Adrienne Young did it. She managed to make me love this duology even more than I already did after reading Fable. I admit I was a little hesitant and worried I wouldn't love book two as much but I'm glad to say that it was even better than I expected. The characters, the plot, the setting and the ending was just perfect to me.

In Namesake, you are right where we left off in Fable. Now I can't say too much as it would be huge spoilers for book one but I was hooked from the beginning. I needed to know what had happened to one of the characters and eventually we learned what was really going on and I was so happy for Fable in the end. (view spoiler) We also learned a bit more about her mother and where she came from.

Anyway, I can't believe it's over already. I would love (and I mean looooove) a short novella about Willa & Koy but if we don't get it, it's okay. I'm sad to say goodbye to these characters but I can't wait to read more from this author. I saw that she has another duology planned for 2022/2023 and I would probably do anything to get my hands on an ARC... just saying... ;)

Now let me go and buy a physical copy because I need this beautiful book on my shelves.

(Thank you so much for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I love this series and this author <3 I love all the plotting and character development that happens in this story. Lots of twists and turns and I think that the main character finally settles into who she is and where she belongs. A great conclusion to the story and I'm happy where everything ended up. I feel like I enjoyed the first book a teensy bit more but the story was still amazing and enjoyable

I am so glad I was able to jump directly into this after finishing Fable. The characters are so wonderful and I could not put this down. A great second installment!

The pirate theme is so fun! Love the relationships of the crew and how she continues to become more and more confident.

I am so happy NetGalley and the publisher approved me for the sequel to Fable! As I stated before, I'm not a big fan of Adrienne Young, but these books have me excited to read these books. I truly enjoyed reading Fable and was sad I'd have to wait so long for Namesake.
This book thrust me right back into the world of Fable with the characters I love and missed so much, with plenty of action and romance and I couldn't read this book fast enough. I am so sad that I finished it and I'm tempted to go back and read both books again, back-to-back. This duology is so good with an engrossing plot and well-built world that had me craving more and ready for it all.

Namesake had some ups and downs! It’s fast paced then gets bogged down in some weird areas. The first 1/3 of the book dragged for me but the middle and ending were well worth it.
Namesake keeps with the pattern of most of the story taking place at Sea. Dredging is an active part of the stories still, and probably my favorite bit.

Fable is one of my favorite heroines I’ve ever gotten to know through a series. I just can’t seem like to West. I don’t know why but I can’t connect to him the way I can with the other characters.

I’m hoping for more of Willa if the series continues!

This book did not disappoint!!! I read Fable in less than a day, so I was so eager to pick up this book and read it, and I thank Netgalley endlessly for the ARC. Fable is an extraordinary heroine, emulating wit, fierceness, cleverness, and tenacity. It was so exciting to pick up where Fable left off, and Namesake left me immensely satisfied. This duology was in my top favorite reads this year.

I loved this book! I knew i would having loved fable. If you have read and enjoyed fable, you HAVE to read this. If you haven't, then read both! You won't be disappointed

Trader. Fighter. Legend.

When I say NAMESAKE blew me away, I mean it completely decimated me. FABLE was one of my favorite books of the year (and one of my favorites *ever*). I had been searching far and wide for a high seas adventure book for many moons, and FABLE had ticked all of those boxes for me. NAMESAKE ticked them twice, and a third and fourth time for good measure. I adored Fable's journey, her self-discovery, her courage. She perseveres, she's strong, and that's such a good influence to set in front of reader's, and I loved her adventure to finding who she was. And not to mention my personal favorite (along with Clove!) West, who is just *perfect* in every way. The beats were fast-paced, which suited the book so nicely, and though the plot took the driver's seat in this book, it was a good balance of characters and story. It felt like I was standing by the sea the entire time I was devouring NAMESAKE. I love this book and this series with all my heart, and I won't stop until I get every person I know to read it. 5 stars (or 10, since this story breaks the scale).

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an early e-arc of this book to read and review!

In Namesake, we pick up right where Fable left off, with that exciting gut-punch of an ending. This second and final book in this sea-faring duology introduces a lot of new characters and dynamics, with Fable being thrown into the world of her mother's mysterious merchant family.

What I love about Adrienne Young's writing is that she is always very character-focused. She takes the time to layer their personalities and histories, breathing real life into every one of her characters. Eelyn and Fiske from Sky in the Deep have lived with me ever since I first picked up that book, and a lot of that has to do with the insight Young gives us into their minds. However, as much as I love seeing inside Fable's head in Namesake, I feel like this book focuses too much on our protagonist's thought processes and too little on the action, leaving the plot a little muddled and underdeveloped at times. It's almost as if we get all the inner dialogue of a slower-paced book crammed into a breakneck plot and too few pages.

