Namesake started right after the cliffhanger of Fable. Young has done a fantastic job developing Fable and West as we delve into Fable’s background. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back into the open seas with Fable.

I truely enjoyed seeing a new side of Fable as she actually learns more about Saint and West as well as Clove's motive for being on the Luna. Across the book, Fable's changing feelings towards Clove was seen. The parts that stood out was when she first saw her on the ship and then later when she was in Bastien

Over time, her feelings about Clove change as she realises that he is actually protecting and looking out for her just like when she was a child.

Through Fable's interaction with Clove, we gain insight into her past as well as how much Saint truely cares for her. This is highlighted through his acknowledgement of her being his daughter and their relationship changes after that point.

Young does a fantastic job weaving complications into Fable's relationships with West and the crew of the Marigold as well as introducing a familial relationship of a maternal grandmother. Fable learns more about her mother's side of the family and I enjoyed exploring with Fable.

The relationship between West and Fable was challenged this book through their trust in one another and sharing the truth with the other. The ending of the book was exactly what I was wanting and I will definitely be reading it again. I would love to read more about Fable with Saint as their relationship is starting a new and more about her relationship with West.

Password is review for the review on my website

The second book starts off right where the first left off which is honestly great. I like to be thrown right back in the thick of it, rather than have information be fed back to me. I think this book just wasn't for me, I am being really hesitant because I don't want to be a dark cloud but honestly when I finished the first book I felt like it didn't warrant a second. There were a few open loops that needed to be closed so I know why Young decided to end it on a cliffhanger, but I felt like after reading Namesake she should have just closed everything up in Fable. There were a lot of obvious and predictable formulas that as a reader I saw coming and a lot of character regression. A lot of the major plot and scheming seemed to occur off page between Holland, Saint, etc. and we had to see our little crew being tugged one way or another. I was kind of disappointed, but I'm glad I got to how our wayward team ended up.

I'm so happy that I got to visit this world again and not have to wait so long to know about what was next for the characters and their adventures.
I really loved how we got to see more of the world and the places that were mention on the first one, and keep exploring the relationships between the characters, it was SO good. I'm sad that I don't have pirate books now, this story took me to an amazing adventure. I think that the author could write a lot more about the other characters and their background, the possibilities are endless.
It was an incredible story that I'll revisit a lot more times.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to #Netgalley and Wednesday books for the ARC!

I don't want to write a full review until its closer to publication date, but after having just finished the first book "Fable" and then jumping right into this....

I AM SHOOKED!!

Love love loved everything about this book! All I can say is if you loved Fable, you are going to devour this book! While, I would love if a third was written, the story is fully completed in this book :)

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

4.5 stars

This was a great sequel. It kept the pace of the first and was filled with interesting events. I loved the relationship development, although West’s and Fable’s relationship had some rocky bits. There were many twists and turns that were super unexpected but were fun nevertheless. These are probably my favorites of the authors works. Great world, awesome characters, quick moving plot. Definitely worth a read.!

“I wasn’t my mother.” – Fable

After reading Fable I was hooked and I was bummed to find out that I had to wait until March 2021 to read Namesake. I managed to get an ARC for Namesake and I finished it within a day. If you think the first book is good, hold on to your sails because the second book is even better.

Namesake is a great mix of romance, adventure and deception. Fable is by far one of my favourite main characters ever. She is so incredibly strong and stubborn and I love this in a woman. She is insecure about actual things (such as the decisions she has to make) and not the whole “am I pretty enough?” that we get plenty in other books. This book is all about character, worldbuilding and a fantastic plot.

The story starts with Fable still aboard the Luna and the longer she stays on there the more she learns about her past and what is expected off her in the future. She learns that not everything is as it seems and is thrown into a plot to change the traders world for good. If Holland gets her way, the Narrows, her father and West may not be safe. Fable decides that she cannot let this happen. She may have started out as a pawn on the board but quickly decides she will become the queen who wins the game.

Next to learning more about Fable we also learn a lot more about the side characters and this is something Adrienne did very well. It makes you more invested into the story and gives relevant back ground information that strengthens the plot.

I did see some of the plot twists coming but still in the end I would recommend this duology to everyone. It has been a while since I read a duology that I liked this much and I am both sad and content with the ending. Fable has found her course and that makes me incredibly happy and satisfied but I am still a little sad since I could have read so many more stories about our fierce redhead. Do yourself a favour and add these books to your TBR list if you haven't already.

