations of readers. The world-building was quite unique and she was able to write a post-apocalyptic society that also reflects our current world. Reid incorporated a variety of social issues in this book which made it a tad richer plot-wise. She also added some elements of popular horror video games such as TLOU and Until Dawn, but it made the world-building slightly messier than intended. It wasn’t well-laid out enough for me to work with. I kept asking for more thrill, more build-up to possible conflicts that the main characters will face but the story doesn’t pick up until the 70% mark. Inesa and Melinöe had amazing tension and chemistry, I absolutely love women, and I expected them to have a worthwhile ending. But I didn’t get anything an exciting enough conclusion, or at the very least hopeful. I’m trying to justify the point of having a cliffhanger ending if there isn’t any possibility for a sequel. Is this a duology? Trilogy?

I’m a sucker for anything enemies to lovers, and this my friends did not disappoint. Dystopian, enemies to lovers, sapphic. Could use more world building. Still an enjoyable read, but not one to throw at the top of your TBR immediately.

Thank you Ava Reid and Harper Collins for an ARC Copy of Fable for the End of the World!

Rating 4/5

I am speechless, this book was so unbelievably soul crushing.

One of the things I most enjoy about Ava’s writing is their world building. Their world’s are so descriptive to the point of discomfort. I find that I can feel the constant dampness on my skin and smell the rot in the air while - while that may not sound pleasant, it definitely makes for an immersive reading experience.

I think Fable was an excellent (and terrifying) commentary into the brutality of a late stage Capitalist society. While not everyone is chosen for the Gauntlet, you still the majority of society suffer in their own ways. I was especially disgusted by the mass desensitization of society through the government controlled social media that allows entertainment such as the Gauntlet to thrive.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the book, I did have a few issues. My main complaints being timeline and pacing issues. I was constantly losing track of days, or not realising when a night had passed while reading. I literally thought we were still on the first night of the Gauntlet only to find out 2 ½ days had already passed. I also understand the cabin setting’s importance for cementing the FMCs relationship, but these days drag on for so long. I felt like we lost all momentum and tension from the countdown during this time.

Overall this is an excellent book that I know I won’t be able to stop thinking about!

There have been a lot of authors who have tried to pull the emotion that the Hunger Games brought out in readers, and I’ve read a lot of them. This, by far, is the only one who’s made it original and somehow just as hard hitting. 5/5. If you would like to suffer with the doomed lesbians and cry your heart out, this is the one for you.