Fable by Adrienne Young
This has been one of my favourite YA fantasy books so far this year! Since the Wellerman song has been trending all over TikTok, I haven’t been able to stop drinking in everything pirate related, and this book didn’t disappoint when it came to refilling that thirst. I have a few pirate books on my shelf at the moment but I think this series will stay in my head for some time, because of the fantastic world-building, and strong main character herself, Fable.
She’s a strong character from the beginning. She’s always been stuck on an island, left there by her father, but at first we don’t know why this is. But she’s forced to survive by dredging useful resources from the bottom of the ocean that can be resold. She’s determined to save up so she can find the father that abandoned her, and return to him, so she saves up much of her coin to get there, and along the way, meets a young, handsome and mysterious pirate called West, who owns one of the ships that her father owns.
I loved this book, and the slow connections and friendships she built when she ended up on his ship. West doesn’t usually grant passage to strangers, especially not dredgers, but for reasons Fable and West’s crew cannot understand, she is different. But those reasons come out much later.
I loved learning more about Fable, and all of the adventures she faced across the seas.
Namesake by Adrienne Young
This book was just as addictive as the first, with just as much romance and friendships, and as many sea adventures, when Fable is captured by one of her father’s enemies. But in this book she learns much more about where her late mother came from, and is forced to uncover her secrets when she meets her grandmother. I thought it was interesting how in this series, Fable never refers to any of her families by their titles, but only by their first names. For example, her father is Saint, her mother is Isolde, and her grandmother is Holland. But all of the connections Fable shares with them are slowly shared through the series, giving away Fable’s past, and those she cares for the most, showing that she’s not really the lonely soul she always thought she was.
Definitely worth a read if you love a good pirate themed fantasy YA!
April Grace 