When I requested this I was so excited to be back in this world as I absolutely loved the duology but now I find myself just struggling with novellas, especially when it's been so long since I've read the books. I know that this is a prequel but I just cannot find the motivation to read it and that's definitely a 'me' problem as everyone I know who has read this has thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm not sure if it's just the sheer amount of unread books I have that is making me not want to pick this up but I just don't see myself reading it anytime soon.

I'm so sorry to the publisher who gave me the opportunity.

for a .5 or novella this is a HUGE book. I havent read the rest of the series so for me it was simply the first book. I think this book has soo much world building and I like the magical gem fairy type vibe her. It has sooo many different things happening from murder, revenge, pirates, kidnapping and even romance. I cannot wait to see where their story goes.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

This was really enjoyable.

"Saint" was a quick and fun read with lots of action. I liked the characters and their romance, and it was nice to get Saint's backstory.
Adrienne Young's writing was good as well.

Fans of Young's other books will surely enjoy this one as well.

Adrienne Young returns to the Narrows with this prequel about Saint. Although a better title could have been Saint and Isolde as there are two perspectives told here. It's action packed with a side of romance with so many links to the story so far/to come. I really like this series and I hope Adrienne Young continues to let us explore her world.

I dove headfirst into this story without even missing a stride. Its been a while since I read Fable and Namesake but just loved being back in this familiar world.

Now this is a prequel so if you've read the original duology, you know how it ends. But it doesn't make you enjoy the journey any less.

I loved spending this time with Saint and Isolde. I loved seeing Isolde find herself... can see so much of her in Fable. And Saint... it was so nice to see who he was before he becomes the man we met later. We also see a few other familiar names along the way.

Great story and great writing as always. I could have read about every adventure Saint and Isolde have together up until the ending we know, and wouldnt have gotten sick of one minute of it

This was the book I needed on Saint. Having read Fable/Namesake, I needed to know more about who this man was and why he was so twisted. It had all the elements of pirates and adventure than I craved and a romance that could break hearts, thoroughly enjoyed it

I really enjoyed this prequel to the Fable series. Going back into this world and finding out more about Saints story was just what I needed. This book is set before Fable and we find out how Saint came to be Saint whilst also finding out how he met Isolde. This book kept my attention from start to finish and once i stated I couldn’t put it down.
I really enjoyed the authors writing style and her world building was just as amazing as her other books.

Sorry for the delay on this review I thought I had already posted it!

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley and the Publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

8.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/05/07/saint-by-adrienne-young-review/

The Narrows continues to flesh out the more work Adrienne Young puts into it. It gets better and better the more stories we get. The romance, is, well, still romance, but I suppose that that is done alright as well. I’m not really a big “love at first sight” kinda person—at least not love that magically lasts for all time, love you don’t have to work on, as it changes when you change around it—but it seems to be a big thing for the author, as she does it all the time. Particularly with every story that takes place in the Narrows. Don’t get me wrong—it’s still not really my kind of thing, but it doesn’t really detract from the story.

And the story is really quite a good one.

Again, assuming you’ve read the first three books in sequence, we all knew what was coming. Saint is just the culmination of that journey, albeit one that takes place in the past. At the beginning, if you will.

I always wondered what form it would take—the mysterious origin story of Saint; the man, the myth, the legacy. What I did expect was a renegade—he and Clove, alone against the world. What I didn’t expect was the reason for their renegade status—as two boys that made a mistake. It’s really something I’d’ve liked to have seen more of. Yes, we get an explanation, but even in full, it’s still a bit brief. I’d’ve gone more for a flashback, a story told in its own right. But then, that’s not the story that’s being woven here. This, instead, is the story of Isolde and Saint (Elias) together. Their beginning, and the beginning of Fable and everything that comes after. While not as full as I would’ve liked, their story is complete, and it IS excellent, as well.

Not much I have to say about this one. It’s really good, and I’d whole-heartedly recommend it, both to new and returning readers alike. Yeah, I have some notes, some critiques, some things I’d’ve liked to have done differently. But they’re not super important here. Sufficient to say that it’s probably the best book of the series—and the most important, being the one that began everything.

