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Fable for the End of the World: Tränen aus Blut und Hoffnung
Du sollst sie töten. Doch was, wenn du ohne sie nicht überleben kannst?
Die Erde ist verseucht, der Meeresspiegel steigt und ein Konzern regiert Inesas Heimat. Dieser hat auch den Lauf des Lamms etabliert: einen tödlichen Wettkampf, der live übertragen wird und bei dem schwer verschuldete Menschen als „Lämmer“ von ausgebildeten „Engeln“ gejagt werden. Als Inesas Mutter zu tief in die Schulden rutscht, muss ihre Tochter für sie beim Lauf antreten. Doch der Kampf um Leben und Tod bringt Inesa ihrem Engel Melinoë näher als geahnt ...
Die Erde ist verseucht, der Meeresspiegel steigt und ein Konzern regiert Inesas Heimat. Dieser hat auch den Lauf des Lamms etabliert: einen tödlichen Wettkampf, der live übertragen wird und bei dem schwer verschuldete Menschen als „Lämmer“ von ausgebildeten „Engeln“ gejagt werden. Als Inesas Mutter zu tief in die Schulden rutscht, muss ihre Tochter für sie beim Lauf antreten. Doch der Kampf um Leben und Tod bringt Inesa ihrem Engel Melinoë näher als geahnt ...
432 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2025
690 people are currently reading
58932 people want to read
About the author
Ava Reid
11 books7,610 followersAva Reid is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of gothic fantasies, including A Study in Drowning, Juniper & Thorn, and Lady Macbeth. She lives in California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,382 reviews
March 2, 2025
"We all do what we have to in order to survive." ... The law that governs all of nature. The law that can be used to justify anything, if you can twist and warp the words to fit.
4.5 Stars. Every time Ava Reid puts pen to paper they find a way to shake me right to my very heart, and they’ve done it again here with Fable for the End of the World, a fantastic return to YA dystopia that's fresh and modern in its storytelling, with Reid's signature sharp prose and hands down one of the best utilizations of dual POV I’ve ever read. I’m so serious, I could do a whole thinkpiece on the dual POV writing in this book alone. When you read it, I hope you’ll get what I mean. The use of language itself on a technical level as a vehicle for the development of connections between characters is amazing.
First, let me say that I desperately hope that the young queer kids who need this story find their way to it. For those who are scared of what’s happening and what may be coming, something like Fable, wherein these girls are both in some way saved by their open, queer love and that they’re entirely unwilling to let go of that even when all outward signs point to that they should…that feels immeasurably important right now.
And speaking of things that feel important right now, one of my favorite recurring themes of Ava’s work is that there is strength in feeling “too much.” There is a strength in softness and a bravery in continuing to seek hope and love and kindness in a world that is bound and determined to beat you down. And here in Fable - a story about a very physical danger in this assassination Gauntlet - Inesa is no different. A literal lamb to the slaughter, there’s no training montage where she learns to pick up a gun and meet the assassin sent to kill her for a debt she never incurred in a moonlit showdown, but rather her true strength lies in her empathy.
Fable is also, of course, a YA dystopian and a clear love letter to The Hunger Games and Reid’s roots in THG fandom spaces. It’s genuinely such a delightful part of getting older to see - in real time - how our formative media is actually, truly formative. Reid shows how Suzanne Collins’ story shaped them and their worldview and their own art and then grows up to say here is how your work contributed to the artist I am today and here is the art it inspired me to create, which I just think is SO COOL now that I’m 30 and no longer just studying art and its inspirations, but seeing it in real time with the things that were formative for me too. All of which I suppose is to say, my fellow fandom people - of any fandom - this is for us too.
That is not to say, however, that it is a clone, a copy, etc. of The Hunger Games. The Gauntlet in Fable and the Games in THG operate in fundamentally different ways and for vastly different reasons. Fable is about how a world rooted in debt and corporate oligarchies can fundamentally change the way we see the world and interact with our communities and in fact how it destroys our sense of community altogether; it’s about climate change and the crossover between economic and geographic inequality; it’s about online and streaming culture, the sort of desperate reaching for a cure to loneliness and the lack of privacy it creates, the dehumanizing nature of content and the feeling of entitlement people have to every single piece of a person they view as Content; it’s about our societal obsession with violence as entertainment, the commodification of women’s bodies, and the ways that we adultify certain children to inure ourselves to their suffering. Ava Reid has a lot to say about a lot of things and this standalone book packs a punch.
And as a dystopia, the best dystopian stories make you look in their pages and say “wow, that’s bleak,” and then look up at the world around you and think “oh…shit.”
Taking the things we can already see happening all around us and pushing them to extremes, Fable shows us a young woman who routinely travels through her town by rowing a boat up and down flooded streets and the literal geographic inequality it creates between those who can afford to live upstream of the flooding and those who can’t in a world ravaged by climate change; another who is groomed and hand-crafted to the level of perfection demanded by the ruling class, and yet whose biggest flaw remains that despite this she is still human; a corporation headed by the richest people in the world that is so all-consuming and all-controlling you’re not quite sure what counts as corporation and what counts as government; a society so transactional that it is seen as a kindness to ignore our neighbors in need of help, lest they become indebted to us.
There are a dozen and a half other things I’d love to touch on in what would amount to an essay at this point (Dystopia as satire! The etymology of character names! The long history of cyborgs as a vehicle for genderqueer storytelling, as explained to me by my friend while we read this book together and which she discusses in her review! The way women and girls are overlooked in their own stories for more palettable men! The double sided coin of hope!), but for now I will leave you with this:
I am not one to typically be so deeply affected by stories with a core theme of The Saving Power Of Love - or at least for that theme in particular to be what touches me - but something about the way Ava writes them hits me right in my soul every time and manages to speak to me in a way others don’t.
Ava Reid remains one of my favorite authors and someone I am so excited to continue to see publishing for a long time to come.
4.5 Stars. Every time Ava Reid puts pen to paper they find a way to shake me right to my very heart, and they’ve done it again here with Fable for the End of the World, a fantastic return to YA dystopia that's fresh and modern in its storytelling, with Reid's signature sharp prose and hands down one of the best utilizations of dual POV I’ve ever read. I’m so serious, I could do a whole thinkpiece on the dual POV writing in this book alone. When you read it, I hope you’ll get what I mean. The use of language itself on a technical level as a vehicle for the development of connections between characters is amazing.
First, let me say that I desperately hope that the young queer kids who need this story find their way to it. For those who are scared of what’s happening and what may be coming, something like Fable, wherein these girls are both in some way saved by their open, queer love and that they’re entirely unwilling to let go of that even when all outward signs point to that they should…that feels immeasurably important right now.
And speaking of things that feel important right now, one of my favorite recurring themes of Ava’s work is that there is strength in feeling “too much.” There is a strength in softness and a bravery in continuing to seek hope and love and kindness in a world that is bound and determined to beat you down. And here in Fable - a story about a very physical danger in this assassination Gauntlet - Inesa is no different. A literal lamb to the slaughter, there’s no training montage where she learns to pick up a gun and meet the assassin sent to kill her for a debt she never incurred in a moonlit showdown, but rather her true strength lies in her empathy.
Fable is also, of course, a YA dystopian and a clear love letter to The Hunger Games and Reid’s roots in THG fandom spaces. It’s genuinely such a delightful part of getting older to see - in real time - how our formative media is actually, truly formative. Reid shows how Suzanne Collins’ story shaped them and their worldview and their own art and then grows up to say here is how your work contributed to the artist I am today and here is the art it inspired me to create, which I just think is SO COOL now that I’m 30 and no longer just studying art and its inspirations, but seeing it in real time with the things that were formative for me too. All of which I suppose is to say, my fellow fandom people - of any fandom - this is for us too.
That is not to say, however, that it is a clone, a copy, etc. of The Hunger Games. The Gauntlet in Fable and the Games in THG operate in fundamentally different ways and for vastly different reasons. Fable is about how a world rooted in debt and corporate oligarchies can fundamentally change the way we see the world and interact with our communities and in fact how it destroys our sense of community altogether; it’s about climate change and the crossover between economic and geographic inequality; it’s about online and streaming culture, the sort of desperate reaching for a cure to loneliness and the lack of privacy it creates, the dehumanizing nature of content and the feeling of entitlement people have to every single piece of a person they view as Content; it’s about our societal obsession with violence as entertainment, the commodification of women’s bodies, and the ways that we adultify certain children to inure ourselves to their suffering. Ava Reid has a lot to say about a lot of things and this standalone book packs a punch.
And as a dystopia, the best dystopian stories make you look in their pages and say “wow, that’s bleak,” and then look up at the world around you and think “oh…shit.”
Taking the things we can already see happening all around us and pushing them to extremes, Fable shows us a young woman who routinely travels through her town by rowing a boat up and down flooded streets and the literal geographic inequality it creates between those who can afford to live upstream of the flooding and those who can’t in a world ravaged by climate change; another who is groomed and hand-crafted to the level of perfection demanded by the ruling class, and yet whose biggest flaw remains that despite this she is still human; a corporation headed by the richest people in the world that is so all-consuming and all-controlling you’re not quite sure what counts as corporation and what counts as government; a society so transactional that it is seen as a kindness to ignore our neighbors in need of help, lest they become indebted to us.
There are a dozen and a half other things I’d love to touch on in what would amount to an essay at this point (Dystopia as satire! The etymology of character names! The long history of cyborgs as a vehicle for genderqueer storytelling, as explained to me by my friend while we read this book together and which she discusses in her review! The way women and girls are overlooked in their own stories for more palettable men! The double sided coin of hope!), but for now I will leave you with this:
I am not one to typically be so deeply affected by stories with a core theme of The Saving Power Of Love - or at least for that theme in particular to be what touches me - but something about the way Ava writes them hits me right in my soul every time and manages to speak to me in a way others don’t.
Ava Reid remains one of my favorite authors and someone I am so excited to continue to see publishing for a long time to come.
