This was an intricately paced sea adventure! I was immediately swept up into the world of dredging, gems, and trading. Fable is a strong female lead that has a mysterious history, actually all the characters are veiled in some sort of secret. As each is revealed, I was looking forward to learning more. Fable was left on an island by her father, to fend for herself. As she grew older, she was fueled by the mission in seeing him once again to get what was hers. What she didn't count on is the crew she meets on the way. West is an interesting hero, he starts off as a character that I did not see having a strong background, Fable and Willa steal the show. However, his stoic nature lends itself to being the support each of them need. This is a wonderful, fun but serious story of life out at sea and I can't wait to be back there in book 2.

OH my goodness…Fable… I loved this book! So, this is my first book by Adrienne Young, and I’m a BIG fan now! This story was told so well! The descriptions just drew me into the story! I could see the glittering water, the coral reefs, the ships…everything! It was beautiful!

Fable is the daughter of a well-known trader, living her life on the sea. When their ship goes down, she is one of three that survive the night. Her mother does not survive, and her father, who is about the biggest jerk ever, drops her off on an island of vagrants and thieves. Fable lives the next 4 years fighting for her life, her food, and trying to make enough money to buy passage off this horrible little section of the world. When she does, she begins an adventure of a lifetime!

The plot was wonderful! I really loved how the story unfolded. There’s some history that we need to learn about Fable to understand why she’s on the island and some of her backstory. I don’t like a ton of flashbacks in stories because I find them disruptive at times. In Fable though, I enjoyed that there was need-to-know information about the past, but the author chose just the right moment to insert the flashback. It didn’t pull me out of the story, it just brought me closer!

The characters were just wonderful. Fable is easy to like and root for. Some of her sailing companions create a wonderful environment and really round out the overall story. I loved West. He seems dark and brooding, and I enjoyed him. I also liked that so many characters had little secrets that slowly reveal themselves. It was exciting to learn more and more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The ending clearly left me with the knowledge that there would be a book 2, so now I just need that to come out…like right now!

To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend Fable for readers that enjoy YA stories with pirate-type adventures and strong female leads!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her family and fight for her place while trying to survive built exclusively for vicious men.
Of course the cover is fetching, but the LANGUAGE of FABLE, truly sets this novel apart from other YA titles I’ve read in the last year and a half.
Much like plunging into a roiling sea, Young submerges the reader into Fable’s world of scratching and clawing to merely survive as a dredger on the desolate and cutthroat island of Jeval. Descriptions are beautiful as well as gritty, and no detail is left to the imagination. All of your senses will be engaged by Young’s writing.
While initially the plot might seem sluggish, I enjoyed the longer exposition to flesh out Fable’s dire circumstances. Too often I read novels where the protagonist is in mortal danger and POOF! All better! Nope, not for our lass, Fable. No one is doing this young woman favors and if she wants to survive she will have to hold on by the skin of her teeth.

Fable is a story about a girl who loses everything she knows and loves in the span of one night and gets left behind on an island to fend for herself. It’s every man for themselves and trust is a commodity. Tell no one the truth and you just might make it out alive.

I feel like I read this story at the most perfect time for me! Being a tale set on the sea, it’s such a fantastic summer time read, the whole time I was reading Fable, I felt like I was on a high sea adventure which was perfect since vacations aren’t happening this year! This was also a SUPER fast paced and easy read and just what I was looking for! Not one single part of this book dragged for me which is honestly rare for me!

I was hooked from the very start of this story and was just so intrigued by Fable, our main character, to see how she was going to be able to survive in this world that seemed like it was just out to get her. I think most of the characters were just eh for me but as a group, I did enjoy them and I’m just fascinated by Saint and would love to learn more about him in the next book!

The world was also something I really enjoyed! I love a good sea side adventure from time to time and this did not disappoint with all of the nautical lingo and the book being set on the ocean and ocean side towns, i just honestly felt like I was there on this boat the whole time reading Fable! This story also had a few unique ideas (don’t want to give anything away) but they weren’t fully explained so I hope to learn more about this world also in the next book!