That was exactly what I was hoping for.
Adventure, secrets, and all my favourite characters returned for the fun.
These were my first Adrienne Young books, and I am all in with her!
Much love to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my DRC.

Namesake picks up immediately where Fable finished which was great to see as I like sequels to start back where you left off with no time passing.

The backstory of where Fable is from that occurred in the first book is expanded upon in Namesake which is great as I was interested in seeing what happened and why Fable was where she was.

The relationship between Fable and West was lovely to see shape and grow throughout the book and it ended in the way I hoped it would! It was also lovely to see the relationships between the crew but also the other characters in the book mature throughout Namesake.

Secrets and lies are always an interesting aspect that comes up in stories between characters. The secret and lies that Fable and West had throughout the duology added a dynamic that was intriguing to me. I loved the way that they rectified them though.

Namesake’s pacing was really good and I didn’t find myself wanting for things to happen quicker then they did.


password: review

I absolutely adored Fable, and it’s sequel did not disappoint. Full of adventure, with a heavy dose of romance, Namesake was truly captivating.
We last left Fable having been captured by Zola, a nefarious rival trader from the Narrows. He’s playing a long game, and Fable is a key piece in it. Little did she expect that Zola’s plotting would lead her to learn more about her mother than she ever had before... and kickstart a series of events that could jeopardize the entire Marigold crew.
Adrienne Young writes beautifully, and she’s developed an amazing protagonist with Fable. She’s not polished and is trying to figure a lot of things out- but I couldn’t help but like her.

I’ve noticed a trend in YA where authors explicitly have characters think about feminism and lgtbq+ rights. Obviously I support anything that can be done to further the mission of equality, but sometimes it can nearly break the fourth wall (is that a thing in novels??). I enjoyed Adrienne’s way of presenting things as just already being equal without fuss- modeling what the goal is.

So, I have no idea why Fable and Namesake were both available as arcs so early (not that I’m complaining, mind you) but now I’m sad that I now have no more piratey goodness to read. NOW what am I going to do? :(

I loved this!!! I loved the romance between Fable and West! I loved the dynamics between everyone on the ship! I also loved seeing Fable and her father's relationship evolve. I love this series so so much and I'm so sad that it's over! </3

Okay, the first book in this duology had several very important things going for it. And this book did not... really... live up to any of them.

First of all, there were the extremely powerful family relationships. Fable and Saint's fraught past at war with their clear love for each other made for a very compelling dynamic. Willa and West's relationship was strong and important too. Then there was the found family of the crew, which didn't vibe quite as well, but still made a good effort.

Second of all, the plot. There were so many intriguing secrets to find out about Saint and Fable and West's pasts, and so many near-death seafaring stunts.

Third of all, the overall setting and aesthetic. The descriptions of sea diving were beautiful, the hard lifestyle of the Narrows felt real, and gem sagery was something I wanted to see more of.

What I wanted was for this book to bring everything full circle. The first installment was so good, it honestly shouldn't have been hard, but now I'm thinking that maybe it was too good. Maybe it didn't leave enough left over for the second part.

The relationships... eh. Fable and West's relationship is dwelt upon a little more, but they spend most of the time being angry at each other. The crew is all angry at each other. They spend a lot of time apart. A new familial relationship is introduced, but Fable's most meaningful interactions are still somehow with the Jevali diver dude who tried to murder her in the first book, and with one of her father's old crew. A resolution of Fable's relationship with Saint is tossed in, but it comes like an afterthought at the end and doesn't have much weight or feel earned.

The plot is strange. Fable gets in trouble. She's saved by outside forces. She gets in more trouble. And some more, for good measure. And fails. And then is saved again by outside forces. Hello, goodbye, the end. Neither she nor the crew of the Marigold really display much agency in the story, and generally just seem to be sort of flailing in the grip of the larger economic and political forces that maneuver around them.

The aesthetic was still on point, but what's an aesthetic by itself? Practically nothing.

I was just puzzled and vaguely disappointed by this one. The story felt like it didn't know where it was really trying to go. There was so much potential here, but the payoff was only acceptable, not great.

