Fable by Adrienne Young

Fable (Fable, #1)

by Adrienne Young

Filled with all of the action, emotion, and lyrical writing that brought readers to Sky in the Deep, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with Fable, the first book in this new captivating duology.

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.

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.

Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue and adventure.

Reviewed by thepunktheory on

4 of 5 stars

Share
Full review on my blog coming soon!

Okay, so here's the thing. It took me a hot minute to get into the story but that was 100% my fault. I spent almost my entire life in Austria, where we don't have an ocean. There are just mountains. Somehow it simply took a bit until I got the world, until I fully embraced the vibe. I am aware of how stupid this sounds. I read countless books set in fantasy worlds and still got sucked in faster. So please, just ignore that.
However, after some initial trouble, I was hooked. The story is fast-paced and the book isn't too long. So, I soon reached I point where I didn't want to put it down and just NEEDED to know how all of it would end.
I'm sure you can tell by now that I tremendously enjoyed Fable. The world-building is fascinating and even though I am entirely unfamiliar with a great many things mentioned in the book, Adrienne Young has such a way with words, it really all came to life in my head. The images the story invoked in my head were just as gorgeous as the cover design!
The characters are quite amazing, we get quite a range of people, from skin-color to sexual orientation. I love that Young managed to incorporate such much representation and every single moment of it feels natural. That's how stories should be! It was nice to follow along and discover little bits about the characters and get to know them more. Young unravels their backstories slowly and at the end of the book, I still feel like there is a lot more to find out. Also, I'm just a sucker for slightly dysfunctional found families, so...
I am not 100% convinced by the entire premise of the story that basically kicks off Fable's journey and adventure. However, once I was about 1/3 in, I couldn't care less about that. I was sucked into the world and needed to find out more - whether it all made sense or not.
By the way, as I mentioned I don't know anything about sailing a ship, so I can't speak to the accuracy of Young's description on that part. All I can say is that she really painted a picture and it was easy enough for me to get what was going on, despite all the technical terms she used (and that I am not familiar with).
Last but not least, the CLIFFHANGER. Oh damn, ending a book like this is pure evil. It's the cliffy-est of cliffhangers and I just need to get my hands on the next installment asap. I really hope Adrienne Young is a fast typer!

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 December, 2020: Finished reading
  • 15 December, 2020: Reviewed