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.

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.

Ava has done it again with this astounding dystopian romance. The characters are complex and flawed but so beautifully written that you get caught up in their story and are compelled to keep reading.

I am so glad I have pre ordered a Waterstones special edition of this.

Ava is one of my go to authors, everything they write is a must for me.

Intense and painful and so utterly, utterly heartbreaking. This was a tough read, considering current events - the misery of it all felt overwhelming at times. This is a massive compliment to Ava Reid, who continues to produce some of the best prose. Fable has an excellent concept and characters, but ultimately feels somewhat incomplete.

Dystopia is back, baby!

I have always been a big fan of Reid's writing style and of dystopian fiction, and knowing that The Hunger Games was a big source of inspiration for this story meant that my expectations were very high going into this.

This book felt like a love letter to dystopian books published during my teen years, and I felt so nostalgic whilst reading this – I really enjoyed it overall! I think because the writing felt very reminiscent of other dystopian books, the writing style felt different to Reid's other books I've read in the past, less dark and emotive, but still very well written.

I'm not sure whether this book is intended to be the beginning of a series or a standalone, but to me it very much felt like the beginning of a series; it made a great introduction to the world and characters, with definite room left to expand and explore in further books. I even feel like this book could have benefitted from being a bit longer, and perhaps more action could have taken place during the Gauntlet and more time been given for the development of the relationship between the main characters, as I do think the beginning and ending were the strongest sections of the story.

I really liked the dual POV and both Inesa and Melinoë as main characters, and liked that there were so many reflections of our society in the world-building, allowing Reid to explore relevant themes such as climate change, the use of AI, and the desensitisation in society from violent/graphic content on streaming sites and social media.

Overall I would definitely recommend this if you love dystopian stories, it left me NEEDING a second book!

This is a really great read. I was not aware of the authors love of the hunger games and that she was heavily into writing fan fiction about it until i read the authors note in the book. I have 3 sets of the hunger games so i understand her love of the books, but i will admit i was apprehensive about reading it incase it was too similar.

The book was a surprise, you can tell that the hunger games influenced it, and you can swap out characters easily, like Snow for Azrael, and Inesa for Katniss, Luka for Peeta, Azrael for Snow etc etc

That being said, the world is original, Inesa and her family live in a world that is run on a social credit system, i thought this was interesting because i think the uk will head that way in the future which is terrifying, and places like China already have it now. Due to not having lots of credits Inesa and her brother Luka live very poorly, they can barely afford food and have no lighting or heating. One day Inesa is nominated for the Gauntlet which is where an ordinary citizen is put up for it by their family to pay off their credit debt, in Inesa's case her own mother nominated her to pay off her drug debts (Charming), They are called Lambs and they are hunted by machines called Angels, who are part human and part machine.

I wont say anymore because i wont spoil it. This was a fast paced read, with strong world building and great characters. There is a f/f relationship in this which is written in a very sweet and tender way. The book ends on a cliffhanger and the author could carry on the story or she could leave it as it is, frankly i am of the opinion she should leave it. I thought it was a great ending and its left for the readers to figure out what happens next which makes the book that much better for me. Not everything needs a tidy ending, and this lends itself full circle for the authors fans to write fan fiction about it.

A superbly nostalgic read full of heart, emotion and so many cosy vibes. A must for all witchy vibes fans, as the brilliant Ava Reid does it again.

“The more I look at the photo, the father’s gaze seems turbulent, not hostile. It’s the mother’s eyes that have a sheen of malice in them, glossy and cold as water under moonlight.”

I cannot stress this enough, this was one of the most incredible books I’ve ever read. It combined politics, climate change, debt, radiation, fear, family and love into the most beautiful and haunting dystopian novel. I’m almost struggling to find words that convey exactly how this book made me feel. Melinoë and Inesa are both such beautiful characters. Seeing Melinoë develop the feelings that were taken from her, watching her realise that the lambs she had been sent to kill were as human as she was, made me feel anger and heartbreak for her. As a side note, there were elements of my relationship with my own mother reflected in this, and I think young adult me needed a book like this. Honestly, I think adult me needed a book like this too.
If you liked the hunger games, or any of the other dystopian novels from around that time period, you should absolutely read this book. If you like soft and emotional underlying romance, especially of a sapphic nature, you should absolutely read this book. If you are questioning whether or not to read this book, this is me saying that I think you should read it.

🦌I received an ARC of this book, and am leaving an honest review voluntarily 🦌

The worst thing about this was that it is a standalone.

