A sharp, timely dystopian that doesn’t quite land emotionally

Fable for the End of the World offers a gritty, climate-ravaged dystopia with clear nods to early 2010s YA like The Hunger Games. The worldbuilding is bleak and compelling, with strong themes around corporate control, inequality, and survival.

But while the concept is solid, the execution felt uneven. The characters lacked depth, the romance was underdeveloped, and the ending was abrupt for a supposed standalone. Still, it's worth reading if you're craving classic dystopian vibes with modern relevance—just temper your expectations.

I was hooked on this book from the start, the plot was incredible and honestly something I could see happening in the future which is what makes dystopian books great. Personally I did feel it was a bit too short, there were definitely parts I feel could have been longer and prevented it from feeling rushed. But I can confidently say it filled the void that was left by the likes of the Hunger Games and the Maze Runner.

Fable for the End of the World is a beautifully strange and haunting book that pulled me in from the first page. Ava Reid has such a poetic way with words—her writing feels like a dream you don’t want to wake up from, even when it turns into a nightmare.

The world she creates is vivid and full of heartache, but there’s also a spark of hope running through it, which I really loved. It’s the kind of story that makes you stop and think about humanity, survival, and what truly matters when everything else is stripped away.

The characters felt raw and real, and I found myself rooting for them even when I didn’t fully understand them. There’s something deeply human in their struggles that I think will stay with me for a long time.

I gave it 4 stars because, while it’s stunning, it’s also heavy and slow in places, and I wanted just a little more resolution. That said, it’s a unique and unforgettable read that left me both emotional and inspired. Definitely worth picking up if you’re ready for something beautifully bittersweet!

The vibes were giving me The Hunger Games and The Last of Us! I loved each detail especially describing the characters and the wends. The last couple of chapters had me clawing at the book because every chapter was just so good. The end of the book had me crying and upset because of how it ended and I wish there was a second book to their story! Overall most definitely a slow burn but it doesn’t focus entirely on the romance which I love.

Fable for the end of the word by Ava Reid is a dark, unique dystopian world with a sapphic, enemies-to-lovers romance story. If you’re looking for a darker version of The Hunger games with deadly assassin trials then this is it.

It’s giving the last of us and the ballads of the songbirds vibes and follows a sapphic falling in love story of Inesa and Mel.

“I’ll always be able to find my way back to her”

I love a dual POV and the word building was detailed and beautifully written. The story was engaging with a sapphic romance, forced proximity, found family, deadly assassins, targets and trials.

I loved Inesa’s relationship with her brother Lukas and how they coped with their abusive mother and it was emotional to read and would’ve really liked more.

The story incorporates capitalism and climate change in a Dystopian world with trials that reminded me of the Hunger games .

A heartbreaking, unique dystopian story.

Trigger warnings/tropes:
Dystopian
Enemies to lovers
Sapphic lesbian romance
Violence
Deadly Trials
Found family
Assassins/target x

It was exciting to read a ya dystopian from Reid, but for now this is going to be a dnf for me (probably a soft dnf as I do think I may revisit it).

Hunger Games comparisons are completely fair, and I was excited for Reid's take on this, but I struggled to find the motivation to keep reading. I'm not sure if it's the characters or the pacing or the world but something wasn't working for me.

I wasn’t sure about this in the beginning as it felt a bit like a hunger games knock off. However as I got more into it I realised it was actually written quite beautifully. I ultimately enjoyed it and I would definitely read something by this author again.

ava reid can do no wrong. everything she writes is a true masterpiece and i am left in awe every single goddamn time

Fable is a queer love letter to the YA dystopian novels that came before it mixed with the technological and climate anxieties of today. The F/F enemies-to-lovers from different worlds blends beautifully into a critique of society and who is really winning that somehow still manage la to remain hopeful even in the darkest situation.

I feel Ms Reid and I are really going through a rough patch and I don't want to blame her publishing schedule but... :)

The beginning of Mel's storyline was definitely giving Capitol but I feel like the hunt was pretty badly established and you kind of knew from the start she was never gonna do anything to Inesa - I think it would have been more interesting if the moment she froze while killing her was the first you got of her moral issues/trauma and then it was explored from there. I also felt Inesa was just pretty useless and boring.

The Twitch-esque streaming element also felt very strange to me, especially how it played such a central role. I feel it was trying to be like the part at the end of Catching Fire where Peeta talks to Katniss but like...there's a reason why those are the holy texts and imitations will never live up :/ Mel and Inessa's relationship just wasn't interesting, and the middle felt like a lot of them just sitting around TALKING so much TALKING while camping and then trying to find civilisation (which like why if you're gonna get like killed??) and then deciding not to and then being like omg shes gonna kill me but then half a page later being like im not afraid of her im afraid of my heart :S

It just felt really melodramatic and drawn out but not really in a fun way, and since I felt like the world/plot was not really fleshed out I didn't feel like there was much tension keeping the plot going. The ending also felt like it was opening up to a sequel which I could see it going like a Catching Fire route but also think it would need to do a lot of work to flesh everything out.