This sequel to “Fable “ did not disappoint. It picked up right where the cliffhanger left off (they easily could have bee one book) and the action didn’t stop. I enjoyed book 2 a bit more, probably because there was no slow set up of setting the scene or meeting the cast of characters. The reader is thrown into the action and from the start things are fast-paced and white-knuckled. I enjoyed this swashbuckling conclusion to the duet. Even though it was a bit predictable, this book had more of a pirate/action thrill to it and I honestly had a lot of fun reading it.

The last instalment in the series Fable is a wild ride. Everything is turned on it’s head as we race towards the end. Fable has bombs dropped on her about her family history, she has to question whether someone she loves is someone she can trust and judt how far she’ll go to find out. I loved this book and almost wish books one and two were combined so that we could have another. It felt like there could have been more detail, more development between characters. Everything happened so fast it was hard to accept the series was suddenly over. The covers are both stunning and I’ll be running to purchase this as soon as it’s released

I LOVED Fable so I was so excited to get the chance to read the sequel and it lived up to my expectations and more. Great characters and a smart plot that kept me guessing until the end. This was a very satisfying ending to Fable and the crew of the Marigold stories and I will happily recommend this to my customers, both teens and adults alike.

Rating 5

After reading "Fable" I was so excited to read the sequel "Namesake". I read this book within two days and it was amazing, just wow. I'm always hesitant to read sequels because I don't want it to ruin my love for the story but this one did the opposite. Reading the sequel just made me love this story even more. Like the first book, I would go into this book knowing little about it that way you have the most enjoyment. In "Namesake" we see Fable's character come alive and continue to grow as a strong woman. I will admit for the first few chapters I did not like her character and I was thinking "oh, no what happened?". But how wrong I was, how her character acted made more sense the further into the book you get. So, even though it did annoy me I totally understand how it fit into the overall storyline. The crew was still awesome in this book and it was nice to see each of their characters come alive. I loved learning more about them individually. The author Adrienne Young does such a phenomenal job of making the reader feel as though they are in the story. Even though I have never been to the Ocean she makes you feel as though you are experiencing what Fable is. This is a series I don't want to end but I am so happy she left it at two books. She knew exactly where to end the story without dragging it out.

Should you read "Namesake"?
Heck yes! If you loved Fable then this book will just continue your love for the story. While you might find some things problematic overall, it is such an enjoyable read. The journey you take reading this book is one you wish will never end.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Namesake is a pretty good book to follow up on what we got last time with Ms. Young. I rated this three stars because although it was a good storyline and plot, sometimes I found myself skipping pages because golly gee, it can get really slow and boring at times. I don't hate it but I think it's just too slow for my preferences and because of that, I recommend this book for people who liked the slow pacing of the first book.

Where to even begin...... I LOVE IT. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED READING IT! Namesake is the sequel to Fable and my god, I was crying over how much it touched me. Namesake picks up right where Fable left off with Fable being taken by Zola and forced onto his ship. The story follows her as she navigates surviving Zola, meeting Holland, and going on a quest to find a rare stone that only her mother found, all the while trying to keep the Marigold crew from being taken by Holland and trying to free not only herself but Saint. The real heart of this book was the growing relationship between Saint and Fable, that beautiful kind of family love, that they would do anything and love each other no matter what because thats what family does. I adored their connection and the unraveling of what truly happened to Fable when Saint left her on the island. The reasons for the complicated decisions they both made and I just... there really are no words for the beautiful relationship. I did love seeing the Marigold crew again and I loved the relationship between West and Fable. West and Fable are two people who will do anything for those that mean something to them, they will shoulder all the costs and go to the ends of the earth, and seeing them trying to protect each other was a wonderful thing to see. Yes, they’re in love, but the beautiful thing is that, they found a family in each other and that was what was so beautiful in their relationship. I just adored everything about this book and thought it was a wonderful way to end the duology. ( Honestly, I wouldn’t mind more books... I so badly want to know more about Saint). This book had so much, from family love, friendships, love, adventure, deceptions, and above all, what it means to be part of a crew.

*Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc of this in exchange for an honest review*

Namesake is the sequel to Fable, which I read and loved earlier this year. Since my only complaint with that book was that I needed the sequel, I’m glad this was released on Netgalley so quickly! That being said, while I did enjoy this book, it did not quite capture the magic of the first one.

