AdrienneYoung – A Take from Two Cities

SAINT by Adrienne Young

As a boy, Elias learned the hard way what happens when you don’t heed the old tales.

Nine years after his lack of superstition got his father killed, he’s grown into a young man of piety, with a deep reverence for the hallowed sea and her fickle favor. As stories of the fisherman’s son who has managed to escape the most deadly of storms spreads from port to port, his devotion to the myths and creeds has given him the reputation of the luckiest bastard to sail the Narrows.

Now, he’s mere days away from getting everything his father ever dreamed for him: a ship of his own, a crew, and a license that names him as one of the first Narrows-born traders. But when a young dredger from the Unnamed Sea with more than one secret crosses his path, Elias’ faith will be tested like never before. The greater the pull he feels toward her, the farther he drifts from the things he’s spent the last three years working for.

He is dangerously close to repeating his mistakes and he’s seen first hand how vicious the jealous sea can be. If he’s going to survive her retribution, he will have to decide which he wants more, the love of the girl who could change their shifting world, or the sacred beliefs that earned him the name that he’s known for―Saint.

Title : Saint
Author : Adrienne Young
Series : Fable 0.5
Format : Physical
Page Count : 352
Genre : YA Fantasy
Publisher : Titan Books
Release Date : December 16, 2022

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★

Micky’s 4 star review

Headlines:
Still read after Fable/Namesake
Quietly brooding Saint

As a self confessed fan of the Fable series, the addition of Saint’s book just brings a 360 degree feeling to the series. I have come away from this feeling that even though its a prequel, it’s best read after Fable and Namesake. I think going into this book with the whole history of Saint good and bad is great, but more importantly, how you perceive Saint in the next books would be skewed if read first.

Saint was dark, brooding, quiet and contemplative. He was a fierce figure, quite severe in some ways but there was a slightly softer centred that slowly revealed itself. I enjoyed seeing the start of his and Clove’s sketchy sea life, the rye trade and that family. In addition, seeing Holland in earlier days sealed my negative thoughts of her. Isolde was a understandably secretive but she was honest and open in other ways.

The connection between these two I would describe as gentle, bourne of distrust but building into more. I wanted to see a bit more of that on the page but that’s probably just my love of the series and characters coming through.

I just loved this reading journey, being back in the world, the peril, adventures, allegiances and enemies. The series truly feels complete now.

Thank you to Titan Books for the review copy.

SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young

‘There were tales that only the island knew. Ones that had never been told. I knew, because I was one of them.’

Emery Blackwood’s life was forever changed on the eve of her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her best friend, Lily. She’d once dreamt of running away with August, eager to escape the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and chase new dreams together. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence among this tight-knit community steeped in folklore and tradition, ruled by the seasons and ancient superstitions.

But when August returns after fourteen years to bury his mother’s ashes, Emery must confront her first love and the reason he left so abruptly. But the town wants August gone again. And as the island begins to show signs of strange happenings, the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises threatens to reveal the truth behind Lily’s death once and for all.

Title : Spells For Forgetting
Author : Adrienne Young
Format : Physical ARC
Page Count : 364
Genre : Fantasy Horror
Publisher : Quercus Books
Release Date : September 27, 2022

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★.5

Micky’s 4.5 star review

Headlines:
Atmospheric and lamenting
Mysterious
Nature’s grumblings

This book blew me away with it’s haunting vibes, mystery and return to historical events on the Island of Saorise. The whole story just bled atmosphere and gave a sinister chill as you read. Told in present and some past narrative (not overused), the lives of four high school graduates on this small island was brought into the now of over a decade later. Murder, fire and conspiracy were afoot in this tale and the incredible prose kept me devouring the pages.

At the centre of this book were Emery and August with their two best friends in their orbit. That was back then…now there were three. Saorise was a place that was a lore rather than law to itself. The island spoke through the land, the trees, the weather and wildlife and the residents listened.

Sometimes the signs were subtle, like a fleeting shadow or an echo in the trees. Other times, the island wasn’t gentle with her words.

