I was initially drawn to Fable for the End of the World by its dystopian premise—something akin to The Hunger Games but with a unique twist: a society where people can take on debt in exchange for others' sacrifices. It’s an idea with a lot of potential, but unfortunately, the execution just didn't do it justice.

One of my biggest issues was the pacing. The chapters felt overly long, making it difficult to stay engaged, especially with so much happening at once. There were too many threads competing for attention, and instead of feeling immersive, it all became overwhelming. While this is a standalone novel, the ending left me completely unsatisfied.

That’s not to say this is a bad book—it’s clear the author had ambitious ideas. However, it felt like it was trying to do far too much in too little space. The comparison to The Hunger Games ultimately didn’t hold up, as it lacked the same clarity of world-building and character depth. There were moments of great writing, such as “The world can break anything,” which really encapsulates the bleak tone, but overall, the book didn’t leave a lasting impression.

If you’re looking for a dystopian read with a thought-provoking premise, this might still be worth a try—but for me, it just didn’t quite deliver.

4.5 ⭐️
By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.

Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.

When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, she might stand a chance of staying alive.

I loved this, I’ve noticed in Ava Reid’s writing that the romance never starts properly until around 50-60% of the way through the book. I think this is such a clever way to get your teeth into the plot.

The story was extremely well written with themes of climate change and capitalism woven throughout, it was on the nose when described as a sapphic The Hunger Games. The ending broke my heart but made the story come together. I loved the romance between the two main characters, very well written and sweet. If she decided to write a sequel then I’d definitely buy it.

Thank you netgalley and Del Rey for providing me with this eARC for review.
My 4th Ava Reid book overall, and the 3rd that I have absolutely adored. This is one for the hunger games girlies and as a hunger games girly I say thank you Ms Reid.

This is my second Ava Reid book that I’ve read and I really enjoy her writing style and usage of words. This book is a dystopian ya with a sapphic romance. I really enjoyed this book, I liked the settings, the characters and the overall plot. I especially liked the terminator style hunting within this book. There was a lot going on and I really cared for the characters. I wanted a little bit more information at some parts hence the 4 star rating instead of 5 but I really enjoyed this one. I will definitely be reading more Ava Reid.

I love this author so much. With each new book it is a automatic request as so far I loved ever of her books and knew I won't be disappointed with this one. This book shows that the dystopian genre could do a
huge come back. Yes I'm biased most of my favourite books are dystopian lol.

But anyway, the book has a great plot and I don't even have to mention but I shall, the writing was great. It is easy to read but also a bit poetic which was just great.

A searing and utterly compelling dystopian marvel. This is dystopia back with a vengeance, and it's brilliant. Reid crafts a world where the monolithic corporation Caerus holds society in a vice-like grip through engineered debt, a chillingly plausible scenario that resonates with our current anxieties.
Inesa, struggling to survive in a half-submerged town, is forced into the horrific Lamb's Gauntlet, a televised assassination event, to pay off her mother's crushing debt. Melinoë, the genetically engineered assassin, is her hunter, haunted by past failures and driven by a cold, relentless purpose. What unfolds is a heart-pounding chase across a desolate wasteland, filled with tense encounters and unexpected moments of warmth.
Reid weaves a tale that is both thrilling and thought-provoking. This isn't just a simple action-packed story; it's a scathing commentary on capitalism and our dwindling compassion for our fellow man and our planet. The world-building is immersive, and the characters are complex and compelling. The enemies-to-lovers trope is executed with a delicate balance of tension and tenderness. .
The story is jam-packed with action from start to finish interspersed with vivid descriptions of their crumbling world.
This book would look absolutely excellent as a movie! Hint.

This is a heavy read in this moment in time, considering how close to home it hits with its dystopian exploration of the future. I would have really appreciated it being a bit more hopeful, being a YA dystopia, but it's difficult not to see how realistic everything is, in the end.

Reid tells us openly that this story was born as The Hunger Games' fanfic, and it's also very clear when reading the book, even though she goes to some darker places quicker and show us a reality way closer to our own.

Having read other books by the author, this one tackles the dark issues with some more levity, barely exploring them, which is a pity, for Reid has written darker books for the same young audiences.

It's a really good book, I was just personally expecting something a bit different from the author.