There were also a few twists near the end and two in particular that still has me gasping and NEEDING to know more like yesterday. Also, did I mention there’s a cliffhanger? Overall, I LOVED this story and definitely recommend it!

For readers who enjoy: Seaside adventures, slow burn romance, binge worth the quick reads, betrayal

Fable by Adrienne Young is the first in a duology.
Four years ago Fable watched as a storm stole the ship she grew up on and her mother from her. Shortly after her fathered abandoned Fable on an island promising her that if she found her way off and back to him he’d give her what she was owed. Fable had worked hard since then, doing her best to dredge the waters for stones to make money and pay her way off the island and back to her father and the life she knew before.
West, a trader that comes to the island and whom she deals with exclusively, ends up having to help Fable off the island sooner than she expects. On the journey through the sea Fable starts her journey with one goal and ends up changing it as she finds her father and learns all sorts of stuff about herself and the people she’s traveling with.
***
I love Fable and the crew of the Marigold. Fable is tough, and she’ll keep fighting for what she needs no matter how the odds stack up against her. She has a toughness but also a bit of a naivety that is interesting considering the world she came from and has lived in.
Willa was also so strong and unflinching in the face of everything and I really liked her and hope for more of her and the rest of the Marigold crew. Paj and Auster have this easy, we’ve been together for a long time, relationship that you can read into in the easiness between them readily. It’s awesome, and no big deal is made about it other than the fact that who they work for and what they do means you don’t go flaunting any relationships you have so it can’t be used against you but on the ship it’s there and it’s sweet. West is the kind of character I can see other people falling for but I still don’t feel emotionally connected enough to him to really be into the relationship between him and Fable but maybe book 2 will swing that around for me.
Adrienne Young has a way of writing that just keeps dragging me along through a story. It’s not overly flowery or descriptive but the flow, and style of it makes it so easy to just keep with the story and by the time I took a break I was almost all the way through the story anyway so might as well keep going.
With the cliff hanger ending you can bet I’m going to be waiting for book 2.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I fully expected this book to become the next in a long series of lady pirate books that have been released within the last 2 years. And I would have been happy and satisfied with that outcome.

But this is not that story.

This is the story of how a young woman defies all odds against her, and believe me, they are stacked aplenty, to make her life her own and take what is rightfully hers. She is marooned on an island BY HER FAMILY MEMBER and claws her way through the next four years of her life by tooth and nail. Giving an endless stream of sleepless nights, lack of food and proper nutrition, thieves taking all but the clothes and tools on her back, and a current of fear the opportunity to extinguish her flame. But she bears it all with the single relentless hope of surviving and making her way off the island to the future that is promised her.

I was gripped from chapter 2 on and read well into the night. I was enraptured by Fable and her choices. By her quiet but electric personality. And with each new day and the new struggles they bring forth, watching the hope bloom into something radiant was incredible to watch and to feel. I care about Fable and the rest of the crew she finds herself among. I love that they are gray characters that do what they must by their own personal set of standards and morals. And they do not apologize for what they must do to survive and protect their own.

I cannot wait for NAMESAKE, Book 2 in this duet, and will be counting down the days until I can get it in my hands!

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of FABLE, by Adrienne Young in exchange for my honest review.***

I was really excited to read this book, and I have to say that I am NOT disappointed! Fable has everything from strong female character to gripping and complicated adventure that sweeps you off your feet!
The beginning of this story is really quick. The reader has no chance to get to know main character/world-building, because there is immediately action, even with a small plottwist. But I can't really complain about it, since I enjoyed it a lot.
The writing style is perfect for this type of story, easy to read and not too detailed, so the pacing is still really fast, and there's no room for boring scenes. Overall, great book. Except for that "insta-love" trope at the ending, it was amazing, and now I am impatiently waiting to read second book!

4,5/5*

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for arc in exchange for an honest review.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that when I was an adult that I'd love this type of adventure book. I mean pirates, sailing the dangerous oceans, fantasy, some romance, theft, secrecy, betrayal, murder. But pirates? Yes! This book hooked me from the get-go.