In the words of Nicki Minaj, if you come for the queen you best not miss and sadly....this missed :/

The dystopian future genre is not something I’d normally pick but I love Ava Reid and will read anything she’s written so I was excited when I received an ARC of Fable.
What can I say? This book drew me in.
I love a dual POV and this did not disappoint. The MCs were brilliant in their own ways and the storytelling through the dual POVs was really clever.
The twists caught me by surprise and i felt as if i was right there with the characters.
The world building was detailed enough to orient you in the world but never felt over the top or complicated.
I wouldn’t say it’s an enjoyable read, per se, because I don’t think it’s supposed to be - but it’s touching and haunting and it really stayed with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

dnfed half way in. I liked the first half of this book, the world building was really interesting and the mcs mother was such a good cruel narcissistic character. Never have I hated someone on sight so much. But when I got into the hunt part of the book I quickly lost interest and it naturally suffers in the obvious comparison to The Hunger Games.

Back to our favorite dystopia.n era!

I quite enjoyed reading this and as my first Ava Reid book, I’m happily impressed! The plot, the characters, the vibe!

It reads just like the young adult dystopian book back in the day and I’m so here for it! Basically a queer Hunger Games, with a twist to the story!

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an early copy in exchange of an honest review!

The concept was fantastic, an absolute ode to The Hunger Games and other YA dystopia of it's time. I loved the fact we got to see the perspective of both the Angel and the Lamb. The relationship between Inesa and Luka was great, and while their mother was a villain, her character really moved the story along.

The earlier part of the book moved fast enough that when the action started I thought the momentum would keep going, until it didn't. Once we got to the cabin, it felt like things slowed down again. I liked that we got to see Inesa and Melinoe be more vulnerable here, but I did spend most of it wondering how they could possibly win.

The last 10% of the book moved really fast. I was devastated to learn the cameras had always been kept on and even more devastated by the fact they got parted at the end. I liked the hope we got in the last paragraph, but I think my faith in humanity was gone and now I wonder if Inesa will ever find Melinoe again. I will hold out hope though!!

I really liked the parallels with climate change and alate stage capitalism, and as a commentary on our current world, I thought it was very very clever. There were moments of incredible hope that I felt like weren't just for the narrative but were the author herself speaking them to the reader as a reminder that in our world, hope isn't lost either.

All in all, I'm so glad I got an ARC for this book. I really enjoyed it and will continue to be a huge Ava Reid fan.

Folks… The Ava Reid Supremacy remains steadfast.
Fable is a love letter to the dystopian era many of her fans will remember… Hunger Games 2.0, Fable writhes with anticipation and horror that feels almost unbelievable, yet so easily achievable in the Worlds current climate. Imagine a world where a sacrificial lamb is placed on a livestream of their death as they become hunted for sport by an unfathomable “angel” of death. The first time I picked up fable, it made me nauseous, incandescently angry and sick. I want to follow this with the fact I loved it.
This book delivered time and time again, in terms of plot, world building and pacing. The torturous family relationships and inescapable pain and comfort of love in a dooming world, will blast you apart. It’s an incredibly deep and tender sapphic dystopian ballad of the cost to live.
A glaring cry of where the vicious cycle of power of money and greed learns to thrive and how, in this ever turbulent world, greed can always go further than the humanity that is at stake. Readers are not ready for the way Ava Reid captivates and enthrals with each of her tales, this is no exception.

This book was so incredibly nostalgic. Reid doesn’t shy away from making it known from the beginning that The Hunger Games series is a heavy inspiration in Fable. I was worried that it would feel *too* close to Collins’ work, but was giddy that Reid found her own voice in the dystopian YA universe with this story. Inesa and Melinoë will capture your heart and their stories will have you white-knuckled gripping the book rushing through every chapter through to the end. Living in a half-sunken universe, Inesa runs a taxidermy shop while her brother hunts to make their living trying not to accrue debt with the Caerus corporation. They’re just (literally) trying to keep their heads above water when, out of the blue, Inesa is informed she’s been nominated for the Gauntlet by none other than her bed-ridden mother. The Gauntlet is a livestream spectacle that nearly everyone views on a regular basis where the nominated person (known as the Lamb) must run and fight for their life against a Caerus-bred assassin. These assassins are more than human (less than human?) and are equipped with a slew of physical, mental, and emotional advantages over your average human. Enter Melinoë: Inesa’s chosen assassin. This is her last chance at proving herself in a Gauntlet after her last near-failure that has driven her to the brink of insanity. She promises her handler that she will execute Inesa swiftly and well before the 13-day time limit of the event. Naturally, things do not go according to plan and our main characters find they have more in common than they originally thought, and they have more questions to ask of their world as they are lost in the wilderness. They might even just fall in love along the way. There were a few aspects of storytelling that grated slightly on my nerves, but that’s typical for me when reading any level of romance book. It’s important to note this didn’t detract at all from my enjoyment of this novel! Overall, this is a lovely sapphic dystopian romance that I didn’t know I needed. If you’ve been chasing the high of a dystopian YA universe since you first read The Hunger Games, I cannot recommend this enough!

