Ava Reid delivers a haunting and lyrical tale in Fable for the End of the World, a novel that feels like a dream teetering on the edge of a nightmare. Blending folklore, myth, and Reid’s signature lush prose, this story explores fate, survival, and the weight of stories in a crumbling world.

The atmosphere is one of the book’s greatest strengths—dark, immersive, and tinged with melancholy. Reid’s writing is as gorgeous as ever, weaving a story that feels both timeless and urgent. The characters are compelling, flawed, and deeply human, struggling against forces larger than themselves. While the novel’s themes and tone are gripping, the pacing occasionally feels uneven, and some parts lean heavily into abstraction, which may not work for every reader.

Still, Fable for the End of the World is a beautifully crafted novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page. It’s a must-read for those who love lyrical storytelling, folklore-infused narratives, and tales that embrace both beauty and darkness in equal measure.

This author writes beautiful, lush stories and this one did not disappoint! It's an immersive world with engaging characters that kept me invested.

Initial Reaction: 8
Characters: 9
Setting: 10
Plot: 8
Pace: 7
Style: 9
Ending: 8
Enjoyment: 9
68 / 16 = 4.25

Think Ready Player One meets The Hunger Games meets Annihilation meets The Truman Show with a dash of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That’s the dystopian energy of Fable at the End of the World.

Inesa is a young taxidermist trying to survive in a crumbling world when her mother’s crushing debt forces her into the Lamb’s Gauntlet - a brutal, livestreamed hunt where assassins track down human sacrifices for sport. Enter Melinoë, an elite killer with a reputation for ruthless efficiency… and a past she’s desperate to outrun. But as the game unfolds, both Inesa and Mel begin to question everything… especially their growing connection.

The worldbuilding isn’t super unique (mutated creatures in the woods, big evil corporation, dystopian despair), but it’s intense and unapologetically dramatic. Definitely recommend the audiobook for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I thought the book was entertaining. It reminded me of a lot of other young adult books. It wasn't bad, but nothing that really stood out.

3.5 stars

The first half of this book... fantastic, no notes. The second half... I was bamboozled. First, this is a YA book that I paid adult money for. So that isn't great. Second this isn't a romance. They don't end up together at the end

I think this is a very relevant book for today's society and political climate. But it's like it tried to be the Hunger games, and miserably failed. And since everyone is rereading the Hunger Games right now in anticipation of the new book, the comparisons are definitely top of mind.

Watch the vlog where I read the book! - https://youtu.be/XJR2CHd4Lpg

The author describes this book as inspired by the Hunger games and other books of the 2010s. Unfortunately, for me it's almost too much inspiration. I found myself wishing I was rereading the hunger games instead! I did enjoy the relationship between the MC and her brother, but the romance left me cold and felt as though it happened too fast. Lovely writing as always from Ava Reid, but this one wasn't for me.

Fable for the End of the World is such a great read with a beautiful eye catching cover. I love it the color scheme is great the artist did a wonderful job. The plot of this story was wonderful and kept me wanting more. I definitely recommend reading it.

[arc review]
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Fable for the End of the World releases March 4, 2025

*contains spoilers*

Caerus has been built to thrive upon the wealthy capitalizing off of the debts of the impoverished. When the debt threshold is exceeded, engineered assassins in the form of AI bots threaded through the vessels of human bodies, target the sacrificed in a televised event called the Gauntlets.
Nominated individuals are given thirteen days to survive the Angels, though most fail to make it past even a few hours.

This dystopian novel left me with more questions than answers, and not in a good way.

The characters kept reiterating that it was unusual for the Gauntlet to last more than a few days because it was imperative to keep the audience’s interest, so why allot the Lambs thirteen days? What was the significance of such a number?
What actually happened to Inesa’s father? Where was the outrage or ramifications for publicly exploiting and livestreaming two underaged girls being intimate with each other? How were Inesa and Luka so painfully unaware of the debt their mother accrued?
Why does Caerus need the twelve hours preceding the gauntlets as a way to run ads and promote products, when their whole corporation has been built on the merits of consumers directly using credit that’s strictly for their products? Everything is already skewed in their favour, so the cyclical nature makes some of Reid’s worldbuilding extremely redundant.

The progression of Inesa and Mel’s romance was less than believable, and I lost interest pretty quickly once they formed a truce, but that really only makes up a small fraction of why this was such a poorly executed novel.

I get that Reid was trying to paint love and hope amidst survival as her core themes, but how can you in good conscious, specifically have a book dedication that says: “To the young queer girls—your love is going to save the world,” and then have the audacity to make the young queer protagonist repugnant to all of society due to her intimacy that was exploited, while wiping the memory of the other young queer girl and making her a corporate concubine of a rich old man? It comes across so obtuse and manipulative.

Fable for the End of the World achieves nothing. There are no positive character arcs. The capitalistic world stays the same. This “standalone [sapphic] dystopian romance” doesn’t even have a definitive HEA…

You’re better off reading the original Hunger Games series instead of this inspired world which lacks the necessary depth that would’ve made its attempts at commentating on complex issues worthwhile.

