Book Series Review: "Fable" Duology by Adrienne Young

Book 1: Fable 

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Page Count: 357 pages

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Book 2: Namesake

Publication Date: March 16, 2021

Page Count: 360 pages

Rating: 5 // 5 stars

Series Goodreads

Overall Rating: 5 // 5 stars

I've been a fan of Adrienne Young's ever since her debut novel, Sky in the Deep. I absolutely loved that book and I really enjoyed her follow up, The Girl the Sea Gave Back. When Fable came out, I was really intrigued at the idea of a nautical fantasy duology from an author I'd only previously read standalones from.

It took me a while to finally start this duology but someone who's opinion I trust ended up reading it recently and recommending it so it got moved up on my TBR quite quickly. I read this duology in less than a weekend and I enjoyed every moment.

These books have not only an intriguing world and vivid setting but also interesting characters and an addicting plot. I've always found Adrienne Young's writing style to be very accessible to me, which helped a lot as I recently emerged from quite a long reading slump. All of these elements combined led to me being complete sucked in and forgetting that I was reading a book and not sailing on the seas with this cast of characters. I was fully invested in every moment. 

The only thing I will say is that the romance wasn't as big of a deal as I'd hoped, but I also wasn't let down by it so it's not a negative that I wasn't addicted to it. I think, for me, I really cared more about the narrator and how the entire cast of characters were, rather than the individual romantic relationship. In that regard, I found myself skimming over the romance-only scenes and favoring the scenes where all the characters were together, whether it be for witty banter or clashing opinions. 

I will say, I've enjoyed most nautical fantasies that I've read. I haven't read very many in comparison to, say, regular fantasy or romance books. However, I've always really enjoyed this sub-genre. I think part of this might be due to my obsession with Pirates of the Caribbean when I was younger. In any case, I think my past nautical story experiences allowed me to understand the settings a lot better and know what different terms meant. 

Overall, I absolutely adored this duology from start to finish. I can't wait to read the spin-off sequel about a certain family we met and see how the world and side characters are progressing. I also just am excited to get a copy of Namesake in the future when I have proper bookshelves again and display these gorgeous books. 

Fable and Namesake were enjoyable, addicting reads from Adrienne Young that has cemented her on my auto-buy author list. Having read 4 of the 5 books she's published, I think this is definitely a fair assumption to make.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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Blog Tour: "Steel Tide" by Natalie C. Parker

Hello everyone! Today I'm bringing you a super exciting blog post to celebrate the release of Steel Tide, the sequel to Seafire, by Natalie C Parker! Seafire was one of my absolute favorite reads of last year so when I had the opportunity to be a part of the blog tour for the second book I jumped at the chance. A quick overview of what you'll find in this post: descriptions for both books, information on the author, purchase links, and a moodboard created by me inspired by the series! 

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SEAFIRE

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet. 

But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all...or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for? 

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STEEL TIDE 

(Spoilers for Seafire)

The second book in a heart-stopping trilogy that follows the captain of an all-female ship intent on taking down a vicious warlord's powerful fleet.

     Caledonia may have lost her crew, but she's not done fighting yet. After nearly dying at the hand of a powerful foe, Caledonia is pulled from the sea and nursed back to health by a crew of former Bullets that call themselves Blades. The Blades escaped Aric Athair's clutches and now live a nomadic existence, ready to disappear at a moment's notice should trouble come their way. 

     But Caledonia wants to do more than just hide. She wants to find the Mors Navis and her beloved sisters. She wants to continue fighting Aric's fleet and to take back the Bullet seas. She'll need to do everything in her power to convince the Blades that fighting is their only option, that there has to be a life better than the one under Aric Athair's reign, and that finding the women of the Mors Navis is the first step to revolution.

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MEET NATALIE C. PARKER

Natalie C. Parker is the author of the Beware the Wild duology, the Seafire trilogy, and the editor of Three Sides of a Heart. She earned her BA in English literature from the University of Southern Mississippi and her MA in gender studies from the University of Cincinnati. She grew up in a Navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan. Now, she lives surprisingly far from any ocean on the Kansas prairie where she runs Madcap Retreats with her wife. She tweets @nataliecparker.

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PURCHASE LINKS

Seafire (August 28, 2018) - all retailers

Steel Tide (Sep 17, 2019) - all retailers

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MOODBOARD INSPIRED BY

SEAFIRE & STEEL TIDE 

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I hope you're as excited about this trilogy as I am! I absolutely cannot wait to reread Seafire and then dive straight into Steel Tide! If you're wondering about more of my thoughts on Seafire, you can find my non-spoiler review here.

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Lauren

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