A dystopian world in which you can pay off your debt by sacrificing someone you love to The Gauntlet. The Lambs-your average person from these poor communities- are hunted in their community by an Angel, a cyborg like human who has been modified in some way to hunt. We get to see both sides of the story through the dual POV, told in alternating chapters.
Of course it is rightfully being compared to series like The Hunger Games, but this story has enough unique elements to see it's individual impact on the Dystopian YA genre. We've got enough world building and character development to keep us interested but not overwhelm us with exposition, which is often hard in these first of a series novels.
The main reason I gave this story a knock down for star rating is how quick the romance happened. It seems odd to me that they went from hunter/hunted to "being in love" in the course of a few days. Like is it just the trauma bonding?

This is the dystopian book all millennials will love. This is what all the books after Hunger Games wanted to be. It was so well written with compelling characters.

3.5 stars

I think, on the whole, Reid’s YA books are superior to their adult books. There’s not nearly as much stiffness, none of the rambling descriptions or awkward ham-fisted messages. The YA books feel different at their very core.

I will say, what really hurt me with this book were small details. Like Melinoë never once reloads her rifle? And the only mention of bullets as separate from the gun itself was when she gets all new gear (but she still doesn’t load them? So what were they even for?) I also feel like Inesa and Melinoë’s narrative styles weren’t distinct enough; without context clues, one couldn’t tell which of them was narrating. And there was a weird obsession with throat syringes? I feel like that’s wildly unsafe and impractical but okay. And the big climactic scene doesn’t really hit as hard as it could have because we spent the whole book with Inesa and Melinoë, leaving Luka and especially Lethe as mere sketches that don’t feel much like people.

Things that worked really well for me: pacing (especially during the first 70%), the reality of existing in a broken system that is designed to stifle the underprivileged, Melinoë’s growth / character arc (her trauma, her relationship with/dependence on Keres, and Azrael’s role), the cannibal/zombie people.

Was it a masterpiece? No. Did it feel like the old 2010s dystopian era? Mostly yes, though there was a lot less rebellion/“burn down the broken system” energy, which I think hurts the story overall.

I do really love this author’s work. I really need to get into the author’s adult works more because I really am drawn to the writing style the author has. I had such a beautiful time with this story! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The setting was interesting. I also liked each of the characters individually and their stories. I almost wish that it wasn’t a romance at all. I would have liked for it to go a little more deeper into the world. I wanted to know more about Caerus and life outside of the city. I just wanted depth from the world and how it came to be that way.
For me the romance was the weakest part of this book. It felt very lacking. I didn’t feel their romantic connection at all. Not enough buildup, not enough chemistry between the characters. I liked the characters individually.
Overall this wasn’t my favorite read, but I liked the writing style and I’ve enjoyed other books from this author. I’ll continue to check her work out!

Ava Reid just knows how to tell a darn story!

The concept isn’t new, more a mash up of some common dystopian tropes, but with the signature Ava Reid flair and style.

Oh did I mention this is a sapphic tale?? Having a well known author like Reid bring love stories about queer people to the mainstream is wonderful. I am glad to see more publishers backing away from performative inclusion and just letting authors tell good stories with good characters.

Overall the setting, pacing and story were fantastic but the conclusion felt a little underwhelming, not in a terrible way. I just think she did such a good job in the first 2/3 of the book that the wrap up felt less impactful to me.

an enjoyable hunger games-inspired dystopian novel with a sprinkling of romance.

so fun fact this is actually my first ava reid novel in all my years of reading. i've seen her acclaim for years now, but i've never been able to properly dig into one of her books. however, i love the hunger games, so i was eager to request and read this.

this follows inesa, a young girl, in a dystopian united states ruled by a megacorporation named caerus. she and her family are struggling to get by, and her mom subsequently puts her up for a gauntlet (a livestreamed hunt) in order to avoid paying off her debt. inesa and her brother luka try to escape and survive while being hunted by an trained assassin (an angel) named melinoe. however, melinoe and inesa slowly turn from enemies to allies to something more while staving off caerus.

