I want to start by thanking HarperCollins for the eARC of this book.

This story was fantastic! The plot was reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but also vastly different. It is a dystopian masterpiece! I was fully engaged throughout the entire book, always wondering what was going to happen next.

I adored the main characters, Melinoe and Inesa. Their growth from start to finish was strong, and I loved the bond that developed between them. The side characters in this story were also memorable, especially Inesa's brother.

I will definitely be recommending this book, and can't wait to pick up a physical copy when it is released in March.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Childrens Books for the opportunity to read and give my honest review for Fable for the End of the World early!

Before I get into anything else, Ava Reid is such a talented world builder and her writing is beautiful. I genuinely enjoy her prose and her voice, and this book was no exception on that front! Her dedication made me tear up, as did her note to the readers. I believe her tried and true fans, those that know and love her style and know what to expect from her, will love this book. Overall, I feel it is an important addition to the world of YA sapphic books as well.

With that said, I do not believe I picked up this story at the right time for me to enjoy it fully. Ava Reid crafted this tragically bleak and lonely world, where capitalism governs and most people live in fear of their debt building to a point where only extreme sacrifice can rectify their balance. The rest live in a wealthy, urban environment (NYC inspired) with specific standards of beauty, ways to signify their wealth and status, and brutal forms of entertainment - reminiscent (to me) of The Capitol in The Hunger Games. This was a lot to absorb with the real world being... what it is, especially with how brilliant Ava Reid is at atmosphere and world-building.

The main characters are complete opposites in many ways - hunter and prey, but both struggling with these roles and what got them there. For me, the romance was not strong enough to balance the bleakness and heaviness of the setting + all the other characters and variables at play. The success of Sci-Fi in YA (for me) is typically those small moments of light, humanness, and hope - they keep the morale up, keep us invested in a possible positive outcome (not a HEA - just that possibility that keeps you pushing). The first moment where that could have been introduced, it was made clear that helping others implies a debt is owed - so everyone avoids helping each other at all costs. It was an important moment, but made it clear that I would not find what I was looking for / needed in this world she had created.

My one and only gripe with the two Ava Reid books (this being one of them) that I've read is that her message can be a bit on the nose or heavy handed - it's everywhere we look! Which builds a great atmosphere, but can lead to a lack of that mentioned balance that I personally need to enjoy this genre. Others may feel differently!

I did end up putting the book aside before finishing it. I don't consider it a DNF, as it was purely out of personal need for something lighter for my mental health, and not at all a quality issue. I don't read books with this kind of atmosphere very often, and if I had picked this up at a my own pace instead of as an ARC, I may have felt better about it! That's fully on me.

I gave Fable for the End of the World 3 stars, because while I did not finish it, it was not a quality issue. I personally could not continue at this time, but I hope to revisit. If I can finish reading before publication day, I will edit my review here and anywhere else with new thoughts.

Thank you again to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review!

This is a tough review because I normally enjoy Reid's work and her writing was still great in itself (there were some real stand out lines) but maybe dystopian just didn't work for her as well as fantasy and folklore. The characters were well done and the plot was intriguing but I just never once believed the world we were in and kept getting snagged on incongruous details that the world tried to present to me.

Its all rather silly things so I don't need to list them out here, and I'm sure other people who have more of a focus on character interaction, romance and plot may have a better time than me who takes a strong interest in world-building. But it took me out of the story every time I wondered 'why' something was happening and unfortunately in dystopian, you can't just wave it away like a magical world.

I'll continue to check out Reid's fantastical work but may give space in the future for her to grow into sci-fi and dystopian.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely and thoughtful dystopian romance. Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games but made infinitely better by being wonderfully diverse and though provoking.

I thought this book was fine. Better than Lady Macbeth so that’s a plus. I wish it wasn’t so heavily “inspired” by hunger games. Like it could’ve been more creative with it. The romance fell flat for me and truly missed an opportunity with that one.

This dystopian, Hunger Games inspired novel was dark, tense, and depressing (as it should be). The whole book left me feeling unsettled and on edge and I was always waiting for something bad to happen. The descriptions of the world and the Gauntlet were so immersive that I really felt like I was in this world. Mel and Inesa’s journey was so interesting and I liked seeing them grow closer throughout their time trying to hide.
This book is dark and generally unhappy, but throughout all there is the tiniest undercurrent of hope. While this book doesn’t have a happy ending it also doesn’t exactly have an UN-happy ending. All the twists and turns leave you wondering what will happen next and at any point I didn’t know how the book would end. It is left a little ambiguous but I kind of liked that.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC!!