I really struggled with the is one. Like really struggled. The synopsis seemed right up my alley. Hunger Games? YES. Lesbians? WooHoo. I was really excited to get my hands on this book. However- this was my first time reading Ava Reid, and perhaps her writing style was just not for me. And maybe the tragic downfall was comparing it to the Hunger Games. Or that the voices of the protganists really annoyed me. The romance wasn’t particularly believable. I just didn’t feel it (I really do need to feel connected to the characters, and here I really didn’t). There definitely are plot holes, and the ending wasn’t satisfying. If I hadn’t received this arc, I definitely would have DNF’d it.
Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This was my first book by Ava Reid and honestly, I couldn't get enough!
I loved the dystopian kind of hunger games feels it got, as well as the relationship trials and tribulations between Melinoe and Inesa.
I have 2 other books by Ava Reid on my shelf, and those just got bumped up way higher on my TBR list! <3

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!! I want to start off by saying I've loved everything I've read by Ava Reid, so it was an honor and a privilege to review a copy of her newest work.

This is a sapphic dystopian thriller set in a world with a death game called <i>The Lamb's Gauntlet</i>. Citzens who acrew too much debt are at risk of watching their relatives fight to the death, or rather run for their lives as they're hunted for sport. Debtors are expected to run and struggle for survival on livestream, while genetically modified hunters/assassins called Angels track them down for the slaughter.

<i>Squid Games</i> meets <i>The Deadliest Game</i> meets <i>The Hunger Games</i>.

Inesa is used to struggle and fighting for survival—growing up in the slums of her sinking town—yet never did she expect her mother would offer her up to the Gauntlet. They're in considerable debt sure and the taxidermy shop could only provide so much income, but this betrayal isn't one she sees coming. She refuses to die like this—on screen for the titulation of the wealthy—and with the help of her hunter brother Luka she may just survive.

Her hunter Melinöe has to succeed this year, lest her genetic and neural modifications be brought into question. While she's never failed to slay her mark, the breakdown she suffered during her last Gauntlet had long-lasting consequences. She must return to her ruthless prime, avoiding being made into a living doll, mind wiped and sold to the highest bidder as a lobotomized consort. A terrified fear for survival now runs through her veins pushing her forward, where modifications alone could not.

This is a tale of enemies falling in love while realizing they have far more in common than those in power wish for them to see. If one digs a little deeper, it's a glimpse into two different lives held in the tight clutches of a cruel and imposing society. Two sides of the same coin. Neither young woman wants this life, yet they can't seem to escape it. Poverty and the constant eyes of the ruling class keep everyone smiling in the role forced upon them lest they suffer the consequences.

Others may disagree, but I believe reading <i>The Hunger Games</i> is vital to appreciating this plot. It's a tribute work and wasn't created in a bubble. Whereas war destroyed the land and class inequality rules the replacement society with an iron fist, here environmental disasters destroyed what was and debt slavery rules what's left. Combining a more evil form of e-commerce with debt offers a unique glimpse into a not so farfetched future state.

Just as Ava Reid said in her author's note, this is a love story in all its forms from familial to romatic. The world may be horrible and full of horrors but together it's survivable... and perhaps even a catalyst for change. If I were capable of tears, that ending would have made me sob uncontrollably, instead I lay here feeling a myriad of things all at once.

I did not realize this was sapphic - I should have the cover is pretty telling, but for some reason I did not pick up on that at all. So it's an enemies-to-lovers sapphic fantasy novel. I will say that I felt like the book was sort of all over the place. And the end felt super rushed and thrown together. This is not an HEA - so if that's what you want then you wont get it. This all being said - typically I enjoy Reid's books.

I sat with this for awhile and it deserves 1 star. Thank you again to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I wish I had enjoyed this one a lot more than I did. I think The Hunger Games pitch definitely pulled me in and while it definitely had a lot of similarities to The Hunger Games I think that that is mostly what it had going for me. I also didn't love how unsatisfying the ending was which made me reevaluate any of the joy I had during reading it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book early!

As a huge fan of Ava Reid’s work, I was so excited to dive into this new dark world. The story was tight and enchanting at equal turns, keeping me engrossed until late into the night. Books with trials have become popular recently, but Fable has still managed to flip the script.

Perfect for fans of forbidden love stories, dystopian futures, and social commentary weaves into their novels.

This was such a fun read. I will read anything Ava Teid writes. This was immersive and fast paced and I could not put it down. I love these characters so much and I’m so glad I read this. This is 100 percent worth the read.

Fable for the End of the World was such an exciting concept, but unfortunately the execution fell flat for me. There were too many things about the system that felt shallow to me, plus a few details that were unrealistic enough to completely pull me out of the story. (ex: a bottle of kerosene gets shot, causing a giant explosion that tears apart---and partially melts?---metal robots). The idea was so fun, but I felt it needed more work or time to simmer to make the plot and characters feel more fully developed.

I love Ava Reid’s writing, and I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! This dual POV is done exceptionally well, and I felt every single emotion with these characters. This is a different type of dystopian future, in which corporations control everything and which almost feels a bit too real.

Although I did read my own physical copy of this book, I did receive an eARC so thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing it to me in exchange for an honest review.

Ava Reid does it again! A great YA enemies to lovers story & sapphic dystopia romance. Although I felt as though it was not as atmospheric as her other books and the relationship felt a bit flat, this is a YA book and as a YA book, I would recommend it to the younger crowd.