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Fable for the End of the World
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Expected 4 Mar 25Win a free print copy of this book!
5 days and 00:41:02
5 copies available
U.S. only
The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this standalone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.
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.
For Melinoë, 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.
And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.
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.
For Melinoë, 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.
And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.
384 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 4, 2025
About the author
Ava Reid
10 books5,975 followersAva Reid is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of gothic fantasies, including A Study in Drowning, Juniper & Thorn, and Lady Macbeth. She lives in California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 380 reviews
December 6, 2024
“And maybe that’s all it takes—at least at the beginning. Just a few people who care. And that caring matters, even if it can’t cool the earth or lower sea levels or turn back time to before a nuclear blast.”
rating: 3.75★
a love letter to dystopians (esp hunger games), reid has imagined us a (not-so-distant, more likely than not) future fully disrupted and firmly altered by climate change and oppressed by the staggering debt to the monopoly corporation, saerus. flooding storms are a regular occurrence, so have your raft on hand!
within the first 15% i was getting some minor but noticeable hints of terminator, blade runner, even ghost in the shell, handmaid's tale. animals have been disfigured and mutated by the chemical pollution in the air, land, and water. evil seagulls!!!
“When we see flowers blooming or hear birds singing, we think it’s beautiful. But when people need each other, it seems so ugly.”
“Caerus has poisoned everything.”
capitalism destroys the idea of community, bc it needs us to rely on IT (buying things) rather than each other. it also allows more control to government/authority bc ppl are divided.
there's also a major theme of the dehumanizing voyeurism of trauma and entertainment brutality. the lamb's gauntlet itself is an apathetic bloodsport twitch/tiktok live, complete with watcher comments. people livestream their own reactions and cameras film 24/7.
there is definitely major commentary on women in media, the expectations of beauty, and objectifying commodification of them in online spaces.
slight spoilers:
so, the set up and concept were very strong and intriguing to me, with clear parallels to what is currently happening rn and a cautionary tale of what could happen to us all.
however, i did feel the overall story execution was a bit underwhelming for me, as well as the ending. i thought the relationship between inesa and melinoë was well constructed for a YA, but i wanted more from the other characters and subplots/hints.
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“I think it is. I think it has to be. Otherwise, it’s not really love. If the world can break it . . .”
the way this ends feels more open-ended then not with some loose ends. i v much suspect a sequel and hope for it bc there are many questions that i would like the answers to.
I’ll always be able to find my way back to her.
an honest arc review ♡
rating: 3.75★
a love letter to dystopians (esp hunger games), reid has imagined us a (not-so-distant, more likely than not) future fully disrupted and firmly altered by climate change and oppressed by the staggering debt to the monopoly corporation, saerus. flooding storms are a regular occurrence, so have your raft on hand!
within the first 15% i was getting some minor but noticeable hints of terminator, blade runner, even ghost in the shell, handmaid's tale. animals have been disfigured and mutated by the chemical pollution in the air, land, and water. evil seagulls!!!
“When we see flowers blooming or hear birds singing, we think it’s beautiful. But when people need each other, it seems so ugly.”
“Caerus has poisoned everything.”
capitalism destroys the idea of community, bc it needs us to rely on IT (buying things) rather than each other. it also allows more control to government/authority bc ppl are divided.
there's also a major theme of the dehumanizing voyeurism of trauma and entertainment brutality. the lamb's gauntlet itself is an apathetic bloodsport twitch/tiktok live, complete with watcher comments. people livestream their own reactions and cameras film 24/7.
there is definitely major commentary on women in media, the expectations of beauty, and objectifying commodification of them in online spaces.
slight spoilers:
so, the set up and concept were very strong and intriguing to me, with clear parallels to what is currently happening rn and a cautionary tale of what could happen to us all.
however, i did feel the overall story execution was a bit underwhelming for me, as well as the ending. i thought the relationship between inesa and melinoë was well constructed for a YA, but i wanted more from the other characters and subplots/hints.
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“I think it is. I think it has to be. Otherwise, it’s not really love. If the world can break it . . .”
the way this ends feels more open-ended then not with some loose ends. i v much suspect a sequel and hope for it bc there are many questions that i would like the answers to.
I’ll always be able to find my way back to her.
an honest arc review ♡
August 28, 2024
LESBIAN HUNGER GAMES. everyone say thank you ava reid
thank you to the publisher for providing the arc (and to rachel the literal loml for the physical copy)
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thank you to the publisher for providing the arc (and to rachel the literal loml for the physical copy)
Follow me on Instagram
Read
November 30, 2024ava reid sapphic enemies-to-lovers might be the end of me actually
—
update post-read:
"But that's the same reason pretty much anyone kills anything. So they can survive. If it's all survival, who am I to judge what someone does? We're all the same, deep down."
Crier’s War meets The Hunger Games in this tender and hopeful dystopian.
I am not a dystopian guy, and unfortunately even Ava Reid can’t seem to change that immutable fact about me, which kept this book from really blowing me away. It also keeps me from being able to speak too much to the success of the story. But if you are a dystopian fan and are interested in a close-dystopian with a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance driving the characters’ arcs (Ava is so goddamn good at making a romance integral to character development and narrative when they write enemies-to-lovers, it’s unreal), definitely pick this one up.
CW: violence, animal death, death of child, adult/minor relationship, sexual harassment, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, abusive parent, medical content, gun violence, fire/fire injury, drug use, alcoholism (past), emesis
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
—
update post-read:
"But that's the same reason pretty much anyone kills anything. So they can survive. If it's all survival, who am I to judge what someone does? We're all the same, deep down."
Crier’s War meets The Hunger Games in this tender and hopeful dystopian.
I am not a dystopian guy, and unfortunately even Ava Reid can’t seem to change that immutable fact about me, which kept this book from really blowing me away. It also keeps me from being able to speak too much to the success of the story. But if you are a dystopian fan and are interested in a close-dystopian with a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance driving the characters’ arcs (Ava is so goddamn good at making a romance integral to character development and narrative when they write enemies-to-lovers, it’s unreal), definitely pick this one up.
CW: violence, animal death, death of child, adult/minor relationship, sexual harassment, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, abusive parent, medical content, gun violence, fire/fire injury, drug use, alcoholism (past), emesis
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
December 4, 2024
FULL REVIEW FINALLY 😂 I’ve finished it and it’s bleak and sad and hopeful and romantic.
Rating: 4 ⭐️
Fable for the End of the World did it's inspiration The Hunger Games, and the 2010s dystopian genre, justice. It tells the story of Inesa, who is thrust into a Gauntlet by an uncaring mother to pay off her debts and Melinoë, who will be the one to kill her on live television.
This book is, at times, dark. Especially Melinoë's story. She is a Caerus assassin who has been conditioned and altered since she was a child to be the perfect weapon. Part of her conditioning is that she is regularly Wiped, where certain memories are taken away. This was one of the most heartbreaking and darkest parts of the book. She doesn't know who she is or how many memories she's lost and, consequently, her body is not her own.
For anyone wondering about my previous reading updates, I stick to what I said: Melinoë reminds me of Finnick.
Her story is so similar to Finnick's - a person who, from an outside perspective, has it all. They are gorgeous, rich, ruthless, and arrogant. The "darling of the Capitol." Or so it seems. But they are maybe the biggest victims of them all.
Inesa is the sacrificial Lamb, forced to flee for her life with only the slightest hope that she might survive. Only one of them will make it out alive. So, of course, not the greatest circumstances to start a relationship.
It did take me a bit to get fully invested in the story. The second half was where it really shined. As with many books, the first half was an introduction to the world and the characters. It wasn't until the second half that the characters interacted and grew in meaningful ways. That's where all the most interesting parts of the story occurred.