This is what I feel like Lauren Roberts thought she was doing when she said she took inspiration from The Hunger Games and Red Queen. Ava Reid knows how to tell a story that is inspired by something she loves, not churn out a badly done copy/paste. You can easily spot the inspirations she leaned on in this story, but instead of copying them, she created her own unique twist, and it was a nice nod to the story Suzanne Collins told in the Hunger Games.

I feel like this could easily have been a duology, even a trilogy. The potential to expand on the world Reid created in this story is insane, and I'd happily have read three books about Inesa and Melinoe. I'm hoping she revisits this one day after deciding she doesn't want to leave the story how she did.

I devoured this and if you like anything even remotely dystopian, you'll like this.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Fable for the End of The World is a fast paced, YA dystopia from bestselling author Ava Reid. It's told from dual POV and follows two 17 year old girls in a terrifying cat and mouse chase to the death, broadcast to millions of viewers live.

This book is very reminiscent of The Hunger Games. So much so at the start I felt as though it was straddling the line between inspiration and plagiarism VERY closely. That being said, as the book progressed, it really took on a life of it's own and I found myself swept up in Mel and Inessa's world.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the world of Caerus. It was a super interesting mega-corporation that had literally taken over from the government but it mostly felt a bit like a looming shadow. I would have liked a bit more of the inside scoop on the business and various different characters within it, however overall, I think it made for an interesting villain (especially due to the current times we live in!)

Overall, a fantastic read!

"Because we've lived in this drowning world all our lives, I realise that we have to make our own hope"

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

As soon as I read the words "The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", I knew I had to get my hands on this book - and it did not disappoint!

Ava Reid's writing kept me hooked from the very beginning, the dystopian world was described beautifully and the connection I felt with the characters, specifically Inesa, was so strong. I sometimes struggle with standalones to build such a deep connection to characters, but I did not have that issue here.

The ending of the book was not what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised! Although throughout I had an idea of how it would end and in some ways I was disappointed with the ending, I feel like how the book ended is a perfect reflection of the story as a whole - it ends with hope.

Fable for the End of the World is a striking and clever book—one that is destined to take the world by storm. Ava Reid is undeniably a brilliant writer. While there have been moments when I wasn’t entirely on board with some of her plot choices or certain books overall (Lady Macbeth), it’s impossible to ignore that she is a rare talent. There’s something so uniquely magical about her work that I don’t find with other authors!

Fable is a deep departure from Reid’s previous novels. Gone is the dark fairytale-esque novels inspired by historical events that we have come to love and here is a dystopian tale mirroring the current world with chilling precision. Take a look at any headline from recent years, any major global events any political discourse online, and you’ll find echoes of that within these pages.

As a reader, dystopian is not a genre I reach out often. I’m not sure exactly why. But as a cinephile, dystopian is a genre I seek out frequently. The Last of Us comp was one of the biggest reasons why I was so keen on getting my hands on this book. Fable reads like a beloved dystopian film, and I would love to see it brought to life as a film one day. Ava calls Fable a “love letter” to the dystopian novels of the 2010s, and within this novel, you can sense how much those books mean to her and her craft. I think we’re going to see a big resurgence of dystopia in the upcoming months and years to come, and Fable will be an important part of this revival.

What stood out to me most in Fable was its commentary on desensitization and the commodification of human life and women. Living in an age dominated by the internet, it’s all too easy to become overwhelmed by the relentless barrage of news. We consume so much information, so much tragedy, that the lines begin to blur. And suddenly, mass violence, the climate crises, political chaos, and unimaginable suffering and devastation across the globe become just another post to scroll past. Reid captures this with heartbreaking clarity in way that is as thought provoking as it is unsettling. Beyond that, we also see commentary on climate change, artificial intelligence and technology, greed, and capitalism that is presented in a way that is suitable for a YA audience. Other adult readers may find these themes a tad bit heavy handed, but I’m sure younger readers will find a love to appreciate and learn from.

If you enjoy queer, and more specifically sapphic love stories, you will love this book. Sadly, sapphic books are still not as common, and I’ve noticed a disappointing reluctance to read them within the online bookish spaces. I hope Fable is a book people will love regardless as there is so much it offers. As a sapphic reader myself, I was so thrilled that Ava Reid wrote a book with a main sapphic relationship. There’s truly nothing better than reading a book with characters that represent you, in a world and story you love. The romance was gripping and my fav relationship yet from Ava’s books. I sincerely hope she has more plans for sapphic books in the future.

I cannot recommend Fable for the End of the World enough and I am so grateful to be blessed with an early copy. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review!