Ava Reid is an instant buy author for me, and has been for a while. I’m also a HUGE lover of dystopian fantasies.

Fable for the End of the World is one of my most anticipated reads for 2025, and I’m thrilled that I have almost no notes - Ava Reid has done it again. I appreciate that Fable is a standalone novel, however, I do feel like there’s potential scope to go back to New Amsterdam.

I loved the juxtaposition of Mel and Inesa, our two FMCs, my only niggle would be to know more about Mel’s background in particular, how did she become an Angel?

This is a great step into dystopian fantasy for anyone who hasn’t ventured into the genre before, but also a welcomed familiar feeling for any dystopian lover.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really wonderful sapphic dystopian I was eager for since 1) I’m a huge fan of dystopian fiction and 2) I’ve loved everything Ava Reid has ever published. Fable for the End of the World was no exception and I enjoyed it so much I might have to reread already.

🌧️ Fable For The End of The World • Ava Reid 🌧️
★★★.𝟱

Read if you enjoy:
🌧️ YA dystopian
🌧️ Sapphic romance
🌧️ Enemies to lovers
🌧️ Forced proximity
🌧️ Cyberpunk assassins
🌧️ Explores inequality of wealth
🌧️ Exposure of over-consumerism
🌧️ Survival in the Wild

Caerus is the people who sell things the impoverished cannot afford and then collect on the debt in the most grim way possible. Once a debt reaches 500,000 credits, the people in debt can offer up a family member to participate in the Gauntlet. For Inesa, it’s her mother that offers her up to be a Lamb in the Gauntlet which will be televised nationally. Melinoë is one of the assassin’s, or ‘Angel’s’, trained to kill Lamb’s, and she is desperately seeking redemption after her last Gauntlet. Inesa’s only option is to run, with Melinöe on her heels.

This was described as The Last of Us meets The Hunger Games. But it felt more teenage Terminator to me. I loved the cyberpunk assassins and was incredibly fascinated by their unique training. I also really enjoyed the depiction of a climate-ravaged world. One that is victim to biblical flooding and radiation, creating a drowned setting full of mutated creatures which both Inesa and Melinöe need to survive. The setting creates a fraught atmosphere which help Inesa and Melinöe to trauma bond. But whilst the ‘Fable’ in the title brings to mind a romance of fairytale-esque proportions, the forced proximity blossoming between the two teenagers did not work for me, particularly with the emphasis on ‘forced’.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Although I don't read much YA these days, I was tempted to read this for two reasons, firstly because I have enjoyed most of the author's previous work but also because like the author, the hunger games was very influential to me. I was worried that it might be too close to the inspiration but actually I found that the characters were unique and I enjoyed both POVs, especially some of the more reflective moments in Melinoë's story. I think part of why the hunger games resonated with me so much is that it is easy to imagine how our society could transform into it's dystopian version, and I think that this book mostly succeeded in giving me that same feeling, as corporate greed and power is a very relevant topic to us today. I think that I just wanted a tiny bit more from the book, a more in depth look at the society (perhaps for example a POV of a city dweller watching the coverage), but overall recommend this book and find it worthy to be compared to the hunger games.

4.5 stars

What a beautiful story! This was my first book by Ava Reid, and I will absolutely be reading more. This dual POV story follows 'The Angel' and 'The Lamb' as they navigate a deadly game in a post-nuclear world.

I read somewhere that this wasn't supposed to be a big dystopian epic, and I agree that it wasn't. The world-building was quite light, and I had some questions at the end. However, I was totally okay with that. This snippet of time worked very well on its own and provided a window into this world of capitalism. I also really enjoyed the social commentary aspects that looked at climate change, femininity, consumerism, and more. Although these themes were used with a light touch, I enjoyed the deeper thoughts that they inspired while I was reading.

My favourite aspect was the writing because it was gorgeous. I found myself highlighting lots of passages throughout and noticing the subtle shifts in the way each character throughout as the story progressed. First-person dual POV can be a bit hit-or-miss for me, but it was the perfect way to tell this tale. I felt completely transported while reading.