If you grew up during the 2010s dystopian era and wanted to see a sapphic romance at the forefront, this book is for you ❤️
Tropes/Genre
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Reading updates:
I've started reading it!!!!!
I'm at 20% and I think this is gonna get reallllyyyy dark. There are a couple little one-off scenes that have made me go oh nooo. It's a totally different world but I can very much see the Hunger Games/dystopian 2010s influences. It's kinda like a Hunger Games retelling if Katniss and Prim were switched. And Melinoë is kinda remining me of Finnick 👀
Pre-read:
Someone said this is lesbian Hunger Games and I’m all for it!!!! Just got approved!
Rating: 4 ⭐️
"Maybe I’ve survived this long so I could know how it feels to hold her. Maybe all my life has been one long gauntlet, running, fighting, searching for her.”
Fable for the End of the World did it's inspiration The Hunger Games, and the 2010s dystopian genre, justice. It tells the story of Inesa, who is thrust into a Gauntlet by an uncaring mother to pay off her debts and Melinoë, who will be the one to kill her on live television.
This book is, at times, dark. Especially Melinoë's story. She is a Caerus assassin who has been conditioned and altered since she was a child to be the perfect weapon. Part of her conditioning is that she is regularly Wiped, where certain memories are taken away. This was one of the most heartbreaking and darkest parts of the book. She doesn't know who she is or how many memories she's lost and, consequently, her body is not her own.
For anyone wondering about my previous reading updates, I stick to what I said: Melinoë reminds me of Finnick.
Her story is so similar to Finnick's - a person who, from an outside perspective, has it all. They are gorgeous, rich, ruthless, and arrogant. The "darling of the Capitol." Or so it seems. But they are maybe the biggest victims of them all.
Inesa is the sacrificial Lamb, forced to flee for her life with only the slightest hope that she might survive. Only one of them will make it out alive. So, of course, not the greatest circumstances to start a relationship.
It did take me a bit to get fully invested in the story. The second half was where it really shined. As with many books, the first half was an introduction to the world and the characters. It wasn't until the second half that the characters interacted and grew in meaningful ways. That's where all the most interesting parts of the story occurred.
If you grew up during the 2010s dystopian era and wanted to see a sapphic romance at the forefront, this book is for you ❤️
Tropes/Genre
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Books for providing me early access to Fable for the End of the World in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Reading updates:
I've started reading it!!!!!
I'm at 20% and I think this is gonna get reallllyyyy dark. There are a couple little one-off scenes that have made me go oh nooo. It's a totally different world but I can very much see the Hunger Games/dystopian 2010s influences. It's kinda like a Hunger Games retelling if Katniss and Prim were switched. And Melinoë is kinda remining me of Finnick 👀
Pre-read:
Someone said this is lesbian Hunger Games and I’m all for it!!!! Just got approved!
Want to read
March 20, 2024⊹ ˚. ✦ ╮
languishing in agony as i wait: 20/03/24
exactly one year to go for ava reid's next serve!!!! saw a lot of ava reid slander after a study in drowning came out. never speak on effypreston and reid's writing again :3
exactly one year to go for ava reid's next serve!!!! saw a lot of ava reid slander after a study in drowning came out. never speak on effypreston and reid's writing again :3
October 5, 2024
The Hunger Games meets a climate-ravaged watery corporate-capitalist nightmare world.
A love letter to the 2010s YA dystopians I grew up on.
I have to say I am kind of disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of Lady Macbeth and was hoping this would return to Reid’s earlier works - a dark study of characters and society. Instead, this felt so familiar in a mediocre way.
Inesa lives in a half-sunken town trying to keep afloat (figuratively and literally) alongside her brother. However, everything changes when her mother enters her into the Gauntlet to pay off her debts. She is to be hunted down by Caerus’s Angels - weapons created by the corporation that controls everything through their credit system.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. She is a living weapon, human parts, hormones, and reconditioning. She will do anything to avoid the being decommissioned and Wiped to become a corporate concubine.
This is very different to what Reid has written previously. Less horror and folklore dark, and more dystopian trauma.
This is blatantly a story about the horrors of climate change, wealth inequality, corporatocracy, and technology; made all the more scary by the reality.
"The world can break anything," she says.
"Then maybe no one has ever really been in love," I suggest dryly. "Maybe you have too much faith in people."
Caerus uses the Gauntlets to keep New Amsterdam both riveted and cowed. Entertained and subjugated. They promise advancement, but through restriction and subjugation.
I think the blurb basically tells you the entire story. What is on the package is what you get, so there wasn’t as much tension and stress which is what you want with a story like this.
This sounds all negative - it shouldn’t be. I binged this in under 3 hours and I think Reid made very valiant points about humanity’s future and our attitude. It was just very guessable. More young adult than I had thought it would be. It also lacks Reid’s also usual beautiful, stunning prose.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
A love letter to the 2010s YA dystopians I grew up on.
I have to say I am kind of disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of Lady Macbeth and was hoping this would return to Reid’s earlier works - a dark study of characters and society. Instead, this felt so familiar in a mediocre way.
Inesa lives in a half-sunken town trying to keep afloat (figuratively and literally) alongside her brother. However, everything changes when her mother enters her into the Gauntlet to pay off her debts. She is to be hunted down by Caerus’s Angels - weapons created by the corporation that controls everything through their credit system.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. She is a living weapon, human parts, hormones, and reconditioning. She will do anything to avoid the being decommissioned and Wiped to become a corporate concubine.
This is very different to what Reid has written previously. Less horror and folklore dark, and more dystopian trauma.
This is blatantly a story about the horrors of climate change, wealth inequality, corporatocracy, and technology; made all the more scary by the reality.
"The world can break anything," she says.
"Then maybe no one has ever really been in love," I suggest dryly. "Maybe you have too much faith in people."
Caerus uses the Gauntlets to keep New Amsterdam both riveted and cowed. Entertained and subjugated. They promise advancement, but through restriction and subjugation.
I think the blurb basically tells you the entire story. What is on the package is what you get, so there wasn’t as much tension and stress which is what you want with a story like this.
This sounds all negative - it shouldn’t be. I binged this in under 3 hours and I think Reid made very valiant points about humanity’s future and our attitude. It was just very guessable. More young adult than I had thought it would be. It also lacks Reid’s also usual beautiful, stunning prose.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
December 5, 2024
Fable for the End of the World is a standalone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything. As soon as I saw Ava's post about her newest novel, I knew I had to get my read it. Thank you SO much, Harper Collins, for providing me with this ARC.
What to expect:
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired yet still pretty unique
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
The title, the plot, the cover, the characters, and the twists have all the makings of a masterpiece! I was easily transported into this world and felt a deep connection to the characters. I loved Ava's writing style and her storytelling abilities. The action was subtle, yet gripping enough to keep me flipping through the pages. I was completely hooked.
This is very close to a five-star book. One of the only reasons I'm keeping it at four stars is that a part of me yearned for more. Simply put, I just wanted more!!! Some authors and readers enjoy ambiguity while reading, but I'm a fan of closure. Certain pieces of the puzzle along the way are never fully resolved, and although it didn't disrupt the storyline, I can't help but crave those answers. I will say the ending being a little open ended does make sense due to the nature of the storyline.
If you haven't preordered this book, I highly recommend it. Be sure to add this to your TBR. The expected publication date is March 04, 2025. I already plan on giving this one a reread.
As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤
What to expect:
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired yet still pretty unique
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
The title, the plot, the cover, the characters, and the twists have all the makings of a masterpiece! I was easily transported into this world and felt a deep connection to the characters. I loved Ava's writing style and her storytelling abilities. The action was subtle, yet gripping enough to keep me flipping through the pages. I was completely hooked.