I saw someone recently describe this as the lesbian version of Hunger Games and I feel like that pretty much sums it up. Loved the tropes featured: sapphic romance, enemies to lovers, dual pov's, dystopian and the inspiration from Hunger Games. It read extremely fast-paced for me, which I didn't find a problem but someone might think that things are developing too rushed.

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advance copy of Fable for the End of the World!
This book is non stop, begging to end you are left wondering what will come next.
The story is told in dual perspective between Inesa and Melinoë. Both driven by the need to survive, we follow them through Caerus' Gauntlet. Throughout the story they begin to question everything.
This is very much a character driven story, with so much development for each and every character. I absolutely fell in love with the story and our main characters. This will 100% be a book I reread several times and I highly recommend it for those who like a high stakes story, strong characters, and a dystopian setting. Genuinely, and unforgettable read!

what i love about ava reid's books is that they're all woman-centric, and they all address misogyny and sexual abuse. her portrayal of the angels, the "corporate concubine" culture, melinoe's monologue saying how her body isn't her own, the depiction of internet comments towards women remotely visible in the public sphere, inesa's and melinoe's bodies being broadcasted to the city for ratings and the combined fetishization/desire and hatred towards them, everything is so beautifully crafted and disturbing.

inesa's and melinoe's relationship is a hopeful resistance against all of that, against the corporation that commands their lives, and they're trying so hard, crawling uphill next to sisyphus. it breaks me. they're both such flawed, soulful characters, brimming with desires and dreams they won't be able to see through, and that makes reading this a very intimate experience.

Ava Reid really brings back everything that was iconic about things like the Hunger Games and puts it in the conversation of climate change and other really pressing issues. Big, BIG FAN. Will be recommending freely.

Lesbian Hunger Games meets The Last of Us!!

“Fable for the End of the World” by Ava Reid is a post-apocalyptic and dystopian story in the same vein as “The Hunger Games” but with zombie-like creatures called Wends. In the place of New Amsterdam (located in current New York), a single corporation, Caerus, controls every aspect of society, including debt. Once a person goes beyond 500,000 credits of debt, they are nominated for a televised spectacle called the Gauntlet. The debtors can appoint a family member to compete in the Gauntlet instead. Caerus raises and trains “Angels,” young killers, to hunt down those nominated in the Gauntlet, called Lambs. The book is split between the POV of an Angel, Melinoë, and the Lamb, Inesa. Inesa’s mother secretly racked up debt and then gave up her daughter to the Gauntlet.

The setting and world of “Fable for the End of the World” is fascinating. A frightening outlook that feels all too real for our own world to fall into. The real-world references in lakes and places underscore how close we are to falling into the same world of despair due to selfish corporations, a growing divide between classes, and a landscape marred by climate change. Inesa and Mel are on opposite ends of the divide, but we will learn that despite having credits and recognition, Mel is just as oppressed as Inesa. Having both POVs grants the reader the ability to be with each character as they discover themselves through each other and learn to disregard the prejudice taught to them through their life circumstances. Despite the gloomy setting and plot, moments of sweetness and hope squeeze through. The longing and yearning between Inesa and Mel is lovely to read through. Ava Reid does a great job of encapsulating the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they go from enemies to lovers.

Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was how the people and place names were well thought out and often referred to Greek mythology. Of course, interspersed with enough real-world references to make it jarring and unsettling.

As I often feel with good books, I wish this one was longer. The setup was intriguing and I would love to read more about other people in the world and to dive deeper into the corporation and the world, such as more about the Wends. I hope a sequel is in the works!

Even though this book is YA, I think any adult could find value in reading this. The story is engrossing and complex. I loved the sapphic aspect as well, and I think anyone interested in sapphic novels would enjoy this.

Fable for the End of the World is a return of my golden age of adolescence, where my grand favored reading was YA dystopia. From Hunger Games to The Host to The Giver, to all the titles that are now a distant memory, but in their moment burned oh so bright. I adored this genre and this felt like a genuine return to home. And this is a title that will be one of the ones I remember.

