Bumpy Oak Books

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

4 stars

Adrienne Young concludes her Fable duology with the sequel, Namesake. Fable, West, and the crew of the Marigold return to enemies new and old and to enemies that are maybe actually friends? Namesake sets off right where Fable ends, making just about anything said about the plot a spoiler. Suffice it to say, more seafaring shenanigans, backstabbing, frontstabbing, and discovering of secrets ensue.

I was very fond of Fable, and I did like Namesake. Both books are heavily plot-driven, in my opinion. They also are very fast paced and generally are a good time. I had made mention in my review that I wanted to know more about Auster, Paj, and West after reading Fable and Namesake did give me that. Unfortunately, it felt more like hearing about a couple formative events in their lives rather than their development as characters. I feel that character development as a whole is where the duology struggles.

Young clearly did her best to wrap up every plot point to a satisfying conclusion for the reader, and toward the end this began to get a bit rushed for some items. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with the conclusion and don’t have lingering questions about plot items, so if that was indeed the goal, then it was achieved.

I will happily continue to read future works by Young, and would not hesitate to recommend them. I feel that the Fable duology in particular might be beneficial for reluctant young adult readers due to the high stakes and fast pace. Ultimately, I enjoyed both Fable and Namesake for the sheer enjoyment of them, but the somewhat shallow character development is what keeps them from being in my all time favorite reads.