This is very close to a five-star book. One of the only reasons I'm keeping it at four stars is that a part of me yearned for more. Simply put, I just wanted more!!! Some authors and readers enjoy ambiguity while reading, but I'm a fan of closure. Certain pieces of the puzzle along the way are never fully resolved, and although it didn't disrupt the storyline, I can't help but crave those answers. I will say the ending being a little open ended does make sense due to the nature of the storyline.
If you haven't preordered this book, I highly recommend it. Be sure to add this to your TBR. The expected publication date is March 04, 2025. I already plan on giving this one a reread.
As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤
January 8, 2025
sapphic !!! dystopia is back !!!!
i was hoping for a little more commentary about the systems that put the world into a dystopian society, but overall a very solid dystopian book.
Ava Reid creates a world where course AI and capitalism has ruined the air and led to places being underwater. and pollution has harmed the bodily systems of people and animals. and there is some mentions of class divides.
I wish it was explored a little more. And critiqued more. But it is YA sooo...
It's clear to me that Ava Reid is a hasanabi and qtcinderella watcher with how they talk about how streaming is used to put characters on display (as am i)
i was hoping for a little more commentary about the systems that put the world into a dystopian society, but overall a very solid dystopian book.
Ava Reid creates a world where course AI and capitalism has ruined the air and led to places being underwater. and pollution has harmed the bodily systems of people and animals. and there is some mentions of class divides.
I wish it was explored a little more. And critiqued more. But it is YA sooo...
It's clear to me that Ava Reid is a hasanabi and qtcinderella watcher with how they talk about how streaming is used to put characters on display (as am i)
January 6, 2025
Dystopia girlies we are so back!!! As always, I'm in awe of Ava Reid's writing. The bleak, grim, dystopian setting was very different from her other books, but it was still written just as vividly. I loved the themes of this book and how they were handled, the plot, and of course the characters.
Mel is an Angel, a state sanctioned hunter to take down a sacrificial "lamb" for entertainment. Angels are taken away from their families at a young age and horrifically modified, physically and emotionally to turn into the most entertaining hunters possible. Enter lamb, Inessa. She lives in the part of New Amsterdam that's poverty stricken, with limited resources, a terrible awful mother, and a brother who she would die for (but as all siblings do, never verbalize that or any sort of affection ofc). Unsurprisingly, her trash mom nominates her as a Lamb for The Gauntlet, a reality show of sorts where an Angel (Mel) will hunt her down, purely for entertainment but also monetary gain for her terrible mom. Her brother Luka (who I absolutely loved) is furious and tries his best to help her as the hunt almost immediately kicks off. As the hunt takes an unexpected turn, Mel and Inessa end up having to work together for survival.
I will say, the reason it's not a 5 star read for me is that the pacing, while quick, was almost TOO quick. I felt like I just sat down to read it and somehow I was already more than halfway done, and then a few more blinks and the book was over. Things were moving at breakneck speed lol and while I do like a fast paced book, I actually would have liked if things slowed down a bit. The plot and romance both felt super quick.
Also, with they way it ended I really hope there's a sequel! I think it's near impossible to write a satisfying dystopian standalone, and there seems to be much more to explore with this world!
Thank you HarperCollins Canada for the ARC!
Mel is an Angel, a state sanctioned hunter to take down a sacrificial "lamb" for entertainment. Angels are taken away from their families at a young age and horrifically modified, physically and emotionally to turn into the most entertaining hunters possible. Enter lamb, Inessa. She lives in the part of New Amsterdam that's poverty stricken, with limited resources, a terrible awful mother, and a brother who she would die for (but as all siblings do, never verbalize that or any sort of affection ofc). Unsurprisingly, her trash mom nominates her as a Lamb for The Gauntlet, a reality show of sorts where an Angel (Mel) will hunt her down, purely for entertainment but also monetary gain for her terrible mom. Her brother Luka (who I absolutely loved) is furious and tries his best to help her as the hunt almost immediately kicks off. As the hunt takes an unexpected turn, Mel and Inessa end up having to work together for survival.
I will say, the reason it's not a 5 star read for me is that the pacing, while quick, was almost TOO quick. I felt like I just sat down to read it and somehow I was already more than halfway done, and then a few more blinks and the book was over. Things were moving at breakneck speed lol and while I do like a fast paced book, I actually would have liked if things slowed down a bit. The plot and romance both felt super quick.
Also, with they way it ended I really hope there's a sequel! I think it's near impossible to write a satisfying dystopian standalone, and there seems to be much more to explore with this world!
Thank you HarperCollins Canada for the ARC!
October 11, 2024
4.5⭐️ | TikTok |
Fable for the End of the World is sapphic dystopian love story, with capitalist overlord villains, a live-streamed assassination gauntlet, epic family dynamics, and a post rising sea-level setting! I ate this up! Ava Reid does it again with a novel that leaves your brain reeling!
What I loved
- Sapphic love story
- enemies to lovers
- hunger games vibes
- crazy, yet somehow not that farfetched dystopian world
- family/mommy/daddy trauma
- top-notch brotherly-sisterly love
- epic social commentary presented in that signature Ava Reid style, subtle yet clear to all that pay attention
What I didn’t love…
- the relationship between the two FMCs felt a little hollow at times for my personal taste but as a relationship in a YA novel it gets the job done.
- It terms of atmosphere and vibes that Ava Reid’s work is known for this felt a bit lacking as well. Still fantastic atmosphere but comparatively speaking (to her other books), this was a little flat
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Fable for the End of the World is sapphic dystopian love story, with capitalist overlord villains, a live-streamed assassination gauntlet, epic family dynamics, and a post rising sea-level setting! I ate this up! Ava Reid does it again with a novel that leaves your brain reeling!
What I loved
- Sapphic love story
- enemies to lovers
- hunger games vibes
- crazy, yet somehow not that farfetched dystopian world
- family/mommy/daddy trauma
- top-notch brotherly-sisterly love
- epic social commentary presented in that signature Ava Reid style, subtle yet clear to all that pay attention
What I didn’t love…
- the relationship between the two FMCs felt a little hollow at times for my personal taste but as a relationship in a YA novel it gets the job done.
- It terms of atmosphere and vibes that Ava Reid’s work is known for this felt a bit lacking as well. Still fantastic atmosphere but comparatively speaking (to her other books), this was a little flat
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Read
January 16, 2025Dystopian! Sapphic! Enemies to lovers! BY MY FAVORITE AUTHOR?? I’m so lucky to be alive at the same time as Ava Reid.
December 14, 2024
4.5* rounded up
this is a book you are going to want to preorder. it gave me the same feelings that the hunger games did when i first read it. i was hooked and could not put this down! the characters have my heart and i think it ended perfectly <3
(still manifesting a sequel tho i need more in this world)
this is a book you are going to want to preorder. it gave me the same feelings that the hunger games did when i first read it. i was hooked and could not put this down! the characters have my heart and i think it ended perfectly <3
(still manifesting a sequel tho i need more in this world)
January 7, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Thank you so much Netgalley for this arc !
Fable for the End of the World is a YA standalone sapphic dystopian romance that takes great inspiration from all the dystopian books we all know and love.
I really appreciated the social commentary and critique in this book. There's a rather big focus on behavior and anonymity on the internet, as well as the consequences that greed and consumerism could have on our world in the future.
In a way it's showing how our reality could look like if certain things continue as they currently are, which makes for an interesting and almost uncanny reading experience (&that's a GOOD THING).
I gotta say that the worldbuilding and crafting of the dystopian system that we got in the first quarter of the book was much more intriguing and interesting to me then the actual 'lamb's gauntlet' that made up most of the story later on. I constantly found myself waiting to find out more about the Caerus corporation and the many ways it's corrupted or the way the class system in that world actually works.