As a result, I wasn't quite as invested in the story this time around, which involves Fable searching for a rare gem to keep the infamous trader Holland away from her father, Saint. For me, the push-pull dynamic between Fable and her father is one of the shining aspects of this series. It is rare we get to explore such a nuanced parent-child relationship. I'm not sure what happened this time around, but while the family drama worked as a motivation for Fable's character, it didn't hold enough interest for me as a reader. I think the author was having Fable juggle too many relationships - the relationship she has with Holland, her father, West, the crew, even her deceased mother, all while questioning her own personal desires and motivations. I think it was just too much, and as a reader, I felt overwhelmed.

Due to the rushed pace and packed-in emotions, the romance also lost a bit of the spark I felt in the first book. The dramatics in Fable and West's arc almost felt insta-love in this sequel, as I found myself skimming their confrontations and reunions, already weary of the rises and falls. I think this can be traced back to the deluge of plot turns, which were the root of a lot of their conflicts. I think this book would benefit from either the plot being edited down a little or from the page count being longer to better balance out the action and emotional arcs.

As a caveat, I did just finish Fable a few weeks ago, so I think I'll revisit this sequel after more time passes to see if it reads clearer. Namesake still remains an enjoyable conclusion, and I will definitely continue buying any books Adrienne Young puts out. Her writing style is atmospheric, deep-rooted, and instantly identifiable - I'm a fan for life.

I love this book as much as I loved Fable, the first book. It’s the kind of book that sneaks up on you as you’re reading it. I loved the story, even though I guessed the ending, which may or may not be a good thing, but I appreciated being right anyways.

I love Fable. I like that she’s rough and tough and doesn’t conform to stereotypical female roles. She puts up a good fight.

The worse thing about this book is West. I didn’t love him in the first book and now I genuinely can’t stand him. As much as I despise love triangles, I wish that is what Koy was brought back in this book for because honestly even tho he tried to kill her in the first one, I feel like their personalities just fit together better than her and West’s. The other thing that really bothered me was that I feel like the similarities between West and Fable’s father was brought up a little *too* often, kind of an ick for me. Although I did love the evolution of Fable and her father’s relationship.

I like that ending was a bit more open ended, leaving room for a potential farther sequel because I could definitely see myself reading more about their life or maybe their child’s life 👀.

*slight spoiler below*

Another thing that was a little annoying for me was this trope of the main character being hidden royalty. It happens way too often in ya novels. This wasn’t exactly that but it still felt a little too close for comfort.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book thru NetGalley.com. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I feel like I am not going to be able to put in words how I really feel about this book. I just get so swept up in the story and adventure of this duology. Fable is so strong and honest and brave. It was so easy to sink into her story and the world of the book and just want to stay there. The adventures were so sweeping and the twists and turns of the plot with Saint and the trade wars were so intriguing that I hated to put it down to work. I loved the relationship between Fable and West and their crew. I loved watching and learning about her family and past. Namesake was just the right second part to their story.

**3.5**

This was a decent conclusion to Fable's story, but parts of it felt a little contrived, which is why I couldn't rate this higher. I flew through it like the first book because the action kept moving and new revelations continued to be revealed, but overall, some of the pieces that came together, and the ending, just fell a bit flat for me.

I was worried that most of this book would have Fable separated from her crew, which made me nervous because the dynamics between the crew was some of the strongest parts of the first one. Luckily <spoiler>they were reunited not too far in.</spoiler> Although their dynamics did drastically change as events unfolded and it wasn't quite the same. Everyone was just angry at each other the whole time and strongest character development was with Fable and Koy (which I liked), but was really hoping to see more of the rest of the original gang. I liked that we got to learn more about Paj and Auster and their history, as well as Clove and Isolde. I could have used more development of some of the other characters as well (but I said the same thing about the first book and other characters, so this was kind of an overall issue, I guess). I still feel like I did't have a good sense of West. I love a single POV narrative, but this is one of the few times I'll say that I would have enjoyed some West POV chapters thrown in.

Overall though I did enjoy this. It kept me engaged throughout and turning the pages to the very end.

<i>I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I fell in love with the first book, Fable, and I was excited to finish the story! I am about half way through the book and I do not feel as connected to the character as I did in the first one.
Overall, I hoped that Fable would have been a stronger character when it came to her relationships and setting boundaries. I also would have liked to see more romance. The beginning of the book has been a bit slow and I do not know if I will continue for the end. This book is great for young readers, as it suggests, but I wish there was more depth to her relationships and more explanation of her decisioning process.