June 2, 2025
LESBIAN HUNGER GAMES. everyone say thank you ava reid
Fable for the End of the World is an altogether ambitious young adult novel that blends a futuristic dystopia around a climate crisis where the indebted are forced into a notorious game where they are hunted to death. A little bit of Hunger Games, but a whole lot of Ava Reid, Fable doesn't wait around to force deep the knife I spent the entire novel choking on. Every part of this book is brutal, not just a world slowly drowning, but one whose flora and fauna have been entirely transformed after environmental catastrophe. That is where the horror element comes in—beyond the games to the death that desensitize violence for the masses. This novel is chilling, it’s unsettling, and it paints a future that is not so improbable and that is even more horrific than any game imaginable. I really enjoyed this clever dystopian novel complete with a lesbian romance. What can’t Ava Reid do is just a constant mantra at this point.
thank you to the publisher for providing the arc (and to rachel the literal loml for the physical copy)
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Fable for the End of the World is an altogether ambitious young adult novel that blends a futuristic dystopia around a climate crisis where the indebted are forced into a notorious game where they are hunted to death. A little bit of Hunger Games, but a whole lot of Ava Reid, Fable doesn't wait around to force deep the knife I spent the entire novel choking on. Every part of this book is brutal, not just a world slowly drowning, but one whose flora and fauna have been entirely transformed after environmental catastrophe. That is where the horror element comes in—beyond the games to the death that desensitize violence for the masses. This novel is chilling, it’s unsettling, and it paints a future that is not so improbable and that is even more horrific than any game imaginable. I really enjoyed this clever dystopian novel complete with a lesbian romance. What can’t Ava Reid do is just a constant mantra at this point.
thank you to the publisher for providing the arc (and to rachel the literal loml for the physical copy)
Follow me on Instagram
July 31, 2025
“And maybe that’s all it takes—at least at the beginning. Just a few people who care. And that caring matters, even if it can’t cool the earth or lower sea levels or turn back time to before a nuclear blast.”
rating: 3.5★
a love letter to dystopians (esp hunger games), reid has imagined us a (not-so-distant, more likely than not) future fully disrupted and firmly altered by climate change and oppressed by the staggering debt to the monopoly corporation, saerus. flooding storms are a regular occurrence, so have your raft on hand!
within the first 15% i was getting some minor but noticeable hints of terminator, blade runner, even ghost in the shell, handmaid's tale. animals have been disfigured and mutated by the chemical pollution in the air, land, and water. evil seagulls!!!
“When we see flowers blooming or hear birds singing, we think it’s beautiful. But when people need each other, it seems so ugly.”
“Caerus has poisoned everything.”
capitalism destroys the idea of community, bc it needs us to rely on IT (buying things) rather than each other. it also allows more control to government/authority bc ppl are divided.
there's also a major theme of the dehumanizing voyeurism of trauma and entertainment brutality. the lamb's gauntlet itself is an apathetic bloodsport twitch/tiktok live, complete with watcher comments. people livestream their own reactions and cameras film 24/7.
there is definitely major commentary on women in media, the expectations of beauty, and objectifying commodification of them in online spaces.
slight spoilers:
so, the set up and concept were very strong and intriguing to me, with clear parallels to what is currently happening rn and a cautionary tale of what could happen to us all.
however, i did feel the overall story execution was a bit underwhelming for me, as well as the ending. i thought the relationship between inesa and melinoë was well constructed for a YA, but i wanted more from the other characters and subplots/hints.
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“I think it is. I think it has to be. Otherwise, it’s not really love. If the world can break it . . .”
the way this ends feels more open-ended then not with some loose ends. i v much suspect a sequel and hope for it bc there are many questions that i would like the answers to.
I’ll always be able to find my way back to her.
an honest arc review ♡
rating: 3.5★
a love letter to dystopians (esp hunger games), reid has imagined us a (not-so-distant, more likely than not) future fully disrupted and firmly altered by climate change and oppressed by the staggering debt to the monopoly corporation, saerus. flooding storms are a regular occurrence, so have your raft on hand!
within the first 15% i was getting some minor but noticeable hints of terminator, blade runner, even ghost in the shell, handmaid's tale. animals have been disfigured and mutated by the chemical pollution in the air, land, and water. evil seagulls!!!
“When we see flowers blooming or hear birds singing, we think it’s beautiful. But when people need each other, it seems so ugly.”
“Caerus has poisoned everything.”
capitalism destroys the idea of community, bc it needs us to rely on IT (buying things) rather than each other. it also allows more control to government/authority bc ppl are divided.
there's also a major theme of the dehumanizing voyeurism of trauma and entertainment brutality. the lamb's gauntlet itself is an apathetic bloodsport twitch/tiktok live, complete with watcher comments. people livestream their own reactions and cameras film 24/7.
there is definitely major commentary on women in media, the expectations of beauty, and objectifying commodification of them in online spaces.
slight spoilers:
so, the set up and concept were very strong and intriguing to me, with clear parallels to what is currently happening rn and a cautionary tale of what could happen to us all.
however, i did feel the overall story execution was a bit underwhelming for me, as well as the ending. i thought the relationship between inesa and melinoë was well constructed for a YA, but i wanted more from the other characters and subplots/hints.
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“I think it is. I think it has to be. Otherwise, it’s not really love. If the world can break it . . .”
the way this ends feels more open-ended then not with some loose ends. i v much suspect a sequel and hope for it bc there are many questions that i would like the answers to.
I’ll always be able to find my way back to her.
an honest arc review ♡
April 23, 2025
This book throws everything at the wall – climate change, capitalism, sexism, you name it – but ultimately, nothing sticks. It’s a case of too many ideas, too little depth. I think the author had too much to say, but had trouble trying to balance all of that with the desire to keep the audience’s attention. The sheer volume of significant issues crammed into a relatively short book (less than 400 pages!) meant that none of them were given the space they needed to breathe and truly resonate.
The romance absolutely sucked. There was just no reason for these characters to have fallen for each other as hard as they did. They’ve known each other for two weeks, and have tried to kill each other multiple times. How could the romance have worked anyway if neither character was compelling as an individual? I remember close to nothing about both of them because their characters felt so inconsistent. Melinoë was supposed to be a trained killer but couldn’t handle a teenage boy who was only trained to hunt animals. Inesa’s characterization stopped being shaped by her background once she met Melinoë.
The only interesting character was Luka, Inesa’s brother. I hate the way in which his character disappeared to give the two MCs their alone time, and his character was seriously downplayed. He could have been such an interesting player in the story given his skills and relationship with Inesa, but his character was absolutely wasted.
There was no way this book was going to end in a way that would have satisfied me, given how things went down. At around 80% in, I was doubting that this was a standalone. Unfortunately, it is, and the ending sucked. It made sense given the overall vibe of the book, but it was deeply unsettling.
Overall, this book really needed more time to just… marinate. The author needed to completely understand the story she wanted to convey, to find a focus point that made sense. This book felt like a waste. It had so much potential.
*I wrote this review as I was reading Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so it was crazy to see the difference of quality and nuance between this book and a book from the series this was inspired by.
-
100%: Yup, ending sucked.
90%: There is absolutely NO WAY this book will end in a way that will satisfy me.
60%: Every few pages I catch myself thinking, man, I wish I was reading The Hunger Games instead bc this book lowkey sucks.
30%: *gulps* So far, not a fan. I think this is Reid’s first dystopian, so I’m hoping this is just a rough start and that it’ll get better. 🥲
-
First time reading Ava Reid! 🤞
The romance absolutely sucked. There was just no reason for these characters to have fallen for each other as hard as they did. They’ve known each other for two weeks, and have tried to kill each other multiple times. How could the romance have worked anyway if neither character was compelling as an individual? I remember close to nothing about both of them because their characters felt so inconsistent. Melinoë was supposed to be a trained killer but couldn’t handle a teenage boy who was only trained to hunt animals. Inesa’s characterization stopped being shaped by her background once she met Melinoë.
The only interesting character was Luka, Inesa’s brother. I hate the way in which his character disappeared to give the two MCs their alone time, and his character was seriously downplayed. He could have been such an interesting player in the story given his skills and relationship with Inesa, but his character was absolutely wasted.
There was no way this book was going to end in a way that would have satisfied me, given how things went down. At around 80% in, I was doubting that this was a standalone. Unfortunately, it is, and the ending sucked. It made sense given the overall vibe of the book, but it was deeply unsettling.
Overall, this book really needed more time to just… marinate. The author needed to completely understand the story she wanted to convey, to find a focus point that made sense. This book felt like a waste. It had so much potential.
*I wrote this review as I was reading Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so it was crazy to see the difference of quality and nuance between this book and a book from the series this was inspired by.
-
100%: Yup, ending sucked.
90%: There is absolutely NO WAY this book will end in a way that will satisfy me.
60%: Every few pages I catch myself thinking, man, I wish I was reading The Hunger Games instead bc this book lowkey sucks.
30%: *gulps* So far, not a fan. I think this is Reid’s first dystopian, so I’m hoping this is just a rough start and that it’ll get better. 🥲
-
First time reading Ava Reid! 🤞
February 22, 2025
3.5 stars 💫
I cannot write this review without spoilers, because I need to rant, I need to vent out what I read here. Because what the hell was that ENDING?! I'M UPSET. This was one of my most anticipated reads, and to say the least, it disappointed me so much. All that pent-up tension, that chemistry between Inesa & Melinoe, ALL OF IT The ending was rushed, there could've been more to the story. The pacing was slow, the story's direction was lacking. All I know is that ending left me hanging. I don't know if I will ever write a full review later after this book gets published, but for now, these are the only things I can say, or rather I could manage to say about this book.
what to expect:
🍃 Dual-POV
🍃 Dystopian
🍃 Enemies-to-Lovers
🍃 Sapphic romance
🍃 Forced Proximity
🍃 Hunger Games-inspired
🍃 Live streamed deadly game
Thank you to the Author, the Publisher, and Netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
⤿🌊22/02/25
rating & rtc. my thoughts are conflicted, I need time to process the whole book, that ending and whatever I read here.
⤿🌊20/02/25
I heard this is more like The Hunger Games, idk if it's real tho. Also, I didn't know this is a sapphic genre while applying for the arc (it's a new genre for me). All I do know is it's either going to be a hit or a miss for me 😌💙
I cannot write this review without spoilers, because I need to rant, I need to vent out what I read here. Because what the hell was that ENDING?! I'M UPSET. This was one of my most anticipated reads, and to say the least, it disappointed me so much. All that pent-up tension, that chemistry between Inesa & Melinoe, ALL OF IT The ending was rushed, there could've been more to the story. The pacing was slow, the story's direction was lacking. All I know is that ending left me hanging. I don't know if I will ever write a full review later after this book gets published, but for now, these are the only things I can say, or rather I could manage to say about this book.
what to expect:
🍃 Dual-POV
🍃 Dystopian
🍃 Enemies-to-Lovers
🍃 Sapphic romance
🍃 Forced Proximity
🍃 Hunger Games-inspired
🍃 Live streamed deadly game
Thank you to the Author, the Publisher, and Netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
⤿🌊22/02/25
rating & rtc. my thoughts are conflicted, I need time to process the whole book, that ending and whatever I read here.
⤿🌊20/02/25
I heard this is more like The Hunger Games, idk if it's real tho. Also, I didn't know this is a sapphic genre while applying for the arc (it's a new genre for me). All I do know is it's either going to be a hit or a miss for me 😌💙
Read
November 30, 2024ava reid sapphic enemies-to-lovers might be the end of me actually
—
update post-read:
"But that's the same reason pretty much anyone kills anything. So they can survive. If it's all survival, who am I to judge what someone does? We're all the same, deep down."