One thing that Ava Reid always excels in is writing complex relationship dynamics. Family was an important part in this book in both a negative and positive light. On one hand there was the beautiful sibling bond that Inesa and her brother, Luka have, they kind of felt representative for the hope and love that's so obviously missing in the world they live in. On the other hand we saw the (mostly verbally) abusive and awful relationship that Inesa has to her mother and how deeply that kind of relationship can effect someone. I really appreciated seeing that in a YA novel. (definitely check trigger warnings for that)
The romance between Inesa and Melinoë started off SO strong and I really enjoyed the small moments of tension and yearning we got in the beginning. However the more I read the more the romance felt .....rushed. It started off with the promise of a slowburn but whenever it actually slowed down, it suddenly picked up again and everything just moved too fast. 😭 Like 'blink and you miss it' fast.
It made the romance feel less believable, because there wasn't that much build up.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the romance, I did!! I only wanted a lot more than we got.
Related to that, my main complaint is that the plot simply moved way too fast, the book should've been so much longer than it was, considering that it's a standalone and we only got so many pages.
There were moments that felt too abrupt and left me frustrated because it made the story lose depth and just overall ended up feeling underdeveloped almost.
I just wish the story and the romance had gotten enough time to properly develop and make use of the interesting worldbuilding we got in the beginning.
The ending was also way to open for there to not be a sequel planned tbh so..... maybe we'll get a sequel who knows. If we do I really hope that it follows Luka, because honestly he was my favorite in the entire book.
Thank you so much Netgalley for this arc !
Fable for the End of the World is a YA standalone sapphic dystopian romance that takes great inspiration from all the dystopian books we all know and love.
I really appreciated the social commentary and critique in this book. There's a rather big focus on behavior and anonymity on the internet, as well as the consequences that greed and consumerism could have on our world in the future.
In a way it's showing how our reality could look like if certain things continue as they currently are, which makes for an interesting and almost uncanny reading experience (&that's a GOOD THING).
I gotta say that the worldbuilding and crafting of the dystopian system that we got in the first quarter of the book was much more intriguing and interesting to me then the actual 'lamb's gauntlet' that made up most of the story later on. I constantly found myself waiting to find out more about the Caerus corporation and the many ways it's corrupted or the way the class system in that world actually works.
One thing that Ava Reid always excels in is writing complex relationship dynamics. Family was an important part in this book in both a negative and positive light. On one hand there was the beautiful sibling bond that Inesa and her brother, Luka have, they kind of felt representative for the hope and love that's so obviously missing in the world they live in. On the other hand we saw the (mostly verbally) abusive and awful relationship that Inesa has to her mother and how deeply that kind of relationship can effect someone. I really appreciated seeing that in a YA novel. (definitely check trigger warnings for that)
The romance between Inesa and Melinoë started off SO strong and I really enjoyed the small moments of tension and yearning we got in the beginning. However the more I read the more the romance felt .....rushed. It started off with the promise of a slowburn but whenever it actually slowed down, it suddenly picked up again and everything just moved too fast. 😭 Like 'blink and you miss it' fast.
It made the romance feel less believable, because there wasn't that much build up.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy the romance, I did!! I only wanted a lot more than we got.
Related to that, my main complaint is that the plot simply moved way too fast, the book should've been so much longer than it was, considering that it's a standalone and we only got so many pages.
There were moments that felt too abrupt and left me frustrated because it made the story lose depth and just overall ended up feeling underdeveloped almost.
I just wish the story and the romance had gotten enough time to properly develop and make use of the interesting worldbuilding we got in the beginning.
The ending was also way to open for there to not be a sequel planned tbh so..... maybe we'll get a sequel who knows. If we do I really hope that it follows Luka, because honestly he was my favorite in the entire book.
January 22, 2025
Pitching this as Hunger Games x Annihilation x West World. In dystopian, drowning Upstate NY, a cute, doe-eyed girl named Inesa is making ends meet by selling taxidermied animals that will go extinct. Inesa gets put into the a 1 on 1 Hunger Games by her Munchausen’s afflicted, QVC addicted mother and must survive an arbitrary number of days to win ~the Gauntlet~. If she wins, her loans will be forgiven, which as a post-grad student, I can get on board with.
Melinoe is a cold-hearted, part-tech, part-human killer Angel who is sent to hunt Inesa to prove that she’s still got it because at the ripe of 17, she’s old news and is up to get decommissioned and sold as a tech mogul concubine. Will Melinoe be able to break that cold, hard exterior to make sparks fly with Inesa? Hopefully. If they can get away from the cannibalistic mutant humans and other horrors of the wasteland!!
Ava Reid is amazing at writing character-driven novels, with interesting fleshed out characters who have intriguing backstories. For an action focused dystopian fantasy novel, I wish the world was more fleshed out and we got more information on how everything worked. The things we did find out didn’t necessarily add up. Like why are Inesa & Luka killing endangered animals, someone call WWF. Or why is the world set so far in the future that animals and climates dramatically evolved, but we're still relying on Amazon Prime (albeit via helicopter)?!? There are issues like the objectification and violence against women, the harm of social media, climate change and government institutions that the novel didn’t take the pages to explore. There were beginnings of so many great ideas that needed more page time to truly shine and make a statement. Overall, an interesting and solid read and I'm interested in seeing whether there will be sequels!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Melinoe is a cold-hearted, part-tech, part-human killer Angel who is sent to hunt Inesa to prove that she’s still got it because at the ripe of 17, she’s old news and is up to get decommissioned and sold as a tech mogul concubine. Will Melinoe be able to break that cold, hard exterior to make sparks fly with Inesa? Hopefully. If they can get away from the cannibalistic mutant humans and other horrors of the wasteland!!
Ava Reid is amazing at writing character-driven novels, with interesting fleshed out characters who have intriguing backstories. For an action focused dystopian fantasy novel, I wish the world was more fleshed out and we got more information on how everything worked. The things we did find out didn’t necessarily add up. Like why are Inesa & Luka killing endangered animals, someone call WWF. Or why is the world set so far in the future that animals and climates dramatically evolved, but we're still relying on Amazon Prime (albeit via helicopter)?!? There are issues like the objectification and violence against women, the harm of social media, climate change and government institutions that the novel didn’t take the pages to explore. There were beginnings of so many great ideas that needed more page time to truly shine and make a statement. Overall, an interesting and solid read and I'm interested in seeing whether there will be sequels!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Want to read
October 11, 2024E-ARC generously provided by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!
Wild that I’ve been accepted for this tbh, ready for Ava Reid’s sapphic slay!!
Wild that I’ve been accepted for this tbh, ready for Ava Reid’s sapphic slay!!
Want to read
September 20, 2024The Last Of Us meets The Hunger Games… do not say another word, this book is written for me.
November 23, 2024
unpopular opinion by someone who read too many 2014 YA dystopian, but please can i have one original worldbuilding element and meaningful theme please? boredom and predictability all around me
guess I expected more out of this one? Ava Reid is known for her gothic stories and I have enjoyed Juniper & Thorn so the shift to dystopian for her first sapphic story was unexpected (and maybe disappointing on my end). Her gothic writing is very atmospheric and while Fable is well-written (better than other YA if you'll allow me this one) it's not a marvel of atmosphere, worldbuilding, or romance. It was, unfortunately, boring.
Fable gives off strong 2014YA dystopian clearly inspired by the Young Adult stories I read when I (and likely Ava Reid) too was a teenager. The problem with me having read so many of them back when it was popular was that it made Fable seem uninspired and predictable. So you've got an Hunger Games-like class division with televised suffering of the poors without the thoughtful exploration of the Hunger Games because here it's just set dressing. You've got an emotionless android assassin who feels things and can't kill her target (I guess Crier's War and then a mix of other older titles).
