I was totally gripped by this dystopian story. The plot, the pacing, and the world building hit the perfect note. It was sinister and unnerving yet not too far removed from our own world. It was packed with tension and emotion and was much darker than I expected it to be, and I loved that side of it. It took me back to the dystopian books I read in my late teens, which I really appreciated. Most importantly, however, I thought Inesa and Melinoe's relationship was beautiful though tragic and so deeply felt, particularly at the end. It was this that made the book special for me. A fantastic read.

If you want a book like The Hunger Games but just wish it could be a little bit gayer, look no further. This book has assassins, live-streamed murder games and lesbians! I loved how it took so much inspiration from The Hunger Games while still building on it and becoming its own thing.

Just a warning to readers, this book is dark. Really dark. Not only has Mel been stripped of her person hood completely, been given implants and body modifications that she doesn’t want, but she’s left facing a future where her memory is wiped and she’s made into nothing but a sex toy for some billionaire. This is all established early in the book, so not a spoiler, but it remains a threat throughout the book.

This is also a book that looks at a future of capitalism and climate change, so it was very hard to read in places. More and more I’m finding I don’t want to read dystopia given the current climate. This one was one that I could get enough distance from to still enjoy it a lot, but just be warned that it’s not an easy read.

I loved the romance between Mel and Inesa. I loved how they grasped for something pure in the midst of the horror and misery of their lives and what they’re being made to do.

Really enjoyed this one.

Absolutely amazing!! In my top books of the year so far and I have read some good ones! I devoured this book. Ava Reid describes this book as her love letter to The Hunger Games and it truly was. I am so bummed this is a stand alone because I want more!! This is a must read and I will be recommending it forever.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing with an e- ARC of this book!

This was my first ever Ava Reid and I’m quite happy to have started with this one. I was a bit unsure at first because this is YA and I tend to not read from this genre as often as I used to. But I was pleasantly surprised by the writing and the plot after giving it a go.
Ava Reid did a great job at writing an immersive sapphic Hunger Games inspired story, and I can’t help but want more!!

I was so excited to read Fable For the End of the World by Ava Reid especially after reading Lady Macbeth which is still a favourite of mine.

Each book is always so beautifully done and never the same that really engrosses me into the novel. This I know is going to be an anticipated read for everyone, every moment I was fascinated and awed by the setting, the characters and the portrayal of the writing. I was engrossed from the very start and when I got to the end I wish I was able to restart. A beautiful dystopian romance that will grip you and have you wanting to read more. Everything I thought this novel was going to be was so much more wonderful than I anticipated. As always Ava Reid has done a beautiful unforgettable novel that everyone should read and I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for the copy of this arc in exchange of my full honest review.

a super gripping read! once i started it, i just couldn't put it down 4.75 stars ✨️

i could absolutely see the inspiration drawn from the hunger games in the structure of the novel and a scene or two but that was likely since i binged all of the hunger games films straight after finishing it and was immediately like wow that's like fable omg

i absolutely loved this book, the worldbuilding was crafted amazingly, it was brilliantly shown through the effect the devastation had on the characters and their livelihoods. i also really loved how terrifyingly real and plausible it felt to me, especially with how things are going in the USA atm, it really read as a potentially plausible logical progression of events 😬

the romance built throughout was so good to read as well, i really couldn't see it happening to begin with; but as the story progressed, it was beautifully written and drawn out 🩶

while i started to get a slightly inkling of the ending before it happened, it still managed to rip my heart out and throw it on the floor 🥲 tragically bittersweet but i really really liked that it wasn't kill your gays or completely devastating, that single shimmer of hope retained is all that we really need to believe in - and im choosing happiness and believing it all turned out as Inesa hoped it would 🥲🫶

thank you so so much to netgalley and harper Collins for the e-arc!! this is my first real foray into Ava Reid, and im absolutely going to be reading more of her catalogue!!

I love Ava Reid’s writing. There are so many layers to this book and the introduction really sets the scene. I was gripped from the start with each chapter moving between the two protagonists. The world is now ruled by a big corporation (think Amazon!) who give everyone credit to then build debts. Inesa’s mother reaches the debt limit and puts her forward for the Gauntlet where a trained assassin or Angel will hunt her and it is broadcast. It’s about what it means to be human, love both within families and lovers, corporate control, class systems, climate change and so much more. It’s not preachy. And it doesn’t have a traditional happy ending but there is a glimmer of hope. Ava Reid is awesome!