Fable is a young girl whose father abandoned her after a tragedy occurred. She was left to somehow take care of herself, and that she did. She did whatever a young girl would need to do to get by, and it was too fun watching her and how brave and courageous she was. She manages to get herself on a boat to a place she needs to get to, but the bartering and trading isn't easy. There she meets West, a man who's mysterious and yet the reader knows there's something special about him right away.

Then there is the facially scarred Willa whose character I adored. She is definitely more than meets the eye, but she puts up a tough front. I must say that in this book I loved every single character. Yes, there were a couple not-so-good ones, but they played important roles, too. The MC's...all lovable!

I would like to say that this book is absolutely phenomenal! I highly recommend it to others, even if you're not into pirates and high seas adventures. It will be a memorable read for you, I'm sure.

Note: I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Adrienne Young for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This novel absolutely sucked me in and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. This main character is sassy and fierce, and I absolutely loved her. The world building was beautiful and the author did an amazing job of staying on task in a very, very big world. I kind of got some Pirates of the Caribbean vibes while reading this. I couldn’t put this down!

Book: Fable
Author: Adrienne Young
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with an ARC.

This is another case that there’s nothing wrong with the book, but it’s me. I read another book by this author and I also just could not get into it. You know what? It’s okay. This may not be the author for me, but I do understand why people enjoy her. She does have a beautiful writing style and her stories are good, but it’s just not for me. A lot of it is pretty much because I think I am actually growing out of young adult.

The characters were interesting, but, again, I just really wasn’t all that connected with them. I really didn’t care about them or what they were doing. I just don’t know what it was about them that made it difficult for me to relate to. Again, this is something that I had an issue with in the other book I read by this other. The characters are supposed to be compelling, but we just didn’t click. I don’t know what it would take for me to click with the characters.

The world building is actually what made me give this two stars. I thought the world was solid. The actions were great. Again, I just could not connect with it. I wanted to and I wanted to like it, but it was just missing that spark that would have made me fall in love with it. I don’t know what could have been done differently to make me fall in love with it.

The writing was supposed to hook me and I know in my heart that it was supposed to. However, once again, I just had a really difficult time connecting. When I first starting reading this, I will admit that I was very much interested. However, the more I read, the more I found myself just simply not caring. Again, it’s no one’s fault. I just think that this book and author aren’t for me. I really do get why people do enjoy this book and the author.

So, this book comes out on September 1, 2020.

Trigger warnings for death of a loved one, murder, blood, abusive parental relationship, alcohol consumption.

This book was so much fun! While I wouldn't call it a fast paced book, the intrigue and secrets sprinkled through the plot were an excellent driving force, so we simultaneously feel as if we are spending plenty of time getting to know the characters and the world AND that the plot is driving ever-forward. I'll admit that I had many problems with the author's last work, so I was quite skeptical going into this one, but I loved how pleasantly surprised I was. All of the characters felt multilayered - everyone was flawed and a bit morally ambiguous at times, but what else would you expect from a pirate-y themed book? I especially loved the complex father-daughter relationship, which hit home a little bit for me. I wish the romance had been stretched out a little bit more, but that might just be the slow-burn loving masochist in me. I cannot wait for the sequel!

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Can I just say how much I love Adrienne Young? Really, I do! Sky in the Deep was one of the best books I’d read in awhile. Even though The Girl the Sea Gave Back wasn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed it!

And now there’s Fable. I LOVE HER. This brought back tons of Daughter of the Pirate King feels. I had no idea how much I love sea stories but apparently it’s a lot! I can’t wait for book 2! I need that ARC wish granted STAT!

Fable was such a fun, dark story!
We have a young girl, Fable, who was abandoned at a very young age. She’s barely making it by when she decides to seek refuge by way of the Marigold. There she encounters a young crew that is more than meets the eye.
We have a strong female character, a great found family situation and an enemies to lovers thing going on.
This was a hard to put down, page turner. I really, really enjoyed it.