I would suggest not comparing this book with other 2010s dystopians while reading. It is a fantastic story that deserves to be judged on its own merits!

This is my first book by Ava Reid but I don't think it will be my last!

I love dystopian YA books more than oxygen so I obviously enjoyed this.

I enjoyed Inesa's POV more than Melinoe's but I can't really put my finger on why. They both had their own voices and it was clear who was speaking during each chapter.

I do wish the romance was more of a slow build up as it went from attempted murder to love in a few steps, but then at 17 doesn't everyone just fall in love really easily?!

The way the Angels are treated as a commodity both during their active service and after (decommissioned) made me rage, especially where it touches on how little autonomy they have over their own bodies.

Overall, a really good YA dystopian novel that is set in the definitely not to distant future and it is bleak AF.

Ava Reid's writing never fails to captivate me so it's really no shock to me that I loved this book. The world sucks you in and keeps you wanting more and the romance? Swoonworthy!

"We all do what we have to do in order to survive." This book ouch! Inesa lives with her mother and brother, her dad disappeared one night and since then her and Luka do whatever they can to survive. Her mother has multiple problems, including her debt how to get out of debt well she choses to make Inesa a lamb in the gauntlet. The only way to survive is to win, but who is she up against? A girl who only knows how to kill. Melinoe has been trained and manufactured under Caerus Angel problem, her main job is to kill the lambs in the gauntlet only she's remembering more and more of her past. When challenged with Inesa who appears to be an easy kill with no father, an ill mother and a younger brother who is good with a riffle what will happen? I loves the sibling unity between Luka and Inesa trying to get a head start before the gauntlet they rack up favours that they may not make it back to repay. They fight together til they are separated and at that point Inesa is on her own to survive against Melinoe and al the other creatures out to get her. Only thats when Inesa and Melinoe end up together, the angel is struggling from a withdrawal when her lamb stumbles upon her only she's not alone. The two must team up to try and survive what hunts them both. We see them work together and locate a cabin only they are not as alone as they thought the whole world is still watching. A message letting her know her brother is still alive and giving her the reminder to follow the hope she had the last thing from her dad but was it worth trusting the man who left. The ending of this book, I was not expecting it at all. Just remember "Even a wolf can be gentle if it wants, but you should never forget its teeth."

Fable for the End of the World is a sapphic, YA dystopian set in a society ravaged by climate change and controlled by a powerful, shady corporation who encourage indebting yourself to them. In the foreword, the author describes it as a love letter to the dystopian YA fiction they grew up with in the 2010s, and as a massive fan of that era of dystopian stories, this rings true. There are lots of parallels to The Hunger Games in particular. Innocent young people are forced into a survival situation through no fault of their own. It's all live streamed and turned into entertainment as the 'lambs' are hunted down.

It is fast paced throughout and the tension is constantly high. I almost wished for a bit more time to understand this fascinating society. A bleak, but weirdly believable future. The ending is pretty shocking but ultimately fitting. It left a few question marks that could hint at a sequel, but I've only seen this advertised as a standalone so far. I would happily learn more about this world and what happens next to Inesa and Melinoë if I could, but for now I will just have to speculate!

Recommended for fans of classic YA dystopian from the 2000s/2010s. This story is so reminiscent of that, but thankfully more queer!

fable for the end of the world is an exciting new dystopian by ava reid. compared to the likes of a study in drowning, fable is wildly different. as someone who used to love and adore dystopians (it was all i used to read), i was so ready to devour fable for the end of the world.

as with most books, i was definitely hooked by the start. i loved the similarities to various other dystopians and it made me feel really nostalgic. the worldbuilding is fun and exciting. it mirrors our current world in a haunting way that makes you realise this could be our future.