A Fable for the end of the World was a surprisingly engaging book that I ended up loving! It felt reminiscent of old dystopian novels that were huge a decade ago, but with a modern and fresh take. It didn’t feel repetitive or similar to any other book I previously read.
Fable focuses on analysing futuristic world where the elite thrive and the poor suffer. Immeasurable debt is normal for most residents where in exchange for clearing some of their debt, individuals offer up a sacrifice, labelled ‘Lambs’ and can be their own children, who are hunted by Angels, a scientifically adapted individual whose entire purpose is to hunt these people for entertainment.
In this novel, our main character Inesa works tirelessly at her family taxidermy shop to provide for her hunter brother and neglectful mother. She always prioritises her family above herself. Although the community is clear, every family or individual has to be selfish in this harsh environment. Melinoe is a Caerus Angel, a modified individual primed for the cameras and the hunt. But something is different in Melinoe. After struggling with her previous kill, the company try and wipe her memories time and time again to restore her to her former glory: a ruthless killer. It’s actually horrible to read about the treatment of these women. When they’re no longer ideal Killers or become liabilities, they are ‘decommissioned’, having cosmetic surgery and mentally wiped, becoming husks of their former selves and sold to the highest bidder where they’re married off and paraded around. With this threat looming in her mind, Melinoe knows the next Gauntlet will be a test of her abilities. Unbeknown to her, it will also change the course of her life forever.
Inesa is the next Lamb, after her diabolical mother has gathered so much debt, she sacrifices her own daughter. It’s awful. Her community gathers in support and together with her brother, they go and try to outrun the countdown, their shared goal being survival.
I really liked this book. It was exciting, the setting was really interesting, the romance felt organic and although I hate cliffhangers, it kept me engaged to the final word. Ava Reid always knows how to keep her writing interesting with each new release being excitingly different. I cannot wait for the sequel or for any other book she brings out. Thank you so so much for the eARC. I was thrilled to read this!

I was really excited for this book after reading and loving Reid's other books. What I love is that no two books feel the same.

This one did not disappoint. A dystopian queer YA, which was thrilling, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking. The writing was beautiful The plot was fast-paced and easy to follow.

I loved the characters, they were very believable and likeable. I really enjoyed the cat and mouse narrative between Melinoe and Inessa and I was intrigued how that would play out.

Overall a really enjoyable read which I would recommend for fans of dystopian novels.

This one wasn't for me. The world felt fleshed out but delivered to the reader clumsily. The relationship was a bit too instalovey for me. I tried really hard to make sure I was not rating this with the expectations of an adult novel and tried to critique through my own teenage lens, but I think teen me would have given up on this book and would have hated the end if I ever made it there.

Absolutely fantastic. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year as I absolutely ADORE Ava Reid's writing style and this one absolutely did not disappoint! I was immediately hooked and intrigued about the world/setting and heavily invested in the main characters stories. As usual the writing was amazing.

I will read anything @avasreid writes but this truly is one of her best and it became and instant favourite for me.

This YA dystopian sapphic enemies to lovers story is a love letter to the YA dystopian books of the early 2000s such as The Hunger Games but in reality it holds up well on its own amongst the titans of that era. Whilst clearly inspired by other works, Fable is uniquely insightful and haunting. It is a reflection on the current predicaments of our society and complex human and particularly familial relationships.

Inesa and Melinoe are two very different people with different experiences in life but when Melinoe is tasked with killing Inesa to redeem her reputation and clear Inesa’s mothers debt to the government the two cross paths and irrevocably change the way they each see the world.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I binged it in 5 hours. It made me cry and more importantly, it made me think.

As always Reid’s beautifully defined and individualistic prose shines through and adds an eeriness and truly atmospheric feel to this novel which takes her work to a whole other level.

Infinite stars. I would not have changed a thing. A perfect read.

