The premise of this series and this book really appealed to me. And I’ve seen it get lots of love on the socials. Whilst book 1 didn’t speak to my heart and soul, I was hopeful for book 2. Sadly, this one didn’t hit the mark for me, which continues the story of Fable as she tries to find her own identity after some big bombshells are revealed and all is not what she first thought. There’s development of her story and some of the facts behind decisions made by supporting characters, but there wasn’t much development of the characters and her relationships with them. Sadly I didn’t really connect with Fable.

Thanks to the team at Titan Books and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know why I took so long to get to this, as I really enjoyed Fable, but following a reread of that (yay, loved the excuse!) I happily (finally!) dove into this.

I found the beginning a little slow after the action at the end of the first, and as Fable is stuck clearly being manipulated by everyone around her. But it picks up and I loved the end! I like that she’s out of her depth with the politics and machinations, while surrounded by people mired in it. It feels like she’s the teenager she actually is, and not secretly a grown up.

I did want more of crew towards the end so we can see how they get through everything that happens to them! Their relationships and friendships give me joy and are my favourite thing, so would happily have had more of that!

I’m definitely going to be picking up Saint after all this, as the library has it. Looking forward to backstory there!

A great duology (with a prequel and sequel ish standalone not included lol) that I definitely recommend. 4 stars.

What a fantastic follow up to the first book in this series. I adored the plot, the characters and the fantasy world, amazing read!

Swashbuckling sequel that manages to be quite different to the first book. We find Fable mixed up in various plots with a good range of manipulative morally grey characters. These books have pretty decent world building for a YA series in my opinion, and whilst I wasn't particularly bothered by the romance aspect it didn't take up too much of the page count and was nicely balanced by the more complex father-daughter relationship with Saint. Some of the other secondary characters could have done with more depth but overall I've enjoyed the books in this series so far.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Despite all odds and not liking the authors previous work, I absolutely loved Fable and Namesake. I felt like the second book kind of meandered quite a bit all over the place, but I still really enjoyed it and the aspect to do with gems. I actually would have enjoyed more of that.
The romance, at times, felt very forced, but I still enjoyed it and most of the side characters. I liked it enough that I am excited to read the last legacy and saint's story too. I find it memorable enough that I remember most of the characters names months after reading which is usually a good indicator of if I enjoyed a book or not. Fable is an interesting heroine and i also enjoy that she doesn't get things right all the time.
Maybe it was a little annoying that she had to have a secret omg my grandmother is a famous person, but this is a YA book so who am I kidding...

3.5 / 5 ✪



The exciting conclusion to the duology takes no time to get moving, picking up right where Fable left off. It has no trouble entertaining throughout until some frankly odd choices derail it approaching the end.

Ever since she was little, Fable has desired one thing over every other: her father’s love and affection. But that is one thing Saint never gives. And so after her escape from Jevali, everything she has done has been in order to cut ties with the man. Now Fable has her own crew, a man she loves, a place on a ship of her own—having recently bought her way free of Saint’s influence.

But when she is kidnapped by Zola, Fable’s freedom will once again be out of her hands. Confined to his ship, surrounded by enemies and strangers, Fable feels more alone than she ever has before. And it would almost be tolerable, except for one thing.

Clove.

Her father’s navigator and the man that had been more a father to her than Saint ever was. He now heads Zola’s ship, and surely had a hand in her kidnapping. Worse still, he’s one of only a handful that knows of her true parentage—something it seems he’s shared with his new master. Which is undoubtedly the reason she now finds herself confined aboard her enemy’s deck.

But Zola has more on his mind than her father. He needs something from Fable, something that she must help him with if she ever wants to see West and the <i>Marigold</i> again. But it seems that Fable isn’t the only one harboring secrets, and this secret will change her life forever.

—

Namesake marks the return to Adrienne Young’s sea-soaked Fable, and one young woman’s journey to find her place amongst the waves. Fable has been through a lot in her short life, rising from the shores of Jeval to the <i>Marigold</i> with a man she loves and a tight-knit crew that’s almost family. For the first time since her mother died, Fable has found happiness. But Namesake takes that happiness and shreds it.

Kidnapped and surrounded by enemies, the adventure begins and is automatically immersive. The world itself is unchanged, with the Narrows proving just as interesting as it did in the first book. A sea speckled with islands, ports, and reefs to be dredged. And that’s where Namesake excels, just like Fable before it. On the bottom of the sea. In a land of water and reefs, on the constant hunt for minerals. But there is more to it than that. The mystery of whatever Zola wants with her looms over her head, as does the price the <i>Marigold</i> will have to pay to get her back. We’ll find out much more about West and his crew in this book, but also Fable herself.