Fable for the end of the world is a sapphic dystopian romance which follows Melinoe, the Angel killer, and her target, Inesa, the Lamb. Fighting their way through the wilderness and for their survival their relationship changes.
I sped through this book and I think anyone who loved the Hunger Games will too. Its got the same forbidden romance and just trying to find happiness in a messed up world vibe.
That ending!!! Can’t spoil it for anyone though hehe
A solid 4 stars 💕

4⭐️

This book threw me back into my childhood love for dystopian fiction, with a Hunger Games vibe but offering something fresh. The concept of the gauntlet is so cool, and the world lore is so unique.

Alas, I wanted more: more lore, more backstory, more of the gauntlet, basically more of everything. I couldn’t help but wish this was part of a series, as there’s so much i want to know about this world !!

The characters though *chefs kiss*. Mel and Inesa are strong and complex and I LOVED their relationship. But the boy that stole my heart, Luka. HE JUST LOVES HIS SISTER SO MUCH 🥹🥹. Basically Miss Ava you wrote these relationships so well that i am in love with all these characters.

While the book works well as a standalone, I’d love to see more of this world. Still, it’s definitely worth the read (but I really wish it was part of a series) 🥲

Love that dystopian books are back!!

This was so great! I loved the world building and the scary thought that a world like described could be a possibility due to the stupidity of human nature!

This book felt like a nostalgic throwback with added sapphic love. It was beautifully done and the characters of Mel and Inesa were well fleshed out.

I would definitely recommend!

FABLE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD is a dystopian that feels like THE HUNGER GAMES of this new wave of dystopians.

It's an engaging tale of survival, looking into the face of someone you've been told to fear but discovering they are a victim too - a smokescreen for others' cruelty - and the choice to love in the face of fear and despair. I galloped through the tale, wanting to know how Inesa was going to survive.

Following in THE HUNGER GAMES' footsteps, this is a book about blood sports as a form of control, televising death to placate the masses. It is couched in terms of debts, the way these are made unsustainable by design and the ways finances can be used to control people.

As well as Inesa, Melinoe is also a narrator. It gives us a glimpse into the world of the Angels, the ways they are controlled body and mind - used and then discarded, sent to satisfy any desires the corporation has. It helped show how every aspect of the program was one of exploitation, full of unwilling participants who were manipulated into doing as bidden.

Like many dystopians set in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster, this book does get the effects of radiation wrong. It's a minor thing part of the world building, and I suspect someone who isn't a nuclear physicist wouldn't pick up on it (after all, most media use "irradiation" and "contamination" interchangeably even when they're different!)

While the romantic relationship is a major part of this book, it is not a romance - because it is missing a HEA/HFN. There is hope that one will come in the future, but it is also a question of whether that is the character clinging to hope in the face of the odds, a self-delusion like many other hopes have been revealed as in the course of the book.

I liked this. I love tragedies so more sombre endings are often my preferred type. Given the sheer control the corporation holds in this book, it felt so much more realistic that they would snatch something away at the end - particularly as it's a standalone. It took Katniss three books to overthrow Panen, after all!

This is a totally different style to what Ava normally writes, but with the same beautiful writing and characters you can't help but love.

Think of an apocalyptic love story, throw in betrayal, a journey or discovery and heart break you get Fable for the end of the world.

Just perfect!

Absolutely devoured this. My first Ava Reid and it was so good! A dystopian YA novel that really threw me back to the 2010s when I first read The Hunger Games so it felt super nostalgic. Sapphic YA dystopia in a drowned, climate ravaged , hyper corporate/capitalistic world with a live-streamed assassination gauntlet. Was hooked and captivated throughout, highly recommend and will definitely be picking up more of Ava Reid’s work!

2.5-3 stars

Really disappointed by this one but I *did* have a fun time reading it. One thing Ava Reid has is that even if I hate everything else, I can still sail through her books because of the writing. It just works for me - this one isn't as lyrical as her previous books, but it still flows and is very immersive.

The other thing I loved about this book was the worldbuilding! I think the set up was really clever and you can tell a lot of thought has gone into exploring this dystopian future.

The problem for me is I think this book was trying to balance too much - it was about climate change, exploitation, capitalism, abuse, relationships with a power imbalance, familial bonds in a difficult world - and it made it seem quite shallow in the end. The plot had more holes than a slice of swiss cheese, the characters were a little bland, and I could tell by the end that I wasn't going to get a satisfying ending that I wanted.