Crier’s War meets The Hunger Games in this tender and hopeful dystopian.
I am not a dystopian guy, and unfortunately even Ava Reid can’t seem to change that immutable fact about me, which kept this book from really blowing me away. It also keeps me from being able to speak too much to the success of the story. But if you are a dystopian fan and are interested in a close-dystopian with a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance driving the characters’ arcs (Ava is so goddamn good at making a romance integral to character development and narrative when they write enemies-to-lovers, it’s unreal), definitely pick this one up.
CW: violence, animal death, death of child, adult/minor relationship, sexual harassment, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, abusive parent, medical content, gun violence, fire/fire injury, drug use, alcoholism (past), emesis
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
—
update post-read:
"But that's the same reason pretty much anyone kills anything. So they can survive. If it's all survival, who am I to judge what someone does? We're all the same, deep down."
Crier’s War meets The Hunger Games in this tender and hopeful dystopian.
I am not a dystopian guy, and unfortunately even Ava Reid can’t seem to change that immutable fact about me, which kept this book from really blowing me away. It also keeps me from being able to speak too much to the success of the story. But if you are a dystopian fan and are interested in a close-dystopian with a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance driving the characters’ arcs (Ava is so goddamn good at making a romance integral to character development and narrative when they write enemies-to-lovers, it’s unreal), definitely pick this one up.
CW: violence, animal death, death of child, adult/minor relationship, sexual harassment, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, abusive parent, medical content, gun violence, fire/fire injury, drug use, alcoholism (past), emesis
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
December 4, 2024
FULL REVIEW FINALLY 😂 I’ve finished it and it’s bleak and sad and hopeful and romantic.
Rating: 4 ⭐️
Fable for the End of the World did it's inspiration The Hunger Games, and the 2010s dystopian genre, justice. It tells the story of Inesa, who is thrust into a Gauntlet by an uncaring mother to pay off her debts and Melinoë, who will be the one to kill her on live television.
This book is, at times, dark. Especially Melinoë's story. She is a Caerus assassin who has been conditioned and altered since she was a child to be the perfect weapon. Part of her conditioning is that she is regularly Wiped, where certain memories are taken away. This was one of the most heartbreaking and darkest parts of the book. She doesn't know who she is or how many memories she's lost and, consequently, her body is not her own.
For anyone wondering about my previous reading updates, I stick to what I said: Melinoë reminds me of Finnick.
Her story is so similar to Finnick's - a person who, from an outside perspective, has it all. They are gorgeous, rich, ruthless, and arrogant. The "darling of the Capitol." Or so it seems. But they are maybe the biggest victims of them all.
Inesa is the sacrificial Lamb, forced to flee for her life with only the slightest hope that she might survive. Only one of them will make it out alive. So, of course, not the greatest circumstances to start a relationship.
It did take me a bit to get fully invested in the story. The second half was where it really shined. As with many books, the first half was an introduction to the world and the characters. It wasn't until the second half that the characters interacted and grew in meaningful ways. That's where all the most interesting parts of the story occurred.
If you grew up during the 2010s dystopian era and wanted to see a sapphic romance at the forefront, this book is for you ❤️
Tropes/Genre
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Reading updates:
I've started reading it!!!!!
I'm at 20% and I think this is gonna get reallllyyyy dark. There are a couple little one-off scenes that have made me go oh nooo. It's a totally different world but I can very much see the Hunger Games/dystopian 2010s influences. It's kinda like a Hunger Games retelling if Katniss and Prim were switched. And Melinoë is kinda remining me of Finnick 👀
Pre-read:
Someone said this is lesbian Hunger Games and I’m all for it!!!! Just got approved!
Rating: 4 ⭐️
"Maybe I’ve survived this long so I could know how it feels to hold her. Maybe all my life has been one long gauntlet, running, fighting, searching for her.”
Fable for the End of the World did it's inspiration The Hunger Games, and the 2010s dystopian genre, justice. It tells the story of Inesa, who is thrust into a Gauntlet by an uncaring mother to pay off her debts and Melinoë, who will be the one to kill her on live television.
This book is, at times, dark. Especially Melinoë's story. She is a Caerus assassin who has been conditioned and altered since she was a child to be the perfect weapon. Part of her conditioning is that she is regularly Wiped, where certain memories are taken away. This was one of the most heartbreaking and darkest parts of the book. She doesn't know who she is or how many memories she's lost and, consequently, her body is not her own.
For anyone wondering about my previous reading updates, I stick to what I said: Melinoë reminds me of Finnick.
Her story is so similar to Finnick's - a person who, from an outside perspective, has it all. They are gorgeous, rich, ruthless, and arrogant. The "darling of the Capitol." Or so it seems. But they are maybe the biggest victims of them all.
Inesa is the sacrificial Lamb, forced to flee for her life with only the slightest hope that she might survive. Only one of them will make it out alive. So, of course, not the greatest circumstances to start a relationship.
It did take me a bit to get fully invested in the story. The second half was where it really shined. As with many books, the first half was an introduction to the world and the characters. It wasn't until the second half that the characters interacted and grew in meaningful ways. That's where all the most interesting parts of the story occurred.
If you grew up during the 2010s dystopian era and wanted to see a sapphic romance at the forefront, this book is for you ❤️
Tropes/Genre
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Books for providing me early access to Fable for the End of the World in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Reading updates:
I've started reading it!!!!!
I'm at 20% and I think this is gonna get reallllyyyy dark. There are a couple little one-off scenes that have made me go oh nooo. It's a totally different world but I can very much see the Hunger Games/dystopian 2010s influences. It's kinda like a Hunger Games retelling if Katniss and Prim were switched. And Melinoë is kinda remining me of Finnick 👀
Pre-read:
Someone said this is lesbian Hunger Games and I’m all for it!!!! Just got approved!
March 20, 2025
What in the Hunger Games meets Terminator meets Black Widow??
This was mid, but at least it wasn't Lady Macbeth level mid. And it wasn't weirdly offensive like A Study in Drowning, so there's that.
Very generic though. At least I didn't outright hate it. It's the little things, I guess.
This was mid, but at least it wasn't Lady Macbeth level mid. And it wasn't weirdly offensive like A Study in Drowning, so there's that.
Very generic though. At least I didn't outright hate it. It's the little things, I guess.
June 5, 2025
such an easy 5 star for me. i am BEGGING on my hands and knees for more people to read this. if you’re looking for a good, TRUE dystopian—look no further.
i tried picking this up a couple months ago but wasn’t in the mood, so i put it on pause. and man am i so glad i did because i truly got to appreciate it in its full glory !! it gripped me straight from the beginning and i basically had to force myself to stop reading whenever i had other things to do.
the world that was created was so interesting to me and kept me fascinated to learn more. the whole idea of the lamb’s gauntlet is genius. the characters had me feeling all sorts of emotions and rooting for them from the jump. it’s hard for me to connect to characters straight away, but for some reason i just did with inesa and melinoë.
it started off so strong and ended strong as well! it might’ve been a little slower pace in the middle, but the story was so good i find that it didn’t even bother me.
i do love me some ava reid, but this isn’t even biased. it’s just that good. she has a life-long reader in me. (even tho i didn’t like the wolf and the woodsman. that’s okay. but maybe i should like revisit it bc i love the other 3 books from her i’ve read)
i tried picking this up a couple months ago but wasn’t in the mood, so i put it on pause. and man am i so glad i did because i truly got to appreciate it in its full glory !! it gripped me straight from the beginning and i basically had to force myself to stop reading whenever i had other things to do.
the world that was created was so interesting to me and kept me fascinated to learn more. the whole idea of the lamb’s gauntlet is genius. the characters had me feeling all sorts of emotions and rooting for them from the jump. it’s hard for me to connect to characters straight away, but for some reason i just did with inesa and melinoë.
it started off so strong and ended strong as well! it might’ve been a little slower pace in the middle, but the story was so good i find that it didn’t even bother me.
i do love me some ava reid, but this isn’t even biased. it’s just that good. she has a life-long reader in me. (even tho i didn’t like the wolf and the woodsman. that’s okay. but maybe i should like revisit it bc i love the other 3 books from her i’ve read)
March 26, 2025
˖ ࣪ ⟡˚ 4.25 stars ˚⟡ ࣪ ˖
the hunger games + a sapphic love story = this beautiful book.
truly immaculate. Ava Reid really is that girl.
the hunger games + a sapphic love story = this beautiful book.
truly immaculate. Ava Reid really is that girl.
July 9, 2025
Mileage will vary on this one, but to be honest, I think it worked for me.
What Worked: To be fair, this is my first Ava Reid book so I'm not familiar with her writing as an author. I was specifically drawn to Fable for the End of the World because of the social commentary. Can it be compared to Hunger Games? Sure. But every book that contains a life/death competition isn't automatically the same to me. Reid does a wonderful job capturing the consequences associated with the lack of respect for each other and the environment. While reading something of this nature would have felt far fetched 1o years ago, today this feels both real and relatable. The writing was atmospheric, cold, and precise capturing the disconnect the characters have with their government and, in some cases, with each other. With groups like DOGE here in the US, Fable for the End of the World will truly have one questioning the power the corporations have and will continue to have in the future. The relationship between Inesa and Melinoë was intriguing. Though it didn't always work, it spoke to Reid's hope and faith in humankind.
What Didn't Work: The execution didn't always work. Inesa is naïve, but understandably so in certain situations. Nevertheless, her inability to read some situations accurately were a tad bit frustrating. The pacing was slow in some parts leading the book to feel rushed in the end. And the ending was a shocker. To be fair, this is being sold as a stand alone and for that purpose, I think that it was a little too open ended.
For those of you wondering:
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I'm slightly shocked, but it worked.
What Worked: To be fair, this is my first Ava Reid book so I'm not familiar with her writing as an author. I was specifically drawn to Fable for the End of the World because of the social commentary. Can it be compared to Hunger Games? Sure. But every book that contains a life/death competition isn't automatically the same to me. Reid does a wonderful job capturing the consequences associated with the lack of respect for each other and the environment. While reading something of this nature would have felt far fetched 1o years ago, today this feels both real and relatable. The writing was atmospheric, cold, and precise capturing the disconnect the characters have with their government and, in some cases, with each other. With groups like DOGE here in the US, Fable for the End of the World will truly have one questioning the power the corporations have and will continue to have in the future. The relationship between Inesa and Melinoë was intriguing. Though it didn't always work, it spoke to Reid's hope and faith in humankind.