The Quick Cut: A girl whose mother died years ago and whose father abandoned her on an island goes looking for her dad. Emotions get heated when getting out to sea turns out less predictable than she thought.

A Real Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone experiences tragedy at some point in their lives, but it's a truly devastating situation to lose both your parents. Even worse so for it to happen at the same time. How would you feel? For Fable, her reaction is go out looking for the parent that left her behind.

Fable lost everything that fateful night. In the horrendous storm that claimed the life of her mother, her father dropped her off and never looked back. The sea is her home and all she wants to do is get back to it, by her father's side. However, when she gets a trader named West to get her passage off, not everything is as it looks. Will she find her father or will she discover something much bigger?

Can I just take a moment to gush about the cover of this book?!?! Between the picture of the girl and the small details woven in that relate to the story, it's hard not to get pulled in just by looks.

For me, the first 50 pages didn't pull my interest much, but once the action got real I was hooked. Fable is likeable even though she has every reason not to be. This girl didn't have a childhood, she had survival of the fittest. I can't imagine coming out of that wanting to see my father if I was in her shoes, no matter his reason for it.

The trader, West, turns out to be a much more fascinating mystery of a man than I expected and the chemistry he has with Fable is off the charts. In a way, they each will a need the other is looking for and they respect one another for their toughness. Having that mutual level to both stand on creates an interesting relationship between these two that I hope to see more of in the sequel.

With a sea drenched adventure, this story starts slow but builds to a strong finish.

My rating: 4 out of 5

Okay. If I had rated this book at 98%, I probably would have given it 4 stars. I may still give it 4 stars. I don't know. We'll see how I feel after hashing this all out. But that last 2% of the book, man....

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*deep breath*

Here's the thing: I thought this was a really good book. Like, "I'll read just one more chapter and then suddenly it's 2am" good.

Does that mean I think it's a good Pandemic Read? Not for me, no.

There's a line in the book...:
<i>"Fear danced silently in my blood, its invisible tentacles wrapping around me and squeezing."</i>

This was basically me the *entire* time I was reading. Young did an excellent job building tension -- not suspense, there's a difference -- that made my stomach roil with anxiety. From the opening chapters of the book -- with Fable's tangle with Koy and her escape off Jeval -- Young nailed that anxiety-inducing uncertainty.

But during a pandemic (and right before college campuses open back up) was perhaps not the best time to be reading a story that literally made my heart race.

Still, I was invested.

✔︎ -- No Love Triangle! You know that's a bonus for me. There was some misdirection early on, but thankfully, that's all it was. (And I predicted the "correct" direction correctly, so brownie point for me.)

✔︎ -- Diversity! Sort of. Our protagonist is still a white female, but there are two characters -- Auster and Paj -- who are in a gay, interracial relationship. They don't necessarily have their own story independent of the main plot, but I appreciated the way that Young presented their relationship. That is, it's established early on that love is a weakness and has no place on the trading ships -- and when it does, it doesn't end well. So Auster and Paj's relationship is "hidden" not because they're gay, but because all relationships on ships are hidden. If people know what you care about, they use it against you.

✔︎ -- The world-building. Even though they're traders by nature, the characters in this book had a sort of pirate-vibe -- maybe this was Young's way of telling a pirate story without the associated connotations of pillaging, plundering, raping, etc. There's a clear system and hierarchy in place -- there wasn't a map in my ARC, and I really hope there's a map in the published book -- with the guild-masters and the rings and everything. It's not a very rosy life for anyone, it seems, but maybe that's reserved for Bastian? I read some reviews that weren't fond of the gem-sage concept, or didn't think it was well-developed/executed, and I have to disagree. My hunch is that Young gave us what we needed to know to follow the plot of this book, and it's going to come back into play in the sequel(s). More on my hypothesis below.

✔︎ -- The pacing. Especially compared to the last book I read, the pacing was ON POINT here. There was one part about 70% through, where they were getting new sails, where it hit a bit of a snag, but I thought Young's pacing was excellent. Maybe a bit too fast in some cases...like a stone skipping on water, we jumped over chunks of time to keep the action moving. (I'm thinking of near the end, when Fable and West are dredging...they're underwater and then POOF! Everything's loaded on the ship and we're back in Dern. Wait--what? Same with offloading the cargo at the end -- if it's enough cargo to get them free, that happened very quickly.)