I am going to be fair and say that I really enjoyed Inesa's brother helping her out and being a strong figure in her life even though that fizzles out very quickly.
It is not a book that captured my interest, I was bored and i didn't like the characters that felt like clichés of the genre. The romance was only interesting in the originality of the ending and that's all. It's not a very good book or even a good dystopian. What are we exploring? The government streams the deaths of people in exchange for debts. Okay, capitalism and television, is there anything original or well-explored? I'll say it, Inesa's mother was the most complex part of the book and the only thing that made me feel for this book.
Overall, this book is written like the first in a duology or trilogy, and if it is, I am going to be mad that we live in a world where we no longer announce those things. However, I'm not interested. I'm tired of surprise duologies.
guess I expected more out of this one? Ava Reid is known for her gothic stories and I have enjoyed Juniper & Thorn so the shift to dystopian for her first sapphic story was unexpected (and maybe disappointing on my end). Her gothic writing is very atmospheric and while Fable is well-written (better than other YA if you'll allow me this one) it's not a marvel of atmosphere, worldbuilding, or romance. It was, unfortunately, boring.
Fable gives off strong 2014YA dystopian clearly inspired by the Young Adult stories I read when I (and likely Ava Reid) too was a teenager. The problem with me having read so many of them back when it was popular was that it made Fable seem uninspired and predictable. So you've got an Hunger Games-like class division with televised suffering of the poors without the thoughtful exploration of the Hunger Games because here it's just set dressing. You've got an emotionless android assassin who feels things and can't kill her target (I guess Crier's War and then a mix of other older titles).
I am going to be fair and say that I really enjoyed Inesa's brother helping her out and being a strong figure in her life even though that fizzles out very quickly.
It is not a book that captured my interest, I was bored and i didn't like the characters that felt like clichés of the genre. The romance was only interesting in the originality of the ending and that's all. It's not a very good book or even a good dystopian. What are we exploring? The government streams the deaths of people in exchange for debts. Okay, capitalism and television, is there anything original or well-explored? I'll say it, Inesa's mother was the most complex part of the book and the only thing that made me feel for this book.
Overall, this book is written like the first in a duology or trilogy, and if it is, I am going to be mad that we live in a world where we no longer announce those things. However, I'm not interested. I'm tired of surprise duologies.
November 8, 2024
What a book to start in the wake of this election…
“Fable for the End of the World” by Ava Reid was a very enjoyable read. I was a little confused by the beginning of the book, but it very quickly picked up. Reid’s upcoming novel takes place in a world where a person can go into debt for material goods, whether it be fads or basic goods. If a person goes too into debt or wants to spend past a certain limit, they can be entered into the gauntlet, which is a fight to the death against an “angel” a cyborg like human entity that has been altered to become a killing machine.
This is going to be a book I think about often. Both Melinoë and Inesa have impacted me. I wish they lived in a different world, one where they could live freely.
In terms of critiques of the book, I feel like not that much happened in the matter of plot. However, this book did deliver in terms of sapphic love (that I wish was a little more fleshed out, but it is YA), conversation of capitalism, feminism and the consumption of the female body, humanity, and violence.
Thank you to NetGalley and EpicReads for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
October 10, 2024
5 stars! ✨
Thank you, Ava Reid, for delivering the dystopian sapphic romance book of my dreams! This is an eye-opening story about love, choice, family, loyalty, and hope.
“So here we are, hating each other, repulsed by each other, both standing to gain from the other’s demise. And yet - I owe her my life, And she owes me hers.”
A HUGE Thanks to Netgalley and Harpercollins for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In “Fable For The End Of The World” we follow the POV of our two lead female characters Inesa and Melinoe. Inesa struggles to make ends meet alongside her brother Luka, and her mother. She runs a tiny taxidermy shop where she and Luka make a small living for necessities. Unaware of her mother’s demise they have fallen into enough debt for her mother to elect Inesa to partake in the Gauntlet. Melinoe is a trained killer, who is elected to be the “angel” that will hunt down Inesa and kill her in front of hundreds of thousands of civilians. In a world where everything is controlled by Caerus down to every little minute detail, this is a hunt impossible to run away from. With the help of her brother Luka, and some survival skills passed along to her from her father, Inesa has a slim chance of victory. Melinoe is known for being stunningly cold in her effective kills and has never missed a mark. She is having flashbacks from the last Gauntlet she had partaken in, and now must prove herself worthy to continue the task to her “handler.” Melinoe, after everything has been altered within her, is not sure if she is capable of feeling, and Inesa exudes passion and empathy. Will they be one another’s downfall? Or can they overcome all odds and feel love for one another?
Wow. wow. Wow. Words cannot express how much I love this story - so I can only hope my review will do it justice.
My heart broke because of Inesa’s circumstances. Her and her sibling being close to overcome their parent’s shortcomings really resonated with me. Being a person, whose father passed away at a young age, and being a passenger to losing my mother within her own mental illnesses taking over her mind - this was hard-hitting. I could not stand how her mother treated her with such neglect and disgust. She truly is a self-centered, selfish person, and despite everything, Inesa feels sympathy and understanding for her mother who betrayed her.
Melinoe was forced to become a “project” at such a young age. She was torn apart, and built back together to be a killer, without a choice. The hand that fed her, was also the hand poisoning her spirit. For her being “numbed” by the Caerus she still felt, still loved, and still mourned, despite what she was forced to believe.
Reid really plants seeds of questions in your mind with this story of right vs. wrong, order vs. control, government vs. love and compassion. With every aspect of their government being controlled by Caerus, we really witness how programs meant to “help” the citizens lead to their society’s downfall over time. Reid writes in the beginning “If there’s one thing I wish for readers to take away from “Fable”, it’s that the bravest thing you can do in this challenging, frightening time is to choose love.” She executes the message within the contents of this book very well. 💗
If you love dystopian fantasy books, sapphic romances, and tales of bravery this will not disappoint.
Thank you, Ava Reid, for delivering the dystopian sapphic romance book of my dreams! This is an eye-opening story about love, choice, family, loyalty, and hope.
“So here we are, hating each other, repulsed by each other, both standing to gain from the other’s demise. And yet - I owe her my life, And she owes me hers.”
A HUGE Thanks to Netgalley and Harpercollins for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In “Fable For The End Of The World” we follow the POV of our two lead female characters Inesa and Melinoe. Inesa struggles to make ends meet alongside her brother Luka, and her mother. She runs a tiny taxidermy shop where she and Luka make a small living for necessities. Unaware of her mother’s demise they have fallen into enough debt for her mother to elect Inesa to partake in the Gauntlet. Melinoe is a trained killer, who is elected to be the “angel” that will hunt down Inesa and kill her in front of hundreds of thousands of civilians. In a world where everything is controlled by Caerus down to every little minute detail, this is a hunt impossible to run away from. With the help of her brother Luka, and some survival skills passed along to her from her father, Inesa has a slim chance of victory. Melinoe is known for being stunningly cold in her effective kills and has never missed a mark. She is having flashbacks from the last Gauntlet she had partaken in, and now must prove herself worthy to continue the task to her “handler.” Melinoe, after everything has been altered within her, is not sure if she is capable of feeling, and Inesa exudes passion and empathy. Will they be one another’s downfall? Or can they overcome all odds and feel love for one another?
Wow. wow. Wow. Words cannot express how much I love this story - so I can only hope my review will do it justice.
My heart broke because of Inesa’s circumstances. Her and her sibling being close to overcome their parent’s shortcomings really resonated with me. Being a person, whose father passed away at a young age, and being a passenger to losing my mother within her own mental illnesses taking over her mind - this was hard-hitting. I could not stand how her mother treated her with such neglect and disgust. She truly is a self-centered, selfish person, and despite everything, Inesa feels sympathy and understanding for her mother who betrayed her.