the characters were quite interesting but something fell flat for me. one thing i really liked about inesa was her lack of training and ability to do much. she wasn't proficient with a gun or hand to hand combat, she's an unlikely hero and i really liked that about her. mel, on the other hand, was an 'angel'. i won't go into details as i don't want to accidentally spoil anything, but i found her background and situation unique and fascinating. i also liked the realistic future/retirement that these girls had (it's not nice, but it's something that i can believe to happen in real life).

the romance, being sapphic, was something i was really excited for. i always love a good sapphic romance. unfortunately, i didn't actually like this one that much. i don't know if it was the characters or their situation, but i didn't get their connection. it felt forced. because of this, i didn't like the last third of the book. the climax became underwhelming because i wasn't rooting for their success as strongly as i was in the beginning.

as far as dystopians go, fable doesn't bring anything new to the table (except maybe the sapphic romance), but it was still a fun and entertaining read.

Wow. This book was incredible. I am a huge fan of Reid's work so i have been super excited to pick this one up and my excitement was definitely not misplaced.

This book was so perfectly written from start to finish and the story was beautiful yet horrifying at the same time - the angel falling for the sacrificial lamb. Both women have had completely different lives - one barely scraping through life in the slums and one pulled apart and put back together again - but ultimately they want the same thing, freedom.

This was a beautiful and devastating story, one i will definitely be thinking about for a while. The only reason this is not a five star read for me is simply the fact it wasn't longer, i want more of this world and i'm hoping that maybe with that ending there could possibly be another book written in the future.

4/5

I really enjoyed this book. It is so vastly innovative, I adored everything about the world and the themes it explored. It's a brilliant ode to dystopian books like The Hunger Games, whilst still undoubtedly being its own unique story.

Slowly, we uncover the threads that make up the society of New Amsterdam. The threads that enable and direct the dreaded Gauntlet—a livestreamed game where people are encouraged to offer up a life in exchange for their debts, a game where the surgically-altered assassins hunt down and kill the sacrificial Lambs.
This is a world ravaged by the after effects of nuclear war, struggling to survive an irradiated landscape and the rising sea levels. It is a world that is drowning, and where Caerus—the corporation in charge—gets to decide who will sink and who will swim.

Caerus have offered the citizens a system in which they can spend whilst accumulating massive amounts of debt, a system that encourages them to dig themselves deeper and deeper until they have no options left. It is a system utilised to divert blame. How can it be Caerus' fault that you've spent yourself to death? How can it be their fault if you go hungry, refusing to indebt yourself? Either way, the fault cannot lie with them. It is the false appearance of a choice. And if you are the one making the decision, how can the blame be put on another? It is an incredibly clever system that is only steps removed from a reality we recognise.
When this debt builds and builds and eventually reaches its limits, there are ways to make it go away. Another false choice is presented to you. A life for a debt. A pretence given of a chance of surviving the Gauntlet, another system Caerus have expertly crafted in order to control.

Caerus choose the Lambs, the sacrificed debtors, and they choose the Angels, the merciless killers. They construct and delicately place the bricks of the narrative, and let the citizens of New Amsterdam watch as it all plays out. It's a fair chance, they say, a hunter and a hunted. But Caerus has altered their Angels to become the perfect creations, the most ruthless killing machines.

In these robes, we meet our main characters. Inesa—the Lamb, and Melinoë—the Angel.
Inesa has lived in Lower Esopus her entire life, making a living off of preserving a memory of the past in her taxidermy shop. Her brother, Luka, hunts the animals—the ones that spark comfort and remind people of the world before, the deer with only two eyes and no webbed feet—and Inesa stuffs them. Together they work for food and for warmth, desperate never to accumulate debt, fighting to survive every day in a world that would drown them. But their mother has no such qualms, she amounts more and more debt every day, and she offers up Inesa to clear it.
Melinoë is an Angel, a Caerus assassin. She has been outfitted with machine parts, enhanced to become the perfect weapon, and altered aesthetically to look exactly how they want. She was made to be remorseless, but the last time she was sent out to kill a Lamb something went wrong. The memory stuck and no amount of Caerus' Wipes could erase it. The sound of the rain, the feeling of water on her skin, all of it brings her back to that moment. The one she cannot forget. But this Gauntlet will be different, this Gauntlet she will prove herself, she won't falter and then she won't be made empty of who she is. She won't be decommissioned.

