Review
If you have already seen my review for Fable here you will know that I absolutely loved it!
I moved immediately onto Namesake because of Fable’s evil cliffhanger – yes, evil! Be warned!
Thank you St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my early e-copy. Sorry I couldn’t wait to read and review it.
Anyway, Namesake was everything that I hoped and needed it to be! Fable took me a little while to get into but then I flew through it and Namesake picks itself straight up after Fable finishes (THANK CRUNCHIE). If I had had to wait to know what happens I may have combusted and that wouldn’t be pretty I don’t think!
I will try and keep this spoiler free but my fingers are literally dancing writing this – I can’t keep it in! I will most definitely include Fable spoilers though – this is your last warning.
After aligning herself with the crew of the Marigold in book one, we rejoin Fable after she sweetly went into the town to buy West his ring back but is captured while doing so. My heart broke to think about how West would feel waking up without Fable there but that’s why I loved this book so much! Namesake wraps us up once more in pirate-y adventure goodness, Adrienne Young has a magical way with words that really takes you into the world she has created and that makes my heart soar.
Fable grows even more in book two, into herself and into a leader, her story-arc has been one of my favourites in 2020 and this duology will be in my Top 10 for a while I imagine. Fable is strong-willed and clever, a fab role model and a deep character in general. Young builds the character up over the course of both books which is impressive considering most series’ take far longer to do the same thing. We learn more about Fable through her relationships and what she doesn’t say than what she does – while the relationship with her father wasn’t great, I really appreciated how it was written and unfolded. He abandoned her but she stood by him, a position I can relate to so it was great to see it written down and not used manipulatively. This was a huge part of Fable’s story and it showed us not only how ruthless she could be but also how compassionate and moral.
In terms of her other relationships – her connection with West was lovely. Nice and subtle, I didn’t feel like it was shoved down my throat and it didn’t seem forced. I did find that it was suggested a bit too often that we shouldn’t be trusting West but it didn’t affect my enjoyment and it didn’t overwhelm the narrative in my opinion. It was quite nice to have a YA Fantasy that focussed on the story rather than the love life (I think I may be over love-triangles haha). Fable’s connection with the rest of the crew was also refreshing – while they are all definitely side-characters, they all do bring something to the story and it works well to complement the main narrative.
I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers – YA and Adult alike as it is a really refreshing read and perfect to escape 2020 with! I’m definitely on the lookout for more fantasy novels set at sea so hit me up!
You can pre-order Namesake now (sorry it isn’t out yet)
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