Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Namesake Brings With It A Satisfying Conclusion

Namesake is the second novel in Adrienne Young’s Fable duology. It depicts a fantastical world full of emotion and action – plus trading and secrets. If you read the first novel in this series, you won’t want to miss out on the sequel.

Last we saw, Fable was ripped away from the life she had chosen for herself. Simultaneously, she was ripped away from the Marigold. Now, she’s again been thrown into a sea of deception, and she will have to fight to make it out intact.

It seems that no matter how far she runs, Fable cannot escape her past. Or her family. Both keep coming for her and trying to interfere with the decisions she makes for her future. Yet, so far, that hasn’t stopped Fable or her dreams.

Writing

The biggest question on everyone’s mind, I’m sure, is if Namesake is worth the wait. The answer is yes. If you enjoyed Fable (like I did), you will certainly enjoy the conclusion to her story. Namesake is an evocative read that tugs on heartstrings and pulls the reader in a thousand directions.

And it all begins with a kidnapping. Well, to be fair, we already knew that part. It happened at the end of Fable. But that is where this story begins. Throughout this novel, the world seems to expand, showing us more destinations and characters than ever before.

It also expounds upon Fable’s history. A story that had already felt complex enough. Understandably, Fable herself goes through quite a lot in this novel, giving her plenty of room for character growth and more.

This is the fourth novel I’ve read by Adrienne Young, and I believe you can see how much her writing has improved. I’ve always enjoyed her way with words, but she somehow took it to a whole new level here.

Development

Understandably, Namesake is a pretty fast-paced read. It seems like something is always going on, be it Fable diving into a reef or dealing with the surprising politics of her world. It’s one of those books that will do its best to kidnap readers. For example, I read everything in one go because I couldn’t put the book down.

This novel’s revelations and new antagonists were a surprise, but in a good way. The twists and turns were precisely that – a surprise. Yet, they also fit in with the rest of the world that Young has created.

They also fit in with what we know about Fable, and that is something we should never take for granted. Overall, this novel did a great job of wrapping up all the loose threads revolving around Fable and her goals in love.

In that way, this was the perfect conclusion to the story. While sad to see it go, I am happy to see an ending that did her story justice. It’s bittersweet, to be sure, but all of the best endings always are.

Conclusion

Namesake is every bit the novel I had hoped it would be. It was entertaining, fast-paced, and full of surprises. It was also the conclusion that Fable and all of her fans deserved, and that alone made it work the read in my book.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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