Goodreads Synopsis.

Trader. Fighter. Survivor.

With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems.

As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.

My Review.

Thank you to St Martins Press for the review copy. I can confirm all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fable when I read it last year, so absolutely jumped at the chance to read an early copy of the sequel. Namesake was, if possible, better than it’s predecessor and I enjoyed following Fable on her journey of self-discovery. Namesake picks up instantly from the ending of Fable, Fable has been kidnapped by Zola and come face to face with someone she thought dead. Zola tells her that he needs her for a quick job & then he will return her to the Narrows and the boy she loves. Only nothing and no one are what they seem, Fable will have to rely on new allies and old enemies if she is to make it out with all the people she loves still alive.

I really enjoyed reading from Fable’s POV in book one and she really grew on me in Namesake. She is a girl who was abandoned by the people who loved her and has had to grow up strong and resilient, never before having people she can rely on, people who would fight for her. But now she has West and the crew of the Marigold, Fable has other people she has to look out for, something she is not used to. Some of her decision making may seem a little hasty, but Fable would much rather her own life be at risk than the lives of those she loves. I did get a little annoyed at some of West’s decision making in this book, but he is the opposite of Fable, always having to look out for others and because of that it does make sense.

We meet some new characters in this book, as well a reacquainting ourselves with some of my favourites from book two. If I had one issue with this series though, it would be the lack of strength to the side characters. None really get enough page time for you to really bond with them, and because of that their interactions with Fable can seem a little fast, fast to friends, fast to lovers, fast to enemies. I would have loved for a few more POV’s, even just West’s, and I think this would have added a whole new depth to the story, especially in this book with them being separated for a large part of it.

If there’s one thing Young thrives at it’s descriptive writing. Similar to book one, I was completely swept away by the descriptions, not only of the places and the people, but of the Dredging that Fable is known for. You can easily immerse yourself in Fable’s world, and I found myself flying through the pages feeling like I was on the boats along side Fable and the crews. The plot flows at quite a fast paced, largely thanks to the amount of plot twists the author uses. There were a couple I saw coming, but some completely threw me (in a good way) & I couldn’t believe I didn’t guess them.

Fable and West’s romance continues in this book, and I will say that I still think it was a little rushed. Book one gave me major ‘insta love’ vibes and some of the decision making in this book made just seemed a little off for two people who have other people depending on them. I did enjoy delving into the other relationships in Fable’s life, with Saint her father, Clove her fathers old crew member, the crew of the Marigold and someone else I can’t mention for spoiler reasons. I actually preferred these scenes to the ones with Fable and West, and may have whooped with joy at a certain scene towards the end of the book.

Overall, this is a fun and fast paced series. It isn’t heavy, there are no ‘big’ topics, or talking points being brought up and for that reason it’s the perfect kind of palate cleanser for those of us who may want a break from the heavier fantasy reads. There were parts of this book I certainly didn’t love, but overall I enjoyed it and I think a large part of that was reading it from Fable’s POV. An easy 3.5* and I will definitely be picking up the authors other works.