What Didn't Work: The execution didn't always work. Inesa is naïve, but understandably so in certain situations. Nevertheless, her inability to read some situations accurately were a tad bit frustrating. The pacing was slow in some parts leading the book to feel rushed in the end. And the ending was a shocker. To be fair, this is being sold as a stand alone and for that purpose, I think that it was a little too open ended.
For those of you wondering:
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I'm slightly shocked, but it worked.
March 13, 2025
This truly reads like a love letter to The Hunger Games and the dystopian genre I know and love back in the early 2010s. It taps into that nostalgic vibe, the bleakness, the rebellion, the desperate clinging to hope in a world that’s crumbling. At the same time, it blends in real world issues we’re grappling with today such as climate change, capitalism, debt, inequality, and violence. That grounding in reality made for a compelling and thought provoking narrative..
One of my favorite things about this book was the worldbuilding, this world is desolate, bleak, and terrifyingly believable. The stark depiction of our potential future was chilling, but through it all, there’s this fragile thread of hope that keeps the characters moving forward. That glimmer, no matter how faint, was something I really appreciated. Hope against all odds? Yes, please.
That said, while I liked several elements, there were a few things that left me wanting more or expecting more. Some plotlines felt underdeveloped or unresolved, and the few plot holes that popped up along the way.
The biggest letdown, though, was the characters. The plot was great, sure, but I never felt fully connected to anyone. I wanted to root for them, to feel something deep and visceral, especially with the romance, but it just didn’t land. The romance, in particular, felt incomplete like it needed more time or development to feel something.
And then there’s the ending. I keep seeing people call this a standalone, but it didn’t feel finished to me. The ending left me unsatisfied, and unless Ava Reid has a secret sequel planned (please?!), I’m a bit disappointed. T_T
This captures the spirit of dystopian fiction I grew up loving while exploring themes of today, but it didn’t quite hit the mark I was hoping for. If you’re craving that classic dystopian vibe with modern relevance, it’s worth picking up but maybe lower your expectations?
Thank you HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my review!
One of my favorite things about this book was the worldbuilding, this world is desolate, bleak, and terrifyingly believable. The stark depiction of our potential future was chilling, but through it all, there’s this fragile thread of hope that keeps the characters moving forward. That glimmer, no matter how faint, was something I really appreciated. Hope against all odds? Yes, please.
That said, while I liked several elements, there were a few things that left me wanting more or expecting more. Some plotlines felt underdeveloped or unresolved, and the few plot holes that popped up along the way.
The biggest letdown, though, was the characters. The plot was great, sure, but I never felt fully connected to anyone. I wanted to root for them, to feel something deep and visceral, especially with the romance, but it just didn’t land. The romance, in particular, felt incomplete like it needed more time or development to feel something.
And then there’s the ending. I keep seeing people call this a standalone, but it didn’t feel finished to me. The ending left me unsatisfied, and unless Ava Reid has a secret sequel planned (please?!), I’m a bit disappointed. T_T
This captures the spirit of dystopian fiction I grew up loving while exploring themes of today, but it didn’t quite hit the mark I was hoping for. If you’re craving that classic dystopian vibe with modern relevance, it’s worth picking up but maybe lower your expectations?
Thank you HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my review!
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June 19, 2025
➵ 4.25 stars
i can‘t describe how much i loved this. i would have loved it even more if this had existed back in the days of the dystopian novels. my 12 year old self would have devoured it.
i‘d say this is for everyone who loves a good dystopian fantasy. seriously, go read this NOW, it‘s amazingg.
i had my issues with the ending because it was kinda unsatisfying? and the middle part of the story dragged a bit.
*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ⋆˚꩜｡
i see where fable for the end of the world was inspired by the hunger games, there are quite many parallels.
it‘s not a copy of thg though. it‘s still such a unique world.
families sell out their family members to pay off debts. and once every few months, the governing force (called caerus) picks a 'lamb' for the gauntlet. this gauntlet takes place over the course of 13 days, where the angel hunts down the lamb and kills them. the events are being live-streamed.
our lamb is inesa.
*⁀➷ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ⋆˚꩜｡
𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐚: my baby. her self-esteem was destroyed by her mother and the constant emotional abuse she went through. i know she‘s not very well liked but nothing and no one could ever make me hate her (except that she just left luka behind?? i must admit that wasn‘t really nice. pretty selfish, in fact. though i see it was crucial for inesa and melionoë‘s relationship).
𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐞: the concept of the angels was so interesting, and just like with the others, i was really intrigued by her. i‘m glad we got her pov, it was such a rich addition to the story.
she has everything to lose in this gauntlet: it‘s either her or inesa. and still, somehow, there‘s a love story developing.
watching them fall in love with each other was so sweet.
𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐚: i liked the main story well enough, but his little novella included in my edition of the book — it broke me. poor luka with his foolish rebel heart. i love him so much.
*⁀➷ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ⋆˚꩜｡
you had me at 'sapphic hunger games' 🙂↕️
i can‘t describe how much i loved this. i would have loved it even more if this had existed back in the days of the dystopian novels. my 12 year old self would have devoured it.
i‘d say this is for everyone who loves a good dystopian fantasy. seriously, go read this NOW, it‘s amazingg.
i had my issues with the ending because it was kinda unsatisfying? and the middle part of the story dragged a bit.
*⁀➷ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ⋆˚꩜｡
i see where fable for the end of the world was inspired by the hunger games, there are quite many parallels.
it‘s not a copy of thg though. it‘s still such a unique world.
families sell out their family members to pay off debts. and once every few months, the governing force (called caerus) picks a 'lamb' for the gauntlet. this gauntlet takes place over the course of 13 days, where the angel hunts down the lamb and kills them. the events are being live-streamed.
our lamb is inesa.
You with the dark curls, you with the watercolor eyes
You who bares all your teeth in every smile
— 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖺𝗇𝗌𝖺𝗌 𝖽𝖺𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝗒 𝗅𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗅𝖺𝗆𝖻
*⁀➷ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ⋆˚꩜｡
𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐚: my baby. her self-esteem was destroyed by her mother and the constant emotional abuse she went through. i know she‘s not very well liked but nothing and no one could ever make me hate her (except that she just left luka behind?? i must admit that wasn‘t really nice. pretty selfish, in fact. though i see it was crucial for inesa and melionoë‘s relationship).
𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐞: the concept of the angels was so interesting, and just like with the others, i was really intrigued by her. i‘m glad we got her pov, it was such a rich addition to the story.
she has everything to lose in this gauntlet: it‘s either her or inesa. and still, somehow, there‘s a love story developing.
watching them fall in love with each other was so sweet.
𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐚: i liked the main story well enough, but his little novella included in my edition of the book — it broke me. poor luka with his foolish rebel heart. i love him so much.
*⁀➷ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ⋆˚꩜｡
you had me at 'sapphic hunger games' 🙂↕️
October 5, 2024
The Hunger Games meets a climate-ravaged watery corporate-capitalist nightmare world.
A love letter to the 2010s YA dystopians I grew up on.
I have to say I am kind of disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of Lady Macbeth and was hoping this would return to Reid’s earlier works - a dark study of characters and society. Instead, this felt so familiar in a mediocre way.
Inesa lives in a half-sunken town trying to keep afloat (figuratively and literally) alongside her brother. However, everything changes when her mother enters her into the Gauntlet to pay off her debts. She is to be hunted down by Caerus’s Angels - weapons created by the corporation that controls everything through their credit system.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. She is a living weapon, human parts, hormones, and reconditioning. She will do anything to avoid the being decommissioned and Wiped to become a corporate concubine.
This is very different to what Reid has written previously. Less horror and folklore dark, and more dystopian trauma.
This is blatantly a story about the horrors of climate change, wealth inequality, corporatocracy, and technology; made all the more scary by the reality.
"The world can break anything," she says.
"Then maybe no one has ever really been in love," I suggest dryly. "Maybe you have too much faith in people."
Caerus uses the Gauntlets to keep New Amsterdam both riveted and cowed. Entertained and subjugated. They promise advancement, but through restriction and subjugation.
I think the blurb basically tells you the entire story. What is on the package is what you get, so there wasn’t as much tension and stress which is what you want with a story like this.
This sounds all negative - it shouldn’t be. I binged this in under 3 hours and I think Reid made very valiant points about humanity’s future and our attitude. It was just very guessable. More young adult than I had thought it would be. It also lacks Reid’s also usual beautiful, stunning prose.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
A love letter to the 2010s YA dystopians I grew up on.
I have to say I am kind of disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of Lady Macbeth and was hoping this would return to Reid’s earlier works - a dark study of characters and society. Instead, this felt so familiar in a mediocre way.
Inesa lives in a half-sunken town trying to keep afloat (figuratively and literally) alongside her brother. However, everything changes when her mother enters her into the Gauntlet to pay off her debts. She is to be hunted down by Caerus’s Angels - weapons created by the corporation that controls everything through their credit system.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. She is a living weapon, human parts, hormones, and reconditioning. She will do anything to avoid the being decommissioned and Wiped to become a corporate concubine.
This is very different to what Reid has written previously. Less horror and folklore dark, and more dystopian trauma.
This is blatantly a story about the horrors of climate change, wealth inequality, corporatocracy, and technology; made all the more scary by the reality.
"The world can break anything," she says.
"Then maybe no one has ever really been in love," I suggest dryly. "Maybe you have too much faith in people."
Caerus uses the Gauntlets to keep New Amsterdam both riveted and cowed. Entertained and subjugated. They promise advancement, but through restriction and subjugation.
I think the blurb basically tells you the entire story. What is on the package is what you get, so there wasn’t as much tension and stress which is what you want with a story like this.
This sounds all negative - it shouldn’t be. I binged this in under 3 hours and I think Reid made very valiant points about humanity’s future and our attitude. It was just very guessable. More young adult than I had thought it would be. It also lacks Reid’s also usual beautiful, stunning prose.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
October 2, 2025
Sapphic Dystopian Romance
🪻 Bookish Thoughts
Whew, this one was intense. Definitely brought me back to my dystopian reading phase in the best way. It tackles heavy themes like end stage capitalism, greed, systemic poverty, sexism, trauma, and parental abandonment. The writing had weight to it. It didn’t let you look away.
I was not ready for that ending... and I’m praying for a sequel because I need Inesa and Melinoë to get their happy ending.
✨ Favorite Quote:
“It’s a shame we’ve started believing that credits are worth more than a life.”
💜 What You Can Expect:
Assassin x target
Dystopian survival
Deadly livestreamed Gauntlet
Moral complexity
Enemies to Lovers
Reluctant Allies
4.5 ⭐️
🪻 Bookish Thoughts
Whew, this one was intense. Definitely brought me back to my dystopian reading phase in the best way. It tackles heavy themes like end stage capitalism, greed, systemic poverty, sexism, trauma, and parental abandonment. The writing had weight to it. It didn’t let you look away.