Which, yes. It doesn't make sense to spend a chapter detailing them getting treasure off a sunken ship if it's all going to end well. But...Young's knowledge of sailing/ship stuff was almost on a Moby Dick level. (Okay, not quite, because that would be an insult. Melville spends waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time with the whaling stuff.) But the analogy stands: there's a lot of description about sailing and ship jobs, so it was a little jarring to skip the "retrieving buried treasure" part, since so much attention had been paid to the other details.

*shrug* Not a big deal.

Okay. Let's get to some of the spoilery stuff.

✘ -- I had a tricky time pinning down Fable's age. I know she's 17/18, but "is older than her years" because she was abandoned, Survivor-style, on a terrible island for four years. (No one in this world seems to live a life of comfort...where are all these gems going? Who funds the money? I get that we're supposed to think it's Bastian and maybe that's where the rich, happy people live, because there is not a lot of joy in this world.) Point is--sometimes she acted like a teenager, impulsively jumping to conclusions, rebelling against orders; and other times she seemed mature and wise, like at the end with Saint, in the tavern. Which is better than the alternative, where characters (and the plot) are driven entirely by negative emotions. (Someone is always angry, yelling at someone, lashing out...I'm finding that to be a pet peeve of mine these days.)

✘ -- This is relatively minor, but I was bothered by the fact that she goes to such great lengths to prove she's NOT A THIEF -- no, really; she literally almost drowns in a very Moana-moment where's pinned in some coral -- aaaand then turns around and steals from the ship. *facepalm* Girl. Not your best look.

✘ -- This is also a spoilery point but goes back to my point about Fable's age. Her reaction to Saint's revelations...confuse me. First, she's painted him as this callous, cruel "pirate king," with Clove being the paternal figure. But, when she goes to see him, he (1) keeps his word (I thought for sure he was going to break his promise and laugh in her face, because pirate king.); (2) basically sets her up for life (if she can get the treasure); and (3) reveals that he's not a total asshat and deadbeat as he hired West to basically look after her.
And Fable gets pissed because she feels she didn't really earn her survival....? I guess? First, she gets over this pretty quickly, so it doesn't seem to be *too* much of an issue for her and is more of a convenient reaction to build tension between them. Second, she's looking for proof that her father cares for her, and SHE GETS IT. I know she is still a teenager, so perspective, but Saint was not a monster IMHO. I'm not saying he's a...."saint" (oh, terrible pun), but he was clearly affected by Isolde's death (and by "affected" I mean "broken") so he did what he could to protect his daughter. Again, not saying it's the right call, but it doesn't seem like there was a pleasant place he could send his daughter to anywhere in this world so....

✘ -- Okay. Last thing that bugged the crap out of me. Like I said -- 98% of the way through, this was 4.5 star book for me. But then the end. I knew "something" was coming, because things go off relatively smoothly for the last 10-15%, but it doesn't feel like the "end."
And once Fable left the boat, by herself, I knew what was going to happen.
Yes, she was going to get the ring back from the pawn shop.
And yes, she was going to meet Zola. (Because didn't Saint tell her, in a clear instance of foreshadowing, that if she ever got in trouble with Zola, to come straight to him, Saint?)
And then they kidnapped her.
And it just felt like the ending of <i>Six of Crows</i> where they figure out that Kaz cares for Inej and they kidnap her. And as much as I LOVED Six of Crows, the ending bothered me because a strong, kick-ass female character got kidnapped like a princess in a fairy-tale and became a damsel in distress.

WHY?!?!!

So, yeah. That's where I'm at.

