The novel leans more into romance than I usually prefer, but the comp titles persuaded me to give it a try. And what a stunning cover!

Inesa's world is bleak and dangerous as she and her brother struggle to stay afloat financially and literally (her town is half sunken). It's exactly what I'd hoped for in this dystopian novel. Animals as we know them are dying, and in their place are mutations more equipped to survive in this world. Eating them isn't advisable - unless you want to turn into a zombie-like creature.

Inesa's despicable, hypochondriac mother offers her up as a lamb for the Gauntlet to pay their debts. Debt that Inesa and her brother Luka aren't responsible for - it's their mother's selfish needs for luxuries and meds to treat her nonexistent conditions. I hoped Inesa and Luka would tie her up and offer her life instead. The people who tune in to the Gauntlet aren't much better. Watching innocent people be hunted and killed is their entertainment.

The Gauntlet is very Hunger Games-ish. From the moment it begins, Inesa is trekked by a highly trained assassin who will in all likelihood kill her sooner rather than later in a very painful way. Inesa and Luka share a strong sibling bond, and he risks his own life to go on the run with her. As a trained hunter, he's much more familiar with weapons. When circumstances separate them during the Gauntlet Inesa is distressed, but I thought it seemed like his safety fell to the wayside for quite a while.

If you're a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, this novel is for you. Mel is sent to murder Inesa - and she tries - but you can guess from the description that things happen, and the two of them take a different path.

The ending makes me wonder if a sequel is coming. If so, I'll be on the lookout for it. Recommended for fans of gritty dystopian worlds, dual POVs, and deadly games.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love this author and everything about this book. The book itself is stunning and i absolutely adore the story inside

4.5 Stars

This sapphic story is very reminiscent of The Last of Us meets The Hunger Games meets The Walking Dead. I couldn’t put it down and was fully immersed in the dystopian world from the very first page.

In a world wrecked by consumerism, debt and nuclear fallout, the world Ava Reid built is one we can truly imagine. When Inesa’s mother racks up an ungodly amount of debt, Inesa is put into a televised Hunger Game-esqe hunt as a way to absolute the debt. She has 2 weeks to try and survive an angel of death whose sole mission is to kill her and make it an amazing show for all watching.

The problem is this angel is starting to malfunction and didn’t expect to have to be saved by the humanity of her target. Now the show being presented is waking up others to the grim reality of their world and it’s hard to stop that momentum, even if it costs your life (and those you love).

Deeply atmospheric and haunting, A Fable for the End of the World is a book that will not be forgotten easily and one that is perfect for the times we currently find ourselves in.

I desperately wanted to love this story. I loved A Study in Drowning, and I have a few of Ava's other works on my physical TBR that I am so excited to get to. This one sounded like it would be right up my alley - a mix between Hunger Games and The Last of Us?? That's my dream pairing!!

Unfortunately, this one just didn't hit the mark like I wanted it to. I believe what made Hunger Games great and believable was that we are given a perfect amount of backstory that is just crazy enough to make sense. People having to send 2 tributes per district each year because there was a rebellion 75+ years ago and the corrupt government wants to keep that from happening again? Yes! Makes total sense! Parents/family members sending their children/loved ones to be gunned down by physically altered hot semi-cyborg women because they are in too much debt? Why would enough other people find that interesting to watch and why wouldn't everyone refuse to watch it??

The romance also felt a little bit too insta-lovey for me. I didn't mind it, but I think the story would have been better to show them becoming friends first, and then have a second book where that deepens.

Not a bad read by any means! I just wanted better.

I devoured Fable for the End of the World. In a dystopian setting—where people have become slaves to debt and one corporation, Caerus, controls everything—people tune in to a livestream called The Lamb’s Gauntlet, where who accumulate too much debt are hunted by beautiful and technologically-enhanced assassins. Our main character Inesa finds out that her mom has put her up in her place as the next lamb after falling into too much debt—but with her years of surviving in the lower classes and with her brother by her side, she might have a small chance of surviving. Melinoë, a notoriously cold and efficient assassin, has to kill Inesa to make up for a big mistake in her last Gauntlet or she’ll be “decommissioned” and have her brain wiped of all memories. The stakes are high and both girls start to question whether surviving is the same as being alive. Ava Reid’s ode to The Hunger Games (but make it sapphic) hits hard—it is fast-paced, captivating, devastating, and full of gripping suspense. From the characters to the setting, Reid draws you in and keeps you wondering what will happen next.

This is an easy buy for my school library, and I know many students will enjoy this somewhat more mature and dark take on a competition dystopia. Just be prepared for this one to break your heart!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Ava Reid, and HarperCollins, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

A dystopian Sapphic romance that's perfect for fans of the Hunger games series and sees two opponents (the hunter and the hunted) stuck in a battle for their lives and forced to work together in order to survive. The world building in this was fantastic and I really loved the way the author uses technology as both a boost and a crutch for one of the FMCs. Good on audio and definitely worth a read if you like queer sci-fi romance with depth. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchagne for my honest review!