I didn’t get the romance at all in this. Yes, I realize that the heart wants what it wants and that love is blind and can’t be reasoned with. Still, Fable spends a majority of the text worrying over it anyway. How she can’t trust West; how there’s a darkness within him that scares her; how he reminds her of Saint in all the bad ways. And predictably, nothing comes of it. I mean, it’s not much of a spoiler who Fable romances—there isn’t a love-triangle in Namesake. It’s Fable trying to rationalize and justify West, something that she never really does. But she keeps at it, right up until the end, where it’s almost magically resolved as a darkness they share (even though there’s really no darkness to Fable, at least not in the same way).

Say what you want about the romance, but the story rolled right along right up to the end and took no effort to read. Which made the ending itself all the more confusing. Yes, I realize that there is another story set in the same world, and the plot choices at the end of Namesake are likely an attempt to set up this next story. But that’s the only reason some of them make sense. There’s one <i>moment</i> in particular. It’s hard to explain without any spoilers, but sufficient to say that if the <i>moment</i> DOESN’T come up in the future stories, then I can’t figure out a single reason why it was included. It makes literally zero sense, and contradicts the entirety of the story that led to it.

TL;DR

Namesake marks the end of the duology, and our introduction to the world of the Narrow Sea. While there is now another book—The Last Legacy—set in this world, Namesake marks the end of Fable’s journey, and her journey to discover what kind of woman she’ll become. As coming-of-age tales go, this was an interesting adventure, with mystery and thrill, emotion and passion, deception and betrayal. I never had any trouble with the story, and was immediately immersed back into the world from the outset. Yes, there’s a lot to love as Fable’s journey comes to a close, but the romance itself was not one of them. It was more of a mystifying tale of contradictions, worry, secrets, and strange, almost contradicting choices. I mean, one could argue that that’s what love is all about, but it’s not something I’m used to seeing in these YA books. Had it been a grimdark romance where everyone is secretly trying to murder and/or seduce each other—that would be another story. But on the whole, I’d recommend it—particularly if you enjoyed the first book before it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So after devouring Fable and absolutely loving it I knew I needed to carry on this duology ASAP. I absolutely adore these characters and after the cliffhanger in Fable, I had to know what happened next and where Fable's journey would take her next.

This book did not disappoint and I ended up reading it in one sitting. I love books set at sea and this duology is one of the best I've read. Namesake is full of adventure and twists and turns that I never saw coming! I was happy with how each character developed over the two books and would be more than happy to read more in this world and with these characters.

Overall an amazing duology and whilst Namesake didn't completely blow me away in comparison to Fable, it was still amazing and I recommend this series to everyone!

The world expands massively in this book. We leave the Narrows behind and head across the Untamed Sea to Bastion, getting tangled in the politics of trade (cue squealing.) We get to see how the trade agreements shape livelihoods, or destroy them, and Fable's drawn into the web.

I always love seeing worlds expand, and for it to be in a political direction was just perfect! There are more dredging scenes, and a side character returns from the first book to help. The locations and prizes are new, to help keep them interesting and fresh, and this time there are physical and human dangers to avoid.

It was also fun to see the crew of <em>the Marigold </em>dumped out of their comfort zone, and then West is made to choose what's important to him. Cue lots of emotional strain on the crew that threatens to break them apart. Plus the hints we see of the Roths (the focus on the companion book) made me very excited for that.

While there is still a lot of focus on Saint (Fable's father), a lot of time is also spent this book exploring her mother, Isolde. She's dead, and the absence has had as much of an effect on Fable as her father leaving her for four years. Her mother had so many secrets, and she's not around to be asked, so Fable is learning all sorts of things about her mother through other's interpretations, trying to work out who this woman was.

(Aside, I am not sure what to make of the Fable/Saint relationship. She seemed to turn her back on him, as he is NOT GREAT, at the end of FABLE, but then this book is partly her trying to save him, and then seem to end up OK with each other, which felt a bit weird.)

I have to say, I did not quite enjoy this as much as the first book in the duology. I re-read FABLE, and loved it just as much again, but this follow-up doesn't quite have the same feel. It's a lovely book, don't get me wrong, as just as easy to gulp down, but it was lacking the same atmosphere. The writing is great, but it doesn't have that submerged under water, weightless and muffled feeling, which is really what set FABLE apart for me. It feels a lot faster, and like it's a book of three stories after another. They are connected and each event set up with plenty of time to sink in, but it feels a little more segmented here.

Fable ends in a good place for the characters and the story, and the future is looking good.

Which obviously means things go horribly, horribly wrong.

As brutal as it was beautiful, this book once again managed to hit all the nails on the head, and provide a fantastical ride (literally) through the perials of being a pirate, and the dangerous of being a woman in a world controlled by men. The patriarchy literally never stops. A real page turner, stay up until 3am kind of read.