I think having such a close plotline to the hunger games is going to do this book a disservice because that series does exploitation and overcoming corruption incredibly well, balancing romance alongside that. I don't think this book is aiming to do that, but because it's set up in a similar way, it kind of makes you think it's got something to say about these evil corporations that do evil things. But it kind of doesn't, which is a shame.

I hope this book finds its audience as I think some people will really like it - especially if you're after a YA romance.

Ava Reid’s storytelling is as stunning as ever—lush, intricate, and deeply moving. This book is a mesmerizing blend of folklore and philosophy, offering a thought-provoking and beautifully written tale that stays with you.

I know Ava Reid is one of my favourite authors when she can take my least favourite genre (dystopian, I’m sorry!) and turn it into a heart wrenching and propulsive story that I read from start to finish in one day. I simply couldn’t put it down. Ava’s note about the the Hunger Games inspiration was definitely apt - so much of the feelings I remember from reading the trilogy in my teens came back when reading Fable. The claustrophobic world where you feel both powerless and enraged, the hostile natural world, the watching eyes - the romance that was very real but was manipulated for the viewers. The pacing was fantastic and I loved the dual POV, especially from an author who usually writes single narration. The cat and mouse between Inesa and Mel kept me on the edge of my seat, and I loved the slow but believable shift in feelings between them. The ending left me reeling…. And surely, SURELY a sequel is on the cards. I simply need to see these two get their happy ending!

It took me a little bit to get into this book but 2nd half saved it for me. The first half was alot background and introduction which is needed for the 2nd half.

It really did remind me of a sapphic hunger games which I really enjoyed. The characters grew on me and together their journey was emotional. There was part of me that wanted more from the story and certain aspects explained and I found it very YA.

In a (probably not so far away) future, in a world ravaged by climate change and ruled by capitalism, anyone who finds themselves in a crippling debt can nominate a person to a gauntlet. A televised hunt of a Lamb, the nominated person, by an Angel, a perfect killing machine. Inesa is the newest Lamb, nominated by her mother. And the girl who will be hunting her is Melinoe who is still trying to move past her last gauntlet.

I thought it was a really interesting concept that felt like a homage to dystopian movies and books. It was also a really well executed YA novel. I think the level of political commentary was perfect for a younger audience and it was easily relatable to the current state of the world. I really enjoyed the main characters, I thought their relationship was build up realistically enough in the drastic circumstances they found themselves in and I liked how they both brought out different things in each other and helped each other grow.

I will say, the world building was a little inconsistent at times but it was easy to move past those little moments. I really hope we can expect a sequel with how the book ended. I would love to read more of Inesa's and Melinoe's story.

I'm a bit conflicted here. Because it's a young adult book and so I feel I should be reviewing it from that perspective, however I am not in the YA category anymore and so can only review it as me.

What I will start with is saying that a new Ava Reid book day is always a good day. But I did have some issues with this.

Somehow she has managed to combine a futuristic situation with what feels, at times, to be an ancient setting, and yet neither feel out of place. It's sewn together so well.

It always worries me when a book that is meant to be dystopian actually doesn't feel all that far off to being real, and there's definitely elements from this that are worrying.

I believe this is Ava's first foray into the world of YA and it didn't quite hit the highs I was expecting, but still enjoyable.

I found it hard to connect with the main character of Inesa. There was nothing intrinsically wrong with her, but she didn't leap off the page. For me, she sort of just sat on the page blending in with the other characters which made it quite flat at times. The foil to her is Melinoë, who again I didn't really gel with. None of the characters are overly absorbing sadly. I also felt the romantic angle was a bit forced. Sometimes it was okay, and at times I felt it was quite well developed for a YA novel, but for me it just didn't natural and more just felt like she had to have a romance in it even if it didn't fit.

This is a book I've had on my personal wishlist for ages, but in hindsight I probably wouldn't have wanted to spend my money on it. I'm glad I've read it. Ava is a unique writer and there were some really good bits and overall it was enjoyable, but just falling short of what I was expecting. It had promise. The opening was good and really set the story up, but around about 20% it started getting too convoluted but flat at the same time, and I just didn't really feel all that much of anything towards the rest of it.

*thank you to net galley for an e-arc in return of an honest review*

Both characters in this really have you rooting for them. It’s a story of humanity, even when it tries its hardest to be cut out from us. My only gripe is the ending left with so many questions, it didn’t feel like it wrapped up quite as beautifully as the rest of the book. A little bit more clumpy. But I really did enjoy this. Gorgeous.