Namesake 🏴‍☠️💎

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks #partner for an advanced copy of the second book in the Fable duology! I absolutely loveddd the first book and was so excited to get my hands on the second!

We pick up right where we left off in book on, in the midst of kidnapping and drama and plenty of surprises. Though this second book definitely lacked the mini romance elements that I loved about the first book, the book takes on a much deeper she is the badass that can do all mentality and it is a great turn of events! I loved how quick this read was and how it had different surprises at every turn!

Fable was a beautiful, fast-paced adventure at sea, and I loved it from start to finish. Namesake picks up where Fable left off, and it is the perfect conclusion for this duology.

In Namesake we learn more about Fable’s family, meeting Holland, her grandmother, and discovering more about Isolde’s life in Bastian. Some of West’s darker past is also revealed. Young does a great job of showing her readers the world outside of the Narrows and across the Unnamed Sea. Full of intrigue, danger, and gritty characters, Namesake is a stunning piece of storytelling. I would recommend this duology for anyone who loves intense action, high stakes, sea adventures, and compelling characters. Readers will love the conclusion of Fable’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I adored the first book in this duology, Fable, so I was more than excited to dive back into this intriguing world! This sequel was adventurous and daring. The relationships in this book (there are all different types) are all so complex and multifaceted. I enjoyed learning more about Fable's past and following her during this quest. I won't give too much away since this is a sequel, but I recommend reading this duology. These books take a different approach than many YA fantasy books and I loved the change of pace.

I wrote a novel of a review and goodreads basically closed the little window I was typing in and deleted it so now you get the frustrated version.

I loved Fable and Namesake is just as good. The eloquent simplicity of the writing that uses a spare amount of prose to express a multitude of ideas is perhaps the cornerstone of Young’s writing and a mark of her mastery. So very much is conveyed in so very little. In fact I read both of these books at separate times in a single sitting—they are bingeable and quick. The language itself is evocative. These are very physical books for me. Reading them is an experience. I feel the sun on my face, the salt on my skin, the cold depths of the water.

The main theme of this book is family. Fable is continually forced to confront family as she attempts to take control of her future. She is out against West or the crew or Saint or even her newly discovered family on her mother’s side. Her relationship with West is a main factor. They struggle with trusting each other, and often I was bracing myself for them to not work out. The potential for ruin loomed everywhere. It was enough to make you wonder if this would be the book to demonstrate that perhaps love doesn’t conquer all. Part of this struggle was caused because Fable is constantly forced into difficult positions that make her choose between her past and future, all of which is tied up in her family, chosen or blood.

This book see Fable aboard her enemy Zola’s ship and embarking on a journey that puts her on the path away from West and towards family she didn’t know she had. Her experiences and struggle to finally acquire the life and family she has always wanted moved me in a way that few books truly do. I loved every second of it.

I was very excited to get my hands in this book as I enjoyed Fable so much. I haven't enjoyed a duology in a long time but these books were amazing.

Adrienne young's writing transports you right into the fantasy of this world on the high seas. The book is very plot driven but I enjoyed that.

My only complaint would be I wish there was a map to refer to.

Honest review given in exchange for an EARC.

This duology was just a miss for me and I’ve been struggling to put my finger on why. It has several things I like- found family, set at sea/on a ship, interesting worldbuilding/setting, and diverse characters, it all just felt flat to me. Reading Fable, I felt unsatisfied because it felt incomplete and anticlimactic. It had felt to me like Fable and Namesake were originally meant to be told as one complete story and then the decision was made to split the story in two and make it a duology. I don’t know if that gut instinct is correct but given the very quick turnaround between the two books, it almost felt that way to me. With that theory in mind, I went into Namesake, hoping to feel a greater sense of satisfaction but it just wasn’t there. Given all the hype around this duology and all of my friends who just love these books, I wanted so very much to love these books, but I just didn’t. I just couldn’t form a connection to these characters, despite my best efforts. I think part of it came from the fact that we are told so much about the various connections between the various characters but I couldn’t feel it. Several crew members of the Marigold blend together for me and just don’t really stand out on their own. In this book in particular there was a lot of tension in the crew and I just didn’t feel any of the love and trust that we are told several times is between them. We spend a lot of time hearing Fable talk about wanting to get back to the Marigold and sailing with the crew but when she is with them every one is tense and angry and arguing a lot. Some of the twists or plot moves around the personal connections just felt contrived and surface-level to me. I didn’t feel any of it deep enough to really care about it which is just disappointing.
The plot didn’t always help, at times it felt stagnant, and in others, it just seemed to come out left field. The characters would show up and make these strange choices that just seemed to be for drama’s sake. It made things feel convoluted and harder to invest in. I think this may be my fault, I just wanted more than what I got and it kept me from enjoying what I did get. I enjoyed the author’s debut immensely. It was so rich with detail and emotion and character development but every book since then has just let me down and felt off in ways I can’t describe. I’m happy with how things ended up in this case but I can’t say I had a good time on the journey or that I particularly bought into the primary romance. Fable had been a letdown and while Namesake certainly amped up the drama and the stakes, it also didn’t float my boat or tickle my fancy in any kind of satisfying way.

