This is such as amazing novel! I will definitely be putting a copy in my classroom library. My students will love this.

Fable is a super fun read! I couldn’t put it down. It’s full of adventure, life on the seas, and a little bit of romance. Fable is a girl just trying to survive and the things she has to go through and do in order to make it are harrowing. The plot was good and fun if not predictable, the characters were decently fledged out. I’m hoping to learn more about them and see even more development in the next book. This is my second Adrienne Young book I’ve read and I have to say, I’m a fan. She knows how to tell a captivating story.

Ultimately, this was a fun read that has similar vibes to Daughter of the Pirate King by Trisha Levenseller. This book did feel more like a typical YA fantasy and didn't have much to stand out from other titles in the category. This narrative overall was compelling enough to keep me reading, though I"m worried this won't be overly memorable in the long run. Though, the cliffhanger was compelling enough to have me want to continue on with the concluding book.

AY took a fascination i had with pirates and turned it into a full-blown obsession. this story is EVERYTHING i need to feel like im living a stolen life on the open seas with the salty wind in my hair and a map in my hand.

this book holds masterfully built worlds and perfectly crafted characters. there is such a great balance between who the story is about and the places they navigate. i was constantly enamored by each character and their motivations, as well as where each scene was set. i just really cant get over how great this kind of storytelling is.

its the kind of storytelling that made me panic when i realized i only had a couple of chapters left because i didn't want it to end. so praise the book gods that theres a sequel coming!

a huge, heart-felt thanks to netgalley for the ARC! <3


•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 4☆
• Side characters- 3.5☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 4☆

Fable was a much slower burn at first than I was expecting from a YA duology - but it was also much more rewarding once I got into the flow of it. An atmospheric, world-builder of a novel, we spend most of this book exploring the set up through the main character's eyes as she deals with personal traumas and challenges. But once she's able to talk her way onto a ship, everything flips around and there's the story I was looking forward to. There's mysteries, secrets, pirates - and (one of my favorite things) a ragtag crew! I wasn't a fan of the romance but the author does a better and more believable job of it than many another. I enjoyed it so much, I didn't even mind that it ended on a cliffhanger.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If this book isn't on your TBR then you need to put it there! It is SOOO GOOD

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Four years ago, 17-year old, Fable, was abandoned by her Father on a notorious island full of dangers and thieves. Her mother had just died, the victim of a terrible storm, and Fable was truly alone. All her Father left her with were the parting words, you're not cut out for a life on the sea. Fable disagrees, however, and has spent her time in the proceeding years trying to figure out a way back to him and into her rightful place on his crew.

She finally secures her means of escape with a companion she has met through trading, a young man named, West. Him and his crew allow Fable to come aboard their ship, the Marigold, for the journey across The Narrows. As we all expect with a sea-faring tale, dangers lurk around every corner and the crew must band together in order to survive.

Fable is definitely a slow burn. It's quite character-driven, but I did enjoy my time learning about Fable, West and the other characters on the Marigold. There's a nice found-family element to it that I liked quite a bit as well. This reminded me a lot of Daughter of the Pirate King. There's actually more than a few similarities, although I do feel this story feels a bit more mature than that one. I do think if you enjoyed that book, you'll enjoy this one too.

There are some light magical elements to this that I hope are built out a bit more in the second book. Fable's ability at reading gems is unique and I want to know more. This left off on such a great cliffhanger. I have already picked up the second book, Namesake and am excited to see how Fable's story concludes. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys an adventure on the high seas!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate it very much!

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

I adored this book! Fable by Adrienne Young is the first in a duology about a young woman who is just trying to survive and find her own way in the world. This was my first time reading Adrienne Young, and I could talk for days about her writing. I love it! I will definitely be reading everything of hers I can get my hands on from now on. But I digress, let’s talk about Fable.

Fable is 17 at the opening of the book and barely surviving as a dredger on the fictional island of Jeval. The daughter of a notorious trader, Fable keeps her identity a secret to protect herself and the father who dumped her on the island four years earlier. He told her if she could find her way off the island that it would prove to him she could survive life as a trader and he’d give her “what was hers.” So Fable works daily to survive with the goal of getting off the island. With the help of a young trader, Fable gets off the island and sets a course to find her father.

