Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 3/5
Awesomeness Factor: 3.5/5
Review in a Nutshell: Fable is the start of an addictive new fantasy series that will have you dreaming of the high seas.

“Keep your knife where you can reach it.
Never, ever owe anyone anything.
Nothing is free.
Always construct a lie from a truth.
Never, under any circumstances, reveal what or who matters to you.”

[ Related: Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin – Was It As Good As The First? (ARC Review, Serpent & Dove #2) ]

// Content Warning: Violence, Death, Abuse, Murder //

Release Date: 9/1/2020
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Page Count: 368
Premise:

Fable follows Fable, the daughter of a renown trader, who is abandoned by her father on the shores of an island of thieves with nothing. After four years, she’s eager to get off the island, find her father, and claim her rightful place in his crew. But to do so requires the help of a mysterious trader named West, who isn’t what he seems.

“You weren’t made for this world, Fable.”

“Like light cast over the morning water, it became new. Every moment that lay ahead, like an uncharted sea. this was a new beginning.”

Writing & Setting

Adrienne Young’s writing is really fun to read. It’s both beautiful and easy to understand, hooking you in from the start and not letting you go. The setting is like that as well. The world-building is minimal, but what we do get is fascinating.

“I knew that in the Narrows, nothing was what it seemed. Every truth was twisted. Every lie carefully constructed.”

Plot

Fable feels like a fast-paced read, making it easy to read in one sitting (speaking from experience here). However, there isn’t much going on in terms of plot. Mostly, a lot of traveling, sailing and talking, with a few action scenes thrown in. It is definitely more character-focused, which can be either good or bad depending on what you’re looking for (for me, it’s good, although it wasn’t what I was expecting from this book).

“The only safety that existed was in being completely alone.”

Characters

Speaking of characters, I loved Fable’s growth over the course of the book and I can’t wait to see where she goes in the sequel. I also really enjoyed her dynamic with Saint.

Unfortunately, some relationships don’t feel as fleshed out as I would have liked. Mostly the romance. I think how Adrienne Young writes romance just doesn’t work for me, but other things make up for it. Namely that character development. Plus, there are also some great side characters!

“It was a love that broke us all.”

[ Related: My Top 10 September 2020 Book Releases! ]

Conclusion

Pros- Great character development, interesting world, fast read
Cons- Weak romance plotline, plot if fairly straight-forward and simple
Overall- 3.5/5 stars.
If you’re looking for a dark, character-focused pirate book, definitely give Fable a read.

If You Liked Fable, I’d Recommend:

• Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King #1) by Tricia Levenseller – [Review]
• To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo – [Review]
• Seafire (Seafire #1) by Natalie C. Parker – [Review]

What’s your favorite book pirate book?

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