Melinoe was forced to become a “project” at such a young age. She was torn apart, and built back together to be a killer, without a choice. The hand that fed her, was also the hand poisoning her spirit. For her being “numbed” by the Caerus she still felt, still loved, and still mourned, despite what she was forced to believe.
Reid really plants seeds of questions in your mind with this story of right vs. wrong, order vs. control, government vs. love and compassion. With every aspect of their government being controlled by Caerus, we really witness how programs meant to “help” the citizens lead to their society’s downfall over time. Reid writes in the beginning “If there’s one thing I wish for readers to take away from “Fable”, it’s that the bravest thing you can do in this challenging, frightening time is to choose love.” She executes the message within the contents of this book very well. 💗
If you love dystopian fantasy books, sapphic romances, and tales of bravery this will not disappoint.
October 3, 2024
honestly, ava had me at sapphic enemies to lovers set in a hunger games/tlou esque world, but she kept me HOOKED with her creatures and her morbid whimsy, tension you could cut with a knife and characters who shone so brightly on their own. my only critique is that it felt a little juvenile at times (for me!), but any moment i felt that little scratch of dismay, i was immediately distracted but something incredibly cool and gay happening on the next page \o/
thank you netgalley for the arc!
thank you netgalley for the arc!
Want to read
March 20, 2024take my fucking money ava reid, take my soul, my heart, take everything - it's yours
October 29, 2024
Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for providing the ARC.
A sapphic dystopian story about two girls pitted against each other for the entertainment of their society. It seems interesting on paper but as a standalone story could not achieve the depth of its predecessor.
I need to stop reading author's notes because they set up a precedence that is hard to ignore. In her note, Reid states her inspirations which include her experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, pros and cons of growing up in the internet, and the profound influence of The Hunger Games on her writing journey. Fable acts as a "love letter to dystopian YA fiction I grew up with in the 2010s". Unfortunately, because of this, I kept comparing the story to THG and that made for an unsatisfying reading experience.
Fable was a decent read until it wasn't. There were a few fragments I did like but the execution with lack of tension made for a very unfulfilling read. There were alot of frustrating issues brought up that felt more like they were brought just for the sake of pointing them out with no motion to undue these systematic oppressions that pitted these girls and others against each other.
As a standalone book, there was not enough time to do that which is disappointing because I think the setup and characters actually had potential to be truly great. I wanted to root for these girls. I wanted to see more of their journey. Despite liking the characters, I didnt like their relationship. It happened so quickly, at the flip of a dime.
They were together for less than two weeks and half that time they weren't in the agreement to not kill each other. Nah. It was so unconvincing. But I could see them falling for each other, just not with how it was executed in this book.
Honestly it may have made for a novella or something shorter than what it was because it gets repetitive and muddled in the middle.
Also there are wendigos in this story. They are called Wends and instead of them partaking in human flesh they come to be from consuming enough mutated animals. Which.. I hated. For a good bit I thought there was going to be a reveal that the mutated animals were actually people. But the Wends didnt really go anywhere except to show what people outside of the current society could potentially fall into because of lack of resources. But they were only there to cause some trouble and then never showed up again lmao
Something about using a creature/spirit/being from indigenous folklore (in this case from the Algonquian tribe) in this way felt odd. I wish I could express why this rubs me the wrong way but at the moment I cannot.
I liked the ending (I think)... But because everything leading up to it was lackluster, it didn't leave a very strong overall impression.
I didn't like A Study in Drowning or Lady Macbeth. So this one was my last try with this author. I think I could have liked it if it didn't rely so much on THG nostalgia and had the opportunity to be more fleshed out.
The cover is cool though as most of her covers tend to be
A sapphic dystopian story about two girls pitted against each other for the entertainment of their society. It seems interesting on paper but as a standalone story could not achieve the depth of its predecessor.
I need to stop reading author's notes because they set up a precedence that is hard to ignore. In her note, Reid states her inspirations which include her experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, pros and cons of growing up in the internet, and the profound influence of The Hunger Games on her writing journey. Fable acts as a "love letter to dystopian YA fiction I grew up with in the 2010s". Unfortunately, because of this, I kept comparing the story to THG and that made for an unsatisfying reading experience.
Fable was a decent read until it wasn't. There were a few fragments I did like but the execution with lack of tension made for a very unfulfilling read. There were alot of frustrating issues brought up that felt more like they were brought just for the sake of pointing them out with no motion to undue these systematic oppressions that pitted these girls and others against each other.
As a standalone book, there was not enough time to do that which is disappointing because I think the setup and characters actually had potential to be truly great. I wanted to root for these girls. I wanted to see more of their journey. Despite liking the characters, I didnt like their relationship. It happened so quickly, at the flip of a dime.
They were together for less than two weeks and half that time they weren't in the agreement to not kill each other. Nah. It was so unconvincing. But I could see them falling for each other, just not with how it was executed in this book.
Honestly it may have made for a novella or something shorter than what it was because it gets repetitive and muddled in the middle.
Also there are wendigos in this story. They are called Wends and instead of them partaking in human flesh they come to be from consuming enough mutated animals. Which.. I hated. For a good bit I thought there was going to be a reveal that the mutated animals were actually people. But the Wends didnt really go anywhere except to show what people outside of the current society could potentially fall into because of lack of resources. But they were only there to cause some trouble and then never showed up again lmao
Something about using a creature/spirit/being from indigenous folklore (in this case from the Algonquian tribe) in this way felt odd. I wish I could express why this rubs me the wrong way but at the moment I cannot.
I liked the ending (I think)... But because everything leading up to it was lackluster, it didn't leave a very strong overall impression.
I didn't like A Study in Drowning or Lady Macbeth. So this one was my last try with this author. I think I could have liked it if it didn't rely so much on THG nostalgia and had the opportunity to be more fleshed out.
The cover is cool though as most of her covers tend to be
January 12, 2025
Alas, I must add this to my list of books that had some excellent concepts, but an underwhelming execution.
The thing is: there were so many excellent concepts this book put forth that I think deserve exploration given all their relevancy to this day and age. The objective dangers of giving power to corporations and allowing businesses to monopolize. The way the over-consumption of both goods and media drives people further away from their humanity & empathy. The way women are so quick to be objectified and vilified by the media — often in the same breath — and how people will be quick to berate them and direct their vitriol at them behind the safety of an anonymous comment, while also equally willing to cast them as the star of their depraved fantasies.
Ultimately, I felt like this book often tried to jump to showing its conclusions without giving what I considered to be a convincing route for how it got there. There were a lot of logistics about the economy of the world, the setup of the Gauntlet itself, and the stakes to both the people in power and the people at the bottom that did not seem logical to me. This book didn't so much have an issue with plot holes, as many of the questions about the worldbuilding did end up getting answered, but rather that the answers we were given didn't seem to fit with either the setup of their society or the general direction in which one would expect people to be motivated. Maybe it's just a case of me thinking about things too much, but more often it felt like I was wishing Ava had thought about things more.
While I think Inesa and Mel made for good characters to follow to see two sides of this world, I felt like their development wasn't terribly balanced. I think Mel's arc, with working through all of the programming and trauma she had endured and trying to unlearn years of conditioning was definitely the most compelling, and it felt like she had the most interesting storyline throughout the book. Inesa on the other hand, was kinda just... there. While we did get to see them share their experiences and thoughts and vulnerabilities with one another, there was never much about Inesa that made it feel like she was different than any generic FMC. On top of this, the romance did feel very insta-lovey, with the "slow burn" mostly coming from how many pages it took for their characters to interact for the first time, but with them going from "she could kill me at any moment" to risking their lives for one another in what I'm pretty sure was a matter of days.