Melinoë is the hunter and Inesa is the hunted. Caerus want the audience to believe Inesa has a chance. Melinoë knows she must perform well. All Inesa wants is to survive. But there are more things out there in the wild than just the two of them. There is pain and grief, there is endless fear, but there is also hope.

I adored learning everything about this world, it holds so many amazing concepts and ideas. I loved every morsel of worldbuilding we were fed, I only wished we could've seen more of it. Because of this personal preference, the beginning of the book was my favourite part as I wanted to do nothing but soak in all the different elements of this society and this dilapidating world. It was so well constructed and I hope we get to see more of it in another book, if possible!
I enjoyed watching the character's relationships as they developed, although I think I needed more time to grow properly attached to them and to the romance.

The ending is another matter. (Don't worry, no spoilers!) I'm very conflicted about how I feel about the ending and I think it might make for some quite polarising opinions. I'm at once a little underwhelmed, as I think it's a tad anticlimactic, yet I also understand the messaging behind it and entirely adore what it's trying to say.
I think it is an important thing to remember that change does not happen all at once and that even small revolutions mean something. Change is difficult and it is slow, but it is worth fighting for, over and over again. It does not take only one spark to rewrite the world as we know it, not in actuality. It starts with the smallest of revolutions, inside one person and then another. It grows and it shifts and it builds until those sparks become a flame, until each individual has felt those embers and has let it change them. There is no easy, utopian solution to our dystopia. Change is difficult and maybe we won't change the world, but it is a place to start.

I think this is a very fresh and intriguing take on a subgenre that most will have experienced before. It is born of a love of fandom and of the dystopian genre, and I'm very happy to have read it. I immensely enjoyed it and I think that so many others will as well.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this story! Perfect for fans of futuristic dystopian stories; think hunger games meets ex-machina. We follow our protagonist as she’s thrusted against her will into a gauntlet, essentially being hunted by a modified human with robotic features to pay off her mothers debts in society, which is also used as an entertainment piece.
The world building felt so fresh and original and I was completely immersed, the themes of floods, water and magic were so engaging, and I loved how these line up with themes within the author’s other works.
Would highly recommend to any fantasy dystopian fans this was a 5 star read for me and I wish there was more!

Thanks to Del Rey and to Netgalley for this advance copy of Fable for the End of the World.

Set in a dystopian future not too dissimilar from The Hunger Games, with rife poverty and rising water levels, Fable follows Inesa, who lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Her mother has accrued so much medical debt she nominates Inesa to be a lamb in the Gauntlet, a livestreamed assassination spectacle. We then have Melinoe, an 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, she realises she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, might stand a chance of staying alive. For Melinoe, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption. As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.

This book is another masterpiece by Reid. Reid's prose is just magical, so ethereally written while also dragging you headfirst into the story. I was so gripped by Fable that I spent the first day of the new year binging it in all its entirety, and then experiencing an Ava Reid hangover since then. Praying Reid writes more books set in the world of Fable!!!

“If humans were collectively capable of compassion, we never would have gotten here in the first place.”

This book made me feel like I was back in high-school discovering dystopian fiction for the first time! The book is beautifully written.

Ava Reid is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors.

Love that we have a sapphic alternative to The Hunger Games.
This was a really interesting concept and one that had a ton of potential! I loved the world and would’ve loved more information about it.

I felt that I needed more around the characters though to be invested. Without this, I found that the scenes lacked tension. I just didn’t have a reason to root for any of the characters.

Maybe it’s just me and a case of the right book, wrong time?

Fable For the End of the World didn't quite meet my expectations. As an avid fan of dystopian fantasy, I was really hoping this novel would offer something fresh and engaging, but it fell short in a few key areas for me.