There were tears and gasps. There was ice in my veins, and warmy glow in my heart. There were triumphs and losses. There was love, there was sorrow. And there was a journey so worthwhile, and so lasting in memory. I was riveted by this book from beginning to ending. Ava Reid's writing remains impactful, inspired, layered, and so poignant. The world she created came to life from the moment the first page was read.

Leads Inesa and Melinoë are from very different paths of life. They are true enemies, but these enemies soon are faced with a choice of allying with one another to survive, or keeping the line between them, even if it means mutual death, they choose an alliance. It’s meant to be a fraught, fragile, temporary tie. One loosely bound until they can survive their environment and face one another again, to an engrossed expectant public's cruel delight. But as they spend more time together, the tie tightens, an unexpected bond forms, new choices are on the horizon. And realizations are made, both against a system that is rigged against them, and the realization that perhaps they share far more in common then they once believed.

Inesa is a wonderfully layered, complex character that brings soft vulnerability, relatable edges, and brazen courage to the page. Every emotion that passed through her, I felt as well. Ava Reid did a tremendous job is allowing the reader to walk in Inesa’s shoes throughout her journey. I never knew quite what to expect with every turn of the road, but I knew I wanted to stay right alongside Inesa to the end, bitter or sweet. I needed to see her journey through. She is a heroine that will be cherished in my heart always.
*I also want to shout out Luka, Inesa’s slightly younger brother. He may initially be of few words and tense moments, but his love for his sister is obvious in his efforts to protect and guide her. He was a wonderful supporting character that further layered Inesa.

Then there's Melinoë.
My heart wept for her. So much of her humanity has been stripped away. In a way she reminded me a bit of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, perhaps an odd choice to bring up, but I came to love Nebula in those movies and that’s because of the arc she had. From this man-made machine of destruction, to a fully, living being who asserted her own agency and forged her own destiny. Melinoë is faced with similar dilemmas and it had my heart hammering with every step she took. I sympathized so deeply with her plight. She is made to kill, to be a thing of greater purpose with no agency, only directives to follow through, but when that control is stripped away, she is left with only her reflection, and must decide what she wants that to mean to her.

I love how Inesa saw beyond the weapon that is Melinoë into the vulnerable human girl she is. Treating her as such encouraged Melinoë to reacquaint herself with her own humanity, her own fallibility, and her own courage. In turn, Melinoë shows Inesa a path of hope and love. A path where perhaps better days will come. A path they need not travel alone. If they take the chance, if they take that leap of faith.

I so adored the relationship and romance between Inesa and Melinoë. From enemies trying to kill the other, to reluctant, uneasy allies, to two young women who come to realize they aren’t so different. To something far more poignant…

Their slow burn romance is magnetic and heart-achingly breathtaking. What Inesa and Melinoë discover, achieve, and simply feel because of the other impacts their individual and intertwined arcs. Their romance comes with high stakes and it resonates and enacts consequence to the narrative. It's tightly wound to the overall plot and it left me fervent at times, scared at times, but so hopeful because of how much I desired seeing them find a way to be with one another. There is no guarantee in their triumph, but there is also no choice but to want to see it through. To cheer it on, to fight along with them against every obstacle set on their path. I do wish once that slow burn fully ignited we could have spent more time with the couple fully in love. I just needed more page time of that love. Nevertheless, that is honestly such a minor quibble, because the slow burn romance still has that massive impact upon the final act. And all I will say-- prepare the tissues. But please know-- it's so worth it.

So incredibly worth it.

If you love dystopia, high-stakes romance, evolving character arcs, and a plot that brings action and adventure-- and thrills and chills-- be sure to pick up Fable!

To Fable for the End of the World, I will absolutely remember you.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5

I can feel my dystopian loving middle school self defrosting. I love how Reid shared how she was inspired by The Hunger Games, and yet Fable is very much its own thing. It’s got star-crossed love and wealth disparity thats staple in the dystopian genre. However, the focus on climate change and how it affected all other aspects of society is where it blossomed for me. The setting and characters are very flushed out and feel real. Also, I’m from New England, so I enjoyed the future NY state setting. Mel and Inesa have my heart, and I will be thinking about that ending for a while.

