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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I know everyone loves this, and I felt the first half was excellent. Great set-up and great description that really sucks you into this world. But towards the end, it felt like the plot lost itself a bit. I know there's going to be a second book, so I'll hold out hope for that. Great characters and great setting, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Death
booksnbeesofbea's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
Minor: Death and Torture
simpleexplorations's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Physical abuse
rubybooks's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to Titan Books for providing me with a digital copy for review via Netgalley. Fable released last year in the US, so I saw a lot of people loving it, and the hype definitely made me want to check it out. It releases on January 21st in the UK! I also haven’t read many fantasy books set at sea either so I was excited to see if I would enjoy this. I think the sequel is coming out this year in the US so I’m glad I don’t have to wait as long.
Fable is a YA fantasy primarily set at sea and on islands. In this world, trading by sea is how most people make their living. However, when she was younger Fable was abandoned by her father on a remote island and left to fend for herself after her mother drowned in a storm. She has to be very careful while living on Jeval, because no one would hesitate before taking advantage of her. However, she has to put her trust in a trader named West so that she can get off the island and find her father. However, West and his crew are hiding a lot of secrets, and there is a lot of danger in being a trader…
I really enjoyed the details on trade, such as gem trading, and Fable’s occupation as a dredger. This is a fantasy, but the magic is subtle, and while the characters are more traders than pirates, they definitely have questionable morals and actions. Not a huge amount happened at the beginning, but I still read it quickly. What I will say is that this book is SO fast-paced – I read almost half the book in just one sitting, and it only took me two days to read it. The plot really got interesting in the second half, but there were still some parts that I expected more from or seemed a bit rushed. Still, I was always motivated to keep picking up the book, and the chapters were short too.
I think one of the reasons I didn’t fall in love with this book is that I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. I definitely didn’t hate any of them, but I didn’t really connect with them either. West was okay, but I didn’t feel attached to him really. I was honestly more interested in reading about Saint and Isolde, and I loved the bits of backstory we heard about them – I especially enjoyed this at the end, and there were hints we’d learn more in the next book. I really liked Willa too, and she was probably the side character that stood out the most to me. However, I did enjoy reading about the main character, Fable, and I think we’ll see a lot more development from her in the second book.
I believe this book is part of a duology, and the ending definitely made me want to pick up the sequel. I do think that the ending seemed like a shock factor just to make people want to read the next book – it was a very sudden ending that seemed to come out of nowhere. I probably would not be as invested in reading the sequel if the ending was different. Saying that, the technique worked and I do want to know what will happen! Duologies aren’t too much of a commitment, and I do think this book was slightly lacking in plot and character development so I would be interested in seeing where the story goes.
Overall, I had a fun experience reading this book! I wasn’t fully invested in the characters, and I had a few small issues with the plot, but I still couldn’t help flying through this book. The ending definitely made me intrigued to read the sequel, especially because it’s a duology. I also enjoyed this more than the other one of Adrienne Young’s book I’ve read, The Girl the Sea Gave Back.
Fable is a YA fantasy primarily set at sea and on islands. In this world, trading by sea is how most people make their living. However, when she was younger Fable was abandoned by her father on a remote island and left to fend for herself after her mother drowned in a storm. She has to be very careful while living on Jeval, because no one would hesitate before taking advantage of her. However, she has to put her trust in a trader named West so that she can get off the island and find her father. However, West and his crew are hiding a lot of secrets, and there is a lot of danger in being a trader…
I really enjoyed the details on trade, such as gem trading, and Fable’s occupation as a dredger. This is a fantasy, but the magic is subtle, and while the characters are more traders than pirates, they definitely have questionable morals and actions. Not a huge amount happened at the beginning, but I still read it quickly. What I will say is that this book is SO fast-paced – I read almost half the book in just one sitting, and it only took me two days to read it. The plot really got interesting in the second half, but there were still some parts that I expected more from or seemed a bit rushed. Still, I was always motivated to keep picking up the book, and the chapters were short too.
I think one of the reasons I didn’t fall in love with this book is that I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. I definitely didn’t hate any of them, but I didn’t really connect with them either. West was okay, but I didn’t feel attached to him really. I was honestly more interested in reading about Saint and Isolde, and I loved the bits of backstory we heard about them – I especially enjoyed this at the end, and there were hints we’d learn more in the next book. I really liked Willa too, and she was probably the side character that stood out the most to me. However, I did enjoy reading about the main character, Fable, and I think we’ll see a lot more development from her in the second book.
I believe this book is part of a duology, and the ending definitely made me want to pick up the sequel. I do think that the ending seemed like a shock factor just to make people want to read the next book – it was a very sudden ending that seemed to come out of nowhere. I probably would not be as invested in reading the sequel if the ending was different. Saying that, the technique worked and I do want to know what will happen! Duologies aren’t too much of a commitment, and I do think this book was slightly lacking in plot and character development so I would be interested in seeing where the story goes.
Overall, I had a fun experience reading this book! I wasn’t fully invested in the characters, and I had a few small issues with the plot, but I still couldn’t help flying through this book. The ending definitely made me intrigued to read the sequel, especially because it’s a duology. I also enjoyed this more than the other one of Adrienne Young’s book I’ve read, The Girl the Sea Gave Back.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
readwithsuzanna's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
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