The mystery surrounding Lily, the orchard and August’s departure and return were completely compelling but so was the young romance between August and Emery. I was so invested in how that would end, even though it was often in the background. There’s so much to keep reader’s invested in this story.

Adrienne Young’s storytelling was quite beautiful. I highlighted a lot and her writing captivated my imagination. This is the perfect autumnal read but really I’d recommend it anytime.

We’d had no beginning, I realized. We just always were.

Thank you to Quercus Books for the review copy.

THE LAST LEGACY by Adrienne Young

New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with The Last Legacy, a captivating standalone about family and blood ties, reinventing yourself, and controlling your own destiny.

When a letter from her uncle Henrick arrives on Bryn Roth’s eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family.

Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accepted into the Roths may be more than Bryn can pay.

Title : The Last Legacy
Author : Adrienne Young
Format : Physical
Page Count : 352
Genre : YA Fantasy
Publisher : Titan Books
Release Date : January 18, 2022

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★.5

Micky’s 3.5 star review

Headlines:
Ruthless families
Double-crossing
Deals

The Last Legacy, an off-shoot of the Fable world felt more like a YA historical tale than the fantasy elements in the Fable series. That said, the town and world that Bryn occupied reminded me me of the barrel from the Six of Crows. A family (not found in this case) that was all about the swindling and trust was not in the vocabularly. I did find it easy to get into and occupy.

Bryn was a savvy character, wise from the start but she still had some villainous street-smarts to learn. Bryn’s arrival with her Roth side of the family was something of a baptism of fire. The characters around the dinner table were the kind of ‘friends’ that might put a knife in your back easily. Some of them grew on me and Ezra certainly did. Hendrick was an evil fella and I do love how Adrienne Young can write these kind of characters.

I missed some of the subtle magic that existed in Fable and I would have welcomed a little in this book. The plot was interesting and I particularly appreciated the themes of being enslaved and unable to control your own future. The story wrapped up a little quickly, but it was a good, encapsulated read and I appreciated this standalone addition to the world.

Thank you to Titan Books for the review copy.

NAMESAKE by Adrienne Young – double review!

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.

Filled with action, emotion, and lyrical writing, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with Namesake, the final book in the captivating Fable duology.

Title : Namesake
Author : Adrienne Young
Series : Fable #2
Format : eARC / eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 368
Genre : YA Fantasy
Publisher : Wednesday Books
Release Date : March 16, 2021

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

Micky’s 4 star review

Headlines:
Cover win & inside goodness
Full & satisfying
Trousers over dresses

Helmsman. Dredger. Trader. Orphan. Father. Daughter.

This second piece in the duology did not let me down. I can’t tell you how relieved that makes me when I loved book one, there’s always that trepidation over the next one. This story, this crew, Fable and West really captured my book-loving heart and being able to follow the story to completion was everything.

Interestingly, Fable was a little less tough and a little more weepy in Namesake, showing a vulnerability I didn’t expect. Talking of expectations, family continued to be a key theme in this instalment and it was hard to trust anyone related to Fable.

One of the things that captivated me in Fable was the diving and dredging; I loved for those moments in this book too and there were plenty. I just found that element so interesting, vivid, dangerous and wild.

Even from above, I could feel them – the soft songs of the gemstones hidden in the reef below.

West really struck me with the faith he had in Fable. She pulled some tough decisions, some gut feelings that weren’t based in much and he made things happen as a consequence. West was morally grey but 100% committed. I loved how their power dynamic played out, push and pull but one more in control than the other.

I am all satisfaction at the story, pacing and characterisation of this duology. This will sit happily on my shelves as a favourite.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the early review copy.

Hollis’ 2.5 star review

Pretty bummed this one didn’t even live up to book one for me. It hadn’t been a smash hit but I certainly didn’t expect to be a) so bored and b) so unimpressed with all the random circumventing of events as the MC and her love interest just took turns going behind each others’ backs to “save each other” so that c) we could have some minor conflict and drama. Eyeroll.

Sorry, maybe that’s harsh but it got tiresome. Especially as the big reveal and climax happens and in a blink of an eye it’s all over.