DNF 50% in
Sadly I really struggled getting into this one. I was hoping for an almost nostalgic look back at the dystopian we know and love, with its many marketing comparisons to the hunger games and the authors own mentions of this. I definitely feel it’ll find its niche, especially with the rise of dystopian returning in recent months, and I may even return to it myself in the future should I be in the mood for something similar now that I’m more aware of the vibe it gives. But currently it’s proving a slow one that has me struggling to connect to the characters, and I don’t think I can continue to a good review come the end sadly.

A phenomenal read from a phenomenal author. Ava Reid shows their characteristic commitment to themes and prose in this story, and highlights a startling dystopia where parents may pit their children in a brutal murder spectacle in order to clear ginormous amounts of depths. Ava Reid perfectly builds up their characters and makes you invested in themselves and their vastly different journeys, all the while developing a tender romance between the two. Both Inesa and Mel are brilliant characters, and each show the cruelty of Caerus and how it prioritises its own well being over its citizens.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Del Rey UK for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: violence, animal death, child death, murder, injury, blood, abuse, references to suicide

Fable for the End of the World is a YA dystopian book from the incredible Ava Reid, set in a dying world where a company named Caerus encourages people to fall into enormous amounts of debt. In order to pay them off, they send members of their own families into a live streamed event called the Gauntlet, where they must flee murder at the hands of conditioned assassins named Angels. Few make it out of the Gauntlet alive, but the event is hugely popular, especially in towns outside of the cities, where everything is sinking, animals are born mutated and eating their flesh can turn you into a monster. Inesa lives with her brother and mother in a devastated town, barely scraping by from the tiny takings of their taxidermy shop. Secretly, her mother has gained massive debts and the only way out is to offer Inesa up as collateral, entering her to be the newest sacrifice in the Lamb’s Gauntlet. Melinoe is the Angel sent to kill the sacrificial Lambs and she’s good at it, having been physically and neurologically altered into killing perfection. Legendarily popular with audiences, Melinoe is a cold and calculating weapon, known for her detachment. However, following an enormous failure in the last Gauntlet, where she had a breakdown, Melinoe has been on thin ice. Sent out into the wasteland to chase and kill Inesa, Melinoe knows that she has to kill this Lamb quickly. When Inesa manages to escape, and the two fall into a deadly area cut off from Caerus entirely, they have to work together to survive. As they begin to question the lives they’ve been forced to live, Melinoe and Inesa do something forbidden: they fall in love.

This was a really touching take on a dystopian world, and like the afterward says, a beautiful throwback to the world of 2010’s YA fiction like the Hunger Games. I loved Inesa and her brother Luka’s relationship, especially with the ways they coped with their abusive mother, and I wish we’d seen a little more of him. Inesa is brave, deeply loving and hopeful, despite living in a world that has sucked all the joy out of everything and everyone telling her otherwise. Alternatively Melinoe has been ground down into nothing and rebuilt in the image of an assassin, she was my favourite character in this book and I loved her perspective the most, particularly as she began to realise she deserved better. One aspect of this book I really enjoyed is that though it’s set in a dystopia, there are still moments of beauty and love, especially as Inesa and Melinoe grow closer. I wish we’d seen more of the other Angels, and gotten a bit of a wider world, but the relationship between the two women is the focus and that is gorgeous. The social commentary that feels so relevant today was brilliantly written, which is one of the things I always love about Ava Reid’s writing and I enjoyed how the characters were forced to challenge the things they believe. I didn’t love the ending, it felt a little sudden and I’m dying for a sequel because that can’t be the last we see of Inesa and Melinoe.

I’m completely obsessed with this book. The Last of Us meeting The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the perfect description of this book and it’s exactly why I love it. It had a similar construct to the hunger games without being a carbon copy.

It was a slow start for me to get into the story but once the main plot took off I couldn’t stop reading. I finished this in one setting and honestly it could well be my book of the year.