West is the captain of the Marigold, a small trading ship with an even smaller crew. Fable doesn’t really know him. She only knows that if it wasn’t for him, she’d have died a long time ago. Trading with him is the only thing that kept her going the last four years. Now she is on his ship. I like West. He’s loyal to his crew, but beyond that we don’t really know. It’s clear that he has feelings for Fable from the start (why else would he let her on his ship?) and he’s hiding something. Beyond that, West is a mystery to me. I like him, I want to love him, but we will see.

The rest of the crew on the Marigold I love, Willa especially. Each of the crew members bring something different to the story, and each bond with Fable in their own way. I found myself rooting for them to all get along and for Fable to just stay with them, but her goal is not the same as theirs. She is determined to find Saint, her father, the notorious tradesman who rules the Narrows.

Let’s take a sec to just talk about the world-building here. This world seems to be based off the Carribean and time period that revolves around pirates and traders. The best way to describe the traders here are as pirates, at least that’s my opinion. I really pictured them as cutthroat and ruthless. The markets they trade in remind me a little of the markets described in port towns during the colonial days of America. The vivid imagery used to describe both the ports and the diving that Fable does as a dredger put me right in the action. I could feel cool breeze coming off the water and smell the salt in the air.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I decided to give it 4.5 stars (rounded to 5). The only reason I knocked it down a half star is predictability. I had most of the story figured out well before the end. However, that did not lessen my enjoyment. I adored this story and cannot wait for more set in this world. If you enjoy fantasy, slow burn (and I do mean SLOW) romance, and adventure on the high seas, you are in for a treat.

Did I just spend an entire day listening to the audiobook in one day? You bet your bookshelves I did. I think I’m still trying to nail down my exact rating, so I’ll settle on 3.5-4 stars.

What I liked about this book:
- Adrienne Young has masterfully created a world that I truly felt immersed in! I could hear the waves, smell the salt in the air, fell the rocking of the boat beneath me.

- the originality in this was really refreshing! I tend to shy away from books that take place at sea or involve pirates for some reason or another. I felt Fable was different enough from anything I’ve read in the last year that I wasn’t able to stop listening to it!

Other thoughts:
- the romance is VERY slow burn, like... frog boiling in a pot of water slow burn. I enjoyed it, but think I was expecting more in that department going into this!

- the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more. They are all just different enough to tell apart, but I did find myself thinking something was missing to make them relatable or to help make me care more about what was going on for anyone other than Fable.

For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one, and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father, and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father. But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him, and Fable soon finds that West isn't who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they're going to stay alive.

I enjoyed Fable by Adrienne Young. I love a good sea adventure, but I wasn't as invested in the characters as I wish I was. I liked Fable, West, and the crew of the Marigold well enough, but I didn't love them. I did love the found family vibes though. I'm hoping Namesake will endear me to the characters more than this book did. I enjoyed the plot and the writing, I just don't think the characters will stick in my mind the way some do. I'd recommend this one if you're looking for an adventure at sea!

I adore Adrienne Young's writing. Her style is so fluid & descriptive that it's easy to get drawn into her world & lost. Fable was both delightful & heartbreaking. I can't wait to see what Young publishes next.

If you love adventures on the sea, colourful characters and a blossoming love story, you will get all of this and much much more in Fable. This is a tale that takes you away to a different world.

Fable's world crashes down on her when she loses her mother and her father dumps her on the Island of Jeval. For four years she fends for herself, dredging for gems, able to hold her breath for an inconsiderable amount of time, to make enough coin to finally get away from this terrible place and return to her father Saint who has promised her what he owes her. But never in her wildest dreams did Fable expect what was waiting for her.

Over the four years on the island of Jeval, she has kept to herself, paying her coin to dredge on Koy's boat, but she knows he is watching her every move, and when he finally attacks, she flees on the Marigold, captained by West, a man who has bought all her wares without fail over the last two years.

She barters her passage with almost all the coin and property she has with the hopes of finally getting back to Ceros and her father. The crew of West, Willa, Hamish, Paj and Auster certainly don't make it easy for Fable to survive on this journey, but Fable finds that they are fair and loyal and if there is any way to get back to Ceros in one piece, she is certain that West and the Marigold were the right choice.