Final Thoughts:
1--Soap Opera Rules apply here. If you don't see a body, or if someone says someone else is "gone" (and not "dead") -- they're not dead.
2--OBVIOUSLY the character of Holland is important and will probably be a major player in the sequel. You don't just drop breadcrumbs like that and leave them there to mold. I think this is why I'm okay with the amount of info we got about gem sages. If I remember correctly, these are they key bits of info for the sequel:
--Being a Gem Sage is a hereditary thing: Fable got it from Isolde, who clearly got it from her parents.
--(Is it matriarchal? IDK.)
--Holland is a Gem Sage (I think...) and this is how she made her fortune.
--Zola fled Bastian because he pissed off Holland.
--Isolde also fled Bastian because...something.
--Zola knows Isolde because Fable "reminds him of someone."
My hypothesis? Perhaps Isolde and Holland are related -- mother/daughter? -- and Zola is taking Fable to Bastian to appease Holland by giving her her granddaughter. And Holland will use Fable as leverage against Saint? IDK.

But maybe we'll finally see some happy people in Bastian. Because the only places we've seen in this world have been very bleak -- and if there's that much money/gems floating around, someone's got to be enjoying it.

**I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fable by Adrienne Young, published by St. Martin's Press, is book one the Fable Series.
Lets get introduced to the characters.
Fable is the 17 year old daughter of a very powerful man. She's had a rough life after her beloved mother died and my heart was hurting for her.
The author created a fantastical world, a story of a young girl finding her place and family while surviving in a mens world.
A really great read. The story continues in Namesake.

**I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review."*

In short, this book was amazing. Young built a beautiful world of adventure on the high seas, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. I was a big fan of Fable as a strong heroin who really made her own destiny, and the sprinkle of romance was just enough that it didn't take away from her storyline as a free spirit. The characters were dynamic and filled with personality, with detailed writing that crafted beautiful imagery all throughout the novel. I would describe this story as Pirates of the Caribbean meets VE Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic series. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Wow. I cannot begin to express how much I loved this book.

Previous books by this author have been hit or miss for me, so I was not sure what to expect when I started reading. A friend suggested I pick this one up when it became available on Netgalley and I figured I'd give it a shot. I was blown away.

From the very first page, FABLE jumped into my heart and I knew this was going to be a book to treasure. The sea imagery is gorgeous, I felt like I was reef diving along with the main character (Fable), like I could smell the ocean, feel the cool water on my skin. The characters were also intriguing and I kept wanting to know more about them. And of course, this was a high seas page-turning adventure that never stopped.

This book kept me guessing throughout, and I was very invested in finding out how people were connected to each other and what would happen next. The relationships weaved in the story were fascinating. I started this book as a buddy read, a few chapters each day. But after a couple days I had to reach out to my friend to let her know I could no longer hold myself back from finishing the book in a single sitting. Then I stayed up until 2am. And wow, that ending. I immediately ran to request the next book!

If you like high seas adventure, mystery and perhaps a bit of magic, THE OCEAN, pirates, and perhaps sharks- this is the book for you. Pre-order it immediately. I already want to read it again.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

This just might be my favorite Adrienne Young story yet. After all, I had only read the first chapter and then hurriedly requested book 2 on Netgalley. Yes, it's that good. A seafaring adventure in which our title character, Fable searches for the father that left her behind years ago while also searching for her own place in the world. But who can Fable trust?

Fable is a fierce and determined character and I was pushing for her to succeed right from the very beginning. There are some fairly dangerous people that Fable encounters but she's not afraid to rise to the challenge. There's a little bit of romance but it comes in a little late in the book and it was a little bit predictable. I am glad Young didn't really linger on it that much and ensured that the adventure was still the focal point.

I have a feeling this is going to be quite the hit come September.


Goodreads review published 03/07/20
Expected Publication Date 01/08/20

Ok, so I absolutely fell in love with this main character, she was both sassy and fierce but also kind and goal oriented. I liked that she wasn't heartless but she also wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I also loved the story, side characters and the complexities that each is going through or went through. Everything about this book was perfect, I just loved it so much. The world building was done very well, you could tell it's a big world but the author only explained as much as necessary to the plot.

I don't really have much to say, except if you love swashbuckling and the high seas/coast than you'll love this story.