Reviews with content warning for Violence - Namesake

If you like books with treasure hunts, characters with hidden motivations, deception behind every corner, and pages pressed with the salt of the sea, Namesake won't leave you disappointed.

Content Warnings

extrafolklore's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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hannahbailey's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

How disappointing! Whilst Fable was a fun and atmospheric read with interesting character dynamics, its sequel failed to expand on these relationships and was instead rather dreary and repetitive.

Fable was by no means a revolutionary work of YA, but the things it did well really stood out. The father-daughter relationship was cleverly crafted as was the high-stakes setting, first of Jeval, and then of the seas the characters sail on.

In Namesake, the world-building is left behind and instead the author focuses on the MC's inner conflict between her father and her found family. This still could have been interesting if executed well, but sadly it dwelled too much upon the love interest and his 'bad boy' behaviour, their lovers' quarrels and their attempts to save one another by going behind each other's backs. It was so boring!

As I mentioned in my review of Fable, the side characters had potential that I was hoping would be explored further in the sequel. Some were, but only in a way that furthered the plot, rather than providing a richness of character for the reader. Despite the author heightening the stakes, they never felt so low for me.

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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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kelburke's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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saturdayslaughter's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Fun! Still didn’t care about West, which did make the plot harder to stomach, cuz a lot of it is about their relationship. Was brainstorming how to change the plot to remove the romance, I think it would have been better. I liked a lot of the relationships with her family, and her relationship with Koy felt like a more real friendship than her relationship with anyone on the crew. I enjoyed the settings, pretty as always. There were lots of little things I didn’t like and plenty of times I wished I knew the crew more. An enjoyable ride though, especially the beginning, which was more action packed.

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lottsofplots's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Content Warnings

thereaderfriend's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Was hoping for more character development for Fable because I feel like she was handed many things and directed to many decisions rather than leading her own path. But then again that's probably because I struggle accepting help. I also didn't like Fable and West's relationship because it was instant love and we didn't really learn much about West. He was super withheld. Hoping that Saint's book will answer some unanswered questions about Isolde.

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