Just in general, I think this book needed far more page time to do what it needed to do effectively. I think that this book had the whisperings of having a lot of intricacy to its larger world, but that it never got a chance to actually develop anything more than was strictly needed for this particular story. I think the characters had the chance to have some compelling arcs and resulting commentary on society and trauma and class disparities, but that the actual situations they were in didn't allow for the needed development. And I think that the plot that I was hoping would be as gripping and unpredictable as the Hunger Games Battle Royale competition it was comped to most often forgot to employ its potentially most interesting mechanics, and mainly just felt like a mildly Last of Us-style camping simulator.
But also I didn't hate reading it, and while I have critiques, it's more to do with things that disappointed me rather than things I actively disliked. I feel like this is a book best consumed in one sitting, so it's possible that if I'd read it faster, I would have felt entrenched in the world more deeply and would have enjoyed it more. All in all, I think I would have been less disappointed if my hopes hadn't been so high, so ultimately I think this is pretty solidly a three star read as a book that didn't live up to my expectations, but that I wouldn't warn anyone away from.
Many thanks to EpicReads for the early copy!
The thing is: there were so many excellent concepts this book put forth that I think deserve exploration given all their relevancy to this day and age. The objective dangers of giving power to corporations and allowing businesses to monopolize. The way the over-consumption of both goods and media drives people further away from their humanity & empathy. The way women are so quick to be objectified and vilified by the media — often in the same breath — and how people will be quick to berate them and direct their vitriol at them behind the safety of an anonymous comment, while also equally willing to cast them as the star of their depraved fantasies.
Ultimately, I felt like this book often tried to jump to showing its conclusions without giving what I considered to be a convincing route for how it got there. There were a lot of logistics about the economy of the world, the setup of the Gauntlet itself, and the stakes to both the people in power and the people at the bottom that did not seem logical to me. This book didn't so much have an issue with plot holes, as many of the questions about the worldbuilding did end up getting answered, but rather that the answers we were given didn't seem to fit with either the setup of their society or the general direction in which one would expect people to be motivated. Maybe it's just a case of me thinking about things too much, but more often it felt like I was wishing Ava had thought about things more.
While I think Inesa and Mel made for good characters to follow to see two sides of this world, I felt like their development wasn't terribly balanced. I think Mel's arc, with working through all of the programming and trauma she had endured and trying to unlearn years of conditioning was definitely the most compelling, and it felt like she had the most interesting storyline throughout the book. Inesa on the other hand, was kinda just... there. While we did get to see them share their experiences and thoughts and vulnerabilities with one another, there was never much about Inesa that made it feel like she was different than any generic FMC. On top of this, the romance did feel very insta-lovey, with the "slow burn" mostly coming from how many pages it took for their characters to interact for the first time, but with them going from "she could kill me at any moment" to risking their lives for one another in what I'm pretty sure was a matter of days.
Just in general, I think this book needed far more page time to do what it needed to do effectively. I think that this book had the whisperings of having a lot of intricacy to its larger world, but that it never got a chance to actually develop anything more than was strictly needed for this particular story. I think the characters had the chance to have some compelling arcs and resulting commentary on society and trauma and class disparities, but that the actual situations they were in didn't allow for the needed development. And I think that the plot that I was hoping would be as gripping and unpredictable as the Hunger Games Battle Royale competition it was comped to most often forgot to employ its potentially most interesting mechanics, and mainly just felt like a mildly Last of Us-style camping simulator.
But also I didn't hate reading it, and while I have critiques, it's more to do with things that disappointed me rather than things I actively disliked. I feel like this is a book best consumed in one sitting, so it's possible that if I'd read it faster, I would have felt entrenched in the world more deeply and would have enjoyed it more. All in all, I think I would have been less disappointed if my hopes hadn't been so high, so ultimately I think this is pretty solidly a three star read as a book that didn't live up to my expectations, but that I wouldn't warn anyone away from.
Many thanks to EpicReads for the early copy!
July 27, 2024
A few days ago I requested this book on Edelweiss with just one sentence: I’d sell my firstborn for this book.
Yesterday they approved my request.
I read it in one sitting.
*silence* *silence* *silence*
*screaming noises*
I'm currently looking for a nice cabin in the woods and I plan to live in it forever. Do not talk to me.
Before I go off the grid, I just have one thing to say: Ava Reid can have my firstborn.
Rtc…
Yesterday they approved my request.
I read it in one sitting.
*silence* *silence* *silence*
*screaming noises*
I'm currently looking for a nice cabin in the woods and I plan to live in it forever. Do not talk to me.
Before I go off the grid, I just have one thing to say: Ava Reid can have my firstborn.
Rtc…
Want to read
March 22, 2024After A Study in Drowning, I would read every new Ava Reid book and this one sounds made for me.
December 1, 2024
Someone described this as the lesbian hunger games, and I'd say that's just about right. This does follow a "Hunger Games" type road, and the author even mentions Suzanne Collins in the acknowledgments. She does, however, add her own twists to the story.
The gauntlet replaces the hunger games, and it's one and one versus a whole group. For this book, Inesa is our chosen Lamb and Mel is our Angels. Angels have been surgically altered, raised, and perfected to become killing machines. I do wish a little more time had been taken to watch the shift in the relationship between Inesa and Mel, because it did feel a little rushed, although I understand why.
This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I kind of hope that this is a series because it just kind of ends in a really unfulfilling way. So many loose ends, practically nothing tied up nicely.
But, there was still so much to love about this book. The shifting brother/sister relationship with Inesa and Luka was amazing. Nas there was just so much available space to open up their backgrounds and futures that I do really hope for another book. I loved getting an inside look at Azrael's angel program and would love some more information about city life/government life.
Overall 4/5 because I just wanted MORE.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The gauntlet replaces the hunger games, and it's one and one versus a whole group. For this book, Inesa is our chosen Lamb and Mel is our Angels. Angels have been surgically altered, raised, and perfected to become killing machines. I do wish a little more time had been taken to watch the shift in the relationship between Inesa and Mel, because it did feel a little rushed, although I understand why.
This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I kind of hope that this is a series because it just kind of ends in a really unfulfilling way. So many loose ends, practically nothing tied up nicely.
But, there was still so much to love about this book. The shifting brother/sister relationship with Inesa and Luka was amazing. Nas there was just so much available space to open up their backgrounds and futures that I do really hope for another book. I loved getting an inside look at Azrael's angel program and would love some more information about city life/government life.
Overall 4/5 because I just wanted MORE.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 30, 2024
Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.
Currently reading
January 23, 2025[⊹ ࣪ pre-read thoughts — 10/11/24 ♡]
WHAT!!!??? I GOT THE ARC!!!
WHAT!!!??? I GOT THE ARC!!!
January 15, 2025
Fable for the End of the World is a return of my golden age of adolescence, where my grand favored reading was YA dystopia. From Hunger Games to The Host to The Giver, to all the titles that are now a distant memory, but in their moment burned oh so bright. I adored this genre and this felt like a genuine return to home. And this is a title that will be one of the ones I remember.
There were tears and gasps. There was ice in my veins, and warmy glow in my heart. There were triumphs and losses. There was love, there was sorrow. And there was a journey so worthwhile, and so lasting in memory. I was riveted by this book from beginning to ending. Ava Reid's writing remains impactful, inspired, layered, and so poignant. The world she created came to life from the moment the first page was read.
Leads Inesa and Melinoë are from very different paths of life. They are true enemies, but these enemies soon are faced with a choice of allying with one another to survive, or keeping the line between them, even if it means mutual death, they choose an alliance. It’s meant to be a fraught, fragile, temporary tie. One loosely bound until they can survive their environment and face one another again, to an engrossed expectant public's cruel delight. But as they spend more time together, the tie tightens, an unexpected bond forms, new choices are on the horizon. And realizations are made, both against a system that is rigged against them, and the realization that perhaps they share far more in common then they once believed.
