FABLE by Adrienne Young – double review!

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable 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.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

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Title : Fable
Author : Adrienne Young
Series : Fable #1
Format : eARC / eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 368
Genre : YA Fantasy
Publisher : Wednesday Books
Release Date : September 1, 2020

Reviewer : Micky / Hollis
Rating  : ★ ★ ★ ★.5 / ★ ★ ★

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Micky’s 4.5 star review

I crushed this in a day, simply because I could not put it down. FABLE was the start of a strong duology, all at sea. It was a tale of survival, family and bonds stronger than family. Fable was a deep sea diver and everything about that was fascinating.

I’d dove almost every day since I was a child. The water was more of a home than Jeval ever was.

Fable herself was a strong young woman, almost feral but human under the shell. She had been abandoned in a place where food and resources were sparce. I was completely puzzled by her situation but quickly admiring of the adversity she had overcome and continued to overcome. I loved the subtle unveiling of her skills.

As a character Fable was rich in personality even though she revealed little of herself to those around her. I was intruiged by the Marigold and the crew, especially the helmsman, West. How the story interwove the characters and plot points was so clever. The relationship with her father was truly captivating, frustrating and and heart-breaking.

The writing in FABLE just made me disappear into the world and the worlds; I highlighted a lot. The story and the characters really hit the spot with me but I am partial to an adventure set on the seas. This is my favourite of Adrienne Young’s books so far. I cannot wait to read the second part, I need it now.

The silence of the sea found us, my heartbeat quieting, and I painted each moment into my mind.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the early review copy.

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Hollis’ 3 star review

I’ll be honest, the hype for this one was too high. I think every single book buddy of mine was raving about this so the bar was just too much for me to crawl over, I think. Particularly in my lingering “everything is just okay” kind of mode.

This was one of the better books I’ve read in the last string of reads however I’m not entirely sure this’ll have a lasting impression on me. Even now it’s all kind of fading away. The first half definitely kept me engrossed but the later half had me reaching for the phone.. a lot. So this didn’t quite pass the phone test, alas not much does these days.

I think my biggest struggle is this feels like coming into the middle of the story. Not because we open with the consequences of an event, because we learn about that before too long; but still something feels already-started. Not unfinished, but missing. I don’t even know how to describe it. Maybe this’ll go away after reading the sequel but I think all that’ll do is wrap things up, not fix whatever went missing with me at the onset of this. Maybe it’s the lack of the worldbuiling. This story is just presented as-is and in fantasy that rarely happens. Maybe that’s the missing piece.

Biggest takeaway from this review? I have no idea what I’m trying to say and describing an amorphous feeling is obviously not my strong suit. If you like some medium-high stakes, some sea adventuring, some hard living, betrayals, and maybe romance, I think you’d like this. Also go read some more articulate (and effusive) reviews, maybe. There are lots!