While the book is indeed well-written and the world-building is impressively executed, it just didn't stand out within its genre. I found the setting easy to grasp, which is a plus, but there was something missing in the overall uniqueness of the story. I appreciate a good dystopian tale that can immerse me into a world that's both novel and thought-provoking, yet this one felt too familiar.

Moreover, the characters were another aspect that didn't quite resonate with me. I didn't get that sense of connection with them, which made it difficult to invest in their journeys fully. Character development is crucial for me in any story, and I felt this one lacked the depth needed to make me care about the characters' fates.

Lastly, the plot was somewhat predictable. I could see the twists and turns coming from a distance, which took away from the excitement and suspense I crave in dystopian narratives. While some readers might appreciate the straightforward storyline, I prefer a tale that keeps me guessing and eager to turn the page.

In summary, while Fable For the End of the World has its merits in terms of writing and world-building, it didn't quite capture my imagination as I had hoped.

Hands down this has been my favourite Ava Reid book, by far. I was hooked from the start and while I hoped for a different ending, I loved every minute of the book.

I was intrigued how the two characters would end up working together as it seemed near on impossible at the start with Melinoe trying to kill Inessa, especially with this being a Gauntlet that she absolutely could not fail. The determination she had to succeed left me questioning just how these two would connect in more than a cat and mouse narrative.

Everything about this book was honestly perfect to me. I was fully invested in all of the side characters and I loved that some of them had side stories as well that connected with the plot. I think Ava has a talent for dystopian and I would read another book by her if she were to do another.

Fable for the End of the World is a sapphic dystopian novel following Inesa, a young taxidermist, who has been nominated by her mother to be a Lamb in the famed Gauntlet: a game of survival where she must go head-to-head with Melinoë, a scientifically-altered living weapon with one mission – to kill the Lamb at any means necessary. As a long-time fan of Ava Reid, I will admit that I had high expectations, the dystopian genre is a hard one to nail, and without a doubt I can say that those expectations were met. I absolutely loved this book! I read it in its entirety in one day – I could not put it down. Inesa and Melinoë were both complex, loveable characters with fully developed personalities and backstories. The book is in dual POV, and I appreciated that both voices felt distinct, I was never confused as to who’s head I was in. The worldbuilding felt unique and fleshed out. The lore was interwoven slowly and, instead of us being thrown in the deep end straight away, we were able to gradually grasp the world and its people, and so I would say that this book is definitely accessible to those not familiar with the fantasy or dystopian genre. I enjoyed the commentary on class and bodily autonomy, especially the ways in which young girls are often treated like objects to be used instead of human beings. The romance developed slowly, taking us from enemies to lovers in a believable way, and I was rooting for them the entire time. The open-ended conclusion left me satisfied but eagerly anticipating more! I really hope the author decides to do a sequel. Overall, I would recommend Fable for the End of the World for those wanting a well-written feminist dystopian with a beautiful sapphic love story.

Reid's ability to weave beautifully complicated characters into unsettling poignant stories will always make her a go to author for me.

Whilst being a dystopian story at its heart that feels futuristic; the greed of corporations, the subjugation of people, climate disasters, Reid masterfully makes us question whether actually this is all too present in our day to day lives already. And if so, how will Inesa and Melinoe (or we) combat this?

We may not have Gauntlets or modified 'Angels' hunting us, but the true answer to not only surviving in this world and feeling comfort is through love and community.

The f/f relationship in the book is one of the sweetest I have read in some time and completely juxtaposed by the context and backdrop of them meeting which makes their journey of discovery both more cherished and powerful.

The ending felt like it was left open for possible further books, which I would love to see!

Finally, I loved Reid's intro about her love for The Hunger Games and it really is no surprise that the story that we are told, is one that is heavily influenced by the books we all loved an grew up with a teenagers, so if you were a fan then Fable For The End of the World is also one for you.