the worldbuilding is great! you get enought information to be placed in this dangerous and toxic world. from lower esopus, with its flooded streets and dingy houses, to melinoe's penthouse and the glittery city, to the mystical drowned county and the dominion of old england. the world comes to life. the entire first like 20% of the book was worldbuilding and individual character work which did make it a bit hard to get through but the book went fast asl after that.

i enjoyed the character work in this book. obviously with dual povs you run the risk of making the two characters sound/feel the same, but inesa and melinoe were definitely very distinct. i also think azrael and luka are good characters; especially azrael. he occupies this space of being melinoe's father figure and her master and her puppeteer all at once, and that sets up a toxic dynamic with melinoe. when melinoe and inesa are chasing and hunting each other, that is where the book shines. i love the action and the tenseness as inesa races to escape and melinoe races to capture. loved loved loved the parallels of inesa and melinoe. their relationships with death are so different; inesa treats life reverently. even working as a taxidermist, she is used to death but still is appalled by the idea of killing. meanwhile, melinoe is a born and bred killer, but she begins to change as she allies with inesa. i loved how melinoe, who was built deliberately to not be human, begins to develop and grow feelings beyond what she was made for.

the romance was instalove, and i think it could've been built up stronger. i wish there was more tension built up between them two. also tbh having caerus livestream them making out is a nasty violation my god??? like idk. i was rooting for them though but i really think this book would've benefitted from having a sequel and exploring their relationship even further. the ending of chapter thirty though GOD it hit me in the chest.

there isn't a hea, but i think the ending makes sense for the story. i think the ending isn't necessarily tragic; it reads more wishful and hopeful. if ava reid has ever wished to write a sequel (and i see her books so i know she will write that sequel) i need her to get on that zoom and start,

i enjoyed this! maybe i need to tune into more ava reid. perfect for those who miss the 2010s-dystopian ya novels and fans of the hunger games,

thanks to netgalley and harper collins for the arc!

In this Hunger Games meets Black Mirror tale, Inesa, an underclass citizen, lives in a world where one singular corporation, Caerus, grows richer with society's insurmountable debt. Despite her efforts to help her family stay in the black, Inesa receives notice that her mother has hit the debt threshold. Payment doesn't come in the form of credits, but instead from the Lamb's Gauntlet; a livestreamed hunt where Angels, trained assassins, are assigned to eliminate the sacrificial lambs. Selfishly, Inesa's mother sacrifices her to be the Lamb in her place. The Angel assigned to Inesa's Gauntlet, Melinoë, is faced with an ultimatum. Fail the mission and become decommissioned to be wed to Caerus' CTO. As the hunter and hunted enter the gauntlet, they question the world they live in and whether they are truly enemies.

if NetGalley had an option for half stars, I would rate this 4.5 stars. I am rounding up.

this book would be of interest for those that enjoy:
✨ dystopia
✨ dual POV
✨ hunter x hunted
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ LGBTQ+
✨ young adult
✨ science fiction
✨ societal commentary

I was captivated by this story with only two chapters: the first introducing us to Inesa, <spoiler>the Lamb</spoiler>, and the second introducing us to Melinoë,<spoiler>the Angel</spoiler>. Both of their characters had moving backstories and I was drawn to all the complex relationships in their lives. this story was written with incredible emotion and descriptions that made me emotionally attached early on. I loved how Inesa had darker features and Melinoë in contrast was light as it visually represented how both characters come from completely different social classes. when tides turn in the Gauntlet and they need to rely on each other to survive, they both see the truth of who they are and who they are meant to be. however, I feel that their love story was underwhelming and rushed. the pair said "i love you" within days. of course, in this scenario it is after immense duress and one too many near death moments and these girls are only seventeen. the "i love you" is what threw me off the most.

