Firstly, huge thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Titan Books
Publication Date: 01/09/2020
Length: 361 pages
Genre: Fantasy | Young Adult | Romance

CW: n/a

Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men.

As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her father and demanding her rightful place beside him and his crew. To do so Fable enlists the help of a young trader named West to get her off the island and across the Narrows to her father.

But her father’s rivalries and the dangers of his trading enterprise have only multiplied since she last saw him and Fable soon finds that West isn’t who he seems. Together, they will have to survive more than the treacherous storms that haunt the Narrows if they’re going to stay alive.

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Review

Fable, our protagonist, is a fiery young woman who is doing everything she can to survive. At first I was worried that she may be too perfect and would easily breeze through certain situations, however I was pleased to see this wasn’t the case. As her story began to develop and we learn more about the world – she very much fits perfectly into it. I loved how she would throw herself into anything – wanting to prove herself. I also liked how she was determined to lock all her emotions away, so when we did see a flicker of something it was much more meaningful. What I also loved about all the characters in this novel is how they all exist very much in the grey area. It isn’t completely clear if they are “good” or “bad”, they are much more complex than that with pasts that we barely scratch the surface of in this first instalment.

I don’t think that I have ever read a fantasy novel that mostly takes place across the sea. This made the novel refreshing to read and also a really interesting take on the fantasy genre. I’m always really intrigued by the politics and lore of fantasy novels; so I particularly enjoyed this different set of politics among the ships and traders. I would have loved to have learned even more about them but as this is the first novel in the series, it was very much setting up for the rest of the series. I would have liked the novel to have been a little longer to develop certain aspects of the world a bit more but I also enjoyed how the novel ended and it has definitely left me wanting more.

Overall, I thought this was a great start to the series, which has a lot of potential, and I’m very excited to see what adventures await Fable as well as, what other secrets she will discover on the seas. Especially with the cliffhanger we are left on!

On a separate note, this book has also earned me my first badge for the SFF Badge Collection! Learn more about the challenge and follow my progress as I strive to fill my wallet!