A solid sequel to the original! I love a good duology and I'm grateful I didn't have to wait too long or suffer time passing before a third! Fable is, like others in newly published books, a flawed protagonist, but you can look past the flaws because she's realistic. The hint at magical realism from the gem-sage saga, added to the plot. West provided the classic bravado you'd expect from a sea-faring story, but it's nice that Fable admits his flaws too, and tries to look past them. Willa's story could have carried it's own novel, but who knows if we will ever get that! The storylines hooked me as I went and thought I was inching close to the end, but only reached the end of one storyline that piqued another. I genuinely enjoyed the story!

Namesake picks up right where Fable left off. Fable is on the Luna after being kidnapped by Zola, Clove is not dead, and their destination is unknown. Some things quickly become clearer however. Zola is trying to buy his way back into the good graces of Holland, who controls the Unnamed Sea and the trade there. He needs Fable to do it.
I adored the twists and turns in this book. I did not see some of them coming and I love that. It was expertly plotted. The worldbuilding is again fantastic. We get to explore more of the world Young has built in these two books. It’s beautiful and rich and textured.
The relationship between Fable and West is a bit easier to swallow in this book now that is has been established I guess. The other characters were all developed nicely.
I liked this book more then Fable. After reading Namesake, Fable feels like the lead up to the events of Namesake and Namesake is the delicious payoff we have been eagerly waiting for. If anyone hasn’t read Fable yet, go read that book, then come read Namesake. You won’t regret either decision.
Overall 4.5/5

What an excellent follow up to Fable - just as compulsively readable and I loved the additional facets we found out and about these characters. A very worth sequel I will definitely be recommending.

Somehow, Adrienne Young has done it again and I loved Namesake even more than Fable. I will preface this by saying that both Fable and Namesake barely scrape by as fantasy, in my opinion. There’s a ton of political intrigue, an excellently gritty setting, a super intriguing mystery, and wonderful characters, but both of these books are VERY light on the magic element.

I would also say that these read more upper YA/bordering on adult to me, purely on writing style rather than content, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind.

Things I Liked:
♥ I’m me, so we’ll start on my favorite point; the romance! I struggled with the romance in Fable and felt like it didn’t really add to the story, but oh boy, it was amazing here. There was so much chemistry between Fable and West. As a couple, they really mirror each other’s best and worst qualities and that’s what makes them work so well. It was not, by any means, a perfect, fluffy, romance. It felt doomed and magical and just SO good.
♥ Once again, Adrienne Young writes amazing side characters. Koy, especially, I really enjoyed in this book and I am a little bit in love with Clove, so there’s that. They’re all really well fleshed out and all carry weight within the story, rather than just being there to accessorize the main characters.
♥ The political intrigue in this book was so much fun. I’m not always the biggest fan of political fantasy, but I found the inner workings of Bastian and the council to be super intriguing.
♥ This book continued the gorgeous world-building and atmosphere Adrienne Young brought us in Fable. It felt much darker and grittier, and I felt like that really added to the story.
♥ The plot itself was great. I really enjoyed the little thread of mystery that continued throughout the book.
♥ Fable’s relationships, both familiar, romantic, and friend-wise, were handled really well and I did in fact sob at the conclusion of the book because of them.

Things I Disliked:
♡ West frustrated me a lot in this book. He was a tad too desperate for it to be entirely realistic, and I didn’t love how he treated the crew.
♡ Pacing wise, this book did drag a little in the middle but it does pick up for the end.

Overall thoughts:
While I’m really sad that the Fable duology is now over, I’m unbelievably eager to see what Adrienne Young brings us next. Fable and Namesake have both been highlights of my year, and I can’t wait to re-read them when we’re allowed to travel again and I get to visit the sea.

Content Warnings:
Murder, violence, gore, assault, theft, poverty, drowning, fire, assassination.

Excuse me while I spend all the time from now until March hyping this up to everyone I know.

Namesake picks up right where Fable left off, which I am eternally grateful for - I was thrown right back into the action. We get to see so much more of the world and truly experience characters that we only got a glimpse (or mention of) in Fable.

Namesake really explores the bond between Fable and her father, Saint. While he is not at the forefront of this story, we are very much able to sense his (as well as Isodle's!) presence everywhere in this story. The scenes between Saint and Fable were honestly the highlight of the book for me.

Adrienne Young's ability to create both at atmospheric and fast-paced novel will honestly forever keep me coming back for more.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review.

Wow, what an ending to a fantastic duology. I was so pleased with how this worked out.

It picked up right where Fable left off and there was no shortage of plotting, scheming, and treachery involved.

I was so happy to see that Saint got his redemption arc and the found family aspect just gave me all of the feels.