the pair becomes more vulnerable with each other in ways that no one else in their life has ever seen. unfortunately, when they believe the livestream has been cut off and they become their most vulnerable, the cameras are sneakily on and the whole world DOES see. throughout the story, there is further commentary on how women are viewed in the media. Melinoë makes comments repeatedly about how much surgery she has had since Angels are to look breathtaking at every moment and how the surgical scars are hidden so no one can see how ugly they truly are. this commentary addresses how those in the limelight are scrutinized over everything that is said and done, including how the media can influence whether they are beloved or hated. in addition, this book is a commentary on society as a whole and what the world could become in the trajectory we are already on. it touches upon climate change, societal gaps widening, and the cost of these changes.

the ending of this tale is not a happily ever after, and while i figured it would not end in happiness, i was convinced that would be the case. i was anticipating full anarchy and them sticking it to the man, but that was not the case. i also figured this was to be a standalone book, but i have so many questions left unanswered i wonder if this is not the case.

thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Everyone will be comparing this book to the Hunger Games and rightfully so, in the best way possible. Fable manages to capture the tension, social commentary, and rage of the Hunger Games books while also creating something wholly its own.

Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid was an okay read. I have such a weird relationship with the work of Ava Reid. The premise for her books are always so interesting and I want to love them so much but most (but not all) of her titles fall a little short with the execution. I think there are some plot points that weren’t flushed out enough which makes me wonder why they were even put in to begin with. I honestly think this would have been stronger if it focused on only a couple of the things instead of going to far with other points. The characters kind of blended with each other and there were moments were I confused the two characters. The writing was a little convoluted at times and it just made my overall experience of reading it unenjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the Advance Reader Copy!
Well, where to start? This had some really cool elements to it-dystopian, Hunger Games type of outline, sapphic romance, enemies to lovers.. you get the idea..
I thought it started out really strong and I had my guesses along the way, but boy was I wrong on all fronts of that.
The majority of the story focused on the budding romance between predator and prey (Angel and Lamb if you will), but there was some really great lead up to the actual gauntlet beginning and when they began to rely on each other for survival.
I get that it's an enemies to lovers, but it became very instalove- which it's a standalone so I guess it's to be expected. That's not what got me, it was the ending.
It was just very unsatisfying and not at all what I was expecting. I truly wish there was more to the story and we could find out what happens to Mel and Inesa, but I guess it up for interpretation.
Also, the dad situation.. what even was the point? I thought for sure at some point he'd make an appearance- even be the guy behind it all, but NO- he's just a run of the mill POS father that walked out on his kids and left them with little hope for a better future or survival. And even that hope was wiped away because it was all made up.. like he was just a red herring, and really served no purpose. They could have just said he died rather than skip out on them and it still would have driven the plot in the same way. Guys my brain hurts..

This delivered all the promised lesbian dystopian hunger games vibe wonderfully. It was so good. Especially reading it from the context of our current political climate. This was different than previous of Reid’s work, but it’s a welcomed change. The quality that I’ve come to expect from her is still there. So happy I got this early because it was such a good read!

This was phenomenal, this is so different from other Ava Reid books, but it still kept her high quality of writing. I need basically everyone to read this.

If you love dystopian novels and were deep into The Hunger Games and Divergent, you will love these. You can see the fingerprints of this time but Fable stands completely on its own. The world created in the book feels like it could truly happen, especially considering the current political climate - I read this and kept thinking to myself how prescient it could be. With the way that corporations take over and everything is commodified and stratified, this felt like the updated version of the Hunger Games districts done in a way that felt like it might be what we are quickly headed to in our own world. Everyone so engrossed in their tablets and everything is content rather than real life.

The discussion of how we break people down so simply in society and our quest for our own ability to move up is interesting and so intrinsic to this story. What happens when we try to remove every part of you that's human? Can we truly take away what ultimately makes you who you are? How do we strip away basic human behaviors like leaning on our neighbors and make each of us afraid of this? How do we make everything around us a commodity and kindness into a type of debt that can be exploited? Ava Reid explores this in a way that I thought was really engaging and new. It brings together all the best parts of the dystopian genre and brings it into our current day.