Sapphic dystopian!!!! Also, very cool sibling dynamics!

Very gripping writing, I think I finished this in like two sittings? Aand once again, I read it on a flight and started tearing up, I hope the air hostess didn't see me 🥲

The narrations of the two MCs were so good, I was very very invested in their emotions and their fast but very deep and meaningful relationship. That ending made me cry so hard!

Also, Inesa and Luka's sibling relationship was written with so much care, I loved that arc so much <3

TWs - murder, death, on page corpses of people, abandonment (physical/mental) by parents

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

It was my mistake to not review this once I finished it because now I can't seem to remember all the things I wanted to say about this book. Ava Reid did young adult dystopian well. The build up of the relationship tied in with the hunger games like competition was well done and I fell in love with both main characters. I loved the element through the book of this hope of a prosperous land beyond the wasteland that kept hope alive only for it to be nothing. I wish this was actually a series in some way, but wouldn't make sense with the ending.

4/5 Stars – Dark, Intense, and Surprisingly Romantic

Inesa is tough and resourceful without feeling cliché, and Melinoë? Total badass with a soft side buried under all that assassin training. Their dynamic had me hooked, and the tension (both survival and romantic) was on point. I loved how their relationship developed slowly and felt earned, especially given the whole “I’m supposed to kill you” thing.

Only reason it’s not a full 5 stars is that I wanted a little more detail on the world and how Caerus operates, but honestly, that didn’t stop me from flying through the book.

This is a gritty, emotional story with action, heart, and a romance that sneaks up on you in the best way.

Thank you to NETGALLEY and the publisher for the E-arc copy in exchange for an honest review

This was a high high 4 star. Gave hunger game vibes. I was recommending this at 10% in. I feel like the ending wasn't as strong. It was a little open ended but not in a bad way. In a way that I can hope the characters end up getting more than what we were left with.
I would still recommend it.

This book was perfection. I recommend this for anyone that likes fast paced romantic dystopian books. Such a different story from Ava Reid. I love love love it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Fable for the End of the World had some strong concepts but for me, it didn’t quite stick the landing. The world-building didn’t hold up under scrutiny, the writing was repetitive, and the protagonist just wasn’t compelling enough to carry the story.

The beginning is intentionally disorienting, and things gradually start to make sense over time. But as the world unfolds, cracks begin to show. Some parts really tested my suspension of disbelief. The mutated animals? I could go along with it, until we got to deer growing scales and webbed feet, and then I checked out. It felt like biological logic went out the window. The idea that eating mutant animals turns people into zombies? Maybe that would’ve worked if it were explained as a virus, but it wasn’t. Instead, it felt vague and underdeveloped. Pain, for example, is wildly inconsistent. Sometimes it’s debilitating when it shouldn’t be, and at other times, it’s brushed off without consequence. I also struggled with Inesa and Lukas’ rationale that killing and embalming animals preserved them, instead of just letting them live.

Inesa, as a protagonist, was a bit of a letdown. She’s framed as “good” because she’s not violent and doesn't feel as much hatred as other people, but passivity alone doesn’t make a character good. Her life has been hard, no doubt, and I don’t want to minimize that, but as a character, she’s not that interesting. She’s so passive she practically fades into the background: overly hesitant, lacking a strong inner voice, and constantly stuck in a loop of self-doubt. Her arc doesn’t have much payoff, and her internal dialogue ends up feeling repetitive rather than revealing. Melinoë is a bit more engaging but falls into the same pattern, her inner monologue is repetitive and slows the story down.

The romance fell flat for me. The intensity is supposed to come from what the characters represent to each other — rebellion, freedom, escape — but it doesn’t feel earned. There’s a lot of staring, thinking about how beautiful the other person is, and repeating the same thoughts, but not much actual connection. It’s not so much a love story as it is a shared moment of defiance.

The world had potential, but it’s riddled with contradictions. For instance, why does this society sacrifice its children to repay debt, instead of, say, the elderly? The cruelty felt arbitrary. Scenes like Inesa killing the mother deer and leaving the fawns behind felt unnecessarily harsh, with little narrative purpose beyond shock value. Some scenes made sense within the story’s context, but others felt like they were trying to justify the premise without fully thinking it through.

One relationship I wished had been explored more was between Inesa and her brother. Their dynamic, which is built on the fact that they don’t talk much about their feelings, works to some extent, but there’s something missing by the end. After all they went through, they don't have anything to say to each other?

In the end, Fable for the End of the World had moments of resonance, but too many elements pulled me out of the story. Between the inconsistent logic, a flat romance, and a world that didn’t quite hold together, I found myself wanting more than the book delivered. It had all the ingredients, but they didn't come together like I wanted them to.

Bleak and raw. Yet vulnerable and soft. Ava Reid has such a subtle yet powerful way of taking something powerful and strong then cutting to the quick.