In the distant future, New Amsterdam (including the state formerly known as New York) is run by a greedy corporation that's destroying the planet and charging people for anything they need to survive. When a citizen gets too deep into debt with Caerus, they have the option to turn a loved one over to be hunted & killed on live TV in exchange for their balance to be wiped clean. Wouldn't be like Ava Reid to give us something lighthearted!

Felt the perfect balance of giggling, kicking my feet vs. being absolutely infuriated at the system that forced Inesa and Melinöe into these circumstances.

Maybe it follows the mold of all the great YA dystopian dramas before it, but because of that I easily read the whole thing in an evening and had a great (though distressing) time with it. Both of the main characters were well developed, but I wish we had gotten a little more on Luka and some of the other Angels. That + the vague, relatively open ending gives me hope there might be a sequel someday.

Really strong 3.5

okay if you look at this objectively and just read it for how it is it’s a fun time. but if you even start to think about this a little bit, things start to fall apart.

first is the blantant copying on the hunger games. like i know it is the blueprint and ava even references it at the beginning to maybe make it seem less bad but….there are simply too many similarities for me to ignore it. a vacant uncaring mother, absent father, sibling, poor falling apart town, animal mutations, a hometown bestie who clearly has feelings for her, showing projections in the sky, a televised event of death, even a cave scene!! like it’s just a lot

the parts that weren’t copied were interesting! i love the idea of the “angels” and the parts of the gauntlet that were unique. the writing is also incredible. i have never lost faith in ava’s writing ability, it is always so beautiful.

and the romance was just….misplaced. like idk personally i could never fall for someone, one in a span of three days, and two who is TRYING TO KILL ME! maybe she is just way more trusting than me but i could never get so close to this person, even if she’s swears she won’t kill me and we need to work together….i wouldn’t buy it. so idk made the relationship hard to root for…it’s like if katniss decided she wanted cato.

and i’m not sure if this is planned to be a series, but i feel as though it needs to be bc that ending was wildly unsatisfactory.

again if you don’t think too hard about it, enjoyable for sure. but maybe dystopians need to stay in the 2010s.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me the arc in exchange for an honest review ◡̈

I definitely feel like I chose the wrong time to start this book as someone dealing with constant existential dread and spiraling about the future. That being said, Ava Reid once again created an amazing world in her new dystopian YA book Fable for the End of the World. This book very obviously called out the future if humanity continues down the road we’re currently on without changing. The world this book is set in is a futuristic America called Caerus in which the lines between government and corporation are blurred. Caerus is a result of the ongoing debt crisis, climate change, AI, and nuclear warfare.
First Im gonna talk about what I really enjoyed and what I felt really worked in this.
- This book started really strong and I was fully invested in the world building leading up to the Gauntlet. The debt and credit system Ava Reid created was extremely unique and such a different take on a dystopian novel.
- The Lambs Gauntlet started off really strong with Luka and Inesa coming up with a game plan to survive. I absolutely adored Luka and Inesa and their relationship. They very obviously would do anything for each other and that’s shown throughout the novel. Luka is the epitome of ride or die for his sister. While in the beginning he may not seem that way, as soon as Inesa is named the next Lamb, he does absolutely everything he can to help her survive.
- I really loved Mel as a character. She was so complex and well thought out. In the beginning she feels very robotic but as the book continues, she slowly starts to humanize as she works through the trauma she’s endure as an Angel. Her character arc was honestly one of my favorites through the book, reading about her dismantling everything she knows and has been told. Getting to see her trust in Azrael wither as she spends time away from the cameras allowing her the chance to unpack her memories was incredible.

