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A review by littlebirdbooks
Fable by Adrienne Young
3.0
Firstly, huge thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Fable will be published on Tuesday 26th January 2021.
Four years ago Fable was left abandoned on an island by her father, the most dangerous and powerful trader on the seas, after his prize ship sinks taking his beloved wife, Fable’s mother, with it. Ever since, Fable has been determined to get off of the island and find her father to prove she has what it takes to be a member of his crew. After all these years she’s survived by her father’s rules: don’t trust anyone or reveal what’s important to you, but can she still keep to these rules when she has to rely on a young trader called West to get across the sea to her father…?
Fable, our protagonist, is a fiery young woman who is doing everything she can to survive. At first I was worried that she may be too perfect and would easily breeze through certain situations, however I was pleased to see this wasn’t the case. As her story began to develop and we learn more about the world – she very much fits perfectly into it. I loved how she would throw herself into anything – wanting to prove herself. I also liked how she was determined to lock all her emotions away, so when we did see a flicker of something it was much more meaningful. What I also loved about all the characters in this novel is how they all exist very much in the grey area. It isn’t completely clear if they are “good” or “bad”, they are much more complex than that with pasts that we barely scratch the surface of in this first instalment.
I don’t think that I have ever read a fantasy novel that mostly takes place across the sea. This made the novel refreshing to read and also a really interesting take on the fantasy genre. I’m always really intrigued by the politics and lore of fantasy novels; so I particularly enjoyed this different set of politics among the ships and traders. I would have loved to have learned even more about them but as this is the first novel in the series, it was very much setting up for the rest of the series. I would have liked the novel to have been a little longer to develop certain aspects of the world a bit more but I also enjoyed how the novel ended and it has definitely left me wanting more.
Overall, I thought this was a great start to the series, which has a lot of potential, and I’m very excited to see what adventures await Fable as well as, what other secrets she will discover on the seas. Especially with the cliffhanger we are left on!
Four years ago Fable was left abandoned on an island by her father, the most dangerous and powerful trader on the seas, after his prize ship sinks taking his beloved wife, Fable’s mother, with it. Ever since, Fable has been determined to get off of the island and find her father to prove she has what it takes to be a member of his crew. After all these years she’s survived by her father’s rules: don’t trust anyone or reveal what’s important to you, but can she still keep to these rules when she has to rely on a young trader called West to get across the sea to her father…?
Fable, our protagonist, is a fiery young woman who is doing everything she can to survive. At first I was worried that she may be too perfect and would easily breeze through certain situations, however I was pleased to see this wasn’t the case. As her story began to develop and we learn more about the world – she very much fits perfectly into it. I loved how she would throw herself into anything – wanting to prove herself. I also liked how she was determined to lock all her emotions away, so when we did see a flicker of something it was much more meaningful. What I also loved about all the characters in this novel is how they all exist very much in the grey area. It isn’t completely clear if they are “good” or “bad”, they are much more complex than that with pasts that we barely scratch the surface of in this first instalment.
I don’t think that I have ever read a fantasy novel that mostly takes place across the sea. This made the novel refreshing to read and also a really interesting take on the fantasy genre. I’m always really intrigued by the politics and lore of fantasy novels; so I particularly enjoyed this different set of politics among the ships and traders. I would have loved to have learned even more about them but as this is the first novel in the series, it was very much setting up for the rest of the series. I would have liked the novel to have been a little longer to develop certain aspects of the world a bit more but I also enjoyed how the novel ended and it has definitely left me wanting more.
Overall, I thought this was a great start to the series, which has a lot of potential, and I’m very excited to see what adventures await Fable as well as, what other secrets she will discover on the seas. Especially with the cliffhanger we are left on!