Ava Reid has such a knack for creating characters who are both hardened by their worlds but also "too soft" as well. Those characters who though they may be the heroine, they aren't the typical bad-ass with no feelings, they are softer and trying to understand how they could possibly fit into the world around them. I think the exploration of how this softness fits into the world and how can it exist within the parameters of their society is unique without verging into "not like the other girls" territory. It gives space to see how you can be strong without being the strongest physically and that you can endure without losing that part of you. I think that Inesa, and ultimately Melinoë, are part of this in ways that are unique to each of them and they learn from each other as well.

My only issue with the book was how quickly it felt like the romance happened. Ultimately, it felt like a believable romance, but I wish there had been longer for our characters to get to the point that they did. The pacing of this was the only thing that felt off, it felt both slow and natural while also being underscored in the text of how quickly time was passing. I think I just wanted them to have more time to fall into this.

I would highly recommend Fable. This is such a unique book in the space and I think it is going to be a favorite for many in 2025.

This book was like lesbian hunger games and I ate it up.

I really loved learning about Melinoë and her backstory. She kind of reminds me of Finnick in the way that her body is not her own. Her memories get wiped ever so often and she’s made to kill people. It really shows how everyone is a victim of Caerus and no one, even the ones who seem to have a “better life”, come out unscathed.

Ava Reid has done it again. Her books always leave me completely speechless. I’ve  never really read any sort of science fiction or dystopian book, and I truly wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one - but of course, Ava Reid is my favorite author, so I had to read it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint in the slightest. Truly, Ava’s books are not just books, they are works of art. This book is no different. It was filled with so much softness and so much love and so much hope! I absolutely adored the two main characters. And oh! My gosh! The multiple POVs and first person narratives were just perfect! The second to last chapter had my jaw on the floor and the very final chapter just ripped me to shreds. I always know that I’m going to feel deeply while reading an Ava Reid book, and ugh, feel deeply I did. Ava is constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone and I am forever grateful for her and her writing. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for sending me this ARC!

Ava Reid is excellent at writing for atmosphere. She really pulls you into her stories and holds on tight. The bleak atmosphere of this particular story isn't something I'm usually craving, as I read for escape. But the author weaved such a beautiful, hopeful tale filled with impowering and inspiring characters. I didn't want to escape without them.

I would have appreciated more romance, but the plot makes up for it, and I usually don't expect a whole lot of romance out of YA titles. Overall this was a great book, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian settings and sapphic romance.

Did I blindly request this on netgalley because it was Ava Reid and her Study in Drowning book has been all over booktok? Yes.

Did I have a sapphic hunger games book on my bingo card for 2025? No but I definitely enjoyed the ride.

Imagine living in a world where your own mother racks up enough debt to have to choose one of her own children to essentially be sacrificed for a TikTok/twitch live streamed hunger games.

I’d like to know how this is a standalone though because I have questions like.. Where is their father? Do the coordinates actually get you somewhere? Do her and Mel reunite eventually? I’m not thrilled at this open ending and I need answers 😅

Definitely check this one out on 4 March if you are having a hunger games hangover and while it doesn’t fully scratch the itch, I’d say it was worth giving it a chance!

“Kindness and mercy demand strength. Feeling nothing is true cowardice.”

Ava Reid has quickly become one of my favorite authors after a friend pointed me in her direction late last year. I am beyond grateful that I now get to ARC this book. Thank you to the publisher for the ARC received through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Let’s get into it.

This novel brought me back to my childhood, the one filled with dystopian worlds, rebellions lead by strong FMCs, and stories I couldn’t help but tear through. It’s true that The Hunger Games is gold and a story in its own right, but so is Fable for the End of the World. Whether it’s because I am older and more aware, or it is what we as a people have evolved into with the digital age that makes this story feel more relatable, I am not sure. But I do know the dystopian world Reid has created is one that is all too relatable, speaks to where we are as a society, and foreshadows a future that may be all too near. The consumption of media, consumer goods, and the perpetuation of a “me, myself, and I” mentality are the building blocks of what Caerus is. “There would be no Gauntlet without an audience.”

The story of Inesa and Melinoë, told in both of their POVs, was one of my easiest reads this year. The death game along with the tone of the world was obviously influenced by The Hunger Games, something Reid is very open about from the start. The representation of a sapphic love story unfolding, however, is something that 13 year old me never knew she needed. The yin-yang dynamic of the relationship between these two is sweet and deep as they tease out the best traits in one another. With the dual point of view I was not only able to appreciate the love these two share with one another, but I was able to relate to both of them. Inesa, who feels everything so deeply and empathizes even with the things undesired by society, shows that our caring does not make us weak. Every choice she made was out of respect for life and selflessness. She placed her trust in Melinoë’s humanity remaining intact rather than leave her for dead. Melinoë skepticism of people, and desire to forget and not feel, shows that we are not our worst days nor should we be faulted for doing what we must to survive. She stands as a reminder that, even when society aims to turn us cold and unfeeling, the best thing we can do is to keep going and not lose sight of who we are.

The ending of this book ruined me purely for the fact that it left me wanting their HEA so desperately. My heart shattered with Inesa reading the headlines as Melinoë was Wiped and married off. I have so many questions, and I want to see these two burn down Caerus from the inside out. I can only hope that these characters will appear in the world once more and we aren’t just left hoping with Inesa that she will see Melonë in the glass towers one day. But then again, maybe that’s the whole point? To wait and wonder what’s next.

“I wonder, and the wonder turns to hope.”

Ava Reid does it again! Fable for the End of the World is everything you want in a dystopian romance. It’s a poignant commentary on our current society, where money and insatiable greed rule the land. Where our own choices and actions are dooming our planet to a slow death of rising temperatures, flooded land, and poisoned waters. This story is indeed an homage to The Hunger Games, but with Reid’s signature spin of lyrical writing and immersive world building.

The comparisons between Caerus and our incoming administration are impossible to ignore. How these systems exist and thrive because we the people allow them to and because we always want another scapegoat to blame. I loved both Inesa’s and Melinöe’s POVs. They’re both so different and yet both more than their environments.

The plot had the perfect balance of action and character development. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough, and though the ending was incredibly bitter, it was tinged with the slightest taste of hope. Lovers of Ava Reid’s previous works, dystopian fantasies, and sharp political commentary are sure to enjoy this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

“Fable for the End of the World” is a perfectly adequate dystopian sci-fi adventure featuring a sapphic romance between Inesa, whose mother puts her up for a murder lottery, and Melinoe, the assassin sent to kill her. In this world, an all-powerful corporation called Caerus runs everything from entertainment to healthcare. Anyone who racks up sufficient debt with the company must enter in the Gauntlet lottery - or they can nominate a family member. During the Gauntlet, the victim (Lamb) is chased by an Angel, sent by Caerus and bent on killing them, and the whole thing is broadcast as live entertainment. Inesa is put forth for this event by her mother, who has accumulated significant debt from medical appointments. Melinoe is the Angel, and has received physical and psychological conditioning to make her the perfect killer, but she cannot forget her most recent Lamb, a twelve-year old girl, despite interventions to wipe away the memory. Sent prematurely in her recovery to chase Inesa, she is not exactly at the top of her game as she takes on the Gauntlet that is supposed to be her redemption. Within the pressure cooker of the Gauntlet, the two unexpectedly bond.
This book was fine, it wasn’t particularly groundbreaking or enjoyable. I think Reid ventured a little too far into the uncanny valley with her portrayal of Melinoe’s enhancements, as she seemed just far enough from being truly human to prevent me from really sympathizing with her. There also wasn’t quite enough difference in storytelling between the chapters from the two characters’ perspectives, so at times I forgot who I was following. A lot of the tropes used and moral conundrums presented felt pretty tired, and I feel I’ve seen them done better in other books (just read The Hunger Games).