This was fine, but after Fable was so fast-paced and nothing felt wasted this was sort of slow and plodding and not as good.

There was also a lot of retconning of characters I thought that I wasn't sure was entirely earned.

I think splitting Fable from the characters we'd spent time with in book one for the start was a risky move, and I would've been curious to read another point of view to know what was going on in her absence. I also don't know why getting so many gems was a bit part of Zola's plan when they were going somewhere where the person had more gems and money than they could want.... I'm not sure it actually made sense.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited I got an ARC for this, meant I didn’t have to wait for my FairyLoot edition. Namesake picks up right where Fable finished (no spoilers for those who haven’t read Fable). I loved the fact there’s no recap or longwinded catch up etc just straight into the action, with my beloved banter being there from the get go. Our favourite characters are still as special, but with some knew characters that we get to know and we also get to know old characters better too. I loved the mystery and suspense in this and I loved how much Fable grows. The romance side is wonderful , definitely more in this book and I’m here for that. This (and Fable) is a great nautical fantasy, with magic, mystery, suspense and a lot of warmth, the perfect end to an amazing duology

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion .

Of course is this only my personal opinion on the book and just because i give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review,

I was excited to read the next book in the Fable Duology because I liked the setting and the characters in book one. I wasn’t sure what the plot would be in Namesake because I thought that it could have been a standalone, wasn’t there the cliffhanger at the end of Fable.
I don’t know what happened to Namesake. The writing style was good to read but I just had the feeling that there were things cut out in the editing process and I discussed the book with some other people and I think we found some plotholes.
I still liked Fable and the crew but I started to dislike West because his character totally changed in my opinion and to be honest: I found him quite manipulative and I could not feel the chemistry between him and our heroine.
The plot was okay but everything felt too rushed. I thought a lot about how I should rate this story because I was torn between 2,5 and 3 stars. Lastly, I went with 3 stars with one eye closed because I enjoyed the setting and the characters (besides West) a lot but I could not see past the plotholes and the rushed plot to give more than 3 stars.

Conclusion
Sadly not as good as Fable

I give 3 from 5 Stars

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I read the first book in this duology, Fable , last year and I loved it so much it easily found its way on my best of 2020 list. So as you can probably imagine, I was equal parts excited for Namesake and terrified to read it out of concern that it wouldn't meet my now very, very high expectations. But, while in a sense it didn't, I still ended up really enjoying Namesake as well.

Namesake picks up exactly where Fable left off, which would have been perfect if I'd read these straight after one another. Because obviously I didn't, despite knowing that my memory is just not good enough for me to try stunts like this, it took me a minute to actually remember who some of the secondary characters were and what their deal was. Once I'd caught up, Namesake started flowing as easily as Fable had, and I was soon immersed in this world again.

Without going into too much detail to avoid spoilers, this book shows a new side to Fable. Where in the previous book the focus was on Fable looking for (and finding) her family and her place in the world, this time it's all about holding on to what she has - and as such, the stakes have never been higher. There was a lot more politics as well, and plenty of discussions featuring trade routes and regulations. I actually appreciated this as it helped flesh out the world even more and added depth to most of what we'd learned in the previous book. But don't worry! There was still plenty of deviousness, treachery and backstabbing to keep me on my toes, as the characters continue being their usual murderous selves.

The characters were actually what let me down a bit in this book, sadly. I had loved the interactions and the Marigold crew in the previous book and was really looking forward to a greater development of those characters and their dynamics in the sequel. Unfortunately, this didn't really happen. For the most part, we actually followed a completely new set of characters (aside from Fable) and, when the Marigold crew finally made an appearance, all they did was argue, leaving me with close to zero new development.

West was probably the biggest letdown, as he displayed really horrible behaviour towards everyone, continuing in this even after he was called out on it and explicitly asked to stop. I did enjoy getting to know and re-evaluating some secondary characters from the previous book who had space to shine here, and to my surprise, previously horrible Koy and Saint actually became my new faves. As much as I love found family tropes, the father-daughter scenes in this book were hands down the best and absolutely unbeatable.

Keeping up with the ruthlessness and darkness of the previous book, Namesake was a highly satisfying conclusion to this duology. Even though some of the characters didn't quite live up to the previous book, there was plenty here to keep me entertained and turning the pages way into the night.

‘Namesake’, a follow-up to ‘Fable’ and the last instalment in this exciting duology, was a fun read and I have enjoyed continuing Fable’s journey, especially after the first book has finished with the cliff-hanger so to speak.

‘Namesake’ picks up almost immediately after the end of ‘Fable’, with Fable being kidnapped by Zola. As a result, ‘Namesake’ immediately drops us into action and adventures Fable encounters this time around. I have enjoyed learning more about familiar faces and meeting new characters in book 2 of Adrienne Young’s duology.