(Actual rating 4.5/5, rounded up)

Well, Adrienne Young did it again! After making me fall in love with the Narrows in Fable and Namesake, she brought us back to this ruthless yet fascinating world to finally witness how it all started.

Saint is the perfect companion book to complement the series. It's a prequel to Fable, so I think it works best if read after that duology and possibly after The Last Legacy too (which is a spin-off, but some of the same characters show up over here). I grew to love Saint in the Fable books and he was by far one of the most interesting characters, so my excitement for a book on him was absolutely off the charts. This was even better than I expected though, because we also got an Isolde POV!

The book alternates between chapters told from Saint's and Isolde's perspectives, following them on the path that will bring them to meet and fall in love. Their story is pretty much pre-determined since we know from Fable how things will work out for them, but I loved every minute spent with them and watching how they would get there.

Both Saint and Isolde are flawed characters, which makes them all the more interesting, and the stakes here are incredibly high as they risk everything they've built - and possibly even their lives. They work incredibly well on the page, both individually and together, and even though their relationship felt a little too YA at times I'll excuse it because... well, this is a YA book after all. I also really enjoyed getting to know Clove a little bit better, and I loved seeing old faces pop up and new characters being introduced.

The Narrows are as brutal and ruthless as we've come to expect and I really enjoyed returning there. The world-building felt a little lighter this time around, but maybe that's due to it being a prequel. I didn't actually mind it too much (although on some things I could have benefited from a refresher!), but it could come across as a bit confusing if this is the first book in the series you're picking up.

This is a very easy, extremely pleasant read and has the honour of being one of very few series I managed to keep up with - which is actually very, very rare for me. This just goes to show how much I love this series and this author, and I will keep coming back for as many books set in this world as Adrienne Young will write.

Adrienne Young does it again. I adore her writing and I love the Narrows. I’ll happily read spin off after spin off of all the characters if it means I never have to leave this place. Such a nice easy read and the perfect prequel to Fable’s story. Go read it, now.

SAINT is a prequel to the FABLE series, recounting the story of Fable's parents, Saint and Isolde.

This is a story of determination, and some ruthlessness to see it through. Saint is trying to set up local trading routes and partners to combat the power and influence of the better established outsiders from the Unnamed Sea, so that the benefits can stay within the Narrows. It means the story looks directly at the mercantile politics, the corruption and network of favours keeping it all afloat. It also explores what it takes to set up a sea-faring business and how to keep it afloat.

The book is one that makes relatively small stakes (whether Saint will get his business off the ground) feel as large as if it was the end of the world. This is done not only by making you care about Saint, the how and why of what he's doing, but also see the rippling affects of what will change if he succeeds. It connects him to the wider world, even if it will continue turning without him. He is, in some respects, hope for his part of the world, albeit it a hope that will take a very long time to come to fruition because of the nature of his goal.

As with the other books in the series, it has that same slightly dream-like quality, like being submerged in the sea. It's beautiful and pulls you along in its grip inexorably like the tide.

Though the title is simply SAINT, the book is narrated by both Saint and Isolde. The other books in the series have only one narrator, so this helps it feel slightly removed from them, as it is set about two decades earlier. This also allowed for greater insight into Fable's mother, as Isolde is dead by the time the other books take place. While we get to see her father in those books, there are only tantalising drips of information about Isolde in them, so this really helped flesh her out.

This is the final novel in this world, at least for a while. It was a nice way to say goodbye, quite literally coming back to the beginning and seeing how the Narrow's fight against the Unnamed Sea started gathering motion. I'm sad to say goodbye to this world but really liked that it ended here.

Welp, Bookstagram got me again. I sooo wanted to like this one because Adrienne Young is basically the most raved about author on Booksta. I'd never read any of her previous books (Fable, Namesake, etc.) and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I’m not judging anyone who loves this series but… I don’t get the hype. This YA writing style is just NOT for me. It’s like descriptive (but using short, stunted sentences) to the point that an entire chapter would go by and I’d find myself thinking, “Did ANYthing just happen?!” I was forced to skim over whole pages just to try to get through it.

And the romance was so cringe while simultaneously falling flat; i.e., “It felt like the sun after an eternity of night" and “I had no idea why he felt like a breath I’d forgotten to take,” and then he'd end up just touching her hand. Idk.