I was not ready for that ending... and I’m praying for a sequel because I need Inesa and Melinoë to get their happy ending.
✨ Favorite Quote:
“It’s a shame we’ve started believing that credits are worth more than a life.”
💜 What You Can Expect:
Assassin x target
Dystopian survival
Deadly livestreamed Gauntlet
Moral complexity
Enemies to Lovers
Reluctant Allies
4.5 ⭐️
June 1, 2025
Human-Cyborg-absolutely-lethal-assassin-girl hunts down normal-village-girl in order to entertain the live watching audience. This gave me a Hunger Games sort of vibe, which is a good thing as I very much enjoy a good dystopia.
I had great fun with the ruthless world Ava Reid created here. The worldbuilding really felt dark, hopeless and clammy throughout the book. The characters had many different layers to uncover, especially Mel and Inesa. Their hurt and anguish was palpable. Both girls backstory broke my heart several times, so I really rooted for them to find some sort of solace or happy end within each others company.
I'd say I had a really good time for the first 40-50% of the story. After that it was possibly just different from what I had expected and hoped for. I had some trouble warming up to the idea of Mel and Inesa together, which disappointed me greatly as I really liked their respective characters.
The difficult relationships between Inesa and her mother, Mel and her mentor and herself were portrayed so well, I felt grey while reading.
So yeah, what was my problem with this book? Am I petty enough to hold the book available for its many disappointing outcomings, even though I just stated liking dystopias and their often dark vibe? Was it well executed? Yep. At some point it felt like blow after blow just kept coming and I took personal offence to it. I never claimed to be rational in my rating 🥹
Edit1: read about a third and so far I'm really enjoying it. I didn't know how much I missed dystopias
pre read
I've been so excited for this one!!
I had great fun with the ruthless world Ava Reid created here. The worldbuilding really felt dark, hopeless and clammy throughout the book. The characters had many different layers to uncover, especially Mel and Inesa. Their hurt and anguish was palpable. Both girls backstory broke my heart several times, so I really rooted for them to find some sort of solace or happy end within each others company.
I'd say I had a really good time for the first 40-50% of the story. After that it was possibly just different from what I had expected and hoped for. I had some trouble warming up to the idea of Mel and Inesa together, which disappointed me greatly as I really liked their respective characters.
The difficult relationships between Inesa and her mother, Mel and her mentor and herself were portrayed so well, I felt grey while reading.
So yeah, what was my problem with this book? Am I petty enough to hold the book available for its many disappointing outcomings, even though I just stated liking dystopias and their often dark vibe? Was it well executed? Yep. At some point it felt like blow after blow just kept coming and I took personal offence to it. I never claimed to be rational in my rating 🥹
Edit1: read about a third and so far I'm really enjoying it. I didn't know how much I missed dystopias
pre read
I've been so excited for this one!!
February 2, 2025
Let's get this out of the way: the premise of this book is exquisite. I'm not arguing about that. The bad part for me was the execution of the premise.
Plot holes. So many plot holes. It was incredibly difficult to enjoy this book when every few pages I was asking myself, "Why don't they just do..." or "But that doesn't fit in with the established worldbuilding..."
The romance was fairly mediocre. I like an enemies-to-lovers (and in fact, I have really loved it in Ava Reid's other book, The Wolf and the Woodsman). But neither of the "enemies" at any point actually hate/want to hurt the other, then they quickly fall into lust. It's disappointing, and I really struggled to root for them.
The ending. I'm not sure if it was trying to be "We're leaving this open for a sequel," or, "We're leaving this open to be tragically mysterious," but either way I didn't like it.
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Plot holes. So many plot holes. It was incredibly difficult to enjoy this book when every few pages I was asking myself, "Why don't they just do..." or "But that doesn't fit in with the established worldbuilding..."
The romance was fairly mediocre. I like an enemies-to-lovers (and in fact, I have really loved it in Ava Reid's other book, The Wolf and the Woodsman). But neither of the "enemies" at any point actually hate/want to hurt the other, then they quickly fall into lust. It's disappointing, and I really struggled to root for them.
The ending. I'm not sure if it was trying to be "We're leaving this open for a sequel," or, "We're leaving this open to be tragically mysterious," but either way I didn't like it.
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
September 9, 2025
“I’m sorry,” she says. Her voice low and distant, like an echo of itself. “It was just instinct.”
4/5
It is no secret that I am an Ava Reid fan, and I have been since their debut novel. They are an author that writes with intension—an author that doesn’t fit neatly into a genre niche. They are an author that writes books that have something to say, and even better, an author that asks questions that do not have simple answers. You can read the synopsis for Fable for the End of the World above, it’s incredibly compelling, but aside from the plot, allow me some time to talk about what I saw in this book.
Before I jump in, I think it is important to acknowledge that this book is going to get smacked upside the head with loud voices complaining that it is either too much like The Hunger Games or not enough like The Hunger Games. Reid has on multiple occasions stated that this book was written from their love of The Hunger Games. It is a book that acknowledges its predecessors (not unlike Eragon/LotR or Sanderson/Pratchett) so I do hope to see more nuanced considerations when comparing the books—or better yet see reviews that discuss the book on its own merits because I think Ava Reid has built enough trust among their readers for us to think about the book as both a love letter and a serious piece of art that is considering similar and different topics/themes/complexities in a vastly different sociopolitical landscape.
But whatever, I know there are going to be reviews crying about it being derivative or something. How ironically unoriginal.
Things I Liked:
Where to begin. As a reader that doesn’t particularly enjoy YA novels much these days, I was happy to see the book consider multiple layers of the ways that dystopian novels allow authors to explore the current state of the world. The book does a pretty good job of building a scenario (plot) that asks the reader to consider the lives of victims of oppression from a corporate oligarchy. The book switches between two main character POVs. Inesa is a poverty-stricken citizen that lives in the flooding outskirts of the community in which the book takes place. She is also the subject of The Gauntlet, a live-streamed game that allows participants to pay off debt in exchange for a game of life-or-death cat and mouse that happens over the course of 10 days. The other is Melinoë, another victim that serves as a tool of the oppressor who struggles with their role as a hunter (“Angel”) in The Gauntlet. Both of the characters voices were incredibly distinct from one another on the line level. Inesa was more purple and Mel more clinical. The diction they used was very exclusive to their own voices. I hate POV switching where the voices of first-person character voice feel the same, and thankfully Reid used the form to the book’s benefit.
I mostly enjoyed the set-up of the world as well. It’s a world that suffers greatly from the aforementioned oligarchy. The poor suffer, the less poor suffer, and it has split people a part from their neighbors. Everything revolves around money and even among communities’ folks have isolated themselves to their own immediate families. Betrayal is expected, children are not safe from their own parents. It is incredibly bleak and yet the book drags hope to the forefront. This is a book that show strength in softness, in the individual. It is not a book that challenges the deconstruction of corruption, the people in this story are not there yet and not ever dystopian story need to or should do that. The tone matches the construction of the world well. I never think the book misses the proverbial dystopian mark because it’s setting its own marks.
Also, the romance is cute as fuck.
God there really are so many things I can talk about here, but I sort of want to sing praises about one thing in particular that stood out to me in a way I haven’t seen in YA lit often (again, I do not read too extensively anymore so I may be missing something obvious). One of the main characters of this story, Melinoë, the tool of the game that is played has very few memories of her past. She was given to the program as a child and is a victim of forced body augmentation, memory oppression, and manipulation of a man who holds a significant amount of power over her. She is a cyborg, a human with machine parts. Mel often voices that she doesn’t feel attached to reality, that her body is difficult to feel grounded in, that she is ashamed of her scars. All of these details are so intentionally included by Reid who invites the reader to read cyborg theory operating in the dystopian ya space.
For those that may not know, cyborg theory comes from Donna Haraway’s “A Cyborg Manifesto” that suggests the cyborg character/imagery challenges western gender essentialism. In other words, the cyborg is an image that is often used in queer theory amongst scholars that study gender.
(Side note, I think Franny Choi’s Soft Science would be very fun to read in conjunction with Fable for the End of the World if you want a poetry fix.) (There is also great research also being done with cyborg theory and how it applies to colonialism and the dehumanization of Asian bodies, so read more in that branch of the study if you are further interested.)
There have been decades of responses to this manifesto, and I cannot help but put on my WGSS hat when I think about Mel, a character who is so central to how The Gauntlet and the government in the world of FftEotW operate. They depend on her, they benefit from her image, but when she overstays her “usefulness” she in harmed in calculated ways that are damaging to her physical and mental health. I think this is consistent with the more overt assertions of Mel as “influencer” or “celebrity.” Ava Reid is poignant in her critique of how young women are exploited by media and entertainment industries all the time. But the deeper layer here, the considerations of the harm of gender essentialism to young people in conversation with media exploitation are more interesting and well done to me. I thought this was such a tender and powerful way to construct Mel. She is both a victim of this world and complicit at times in implementing its structure. She is a character that has done bad things. She is a character capable (despite being told she is not) of deep love. She is a sharp character, a tragic character, a beautiful character. She is multi-layered and multi-faceted; she is never one thing despite the entire world wanting to view her that way. She is not a monolith. She is character that deeply craves connection, who wants to be understood. I love Mel. I love Reid for giving us such a complexly constructed queer character for her audience to hold so close to their hearts. I said this with Reid’s other YA novel, and I’ll say it with this one as well, I wish to god I had this book when I was a teenager.
This is over a thousand words, and I haven’t talked about Inesa as a character that finds strength in softness, or her brother Luka that because of his advantages as a male character is set up to be the fan favorite (to both the audience of The Gauntlet and the audience reading the book). I haven’t touched on the implications of environmentalism or the generational stories of the world that have shaped complicity in atrocity over years and years of systematic manipulation by billionaires that make people reliant on convenience and instant-dopamine hits. Sounds scary huh? I’ll leave it. This is 1100 words already. Hey, can you tell I like the book and really want people to think about this with their brains on? Sorry if that’s mean, but I wonder who will get to this part of the review anyway…
Things I Think Could Have Been Better:
I am not going to mince words; I do think the pacing of the book was a bit quick and there were world building details I found missing or misplaced. There is a lot of information about the government and the operation of the world that is withheld until the end of the novel that I think is supposed to lead to an “a-ha” moment that doesn’t particularly pan out for me. I wanted the information on page 5. I feel like the “in a nutshell” story of this book, meaning the unfolding of events, to be sort of choppy and I craved for scenes and time to connect a bit more seamlessly. I wanted 50 more pages. But that really all I have to critique.
Ava Reid is an author of intention. I love this about them, I love that genre is a suggestion, a singular flavor in a cocktail of layered contemplation. I am waiting impatiently for their next book, and their next, and their next. As long as Ava Reid wants to write, I want to read.