I’ve always been a fan of stories and adventures set on the sea, so ‘Fable’ and ‘Namesake’ definitely were my kind of book. While in some ways, I have enjoyed book 1 a little bit more, ‘Namesake’ had so many good moments and a great atmosphere throughout the book. Fable is a great and interesting character, and it’s been definitely interesting to uncover the events from her point of view, but I what I really loved was the interactions between all the crew members at the Marigold. Perhaps this is the reason why I enjoyed book 1 a little bit more, it felt like the crew of Marigold didn’t play as significant role in ‘Namesake’ as in the previous one. But overall, I will definitely recommend this duology to anyone enjoying fantasy with sea adventures!

I read this straight after Fable, so I have the whole story in my head playing in repeat.

Namesake just picks up from where we left it and it doesn’t luck in action. It’s eventful and it has more love and a lot of plotting (A LOT). It’s amazing how things change dramatically in this book!

I like how the main character becomes even more determined to get what she wants. She knows what is best for her and the people she loves and she will do anything to make it happen.

Another thing that I really liked in this series is the strong female lead. It’s apparent in all female characters and the way they take matters in hands. The ending is very very pleasing and somehow restores a lot of the things in the story.

Not gonna say more. Go and read it folks!

Namesake is a very satisfying conclusion to a wonderful story.

Namesake continues right where Fable finished - right after Fable is kidnapped by Zola. And the story takes off immediately. No long run-up to the action, but politics and snazzy banter right away.

Just like in the first part, the characters are great. Because there’s some distance between Fable and the crew of the Marigold, there’s plenty of space to get to know some new characters - like Clove, Zola and Holland - and get to know some old characters better - like Koy.

The one thing I would’ve liked to see a bit more, though, are some more and deeper interactions between Fable and everyone. Fights got resolved off-screen, relationships bloomed a bit too fast. It wasn’t too much of a bother, but the characters in Fable ate what really drove the story, so I would’ve liked to see a bit more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Namesake (and Fable), and I am very excited to see what next book Andrienne Young comes up with.

To say that this is one of my favourite fantasy duet ever is not overstated because if you know me, I rarely read fantasy books but I fallen in love with Fable and had to continue her journey through the ups and downs of her young life.
I loved the mystery and suspenseful moments, and I loved how much she grows on all planes. Oh, and the romance side of the story was my favourite because I’m always looking forward to that in any book.
A must read duet for all book lovers.

This was a perfect end to the duology. It continues to be well written and has a pace that is comfortable to read at. I did feel that there was a little less depth in this one than the first but maybe because I was already used to the world building and characters.
The characters continue to develop within this book and friendships and relationships are tested throughout. Plot turns and twists made me keep reading and I wanted to finish it in one go but had to pace it because I couldn't afford to stay up all night reading.
Definitely going to be purchasing hardcopies of both books as I love this authors work.

The sequel to Fable, this books picks up where the last leaves off. In this book we learn more of Fable's background and skills.

I found again that Adrienne Young's writing transports me into her world so easily. After the cliffhanger ending of the first book I was excited to find out what happened next. I liked how the world expanded in this book. It also feels satisfying to come to a conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Titan Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“There are some things that can’t be carved from a person, no matter how far from home they’ve sailed.”

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and the rest of the crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when Fable becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination, she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems. As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception, she learns that the secrets her mother took to her grave are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them, then she must risk everything—including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

Fable remains to be utterly feisty and brilliantly sassy. It just makes me love her more. Despite dangerous situations she’s thrust into, she remains true to her ideals and who she is, remaining laser focused on her goals. We get to see more vulnerability in Fable this time and it really endeared her to me more! Her past is chasing into the present in various ways - both old and painful, new and dangerous - and yet she still focuses on the task at hand, doing her best to not just keep herself alive - but her found family too.
West felt rather different to me. Clearly losing Fable reverted him back into a broodier, more feral version of himself. And yet I felt like it was entirely right. This young man has a very dark past, it doesn’t just go away. It leaves an imprint on you that’s difficult to shake.
The crew of the Marigold remain to be a motley crew, each with similar motivations but entirely different reasonings. We see their bonds be tested, their own pasts come to light and hold resentment for their plans being thrown off course. And yet, we still get to see his family find their own.

I’ll admit, initially I wasn’t entirely sure this would live up to its predecessor. But as the story progressed and twists and turns made themselves evident, I was utterly hooked. The story felt unpredictable which I LOVE. I need a story that keeps me guessing, that has me saying “one more chapter” and suddenly I’ve read four more instead. It was raw and engaging and you bet I was bawling with that ending. It’s such a brilliant story and I cannot wait to revisit it in the future.

Overall, Namesake is an emotional, epic conclusion to a story that makes you want to see the world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5