“The more vivid your dreams, the more agonizing the knife-twist of reality. It’s a privilege, really, to desire, to imagine, to believe.”

And yet even while reading something so sharp, you’re brought back to the softness within the relationship between the main characters. Their entire existence is steeped in violence, hatred, and scorn, yet these two girls continue to fight. It’s a story for all the queer girls out there who are yearning to see themselves, while also being a true fable explaining what could happen if the current debts and governmental systems continue to run amuck.

4.25/5.

It would have been higher, but the ending felt abrupt. I needed so much more.

Three words: Lesbian. Hunger. Games. This reminds me a lot of the 2010s dystopian YA novels that were out, and I love that this was has queer characters in it!

Fable for the End of the World
by Ava Reid
Pub Date: Mar 04 2025

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.

Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.

When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother she might stand a chance of staying alive.

For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.

As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.

And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.

If you love the Hunger Games, you MUST read this book. It is post WWIV and a corporation has taken over the land. They will loan you up to 500,000 points (cash), but if you hit 500K, you (or your child) can be entered into a gauntlet where a super being hunts you down and kills you on live television.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Truly a great sapphic hunger games book! My first Ava Reid book and I LOVE their writing style. The dystopian tech based society was so well fleshed out.

Will provide a more depth review on goodreads in the future, accidentally became very busy.

Thank you for the arc!

Ava Reid delivers a YA dystopian novel that is not only shockingly parallel to contemporary life but also highly relatable to teenagers. Initially, Fable' s story feels reminiscent of The Hunger Games and even evokes George Orwell' s 1984 with its Big Brother overtones, but it quickly becomes distinctly different. Fable' s world is controlled by Cearus, an unknown entity without a face, along with several corporate workers who help govern society. Cearus oversees everything, including the debts of individuals. People constantly plunge into debt as there are no limits, leading to an endless cycle. This accumulating debt can only be addressed if someone enters The Gauntlets. The Gauntlets is a survival game where one must confront an Angel that is part human and part machine, the ultimate killing machine. Survive, and you win the Gauntlets. With this setup, readers are left with numerous unanswered questions about not only this society but also the rules of the Gauntlets. It' s uncertain whether this ambiguity is a deliberate effort to provoke thought or indicative of an underdeveloped concept. Now, moving on to the characters in this story.

The book utilizes a dual point of view from both Melinoë and Inesa, offering a refreshing perspective as we learn about the challenges both girls have faced before entering The Gauntlets. Inesa contends with a dysfunctional family; her father is missing, and her mother is a nightmare. Together with her brother, they strive to survive. Melinoë grapples with returning after struggling to overcome her last Gauntlet. She constantly sees the face of a girl, and no matter how many times she wipes it away, it never disappears.

The enemies- to- lovers trope is always appealing to readers, but for me, this felt rather superficial. What fosters their connection beyond being in the Gauntlet together? This dynamic reminded me of Peeta and Katniss. Despite enjoying the portrayal of two queer characters openly discussing their relationship until they realized they were being filmed, it seemed that once they recognized the cameras were on, they reverted to being "friends."

CW: Death, Murder, Classism, Addiction, Violence, Minor Sexual Content (off- page)

As soon as I finished it on my Kindle, I pre-ordered my finished copy. The quotes were verified in it.

If you love Dystopian books, you NEED to pick up this gem immediately.

It's absolutely incredible and it let me in such a state of disarray. I don't know what to do with my life anymore. I just know that I want more, that I NEED another book !

Inesa and Melinoë's story was one of a kind. I just loved them so very much.

Their love story was beautiful and it proves that love cannot be erased.

And the love between sister and brother in this one is incredible.

Read this if you love :

✨ Sapphic Romance ;
✨ YA Dystopian;
✨ Enemies to Lovers ;
✨ Forced Proximity ;
✨ Only One Bed ;
✨ Brother and Sister's loyalty ;
✨ Soul crushing cliffhanger.

Whew. I’m going to describe this as The Hunger Games meets Docile.

Inesa lives in a flooded village with her brother and mother. Everyone struggles, and they especially have since her father left and her mother became ‘sick’.

But they refuse to take on any debt that might make them vulnerable to the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is a game wherein someone with more than 500k in credit debt is required to name someone to be hunted by an Angel to the death.

The central Angel in our story is Melinoë. She’s struggling as the last Gauntlet she was in, she struggled with having to kill a little girl and can’t forget it, no matter how many procedures her handler puts her through.

Inesa is thrown into the Gauntlet when it comes to light that her mother has been secret spending thousands upon thousands on sweet treats, fancy clothes, and other things she doesn’t need. Her little brother is determined to help her survive and goes with her and they try to outlast the Angel.

However when communication between Melinoë and her handler are cut off, she makes a deal with Inesa to help each other until the cameras are back. Neither of them bargained for what develops between them.

Overall a timely story of capitalism and corporate control..


Spoilery complaint: why did they get frisky when Melinoë had burnt up legs?????