Namesake picks up right where Fable left off, with our main character Fable captured aboard a rival traders ship. I loved this part of the book, it was tense and intriguing as Fable tries to figure out why Zola wants her on board and why her fathers old navigator, now Zola’s navigator, would have betrayed her. Koy, with whom Fable did not part on good terms when she left Jeval, is also on the ship. I really enjoyed seeing his character again, he and Fable have a good dynamic as they are both survivors.

After this part of the book, we meet the renowned trader Holland, who wants Fable to work for her, and get to reunite with the crew of the Marigold. The crew are all angry at both Fable and West, for what are honestly completely justifiable reasons, but still it made for rather more stressful reading than when they were unified against a common foe, or even when they didn’t trust Fable because they didn’t know her. I had really been hoping to get to see more of the crew as a whole, and was definitely a bit disappointed not to really get that. But there are still adventures, and thrilling diving excursions, so while the almost found family feeling the first book left me with wasn’t really there in this one, it was still a good read. And the ending was very satisfying!

Probably one of my favorite reads from this year. It’s like Adrienne Young knew what I wanted and gave it to me.

“Revenge is a powerful motivator.”

Okay, let’s get something out of the way. This is a pirate book and the amount of back stabbing is ridiculous. It’s also delicious. DELICIOUS. Like the best back stabbing soap opera schemes out there. And Saint, whose name I’m still not sure is his birth name, but why would he choose that pirate name? Also, we have West, Fable, and Holland. All the names are super eccentric. All of them. So I guess Saint could be his actual name. ANYWAYS, (sorry, I’m tired and can’t focus) Saint is a bastard. But like Fable said.

“Saint was a bastard, but he was mine. He belonged to me.”

So nothing new there. Saint continued to be Saint. Because let’s be honest he was awful to Fable. Just awful. Parent of the year he was not. I mean her mother died a horrible death and he automatically dumps her in the worst Island he can find full of the worst type of men. A child. She was a child!! By the way this is not a spoiler it happened in Fable, book one. Honestly, I needed more than just words. I needed so many actions to forgive the adults in Fable’s life. I know love makes you do dumb things and forgiving the actions of ADULTS who are suppose to take care of you but leave you to fend for yourself NEEDED MORE! Much, much more, but I hold grudges so...in my opinion Fable deserved more than what she got but again, grudges. I had so many feels about this.

A new character is introduced and even though I wanted more of Isolde, Fable’s mom’s backstory, Holland (new character, mentioned in book one) brought some major drama. Like MAJOR. I also don’t know why I keep capitalizing everything but if a book deserves, no earns, capitalized words it’s this book.

“I should have known the moment I saw him that Saint was up to something. Now I was entangled in whatever scheme they’d hatched and it wasn’t likely that I’d come out unscathed.”

Poor Fable, this has bugged me since book one. She somehow inherited all of her parents problems. And she keeps having to deal with her parents problems in book two. If this bugs you in book one it gets worse in this book.

“Our bad luck charm is back!”

What I LOVED!! The crew and the ship, The Marigold, were everything to me. Fable found her home and I wanted her to have her happily ever after. The crew saw her. Like really saw her and accepted her with all her family drama. They cared for her.

West. Ugh. I don’t know how I feel about him. I’m just glad he’s at least consistent. I didn’t know how to feel about him in book one and I don’t know how to feel about him in book two.

For the most part it was a satisfying ending. There was even more sailing and traveling. The amount of danger went up a notch. There were pirates doing pirate things. I was left with one big question though, Henrik... I’m pretty sure West said he didn’t know his father only his name. Wasn’t it Henrik, he said his name in book one. Maybe it was cut. Or maybe I’m so tired I’m making things up. I loved this series. Like I said before it was everything I didn’t know I needed.

I don’t know how she does it — Adriennes writing is stunning. Like I said with Fable, she sets the tone perfectly, allowing you to truly feel as though you are THERE. The details in her writing truly let you imagine as though you are experiencing it with all of your senses — you can see the water on the horizon, hear the waves crash into the Marigold, and feel the current when it’s pulling you deeper. You can smell the salt in the air and taste it in your mouth. I will absolutely look forward to any book she writes.

I really tried to savor this one. I read FABLE too quickly and was so happy to see this one available on NetGalley so early. However, trying to make this book last proved harder than I had hoped. Here’s to hoping there’s more stories set in the Narrows or the Unnamed Sea in the future!