Title: Namesake
Author: Adrienne Young
Genre: YA
Rating: 5 out of 5

Trader. Fighter. Survivor.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

I have read—and loved—everything Adrienne Young has published, and I was so excited to read this. And it did not disappoint! I read it straight through in one siting, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! Lots of action, intrigue, betrayal, adventure, and a bit of romance makes this unputdownable!

Adrienne Young is a bestselling author. Namesake is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 3/24.)

an absolutely remarkable sequal to Fable. Adrienne Young is a remarkable author and managed to transport me into a world where I had forgotten m own self, instead I was out on the open seas.
Namesake managed to keep up with the daring, adventurous and funny crew, heroine, and overall artistry of Fable.

This could have potentially been combined though with Fable for a longer book, but at the same time breaking it up gave me a chance to miss this world and these characters. The flow was seamless and i felt like i had gotten back to where I originally left off. Which is a huge positive in my book since I have had some experiences where the writing, world, and mindset changes completely between books in a series. I was happy that was not the case.
Namesake however is very much more plot driven and there isnt as much character development as there was in Fable which saddened me a bit because I love having a clear concept of the characters, but the pace is very fast and kept the adventure rolling throughout the whole book.

As soon as I finished Fable, I rushed to see when the sequel was being published and I was so delighted that I didn’t have to wait very long at all. I received an ARC copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley (thank you!)

First of all, I want to say how much I adore this author. Their writing is extremely readable which is great for me as I often struggle to maintain focus.
Anyway, it’s been so long since I fell for a set of characters as hard as I fell for these. I love Fable’s journey and it was just so satisfying to watch her grow throughout these two books.
I will say, I was hoping for West’s “dark side” to be a little more hard to forgive but maybe I’ve just been desensitized by modern media (lol). I felt like that was supposed to be a major plot point and it was just an “sure, okay.” moment for me.
I was also delighted to get some more backstory on the rest of our crew and have it actually play into the storyline.
I’ll try to come back and add more if I think of anything but I’m just so sad to leave these characters behind for now!

A lot of angst and frilly dresses and not enough grit and sea,

I cannot tell you how much I would like to have given this book a 5-star rating instead of this 3. Well, a 3.5 I guess if I push it a bit. A 3 is still a positive rating for me, but I wanted to give this more stars as I loved Fable.

Namesake starts off right where Fable ended – like, right off. This was both a pro and a con. A pro for all of those who read this duology together.; con if you have a longer stretch between the two books. This is me. I started Namesake and I had to stop and go back and read the last third of Fable just to remember what was going on. I didn’t mind this, but it is something I wish I had read from another review so I could have been prepared.

My biggest problem with this book was that I kept falling out of the middle third. There is a new, important plot line that I found, dare I say… boring? This plot line also took too long getting to the point. The romance fell flat in this book when it was much more exciting in the last book.

In the end, read this to find closure with Fable. Everyone needs (and loves) closure. At least that is what my therapist says – lol.

Fable was one of my favorite reads of 2020, and I’m so happy to say that Namesake exceeded all of my expectations! To me it was even better than Fable and I loved all the extra layers it added to the characters and this world!

I really loved Fable and West in this one and their relationship development was really good in this book!! They had some amazing scenes and I think it added depth to their relationship!

I also loved the development to the relationship between Fable and Saint SO MUCH! It was everything I wanted it to be!

I loved this book sooo much! I’m so happy that it was even better than Fable for me! This is by far one of my all time favorite duologies and I super recommend it!

I was given a free copy by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved revisiting the world of Fable. The story was full of adventure with a strong plot. The author has a simple but captivating style that made this story all the more appealing. Though this was an engaging plot, the world building could have been better. I loved seeing new characters introduced but their role was weak with most of the focus on Fable. I personally preferred to have a better character insight of the Marigold crew. I especially enjoyed the ending though it was predictable. Overall this was a pretty fun read that I'd definitely recommend to readers looking for a sea adventure story.

I really enjoyed Fable and so was very excited to read Namesake. In this book, Fable works to define what family means and what she wants from her life. The pacing of this book was good. It's on the fast-paced side but that works with this topic. I think the characters are full of sea shanty life. However, sometimes I feel like West is a little empty in some ways but it makes sense because he is definitely a morally grey kind of guy. I was also so happy to have an epilogue - without it, I think this duology would have felt adrift on the ocean without an anchor. The relationship between Fable and Saint continues to materialize like a reef in the depths and I really enjoyed how that developed. I love Saint. This book can definitely work for many YA ages and especially for those who like strong-willed female characters, morally grey folks, and the smell of sea.

