FableAdrienne Young
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For seventeen-year-old Fable, the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home she 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. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.
Fable is a young girl who was left to fend for herself by her own father, Saint. Growing up on Jevali as a dredger who finds and sells precious gems where possible, she’s suffered more than most as she tries to survive the ruthless island. As she earns just enough to get away, and just in time to avoid being hurt or worse, she decides to find answers from her father who had left her all those years ago.
I adored Fable as a character as it’s from her POV, and we see her acting tough and like the person she needs to be in the circumstances, but we also learn that she’s more fragile than she would like. She’s also still young and naïve, chasing her father for answers when she also tries to vehemently stay independent and like she needs no one else. Her growth in this book is realising that she does need other people, and she can rely on them to help her when asked.
West is the captain of the ship that Fable has traded with and pays to deliver her to her father’s home base, and he has his own issues to deal with. West’s crew are basically a tight knit family, with a code of democracy and loyalty than runs deep and is something Fable has never really experienced before.
Finding their way across the Narrows, we learn about each of the crew members just a little bit, and each member lets Fable into their lives in differing amounts which is understandable. West and Willa are both more open with Fable as they have the most sway within the crew, although the others do eventually open up to Fable too. I truly hope we learn even more about the crew in the next book, Namesake.
When first picking up the book, the story is that Fable needs to find her father and you assume this will the main plot of the book. But, about halfway through we meet Saint and are sent on another story which helps Fable learn even more about herself, the crew, and her father. So about halfway through you’re truly gripped as you want to find out even more as other secrets are slowly uncovered.
The story is much slower paced than other sea-faring stories, but the depth is within the characters we meet and the actions they take. We learn to understand the characters, and the reasons for why they do things (even when their hands are forced) and so it’s not like a typical Pirate book. It’s actually not explicitly a Pirate book at all as they’re not referred to as Pirates but as simple Traders who are trying to be the monopoly in the Narrows.
Along with the slower-pace, there’s not much world building happening. We learn about Jevali, and quickly leave it behind with Fable and then we’re pretty much on the Marigold for the majority of the book. There’s a brief exploration of some other ports, and where Fable grew up but because the focus is mostly on the characters there’s nothing that truly stands out from the places we visit. This isn’t like Viper where each place has defining features for the reader to differentiate places unfortunately.
Overall, I enjoyed Fable and I so want to read the next book like NOW. However, it’s a book for readers who enjoy character driven stories, and high fantasy readers who love world building and action may find it less enjoyable.
Positives of Fable
- Character driven
- Multiple secrets to uncover
Negatives of Fable
- Slow pace at times
- Minamal world building
I received Fable by Adrienne Young from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review
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