8.46k reviews for:

Fable

Adrienne Young

3.97 AVERAGE


5 ⭐️ such a fun adventure. Can’t help but root for the fearless and determined protagonist.

I think there are some obvious parallels between Fable and Daughter of the Pirate King-- but I liked Fable more. In fact, I will definitely be reading the second book in this duology (not only because Fable ends on a cliffhanger, but because I *ship* Fable/West so hard.

You are introduced to Fable, a young girl working as a "dredger" (diver to get precious metals or salvage) on an island full of cut throats. She's working like crazy to get off the island via a ship that comes once in a while to trade with her, while protecting herself and her money from other dredgers and thieves on the island.

An attack gives her the push to finally get off the island and she finds herself on the Marigold, a ship with a suspiciously skeletal crew and a helmsman (West) who has traded with her but also is tight-lipped and cranky.

Fable's goal is to get to the island where her father is, and confront him once and for all.

The sea-based world is quite interesting, especially Fable's dives and gem sense. There's lots of awareness of underworld politics, ship culture, and a sense of what folks on the edges of society have had to endure to survive.

But what made me fall in love with the story is the crew of the Marigold and Fable's interactions with it. Fable's POV is focused mostly on immediate safety and her goal of getting to her father, but little by little she (and we) find out more about each crew member and slowly begins to try to fit herself into their rhythm. I found her interactions with West lovely and their first underwater encounter....lovely.

As I said above, warning, it does end on a cliffhanger, so you'll (like I plan to) have to read on to the second in the duology to resolve most of Fable's major issues and questions.

There's a bit of kissing, a fade to black, and then a morning after reference but other than that no onscreen/onpage shenanigans unsuitable for YA. Fans of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows might like this crew as well, although less heisting involved.

I really liked the beginning of the book better than the second half.
I don't think me taking a break from reading it helped. I like the romance, but I just feel like it's dragged on. I don't see the chemistry really or how they got to say "I love you" to each other.
Honestly, the second half was kinda a slog, and really made me not want to read the sequel. I really wanna read "Saint" because I love his character so much.
Adrienne Young did a good job leaving that cliffhanger at the end because now I'm invested and want to read the next one. If the plot kept going as it was, I would not have continued because it was getting kinda boring for me.
I feel like halfway through we just lost the plot and I couldn't find it again.
I do like her writing style, hence why I wanna read the other books part of this world.
I hope the second book will be even better and I hope "Saint" will be awesome.
I'm curious to see what will transpire.
adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
jetteleia's profile picture

jetteleia's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 26%

Iwie weird
adventurous funny fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

Action packed from the very beginning! I never wanted to put it down and still have so many questions. The ending left me with my jaw dropped. I wish I had the next book in the series!
fast-paced
adventurous medium-paced
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes