A review by linnybear
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really like Ava Reid's writing but it seems like her recent releases really miss the mark for me (begging for Study in drowning sequel to be different). This is obviously very Hunger Games inspired from the concept to certain scenes but it isn't nearly as well executed. 

The Gauntlet part of the story takes place within 13 days but the timeline often feels blurry and rushed, there's really no indication of how much time has passed between certain scenes, even within singular chapters. Throughout the book we also get contradictory information concerning that - from Inesa's pov it feels like the last Gauntlet happened not long ago meanwhile Melonoë's Wipes seemed to occur within at least a few months. There seemed to be little editing errors and splits concerning other aspects as well that maybe didn't take away from the book but made it feel more unpolished.

I think the foundations of the story were solid, I really liked the premise and the characters but there were simply too many boxes to check within 380 pages of the book for it to be a satisfying experience: from the interesting world building setup, enemies to lovers storyline (that simply didn't work for me at all), complicated family relationship, mystery surrounding the dad's disappearance and The Drowned County and the themes of ecological destruction, corporations' greed, mutations, poor vs rich differences, systematic oppression and the society collapse. Too many elements that weren't explored enough, barely touched or hinted at to fit in.

It was a good story until it wasn't. Almost everything that happened seemed convenient, all the problems resolved almost immediately, there was no immediate danger or tensions between characters, so many questions were left unanswered. Even the relationship between Inesa and Melinoë seemed easy as if their entire belief system and point of view didn't shatter by the sudden affection they felt for each other. It also felt very sudden therefore very unconvincing. The exciting story from the beginning slowly became less and less thrilling and more feeling focused which was then pretty repetitive and overall disappointing.

2.5 stars (because I enjoyed Melinoë's pov and the writing style)

Ps.1. Using Wendigos as almost animal-like zombies in the story and calling them Wends instead, without doing anything with that part of world building or addressing it feels like an odd choice to me.
Ps. 2. There's an entire novella written from Inesa brother's perspective that was released as a bonus chapter only for the deluxe edition of the book and I really hate when publisher's do that. Please stop. 
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