Ultimately I like where we ended up, I guess, but it felt like a trek to get there. And half of this series wouldn’t even exist if people had just shared information with each other, so. That says a lot.

My experiences with Young have definitely been unpredictable and this series is no exception. Not sure I’ll feel inclined to pick her up again but I’m glad I gave this a try after all the recommendations from buddies. Sorry I let you down — again!

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.

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 / ★ ★ ★

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.

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!

THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK by Adrienne Young – double review!

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

Title : The Girl The Sea Gave Back
Author : Adrienne Young
Series : Sky In The Deep (book two)
Format : ARC/Finished Copy
Page Count : 336
Genre : historical YA fantasy
Publisher : Wednesday Books / Titan Books
Release Date : September 3, 2019

Reviewer : Hollis / Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★ / ★ ★ ★

Hollis’ 4 star review

I feel like everything that kept me from loving SKY IN THE DEEP, was missing in THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK. This makes me very very happy.

I was sure this was going to be an easy three star read; lots to like but not quite getting me all the way there which, I mean, would’ve been a better result than book one. So colour me surprised by this rating.

This story takes place ten years after the events of SKY IN THE DEEP and, once again, we have warring clans. The characters we knew from book one have known peace and a time of rebuilding, rebirth, as a united people but now another group, the Svell, are stirring up trouble. Made worse by the fact that the Svell people are, themselves, divided. Additionally, they feel they are cursed by the existence of an outsider who lives among them, who washed up on their shores, and yet they also rely on her for her gifts at reading the runes, and predicting the future, as she is a Truthtongue.

It’s Tova’s prediction that sparks tragedy for Halvard’s people and we watch as they are on opposites sides of a war neither of them want. Halvard loses people he loves and Tova is blamed for things beyond her control as the fragile trust she has with the man who has raised her.. frays. Betrayal abounds with the Svell people and she’s tossed amongst them, lost, confused, and resigned.

Tova doesn’t know who she is, Halvard is bound so strongly with his family, both blood and found, and I actually really enjoyed bouncing back between their perspectives and the glimpses we got from their past. Their connection isn’t much, either, but yet feels.. present. There’s almost no romance here and yet we see possibility, potential, and that’s honestly where this book became more than I thought it would be.

I found the pacing to be pretty much perfect and I loved where the book, and our characters, ended up. This is a stronger book and the events, the loss and brutality, felt more real. The stakes somehow higher. The surprises (of which maybe there was only one but it was a good one) more surprising. I definitely have a question or two about how some things played out but those niggles are buried pretty far underneath my general contentment over the story.

If SKY IN THE DEEP wasn’t a book you were able to get on with, I would definitely recommend you pick up this sophomore offering. And if you loved SKY IN THE DEEP, I think you’ll be just as satisfied, if not more, by this follow-up in the author’s viking world.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

Micky’s 3 star review

This was my first read by Adrienne Young and I was informed by a few that it stands alone as a book and reading book one wasn’t vital. I made the mistake of jumping straight into THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK and I think that I missed out on some world building that would have helped me so much with this read. There wasn’t much space given to any world-building in this book and felt like I was playing catch up with the different tribes, their names, their belief systems and allegiences.

After about 20% of the book I felt that I had some context to understand the story that was playing out with two characters having alternate POVs – Tova and Halvard. These were two characters that were mystically connected but geographically separated. Halvard was a reluctant heir to leading his people and Tova was a virtual prisoner of her adopted people. This story is told over just a number of days with battle, strategy and mysticism at the core.

I enjoyed the mystical part of this story, the fate ruled by runes, spinners and the All Seer. I liked the concept of Tova and her race. There were however, a lot of characters to dislike in this book. So many prejudiced people with cruelty being part of life. The back and forth of past and present was written a little confusingly to me.

Ultimately, I felt unsatisfied with the story overall and this was just an okay read for me. I felt that the connection between Tova and Halvard was pointless in the end but I appreciated the how the different races were at war or peace at different times.

Thank you to Titan Books for the early finished copy for review.