Now moving on to some of the things I wasn’t a huge fan of/felt could have been worked on more.
- Inesa as a character fell flat if i’m being entirely honest. Especially when comparing to Mel and flip flopping between their POVs. She was just kind of there and nothing more. She comes off as too compassionate and empathetic which leads to her having absolutely zero survival skills when it comes down to fighting for her life. If Luka wasn’t with her for the first part of the Gauntlet, it would’ve been over within minutes. She was just very idealistic and I just couldn’t help but feeling I wanted more from her. Her background and family dynamic could’ve added so much to her character but while it’s talked about, it definitely didn’t feel very explored on.
- I also felt the relationship felt forced? It started off strong but started to feel very rushed, especially when you think about the timeline of the book. The Gauntlet is scheduled to last 14 days but due to events in the book, it ends up being accelerated in the end with only 2 days left. Thinking about it, this means the relationship developed over ~4-10 days?
- Also thinking about the timeline, it also feels hard to have Mel work through her trauma from being an Angel in that timeframe as well. The only way this could work I guess is since it’s all tied to memory. So as she recovered memories it allowed her to work through the issues I guess? It kind of worked but I do wish the overall timeline was longer for this book.
- The ending left my very unsatisfied. The way I felt finishing this was similar to how I felt finishing 1984 and i’ll leave it at that.
- Also this is a minor critique but while I understand this takes place in a futuristic America, the use of the same names we currently use for areas or geography really took me out of the story. The Adirondack’s, Catskills, New England, and Lake Champlain were all named and used to describe land/territory and every time it just really pulled me out of the story. I don’t see any other critiques about this though so it may just be a me problem.
I did fly through this book though so while I have some critiques, they obviously don’t mean too much considering I struggled to put this one down. Ava Reid will forever be an auto buy author for me.

I’m not usually a huge fan of sci fi or dystopian fiction so I went into this one not hoping for much — though I’ve really enjoyed other works by Ava Reid. And yet I adored this and was immediately hooked. My problem with sci fi is usually that it can be difficult to get into or understand — but Reid had such phenomenal worldbuilding here that it didn’t take long to grasp and sink into. The dystopian elements felt like they could be a natural progression from our current society and climate, something that is scary yet though provoking. And the sapphic romance added a great bit of hope to the story.

This book was so nostalgic for me in the sense that it brought to mind all of the classic dystopian novels I read as a teenager. It brought a new, exciting energy to the genre by incorporating so many topics that have become increasingly relevant in our world.

I was gripped by the characters, even those that were only on-page for a short time. I cannot wait to read the bonus chapters that detail Lethe and Luka's connection.

I am desperately hoping that this will become a series of some sort. This book, while ended openly and with hope for the characters, left me needing closure for the characters. I didn't need a happy ending, just one that wouldn't crush my soul quite as deeply as this did.

I was fairly surprised with how much I ended up liking this. I don’t usually read F/F romance. I liked that this had elements of the hunger games, but it was still unique and its own way. I was definitely not expecting one of the FMC to be a taxidermist. I also found it interesting how they were called angels. It kind of reminded me of the movies Charlie’s Angels, even though I’ve never seen it. I found this story to be an odd book but in an intriguing way. There was one part where I felt that Ava Reid really tricked me, and I was almost in tears when it happened. I did find it weird during that part the FMC brushed it off, like nothing, but in the end it turned out fine. I do think that the romance needed to give a little bit more, especially in building up to the romance. I kind of felt like it happened too fast without giving us the buildup. I did not know that it wasn’t just gonna be a one book thing so I was starting to get annoyed that I was almost finished with the book and there was still a lot going on. I will most likely pick up the next book.

I was a little bit skeptical about this book and how much I would end up liking it but I am happy that I did ended up enjoying it. I look forward to seeing where the next book will go.

Thank you to Ava Reid, HarperCollins Children’s , and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

3.5/5 stars. A better-than-average YA sapphic dystopian novel that's reminiscent of Crier's War and The Hunger Games. I enjoyed reading this book, much more so than I did Lady Macbeth, so that's a win in my books; that being said, there were a few things I thought could be done better.

My biggest issue with the novel is the romance. It had so much potential but it just fell flat. It needed more development in the "in-between" stage. I felt like the jump from enemies to lovers was a bit quick and abrupt. As a result, I didn't feel much for the romance. I liked both of the characters on their own and liked the idea of the romance, just not how it was executed.

The other thing was that much of the plot seemed overly convenient. I understand that things needed to happen to get the two main characters together and have a reason for not killing each other, but it just didn't seem overly realistic to me. To that point, there was a twist around the 75-80% mark that eliminated part of this "convenience" issue for me, but it didn't undo the earlier parts of the novel and how they got together in the first place.

Still, there were plenty of positives. I thought the world was unique and immediately wanted to know more; I almost would have preferred if we had more world-building and more dystopia, and in exchange, less of the narrative. The concept of the book did a nice job of paying homage to The Hunger Games, as the author mentions in the author's note. It's similar enough to bear a resemblance but unique enough to stand on its own.