I devoured this book in one sitting, and even with the major cliff hanger, it took nothing away from me giving a 5* review, and I look forward to reading the second book in the duet.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Oh my gosh! I feel like an idiot for not getting to this book sooner! I loved all the characters, Fable was a girl after my own heart...and West oh my! The story pulled me in from the first few pages and I couldn’t put it down! It was exciting and enthralling without falling prey to the classic fantasy misstep....over-explaining. I felt like this was just the book I needed in my life.

4 stars — Every time I read a book by this author, I’m always taken to a world completely unlike anything I was expecting…and not only that, but unlike anything I usually read. I tagged this as pirates, but pirates are never referred to in the book. But it was the closest thing I could describe the traders to, and the adventures that occur on the sea.

Let’s talk about the narrator for a second. In general I really enjoyed her. She was pretty consistent, great pacing and emotion. I occasionally wanted more distinct voices for some of the secondary characters, most particularly West. It’s funny, b/c she would have good voices for background male characters, but West, Paj and Auster were only mildly distinctive. She also has a strange quality to her voice — it’s not a lisp per say, but just something to it. I worried it might bother me, but in the end I really loved her voice as Fable. There was a daring quality to it — like you could imagine this teenaged Fable fighting for what she deserves. I will definitely be looking forward to hearing her voice the sequel as well.

Fable was…just so many things wrapped up into one package. She was terribly naïve in some ways, but worldly wise in others. We really get an accurate picture of the terrible struggles she was facing on Jeval. Like, dude — harsh. It really sets the tone for the book, b/c there are a lot of charged moments where morally questionable decisions are made…but they make sense in the context of the world they live in. I truly felt for how desperately she longed for a family to belong to, and I admired how hard she worked to prove her worth.

The crew was interesting. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what they were about, but once you found out it made total sense (and my reading buddy totally called it). They were all really interesting characters that added to the dimension of the Marigold. None perfect, all with flaws — all with burdens to their names. They were misfits, but it was more than just that.

I wanted a bit more from West, but I did enjoy what I got with him at the same time. I just hope I get more and more in the sequel.

I still have so many questions! There are bits about the world that I’m not sure I quite grasp. I honestly don’t have a lot of theories about where the story is going to go. But I’m excited to see how things end up for our peeps.

I kind of enjoyed that there was very little by way of “magic” in the story…it felt real that way. But at the same time, I loved the little bits of gem sage stuff we got.

So yeah. Thoroughly entertaining, has my mind just whirring with the possibilities.

What a wonderful book. I felt totally immersed while reading this one! Would highly recommend! Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC.

I thought that I'd never want Adrienne Young to write outside of her Viking-esque world she first created in THE SKY IN THE DEEP...until she threw me a pirates-esque novel and now I take back my earlier sentiment.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of Fable by Adrienne Young!! Wow what a beautifully written story by an outstanding author! This is my second book that I read by Adrienne Young and you can tell how her writing has grown over the years. I really loved the concept of this story, and it has such a feminist soul. Fable is such a wonderful story for all readers, not just young readers. I love how original the story line is and I love that it is able pirates! This was a 5 star book for me, and I am looking forward to reading more by Adrienne Young.

I absolutely adored Fable by Adrienne Young! This book is definitely on my list of favourite reads of 2021. I am a sucker for pirate-y stories and I fell in love with Fable as a character. This is definitely a typical YA book and would heartily appeal to a younger teen audience. The plot was predictable at times but I was still majorly invested in what was happening because the writing was just so good. I think this is a perfectly paced, fun read that anyone who reads YA would enjoy. I would highly recommend it!

I went into this book knowing very little about the plot, and as I learned that maybe I like books about pirates? I haven't read many books like this before, but the adventure Fable goes on to find her place in this world drew me in from page one. I appreciated that Fable is a strong female protagonist, and there wasn't a heavy focus on romance, which is something I enjoy about Young's writing in general. She focuses on building her world and characters that may not be great people, but by the end, you are truly rooting for them to reach their goals. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the conclusion of Fable's story in the next book.

Fable is a terrific read, rich characters and story that continuously unfolds. The backdrop is likewise detailed and well constructed. Very enjoyable series.