Today I am reviewing Fable by Adrienne Young. This was a Read Now option on NetGalley and I absolutely dove for it! Thank you Wednesday Books for letting me snag a copy of this book for review!

Before I start this review, can we just admire how beautiful this cover is! And Namesake is so cool too for being the other side of her face. I just love it!

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Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

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This is the first book by Adrienne Young I’ve read. I had heard some iffy reviews about her previous books (Sky in the Deep and The Girl the Sea Gave Back), but I had heard some good things about Fable so I was curious!

The beginning was interesting, because while I was getting invested in the story, I also wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book. I love the pirate, sea girl vibes, but I wasn’t sure how it connected to what was going on in the beginning. Dredging, which I believe is gathering gems and minerals from the sea, is not a fun job and while it was great to hear about Fable’s process, I wasn’t sure how we were going to get off this island.

But our girl always has a plan.

Once we’re off this island, things get interesting fast. I devoured this book once we got to know our cabin mates, especially Willa and West. Their energy was just what I needed – enemies to friends, and maybe even friends to lovers? By the time Fable says goodbye to her friends, I honestly missed them so much and I was hoping she would run into them again!

Once I was hooked in, I couldn’t get myself out. I honestly couldn’t stop reading this story simply because I wasn’t aware of how emotional Adrienne’s storytelling is. I felt every high and low Fable felt. Every tender or intense moment she was experiencing. And the ending just threw the bundle of emotions and hit me square in the face. I am honestly so upset that I can’t read Namesake immediately because I need to know what happens next!

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book when I started reading it. We came in slowly before building up to this final scene and I’m still very upset with the ending. I was going to rate this lower, but after everything, I feel like I have to give this // 5 stars. It met every trait that I like in a book: solid world building, fun characters, good dialogue, exciting action, and a gasp worthy ending. So, even though I wasn’t a fan at first, this book won me over and I can’t wait to read Namesake!

Fable releases on September 1st, 2020 and I have linked my local indie bookstore if you’re interested in preordering a copy!

If you didn’t see, I created a Ko-fi account! I’m not expecting anything to come from it, but if you like my content and want to me get my own domain and host bookish giveaways, I’ve linked it here! Thanks to anyone who checks it out!

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If this book sounds interesting, check out Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller or Seafire by Natalie C. Parker!

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