4/5
4/5
It is no secret that I am an Ava Reid fan, and I have been since their debut novel. They are an author that writes with intension—an author that doesn’t fit neatly into a genre niche. They are an author that writes books that have something to say, and even better, an author that asks questions that do not have simple answers. You can read the synopsis for Fable for the End of the World above, it’s incredibly compelling, but aside from the plot, allow me some time to talk about what I saw in this book.
Before I jump in, I think it is important to acknowledge that this book is going to get smacked upside the head with loud voices complaining that it is either too much like The Hunger Games or not enough like The Hunger Games. Reid has on multiple occasions stated that this book was written from their love of The Hunger Games. It is a book that acknowledges its predecessors (not unlike Eragon/LotR or Sanderson/Pratchett) so I do hope to see more nuanced considerations when comparing the books—or better yet see reviews that discuss the book on its own merits because I think Ava Reid has built enough trust among their readers for us to think about the book as both a love letter and a serious piece of art that is considering similar and different topics/themes/complexities in a vastly different sociopolitical landscape.
But whatever, I know there are going to be reviews crying about it being derivative or something. How ironically unoriginal.
Things I Liked:
Where to begin. As a reader that doesn’t particularly enjoy YA novels much these days, I was happy to see the book consider multiple layers of the ways that dystopian novels allow authors to explore the current state of the world. The book does a pretty good job of building a scenario (plot) that asks the reader to consider the lives of victims of oppression from a corporate oligarchy. The book switches between two main character POVs. Inesa is a poverty-stricken citizen that lives in the flooding outskirts of the community in which the book takes place. She is also the subject of The Gauntlet, a live-streamed game that allows participants to pay off debt in exchange for a game of life-or-death cat and mouse that happens over the course of 10 days. The other is Melinoë, another victim that serves as a tool of the oppressor who struggles with their role as a hunter (“Angel”) in The Gauntlet. Both of the characters voices were incredibly distinct from one another on the line level. Inesa was more purple and Mel more clinical. The diction they used was very exclusive to their own voices. I hate POV switching where the voices of first-person character voice feel the same, and thankfully Reid used the form to the book’s benefit.
I mostly enjoyed the set-up of the world as well. It’s a world that suffers greatly from the aforementioned oligarchy. The poor suffer, the less poor suffer, and it has split people a part from their neighbors. Everything revolves around money and even among communities’ folks have isolated themselves to their own immediate families. Betrayal is expected, children are not safe from their own parents. It is incredibly bleak and yet the book drags hope to the forefront. This is a book that show strength in softness, in the individual. It is not a book that challenges the deconstruction of corruption, the people in this story are not there yet and not ever dystopian story need to or should do that. The tone matches the construction of the world well. I never think the book misses the proverbial dystopian mark because it’s setting its own marks.
Also, the romance is cute as fuck.
God there really are so many things I can talk about here, but I sort of want to sing praises about one thing in particular that stood out to me in a way I haven’t seen in YA lit often (again, I do not read too extensively anymore so I may be missing something obvious). One of the main characters of this story, Melinoë, the tool of the game that is played has very few memories of her past. She was given to the program as a child and is a victim of forced body augmentation, memory oppression, and manipulation of a man who holds a significant amount of power over her. She is a cyborg, a human with machine parts. Mel often voices that she doesn’t feel attached to reality, that her body is difficult to feel grounded in, that she is ashamed of her scars. All of these details are so intentionally included by Reid who invites the reader to read cyborg theory operating in the dystopian ya space.
For those that may not know, cyborg theory comes from Donna Haraway’s “A Cyborg Manifesto” that suggests the cyborg character/imagery challenges western gender essentialism. In other words, the cyborg is an image that is often used in queer theory amongst scholars that study gender.
(Side note, I think Franny Choi’s Soft Science would be very fun to read in conjunction with Fable for the End of the World if you want a poetry fix.) (There is also great research also being done with cyborg theory and how it applies to colonialism and the dehumanization of Asian bodies, so read more in that branch of the study if you are further interested.)
There have been decades of responses to this manifesto, and I cannot help but put on my WGSS hat when I think about Mel, a character who is so central to how The Gauntlet and the government in the world of FftEotW operate. They depend on her, they benefit from her image, but when she overstays her “usefulness” she in harmed in calculated ways that are damaging to her physical and mental health. I think this is consistent with the more overt assertions of Mel as “influencer” or “celebrity.” Ava Reid is poignant in her critique of how young women are exploited by media and entertainment industries all the time. But the deeper layer here, the considerations of the harm of gender essentialism to young people in conversation with media exploitation are more interesting and well done to me. I thought this was such a tender and powerful way to construct Mel. She is both a victim of this world and complicit at times in implementing its structure. She is a character that has done bad things. She is a character capable (despite being told she is not) of deep love. She is a sharp character, a tragic character, a beautiful character. She is multi-layered and multi-faceted; she is never one thing despite the entire world wanting to view her that way. She is not a monolith. She is character that deeply craves connection, who wants to be understood. I love Mel. I love Reid for giving us such a complexly constructed queer character for her audience to hold so close to their hearts. I said this with Reid’s other YA novel, and I’ll say it with this one as well, I wish to god I had this book when I was a teenager.
This is over a thousand words, and I haven’t talked about Inesa as a character that finds strength in softness, or her brother Luka that because of his advantages as a male character is set up to be the fan favorite (to both the audience of The Gauntlet and the audience reading the book). I haven’t touched on the implications of environmentalism or the generational stories of the world that have shaped complicity in atrocity over years and years of systematic manipulation by billionaires that make people reliant on convenience and instant-dopamine hits. Sounds scary huh? I’ll leave it. This is 1100 words already. Hey, can you tell I like the book and really want people to think about this with their brains on? Sorry if that’s mean, but I wonder who will get to this part of the review anyway…
Things I Think Could Have Been Better:
I am not going to mince words; I do think the pacing of the book was a bit quick and there were world building details I found missing or misplaced. There is a lot of information about the government and the operation of the world that is withheld until the end of the novel that I think is supposed to lead to an “a-ha” moment that doesn’t particularly pan out for me. I wanted the information on page 5. I feel like the “in a nutshell” story of this book, meaning the unfolding of events, to be sort of choppy and I craved for scenes and time to connect a bit more seamlessly. I wanted 50 more pages. But that really all I have to critique.
Ava Reid is an author of intention. I love this about them, I love that genre is a suggestion, a singular flavor in a cocktail of layered contemplation. I am waiting impatiently for their next book, and their next, and their next. As long as Ava Reid wants to write, I want to read.
4/5
March 10, 2025
4.5⭐️ | TikTok | IG |
Fable for the End of the World is sapphic dystopian love story, with capitalist overlord villains, a live-streamed assassination gauntlet, epic family dynamics, and a post rising sea-level setting! I ate this up! Ava Reid does it again with a novel that leaves your brain reeling!
What I loved
- Sapphic love story
- enemies to lovers
- hunger games vibes
- crazy, yet somehow not that farfetched dystopian world
- family/mommy/daddy trauma
- top-notch brotherly-sisterly love
- epic social commentary presented in that signature Ava Reid style, subtle yet clear to all that pay attention
What I didn’t love…
- the relationship between the two FMCs felt a little hollow at times for my personal taste but as a relationship in a YA novel it gets the job done.
- It terms of atmosphere and vibes that Ava Reid’s work is known for this felt a bit lacking as well. Still fantastic atmosphere but comparatively speaking (to her other books), this was a little flat
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Fable for the End of the World is sapphic dystopian love story, with capitalist overlord villains, a live-streamed assassination gauntlet, epic family dynamics, and a post rising sea-level setting! I ate this up! Ava Reid does it again with a novel that leaves your brain reeling!
What I loved
- Sapphic love story
- enemies to lovers
- hunger games vibes
- crazy, yet somehow not that farfetched dystopian world
- family/mommy/daddy trauma
- top-notch brotherly-sisterly love
- epic social commentary presented in that signature Ava Reid style, subtle yet clear to all that pay attention
What I didn’t love…
- the relationship between the two FMCs felt a little hollow at times for my personal taste but as a relationship in a YA novel it gets the job done.
- It terms of atmosphere and vibes that Ava Reid’s work is known for this felt a bit lacking as well. Still fantastic atmosphere but comparatively speaking (to her other books), this was a little flat
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
May 15, 2025
Najsłabsza do tej pory książka Reid spośród tych, które czytałam. Intrygujący świat, angażujący początek i cały segment budowania suspensu. Jednak do 3/4 do końca jakość tekstu spada i ostatecznie kończę lekturę ze wzruszeniem ramion.
May 9, 2025
Inesa soon finds out that her mother has accrued an enormous amount of debt- the only possible way to get out of it is for her mother to sacrifice her to the Lambs Gauntlet- a televised assassination event where Inesa, with the help of her brother, must try to survive 13 days while being hunted by Melinoë. Melinoë is a Caerus assassin also known as an "angel". Angels are physiologically altered, mechanically modified girls who are trained from a young age to hunt & kill. They're basically superhuman killing machines...think terminator but for the girlies. 💅🏽
things quickly go awry & now Inesa & Melinoë must stick together to stay alive.
not👏🏽every👏🏽fantasy/dystopian👏🏽 book with a👏🏽 "deadly game"👏🏽 is comparable to the hunger games & we have to stop claiming that they all are.. If you're going to HEAVILY promote something as Hunger Games meets anything you better deliver... i'm also confused on where they're getting the last of us from because unless i blinked too long between chapters there's no zombie or zombie mutants anywhere in this book & i know they're not referring to the wends... now that i've gotten that out of the way let's move along, shall we??
firstly, i want to say the writing itself is not my issue it's everything else. this really should have been right up my alley & the premise sounded so interesting & fun. The Hunger Games meets The Last of Us with cyborg assassins??? Sign me up! unfortunately, this missed the mark for me. aside from the obvious deadly games & dystopian setting i struggled to see the similarities between this & the hunger games that everyone is talking about.
This lacks depth & tension, the characters are flat, & the romance felt forced. Luka was the best character, in my opinion, out of everyone which really doesn't say much. Inesa came off extremely naive & weak. She depends 100% on her younger brother & i hate that for her because she should have been a independent dystopian baddie. Without Luka she would have died five minutes into the Gauntlet..like how are you living in an dystopian world & have zero survival skills & now you have to rely on the same person that tried to kill you to stay alive???
please please please (i wrote that in my sabrina carpenter voice) don't get me started on the romance. i really don't want to be here all day so i'll try to keep this as short as i can...THEY HAVE NO CHEMISTRY! the insta love trope is ridiculous. "i've waited so long to do that" after kissing her like she didn't try to kill you twice three days ago is laughable. telling each other they love each other after four or five days of knowing each other is also laughable, i literally rolled my eyes. they were so caught up with how pretty each other was i almost forgot where we were & what was supposed to be happening.
did we come here to look at each other & daydream about how cute we are for 100+ pages or are we going to band together & fight against caerus or the wends & go home because that's what i thought this was going to be & that's what i was expecting to get & it really did not happen.