Sapphic style hunger games, a dystopian romance i loved this so much and wish I had a physical copy so I can go through and tab/ annotate. The atmosphere i got reading this is so immersive and really one to add to your TBR. Pacing was good and I cant wait for release to get a physical copy!

Interesting book , I couldn’t fully get into it I don’t know if it was the pacing or the story itself it just didn’t seem to grip me.

But maybe it’s just the mood you are in when you choose to read certain books .

Hunger games-eque but in a different way completely! A great dystopian read and as always Ava Reid builds the world well and creates characters you want to know more about (Luka!). I can’t wait to read more :)

I was completely gripped basically throughout this whole book. It absolutely had Hunger Games vibes, in a climate change gone very bad kind of world. In a terrifying way. It’s poor vs rich. Surviving over kindness.

“The new replaces the old. The powerful replace the powerless.”

Humanity is turned completely upside down in a world of debt, and survival of the fittest. What they have to do to survive, and how they treat each other is a quite scary thought to have, but it’s done so well in this dystopian story.

“Land animals in a drowning world.”

“Expressing gratitude so openly feels strange. Because thank you implies debt, and you never want to owe anybody anything, not even your own family. Especially not your own family.”

I absolutely adored the characters. They were not so fierce and strong, in their own very different way. The mechanisms of how the angels work were so well thought out and I loved seeing how the cat and mouse hunt developed. The joy and the pain, they both went through.

“Still not much for words, my Angel. I wonder when I started thinking of her as mine.”

“Inesa laughs. It’s a clear sound, bright and somehow shining, almost visible in the air.”

“The stronger your faith, the more brutal its shattering. The more vivid your dreams, the more agonizing the knife-twist of reality. It’s a privilege, really, to desire, to imagine, to believe.”

I have debated for a long time about what rating I would give this book. There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this book. However, I think I went into this book with really high expectations, and for me, this book didn’t quite hit that bar.

What I liked
The World-building
The slightly-too-real-for-comfort dystopian world is excellent. It’s really well constructed, and the writing creates a sense of instability and struggle.

The two main characters
I thought Inesa and Melinoë were both great characters. They felt like complete people with strengths and flaws. I empathised with both characters and really wanted both of them to succeed.

The Nostalgia
By this, I really mean that it reminded me of my favourite YA dystopian novels of my teenage years!

The whole way through, I couldn’t stop thinking of and likening this story to books like The Hunger Games and Divergent.

What didn’t quite work for me?
It will always be more difficult for books that have a hype built up around them, as there’s more expectations attached to the book. So perhaps the rating I’ve given this book has suffered partly because I expected to love this book.

However, there was also something missing in the story for me. Although the world building was great, and the two main characters were great, the stakes of the main part of the story felt off. The beginning of the book was great, but the pace of the story really fell off for the middle section, and there was one point that I considered not finishing, as I had stopped enjoying the story. The pace picks back up again at the end, but for me, the conclusion felt a little rushed.

Overall
I’m glad I finished the book, as overall I did enjoy it.

As I said at the beginning, I do think this book has a lot of good things in it, and I think a lot of people will like it.

This is definitely a book that has a place amongst the YA Dystopia novels

Fable for the End of the World was fast-paced, easy to follow, and had well-explained world-building. I went in blind and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I really liked both main characters—especially Melinoë—but I do think their romance felt rushed.

Since this is a standalone, I feel like there could have been more page time to develop their relationship and certain key moments. And that ending? After everything, they’re not together? It makes me wonder— is this really a standalone, or is Ava leaving room for a potential sequel?

If there is a sequel, I’d love to see more of Luka!

What to expect:
Dystopian
Hunger Games inspired
Sapphic Romance
Dual POV
Enemies to lovers
YA/NA?

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fable for the End of the World is a haunting and thought-provoking tale that blends lyrical prose with a deep, almost dreamlike atmosphere. The story’s themes of survival, hope, and humanity resonate strongly, and the world-building is both immersive and unsettling. While some parts may feel a bit abstract or slow, the emotional weight and unique storytelling make it a compelling read. A beautifully crafted, if somewhat melancholic, journey.

As always Ava Reid’s writing is stunning. I really enjoyed this, I can understand the hunger games comparisons but this is very different and that could have an impact on people’s expectations.
The world, the romance, the characters, I loved it all.