Reviews with content warning for Blood - Namesake

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Namesake by Adrienne Young

19 reviews

mrssmithreadsrom's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This was an action packed adventure that had twists and turns from every direction. While not quite a pirate story, I love the details of life on the water and the nuances of the world of trade.

Somewhat

Spoiler-y thoughts:

I took a star off because how quickly the feelings toward characters shifted and changed. Just about the time I got comfortable with a character being a foe, they turned out to be a friend, and vise versa. I also felt the same way about all the main plot points: just about the time you start feeling all the things piling against the heroine and crew, someone walks in and takes care of the whole mess.

I would have liked to have seen more of the heroines efforts in resolving the conflicts be successful instead of someone else coming in to save the day.

However, I love the romance I’m not just the main character, but also the beauty in a very complicated child/parent situation. The ending felt good overall, so I wasn’t disappointed with the whole story. Just not a 5 star for me.

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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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gwynn0715's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.75

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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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reads_with_lauren's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

AHHHHHHH THAT ENDING. I HAVE SUCH COMPLICATED FEELINGS FOR THIS BOOK ITS NOT FAIR. The beginning was so slow I contemplated DNFing it :/ but I loved Fable so I decided to give it more time and it was worth it. As the story goes on, it gets more interesting (in my opinion). I honestly felt like the whole plot was LACKING MAJOR until West showed up, idk maybe it’s the energy he brings but at that point I was like ok I can do this. I also felt that while West was portrayed as ‘I love u so I’ll do whatever I have to for u’ it came off as controlling. I know he’s supposed to be a pirate but It just wasn’t really the best part about his character. As for Fable (sigh) she herself is pretty interesting, I do like her choices and her plots but THE BEST PART ABOUT HER IS HOW SHE REMEMBERS HER MOM AND RESENTS HER FATHER. LIKE DAM THAT JUST BROUGHT SO MUCH TO THIS BOOK I LOVED IT. AND THE ENDING WAS SO RICH WITH MEMORIES AND HISTORY I LITERALLY CRIED. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL IN ALMOST A MOVIE SORT OF WAY.

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andromeda_1998's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Like I loved fable, I love namesake. I’m not sure why but this series means the world to me. It has action, adventure and the seas in one book and well I’m here for it!

Characters
Fable is a girl that knows what she wants. The sea is in her blood and she needs the freedom it can offer her. She is willing to do everything to get back the kind of life she has before her mother died. The love she feels for the ocean makes you want to travel the seas and I’m kind of sad that we cannot join her on her future adventures.

I liked West more in the first book. He has always been protective but he’s more controlling in the second book.

Writing
The book is fast paced and full of adventure. The writingstyle is light and simple. I really like Adrienne Young’s writing, it makes her books easy and fun to read.

Worldbuilding
Even-though the books are fast paced, the writer still found the time to explain the world and she expanded her world in the second book. There is a lot to discover and I cannot wait to read the last legacy, which is set in the same book as fable and namesake.

Plot
I really enjoyed that this book focuses more on her mother then her father and it was Interesting to learn more about Isolde’s past. It was a beautiful way to complete the story.

I will recommend this series wholeheartedly, especially to readers between the ages 14-25.

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camiclarkbooks's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

We jump right back in to the story, so abruptly it’s like we flipped to the next chapter of “Fable” rather than started the sequel. And, even more so than in the first book, the titular heroine finds herself in so many terrible situations—one right after the other. There were so many that it was difficult to stay invested, particularly when Fable didn’t seem all that concerned.

Fable’s constant internal monologue tells us exactly what she’s thinking and how she’s upset by the different strokes of bad luck, but ultimately she reacts very passively. She allows the situation to play out rather than doing much about it. Alternatively, she allows the other characters to steer her through these unfortunate events.

Since we learned in the first book that she had survived four years—alone—on the island of Jeval, it seems that Fable would be more of a fighter than she is. Her thoughts also don’t reveal that’s she’s given up after so many years of fighting and that she’s decided to go with the current either. Fable just doesn’t have much agency.

Although I was disappointed by the main character, there were several very interesting characters that were introduced. Holland, the feared gem merchant that was mentioned in the first book, appears about 1/3 of the way through the book. At her appearance, the book began to pick up and kept my interest more than the first few chapters had.

Other side characters from the first book appeared in “Namesake” and were ultimately more interesting than Fable and West, our main characters.

Although we barely saw it, even the love story between Fable and West feels bland in comparison to the love story that potentially developed between Willa and Koy. We just glimpse a few brief allusions to something between them possibly developing. For our main love story between Fable and West, we spent a lot of time rehashing that he had done bad things for Saint, and that the darkness had a hold of him, which concerned Fable, but not enough to do anything about her concern.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the writing. Adrienne Young is a master at describing the different scenes the book takes us to. When Fable was dredging underwater, I would find myself stopping what I was doing to listen to the rich descriptions of the underwater world the character was in because the words were so beautiful and vibrant. Even simple description’s of a character’s clothes were beautifully detailed enough that I could picture the scenes perfectly.

Overall, I wanted to like this book more than I did. “Namesake” is very much a plot driven book rather than a character driven book. But the plot is constant, there’s no break between anything. We can’t catch a breath before Fable is pushed into another problem. Yet she reacts passively to almost every situation she finds herself in. She’s very astute and introspective, but lacks agency. The book is beautifully written, with every scene described in impeccable, rich details that help to insert the reader in to the story. But kt isn’t quite enough to mask how bland the characters have become since the first book.

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anaguana's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

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livvy_k's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.25

I didn’t much care for the first 75% of this book. (Spoiler) with Fable getting kidnapped at the end of book one that left lots of opportunity for this book… but it just didn’t feel right. Her romance felt forced, and the timing of this book felt weird. I did like the creativity it took to come up with all the agendas and sneakiness and how everyone played everyone else but it felt like Fable was too naive and fell into things very easily and she felt like such a bystander with a bunch of things just happening to her. (Spoiler end)

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