& THEN THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A HAPPY ENDING LIKE WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR THEN!?
thanks for tuning in to my ted talk. 2.5/5 ✨
things quickly go awry & now Inesa & Melinoë must stick together to stay alive.
not👏🏽every👏🏽fantasy/dystopian👏🏽 book with a👏🏽 "deadly game"👏🏽 is comparable to the hunger games & we have to stop claiming that they all are.. If you're going to HEAVILY promote something as Hunger Games meets anything you better deliver... i'm also confused on where they're getting the last of us from because unless i blinked too long between chapters there's no zombie or zombie mutants anywhere in this book & i know they're not referring to the wends... now that i've gotten that out of the way let's move along, shall we??
firstly, i want to say the writing itself is not my issue it's everything else. this really should have been right up my alley & the premise sounded so interesting & fun. The Hunger Games meets The Last of Us with cyborg assassins??? Sign me up! unfortunately, this missed the mark for me. aside from the obvious deadly games & dystopian setting i struggled to see the similarities between this & the hunger games that everyone is talking about.
This lacks depth & tension, the characters are flat, & the romance felt forced. Luka was the best character, in my opinion, out of everyone which really doesn't say much. Inesa came off extremely naive & weak. She depends 100% on her younger brother & i hate that for her because she should have been a independent dystopian baddie. Without Luka she would have died five minutes into the Gauntlet..like how are you living in an dystopian world & have zero survival skills & now you have to rely on the same person that tried to kill you to stay alive???
please please please (i wrote that in my sabrina carpenter voice) don't get me started on the romance. i really don't want to be here all day so i'll try to keep this as short as i can...THEY HAVE NO CHEMISTRY! the insta love trope is ridiculous. "i've waited so long to do that" after kissing her like she didn't try to kill you twice three days ago is laughable. telling each other they love each other after four or five days of knowing each other is also laughable, i literally rolled my eyes. they were so caught up with how pretty each other was i almost forgot where we were & what was supposed to be happening.
did we come here to look at each other & daydream about how cute we are for 100+ pages or are we going to band together & fight against caerus or the wends & go home because that's what i thought this was going to be & that's what i was expecting to get & it really did not happen.
& THEN THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A HAPPY ENDING LIKE WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR THEN!?
thanks for tuning in to my ted talk. 2.5/5 ✨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
March 20, 2024⊹ ˚. ✦ ╮
languishing in agony as i wait: 20/03/24
exactly one year to go for ava reid's next serve!!!! saw a lot of ava reid slander after a study in drowning came out. never speak on effypreston and reid's writing again :3
exactly one year to go for ava reid's next serve!!!! saw a lot of ava reid slander after a study in drowning came out. never speak on effypreston and reid's writing again :3
January 28, 2025
4/5
We all do what we have to do in order to survive.
I really enjoyed this book. It is so vastly innovative, I adored everything about the world and the themes it explored. It's a brilliant ode to dystopian books like The Hunger Games, whilst still undoubtedly being its own unique story.
Slowly, we uncover the threads that make up the society of New Amsterdam. The threads that enable and direct the dreaded Gauntlet—a livestreamed game where people are encouraged to offer up a life in exchange for their debts, a game where the surgically-altered assassins hunt down and kill the sacrificial Lambs.
This is a world ravaged by the after effects of nuclear war, struggling to survive an irradiated landscape and the rising sea levels. It is a world that is drowning, and where Caerus—the corporation in charge—gets to decide who will sink and who will swim.
Caerus have offered the citizens a system in which they can spend whilst accumulating massive amounts of debt, a system that encourages them to dig themselves deeper and deeper until they have no options left. It is a system utilised to divert blame. How can it be Caerus' fault that you've spent yourself to death? How can it be their fault if you go hungry, refusing to indebt yourself? Either way, the fault cannot lie with them. It is the false appearance of a choice. And if you are the one making the decision, how can the blame be put on another? It is an incredibly clever system that is only steps removed from a reality we recognise.
When this debt builds and builds and eventually reaches its limits, there are ways to make it go away. Another false choice is presented to you. A life for a debt. A pretence given of a chance of surviving the Gauntlet, another system Caerus have expertly crafted in order to control.
Caerus choose the Lambs, the sacrificed debtors, and they choose the Angels, the merciless killers. They construct and delicately place the bricks of the narrative, and let the citizens of New Amsterdam watch as it all plays out. It's a fair chance, they say, a hunter and a hunted. But Caerus has altered their Angels to become the perfect creations, the most ruthless killing machines.
In these robes, we meet our main characters. Inesa—the Lamb, and Melinoë—the Angel.
Inesa has lived in Lower Esopus her entire life, making a living off of preserving a memory of the past in her taxidermy shop. Her brother, Luka, hunts the animals—the ones that spark comfort and remind people of the world before, the deer with only two eyes and no webbed feet—and Inesa stuffs them. Together they work for food and for warmth, desperate never to accumulate debt, fighting to survive every day in a world that would drown them. But their mother has no such qualms, she amounts more and more debt every day, and she offers up Inesa to clear it.
Melinoë is an Angel, a Caerus assassin. She has been outfitted with machine parts, enhanced to become the perfect weapon, and altered aesthetically to look exactly how they want. She was made to be remorseless, but the last time she was sent out to kill a Lamb something went wrong. The memory stuck and no amount of Caerus' Wipes could erase it. The sound of the rain, the feeling of water on her skin, all of it brings her back to that moment. The one she cannot forget. But this Gauntlet will be different, this Gauntlet she will prove herself, she won't falter and then she won't be made empty of who she is. She won't be decommissioned.
Melinoë is the hunter and Inesa is the hunted. Caerus want the audience to believe Inesa has a chance. Melinoë knows she must perform well. All Inesa wants is to survive. But there are more things out there in the wild than just the two of them. There is pain and grief, there is endless fear, but there is also hope.
He said that Caerus has created the conditions that allow some organisms to thrive and others to die. That we're land animals in a drowning world and they're sea creatures. But if the lakes and the rivers dried up and the sea level fell, we would survive, and they would die.
I adored learning everything about this world, it holds so many amazing concepts and ideas. I loved every morsel of worldbuilding we were fed, I only wished we could've seen more of it. Because of this personal preference, the beginning of the book was my favourite part as I wanted to do nothing but soak in all the different elements of this society and this dilapidating world. It was so well constructed and I hope we get to see more of it in another book, if possible!
I enjoyed watching the character's relationships as they developed, although I think I needed more time to grow properly attached to them and to the romance.
The ending is another matter. (Don't worry, no spoilers!) I'm very conflicted about how I feel about the ending and I think it might make for some quite polarising opinions. I'm at once a little underwhelmed, as I think it's a tad anticlimactic, yet I also understand the messaging behind it and entirely adore what it's trying to say.
I think it is an important thing to remember that change does not happen all at once and that even small revolutions mean something. Change is difficult and it is slow, but it is worth fighting for, over and over again. It does not take only one spark to rewrite the world as we know it, not in actuality. It starts with the smallest of revolutions, inside one person and then another. It grows and it shifts and it builds until those sparks become a flame, until each individual has felt those embers and has let it change them. There is no easy, utopian solution to our dystopia. Change is difficult and maybe we won't change the world, but it is a place to start.
But I think individuals are capable of compassion. Actually, I know they are. And maybe that's all it takes—at least in the beginning. Just a few people who care. And that caring matters, even if it can't cool the earth or lower sea levels or turn back time to before a nuclear blast.
I think this is a very fresh and intriguing take on a subgenre that most will have experienced before. It is born of a love of fandom and of the dystopian genre, and I'm very happy to have read it. I immensely enjoyed it and I think that so many others will as well.
Thank you Del Rey for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
There would be no Gauntlet without an audience.
We all do what we have to do in order to survive.
I really enjoyed this book. It is so vastly innovative, I adored everything about the world and the themes it explored. It's a brilliant ode to dystopian books like The Hunger Games, whilst still undoubtedly being its own unique story.
Slowly, we uncover the threads that make up the society of New Amsterdam. The threads that enable and direct the dreaded Gauntlet—a livestreamed game where people are encouraged to offer up a life in exchange for their debts, a game where the surgically-altered assassins hunt down and kill the sacrificial Lambs.
This is a world ravaged by the after effects of nuclear war, struggling to survive an irradiated landscape and the rising sea levels. It is a world that is drowning, and where Caerus—the corporation in charge—gets to decide who will sink and who will swim.
Caerus have offered the citizens a system in which they can spend whilst accumulating massive amounts of debt, a system that encourages them to dig themselves deeper and deeper until they have no options left. It is a system utilised to divert blame. How can it be Caerus' fault that you've spent yourself to death? How can it be their fault if you go hungry, refusing to indebt yourself? Either way, the fault cannot lie with them. It is the false appearance of a choice. And if you are the one making the decision, how can the blame be put on another? It is an incredibly clever system that is only steps removed from a reality we recognise.
When this debt builds and builds and eventually reaches its limits, there are ways to make it go away. Another false choice is presented to you. A life for a debt. A pretence given of a chance of surviving the Gauntlet, another system Caerus have expertly crafted in order to control.
Caerus choose the Lambs, the sacrificed debtors, and they choose the Angels, the merciless killers. They construct and delicately place the bricks of the narrative, and let the citizens of New Amsterdam watch as it all plays out. It's a fair chance, they say, a hunter and a hunted. But Caerus has altered their Angels to become the perfect creations, the most ruthless killing machines.
In these robes, we meet our main characters. Inesa—the Lamb, and Melinoë—the Angel.
Inesa has lived in Lower Esopus her entire life, making a living off of preserving a memory of the past in her taxidermy shop. Her brother, Luka, hunts the animals—the ones that spark comfort and remind people of the world before, the deer with only two eyes and no webbed feet—and Inesa stuffs them. Together they work for food and for warmth, desperate never to accumulate debt, fighting to survive every day in a world that would drown them. But their mother has no such qualms, she amounts more and more debt every day, and she offers up Inesa to clear it.
Melinoë is an Angel, a Caerus assassin. She has been outfitted with machine parts, enhanced to become the perfect weapon, and altered aesthetically to look exactly how they want. She was made to be remorseless, but the last time she was sent out to kill a Lamb something went wrong. The memory stuck and no amount of Caerus' Wipes could erase it. The sound of the rain, the feeling of water on her skin, all of it brings her back to that moment. The one she cannot forget. But this Gauntlet will be different, this Gauntlet she will prove herself, she won't falter and then she won't be made empty of who she is. She won't be decommissioned.
