Fable

- Adrienne Young

Albany, WA

October 19, 2022

GOODREADS BOOK BLURB:

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.

SERIES / GENRES:

FIRST WORDS:

That bastard was leaving me again.

MY REVIEW:

solid, good read:

☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5

This is one of those books I’ve seen everywhere. I looked at the cover and the name, and made some pretty big assumptions. Instead of fantasy and folklore, Fable is adventure and swashbuckling. Not what I was expecting, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Nothing is free.
He wasn't just talking about food or passage or the clothes on your back. He was talking about respect. Safety. Protection. They were things no one owed you.
And one way or another, you always paid.

To overcome the expected, these characters had to play their roles perfectly. The tension, distrust, and grudging acceptance is beautiful. Everyone has secrets, and rather than it being a problem, it’s the rule. Don’t let anyone know anything that could be used against you. This is all leading down a path of predictable adventure with an estranged father, something to prove, and a hint of romance, but Young makes it work.

Never, under any circumstances, reveal who or what matters to you.
I was taking a risk when I jumped into the water. I was showing my hand. That I didn't just care about the Lark or joining a crew. I cared about West. And I was becoming less and less afraid of what he might do if he knew it.

Fast-paced from the first page, you have to keep up. Lots of showing, less telling, and thankfully an advantage to keeping secrets from everyone means no one talks about their feelings too much. Although, for someone trying to prove herself, Fable seems to cry a lot. Not that she isn’t entitled to her tears – her life is pretty shitty – but it happens more than you’d expect due to the circumstances.

Fable sets a framework for this series that I’m excited to continue.