I’m also not a boat person so a lot of the plot was lost on me. There was so much sailing/boat vernacular used during a big storm and basically during their entire journey and I couldn’t visualize any of it.

The only reason I feel okay being this honest is because 1) I’m mad that I let myself spend so much time on something I really disliked and 2) I know the book will do just fine since the series has so many fans. Sorry. I do appreciate being granted an ARC.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Adrienne Young for sure know a thing or two about world building. I cannot get enough of this sea and pirate inspired world which is just as hard and unrelenting as it is beautiful, rough edges and all. As a book, Saint is a rather easy but incredibly captivating and action-filled read. Pretty much everything required for a good fantasy book, especially with the toe-curling slow burn. Since it’s very much a young adult book, the romance is of the fade-to-black kind but that doesn’t change the fact that the romance plot/subplot in this story is on point.

So, if you’ve had the pleasure of reading Adrienne Young´s duology about Fable, then this book should definitely be on your tbr list. If you haven’t read Fable (and Namesake) yet, then this could just as well be your way in to this amazing world Adrienne Young has created. Because while Saint is more or less a prequel to the Fable duology, it can definitely stand on it’s own, no previous knowledge about the characters or so needed. Although knowing a thing or two going into this book probably enhances the reading experience, at least it did so for me.

Saint was one of my favourite characters in the original Fable duology do I was so eager to read his backstory. An action packed adventure that will capture your heart.

BOOK REVIEW

A BIG thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this arc.

I have read both Fable and Namesake in the past year so I was on this as soon as it was announced and it was everything I was expecting, and more. I kind of hope there's another one planned as this prequel doesn’t take us up to the beginning of Fable and I’d like to know how that story pans out.

As with her previous books, Adrienne Young captures the world of the Narrows eloquently. Her worldbuilding is beautiful, capturing life on board the dilapidated ship - The Riven - well and bringing the life of a poor, sea faring adventurer into stark relief.

Although this prequel is called Saint after the main character, delivering his back story and filling in some of the missing pieces from his past, including how he met Isolde and the foundation of his relationship with his navigator Clove, it is also told in dual perspective, alternating between Saint and Isolde’s PoV so you find out more about both of Fable’s parents and their origins.

The book does not disappoint on any front. The characters are well written, the plot is a fast-paced, thrill ride of adventure and excitement with some sentimental moments. The beginnings of the frightening enigma that is the Saint of books 1 & 2 are certainly evident here.

The story touches on several themes including; being true to yourself, following your own path, relationships (familial, amical and romantic), penance for past mistakes and loyalty.

My enjoyment of adventure on the high seas and love of the Narrows and it’s characters leads me to a resounding 5/5 ☆

I have been waiting for Saint’s story for so long! I’m so pleased to finally have read it! I absolutely love the world this author has created and this story takes you straight there. This book is set in the past and we see how Saint and Isolde met and how Saint became to be the moody sailor he is.

If you have enjoyed the earlier books this is a must read!

Thank you to the publishers for a copy of this via NetGalley, it arrived after release day and my physical copy was on the way so I was able to start it prior to arrival. ☺️

I loved Saint in the Fable duology, so seeing his and Isolde's backstory was quite cool, he's very charismatic and I think centring a story around this character was a great choice. Adrienne Young's writing is beautiful as always, and that revelation at the end definitely leaves room for more to come in this world!

However, my issue with this book is that I was expecting the story to focus far more on the love story of Saint and Isolde, and while that is of course part of the plot, the main focus is really the politics at play with trading at sea, and it made for a pretty slow-paced book considering how short it is, and there really wasn't as much buildup for the love story as I was expecting there to be.

I was absolutely thrilled to hear we were getting a book about Saint, he was easily my favourite character from the Fable duology and I was curious to find out more about his background. I'd definitely forgotten some of the details about this world, but everything slowly came back to me as I made my way through and I was hooked from start to finish!

Thank you so much netgalley and the publishers for letting me read Saint.

I absolutely loved this novel. Adrienne's work is amazing.
I love how she writes and you get completely lost in the narrow world.