This is one of those moments where I'm struggling to rate and review. Namesake wraps up the duology well, and so much of Young's writing is good, but--and this is a heavy but--

I was bored quite a bit of the book and I found it incredibly predicable. The pacing was a bit wonky too, and the characterizations that many call gritty fell flat for me here (they worked for me in Fable). But what disappoints me the most was the predictability. When I say I called every big reveal and twist, I mean it. I called all of them. And one of the biggest ones I called about halfway through the first book--albeit, it was more of a random guess based on some information revealed about a couple characters, and the guess was only reinforced early on in Namesake and then confirmed. Like I texted my best friend, the hints were less breadcrumbs and more declarations with trumpeted fanfare. At least for me; I want to make that clear. It is NaNoWriMo, so I'm in writing and strategy mode and my brain is on hyperdrive and I'm a little more critical.

I'm beginning to believe this might be a situation where I may not have been in the right mood. I'll definitely be rereading it.

I wish Goodreads had half-stars, because this is more a 3.5 stars than a 4, but I love Young's books so I'm being generous.

Namesake lacks some of the romance of Fable, but still has all of the suspense and wonderful story telling that you expect. A fitting end to this duology!

The prequel novel, Fable, was a book I loved. This sophomore effort is good, really good, just not quite as captivating as the first.

We follow the continuing adventures of Fable again,. This time she's been whisked away against her will from her newly found love, West, and was being held on Zola's ship. She and other dredgers are being forced to dive for stones so Zola can pay a bounty he owes to the infamous Holland.

While there are twists and turns and surprises, they are sparse and chapters apart. There are long stretches of, well, just not much happening. The ending wrapped up most of the loose ends, but left me wanting just a little bit more.

Will I be waiting eagerly for the third installment of Fable's escapades? Yes indeed. Maybe it will be just as thrilling as the first was. Because just like Fable, hope springs eternal.

I would like to start by saying that I did read this one digitally, rather than listening to the audiobook, considering that I wasn’t a huge fan of 𝘍𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 the first time around because of the audiobook being pretty darn terrible. Maybe not 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. But definitely not great.⁣
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So yeah, it’s really just me this time. 😅⁣
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𝐀𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 is an amazing author and has some of the most beautiful writing that I’ve read in a long time. ⁣
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𝐁𝐮𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐇𝐚𝐝. 𝐌𝐞. 𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠.⁣
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The writing style may be pretty, but little to nothing happens for the longest time, and when it finally does, it feels 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜.⁣
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There were enough saving graces that it gets an average rating (I think I may have a crush on 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭, nbd), but unfortunately, this one wasn’t a rare and treasured gem for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️⁣

I love this world so much and was so happy to return to it in NAMESAKE. I feel like we got to know the characters (so glad to see a certain Jevali again!) so much more in this one and also I loved learning more about the whole gem trade (I don’t want to say more about that but I feel like I understand it all so much more now).
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Somehow Adrienne describes this fantasy world of the Narrows and the Unnamed Sea in a way that makes it feel so real and grounded. I am still amazed at the way she writes about sailing, trading, and dredging with so much detail. Like does she have a secret past as a pirate or diver (?) because she writes so expertly about these things. It’s adventurous, with mystery and intrigue. And then there’s all the feels. Romance, friendship, family relationships— it’s all there and it’s all moving in a way that I can physically feel in my heart. So maybe it’s obvious by now, but yes, it’s a 5-⭐️ book for me.

First, I just want to thank the publisher for allowing me an ARC through NetGalley for this title.

Namesake is the second book in the Fable series. Fable is a girl who was left on an island of thieves and degenerates by her pirate father after their ship sunk and her mother was lost. After spending 4 years on the island, she does whatever she can to barter her way off the island and onto the Marigold crew. Namesake continues the story of Fable and the Marigold crew and the trouble they inevitably get mixed up with.

I absolutely loved this duology and I wish I had more! Fable is such an amazing female lead, one who is strong, but also shows emotions. The internal conflict she goes through felt so real, even though it was fantasy. I loved the plot of the first book, and this book just added so much to the story. And the ending, I especially loved. I love how each of the main characters were eventually connected in the end and how it all came together. I just adored this book so much! West is one of my favorite characters in these books, and I wasn’t super impressed with some of his actions in this book compared to the first, but it all came together in the end and I still love him. I rated this book 5/5 stars, would recommend to everyone who loves pirates and heists and stories about the sea.

I just adored this book, one of my favorite series! The story was gripping and the characters were lovely. If you are looking for an exciting pirate adventure fantasy, look no further! Can't wait for more books from this author!