Inesa is a wonderfully layered, complex character that brings soft vulnerability, relatable edges, and brazen courage to the page. Every emotion that passed through her, I felt as well. Ava Reid did a tremendous job is allowing the reader to walk in Inesa’s shoes throughout her journey. I never knew quite what to expect with every turn of the road, but I knew I wanted to stay right alongside Inesa to the end, bitter or sweet. I needed to see her journey through. She is a heroine that will be cherished in my heart always.
*I also want to shout out Luka, Inesa’s slightly younger brother. He may initially be of few words and tense moments, but his love for his sister is obvious in his efforts to protect and guide her. He was a wonderful supporting character that further layered Inesa.
Then there's Melinoë.
My heart wept for her. So much of her humanity has been stripped away. In a way she reminded me a bit of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, perhaps an odd choice to bring up, but I came to love Nebula in those movies and that’s because of the arc she had. From this man-made machine of destruction, to a fully, living being who asserted her own agency and forged her own destiny. Melinoë is faced with similar dilemmas and it had my heart hammering with every step she took. I sympathized so deeply with her plight. She is made to kill, to be a thing of greater purpose with no agency, only directives to follow through, but when that control is stripped away, she is left with only her reflection, and must decide what she wants that to mean to her.
I love how Inesa saw beyond the weapon that is Melinoë into the vulnerable human girl she is. Treating her as such encouraged Melinoë to reacquaint herself with her own humanity, her own fallibility, and her own courage. In turn, Melinoë shows Inesa a path of hope and love. A path where perhaps better days will come. A path they need not travel alone. If they take the chance, if they take that leap of faith.
I so adored the relationship and romance between Inesa and Melinoë. From enemies trying to kill the other, to reluctant, uneasy allies, to two young women who come to realize they aren’t so different. To something far more poignant…
Their slow burn romance is magnetic and heart-achingly breathtaking. What Inesa and Melinoë discover, achieve, and simply feel because of the other impacts their individual and intertwined arcs. Their romance comes with high stakes and it resonates and enacts consequence to the narrative. It's tightly wound to the overall plot and it left me fervent at times, scared at times, but so hopeful because of how much I desired seeing them find a way to be with one another. There is no guarantee in their triumph, but there is also no choice but to want to see it through. To cheer it on, to fight along with them against every obstacle set on their path. I do wish once that slow burn fully ignited we could have spent more time with the couple fully in love. I just needed more page time of that love. Nevertheless, that is honestly such a minor quibble, because the slow burn romance still has that massive impact upon the final act. And all I will say-- prepare the tissues. But please know-- it's so worth it.
So incredibly worth it.
If you love dystopia, high-stakes romance, evolving character arcs, and a plot that brings action and adventure-- and thrills and chills-- be sure to pick up Fable!
To Fable for the End of the World, I will absolutely remember you.
Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5✨
There were tears and gasps. There was ice in my veins, and warmy glow in my heart. There were triumphs and losses. There was love, there was sorrow. And there was a journey so worthwhile, and so lasting in memory. I was riveted by this book from beginning to ending. Ava Reid's writing remains impactful, inspired, layered, and so poignant. The world she created came to life from the moment the first page was read.
Leads Inesa and Melinoë are from very different paths of life. They are true enemies, but these enemies soon are faced with a choice of allying with one another to survive, or keeping the line between them, even if it means mutual death, they choose an alliance. It’s meant to be a fraught, fragile, temporary tie. One loosely bound until they can survive their environment and face one another again, to an engrossed expectant public's cruel delight. But as they spend more time together, the tie tightens, an unexpected bond forms, new choices are on the horizon. And realizations are made, both against a system that is rigged against them, and the realization that perhaps they share far more in common then they once believed.
Inesa is a wonderfully layered, complex character that brings soft vulnerability, relatable edges, and brazen courage to the page. Every emotion that passed through her, I felt as well. Ava Reid did a tremendous job is allowing the reader to walk in Inesa’s shoes throughout her journey. I never knew quite what to expect with every turn of the road, but I knew I wanted to stay right alongside Inesa to the end, bitter or sweet. I needed to see her journey through. She is a heroine that will be cherished in my heart always.
*I also want to shout out Luka, Inesa’s slightly younger brother. He may initially be of few words and tense moments, but his love for his sister is obvious in his efforts to protect and guide her. He was a wonderful supporting character that further layered Inesa.
Then there's Melinoë.
My heart wept for her. So much of her humanity has been stripped away. In a way she reminded me a bit of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, perhaps an odd choice to bring up, but I came to love Nebula in those movies and that’s because of the arc she had. From this man-made machine of destruction, to a fully, living being who asserted her own agency and forged her own destiny. Melinoë is faced with similar dilemmas and it had my heart hammering with every step she took. I sympathized so deeply with her plight. She is made to kill, to be a thing of greater purpose with no agency, only directives to follow through, but when that control is stripped away, she is left with only her reflection, and must decide what she wants that to mean to her.
I love how Inesa saw beyond the weapon that is Melinoë into the vulnerable human girl she is. Treating her as such encouraged Melinoë to reacquaint herself with her own humanity, her own fallibility, and her own courage. In turn, Melinoë shows Inesa a path of hope and love. A path where perhaps better days will come. A path they need not travel alone. If they take the chance, if they take that leap of faith.
I so adored the relationship and romance between Inesa and Melinoë. From enemies trying to kill the other, to reluctant, uneasy allies, to two young women who come to realize they aren’t so different. To something far more poignant…
Their slow burn romance is magnetic and heart-achingly breathtaking. What Inesa and Melinoë discover, achieve, and simply feel because of the other impacts their individual and intertwined arcs. Their romance comes with high stakes and it resonates and enacts consequence to the narrative. It's tightly wound to the overall plot and it left me fervent at times, scared at times, but so hopeful because of how much I desired seeing them find a way to be with one another. There is no guarantee in their triumph, but there is also no choice but to want to see it through. To cheer it on, to fight along with them against every obstacle set on their path. I do wish once that slow burn fully ignited we could have spent more time with the couple fully in love. I just needed more page time of that love. Nevertheless, that is honestly such a minor quibble, because the slow burn romance still has that massive impact upon the final act. And all I will say-- prepare the tissues. But please know-- it's so worth it.
So incredibly worth it.
If you love dystopia, high-stakes romance, evolving character arcs, and a plot that brings action and adventure-- and thrills and chills-- be sure to pick up Fable!
To Fable for the End of the World, I will absolutely remember you.
Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5✨
January 16, 2025
what i love about ava reid's books is that they're all woman-centric, and they all address misogyny and sexual abuse. her portrayal of the angels, the "corporate concubine" culture, melinoe's monologue saying how her body isn't her own, the depiction of internet comments towards women remotely visible in the public sphere, inesa's and melinoe's bodies being broadcasted to the city for ratings and the combined fetishization/desire and hatred towards them, everything is so beautifully crafted and disturbing.
inesa's and melinoe's relationship is a hopeful resistance against all of that, against the corporation that commands their lives, and they're trying so hard, crawling uphill next to sisyphus. it breaks me. they're both such flawed, soulful characters, brimming with desires and dreams they won't be able to see through, and that makes reading this a very intimate experience.
thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!
inesa's and melinoe's relationship is a hopeful resistance against all of that, against the corporation that commands their lives, and they're trying so hard, crawling uphill next to sisyphus. it breaks me. they're both such flawed, soulful characters, brimming with desires and dreams they won't be able to see through, and that makes reading this a very intimate experience.
thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy!
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