Melinoë is the hunter and Inesa is the hunted. Caerus want the audience to believe Inesa has a chance. Melinoë knows she must perform well. All Inesa wants is to survive. But there are more things out there in the wild than just the two of them. There is pain and grief, there is endless fear, but there is also hope.
He said that Caerus has created the conditions that allow some organisms to thrive and others to die. That we're land animals in a drowning world and they're sea creatures. But if the lakes and the rivers dried up and the sea level fell, we would survive, and they would die.
I adored learning everything about this world, it holds so many amazing concepts and ideas. I loved every morsel of worldbuilding we were fed, I only wished we could've seen more of it. Because of this personal preference, the beginning of the book was my favourite part as I wanted to do nothing but soak in all the different elements of this society and this dilapidating world. It was so well constructed and I hope we get to see more of it in another book, if possible!
I enjoyed watching the character's relationships as they developed, although I think I needed more time to grow properly attached to them and to the romance.
The ending is another matter. (Don't worry, no spoilers!) I'm very conflicted about how I feel about the ending and I think it might make for some quite polarising opinions. I'm at once a little underwhelmed, as I think it's a tad anticlimactic, yet I also understand the messaging behind it and entirely adore what it's trying to say.
I think it is an important thing to remember that change does not happen all at once and that even small revolutions mean something. Change is difficult and it is slow, but it is worth fighting for, over and over again. It does not take only one spark to rewrite the world as we know it, not in actuality. It starts with the smallest of revolutions, inside one person and then another. It grows and it shifts and it builds until those sparks become a flame, until each individual has felt those embers and has let it change them. There is no easy, utopian solution to our dystopia. Change is difficult and maybe we won't change the world, but it is a place to start.
But I think individuals are capable of compassion. Actually, I know they are. And maybe that's all it takes—at least in the beginning. Just a few people who care. And that caring matters, even if it can't cool the earth or lower sea levels or turn back time to before a nuclear blast.
I think this is a very fresh and intriguing take on a subgenre that most will have experienced before. It is born of a love of fandom and of the dystopian genre, and I'm very happy to have read it. I immensely enjoyed it and I think that so many others will as well.
Thank you Del Rey for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
There would be no Gauntlet without an audience.
June 27, 2025
Appreciated the sapphic representation in this novel! There’s a lot of well-worn fantasy grooves here, including enemies to lovers, commentaries on systems of power (e.g., capitalism, sexism), and even the good old “it’s cold here so let’s find warmth from each other’s bodies” schtick. While I can see the appeal of this book unfortunately the quality of the writing didn’t come through for me – the prose made the book feel rather flat and the emotional components a bit cheesy. Still, yay for lgbtq+ books during Pride Month.
December 5, 2024
Fable for the End of the World is a standalone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything. As soon as I saw Ava's post about her newest novel, I knew I had to get my read it. Thank you SO much, Harper Collins, for providing me with this ARC.
What to expect:
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired yet still pretty unique
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
The title, the plot, the cover, the characters, and the twists have all the makings of a masterpiece! I was easily transported into this world and felt a deep connection to the characters. I loved Ava's writing style and her storytelling abilities. The action was subtle, yet gripping enough to keep me flipping through the pages. I was completely hooked.
This is very close to a five-star book. One of the only reasons I'm keeping it at four stars is that a part of me yearned for more. Simply put, I just wanted more!!! Some authors and readers enjoy ambiguity while reading, but I'm a fan of closure. Certain pieces of the puzzle along the way are never fully resolved, and although it didn't disrupt the storyline, I can't help but crave those answers. I will say the ending being a little open ended does make sense due to the nature of the storyline.
If you haven't preordered this book, I highly recommend it. Be sure to add this to your TBR. The expected publication date is March 04, 2025. I already plan on giving this one a reread.
As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤
What to expect:
☆ Dual-POV
☆ Dystopian
☆ Hunger Games-inspired yet still pretty unique
☆ Sapphic romance
☆ Enemies to Lovers
The title, the plot, the cover, the characters, and the twists have all the makings of a masterpiece! I was easily transported into this world and felt a deep connection to the characters. I loved Ava's writing style and her storytelling abilities. The action was subtle, yet gripping enough to keep me flipping through the pages. I was completely hooked.
This is very close to a five-star book. One of the only reasons I'm keeping it at four stars is that a part of me yearned for more. Simply put, I just wanted more!!! Some authors and readers enjoy ambiguity while reading, but I'm a fan of closure. Certain pieces of the puzzle along the way are never fully resolved, and although it didn't disrupt the storyline, I can't help but crave those answers. I will say the ending being a little open ended does make sense due to the nature of the storyline.
If you haven't preordered this book, I highly recommend it. Be sure to add this to your TBR. The expected publication date is March 04, 2025. I already plan on giving this one a reread.
As always, all thoughts are my own. ✨🖤
February 19, 2025
I realise this review will potentially sound harsher than I mean it to be but that’s because there was soooo much potential here. The parts are all there, I don’t know how it messed up so spectacularly. Writing this hurts me a little, Juniper and Thorn is one of my favourite books of all time, and I’m generally a fan of Reid’s work.
For the first 150+ pages I flew through it, convinced this would be my next 5 star read. Introducing both main characters Inesa (living in The Hunger Games equivalent of the districts, taxidermy-ing animals and streaming to keep her head above water) and Melinoë (living in the capitol equivalent, raised to be a ruthless assassin and currently dealing with ptsd over strangling a young girl to death in a previous gauntlet) was really well done. The initial setup was really seamless and so engaging and the early conversations around survival and community were promising.
This started to fall apart after Mel’s first attempt on Inesa’s life. Inesa’s brother (Luka) finally shoots at her - after sooo much time it’s crazy she hasn’t killed her already - and then Mel’s next chapter is all about how she ‘underestimated the brother.’ You’re a trained, engineered assassin?? ‘Lambs’ (as the gauntlet sacrifices are called) are allowed to bring whatever they want to defend themselves. You’ve never faced someone with a gun before?? After the second attempt Mel is left unconscious. When she wakes up because her comms are off she assumes the cameras have no idea where she is… she’s literally in the same spot where they had a big showdown, why wouldn’t the cameras have just stayed on her?? Then after Luka and Inesa are separated she only mentions trying to find him once! ONCE?! In several whole days after?? Her brother who came to help her survive?? It felt like Reid knew the world she wanted, and the ending, and everything else in between got lost trying to achieve that end.
The romance does not work if you have to sacrifice every other plot point and character development to make it work !!!
Unfortunately the romance also didn’t work for me. I think Reid really struggles to write romance between the oppressed and a member of the ruling class. And, yes, obviously, there is nuance here as the angels are essentially engineered from birth for this purpose and have little choice in the matter. But that’s precisely the issue; trying to cover the nuance is so clunky that it makes the romance utterly unbelievable. The time frame and development of their conversations isn’t enough to undo their preconceived ideas of one another to justify the love they suddenly feel within a few days. It was weak and flimsy, and I cringed reading most of their tender moments.
I have more plot issues later on but them I’m giving full spoilers so I’ll leave it there. Truly devastated about this one.
For the first 150+ pages I flew through it, convinced this would be my next 5 star read. Introducing both main characters Inesa (living in The Hunger Games equivalent of the districts, taxidermy-ing animals and streaming to keep her head above water) and Melinoë (living in the capitol equivalent, raised to be a ruthless assassin and currently dealing with ptsd over strangling a young girl to death in a previous gauntlet) was really well done. The initial setup was really seamless and so engaging and the early conversations around survival and community were promising.
This started to fall apart after Mel’s first attempt on Inesa’s life. Inesa’s brother (Luka) finally shoots at her - after sooo much time it’s crazy she hasn’t killed her already - and then Mel’s next chapter is all about how she ‘underestimated the brother.’ You’re a trained, engineered assassin?? ‘Lambs’ (as the gauntlet sacrifices are called) are allowed to bring whatever they want to defend themselves. You’ve never faced someone with a gun before?? After the second attempt Mel is left unconscious. When she wakes up because her comms are off she assumes the cameras have no idea where she is… she’s literally in the same spot where they had a big showdown, why wouldn’t the cameras have just stayed on her?? Then after Luka and Inesa are separated she only mentions trying to find him once! ONCE?! In several whole days after?? Her brother who came to help her survive?? It felt like Reid knew the world she wanted, and the ending, and everything else in between got lost trying to achieve that end.
The romance does not work if you have to sacrifice every other plot point and character development to make it work !!!
Unfortunately the romance also didn’t work for me. I think Reid really struggles to write romance between the oppressed and a member of the ruling class. And, yes, obviously, there is nuance here as the angels are essentially engineered from birth for this purpose and have little choice in the matter. But that’s precisely the issue; trying to cover the nuance is so clunky that it makes the romance utterly unbelievable. The time frame and development of their conversations isn’t enough to undo their preconceived ideas of one another to justify the love they suddenly feel within a few days. It was weak and flimsy, and I cringed reading most of their tender moments.
I have more plot issues later on but them I’m giving full spoilers so I’ll leave it there. Truly devastated about this one.
September 5, 2025
if nothing else, ava reid does a phenomenal job of creating atmosphere and truly making you feel like you’re a part of the story.
and yet, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I was expecting and that mostly comes down to too many surface level topics. as a dystopian novel, this book addresses lots of important themes - capitalism, social media, government corruption, etc. - and yet not a single one of them was fleshed out. it was mentioned maybe once or twice, but I didn’t feel like there was much discourse about any one subject. for a 350 page standalone, focusing on just one or two topics to make commentary on would’ve been way more effective.
I thought the romance had a lot of potential, but again there seemed too much time spent on setting up the world and trying to include all these themes that it took away from any true development in their relationship.
the ending tho? slapped.
and yet, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I was expecting and that mostly comes down to too many surface level topics. as a dystopian novel, this book addresses lots of important themes - capitalism, social media, government corruption, etc. - and yet not a single one of them was fleshed out. it was mentioned maybe once or twice, but I didn’t feel like there was much discourse about any one subject. for a 350 page standalone, focusing on just one or two topics to make commentary on would’ve been way more effective.
I thought the romance had a lot of potential, but again there seemed too much time spent on setting up the world and trying to include all these themes that it took away from any true development in their relationship.
the ending tho? slapped.
September 4, 2025
I wanted to DNF this half way through but I’m so glad I pushed through! What a beautiful story 🥹🥹
June 23, 2025
i know ava reid wrote some amazing hunger games fanfiction
March 7, 2025
sapphic !!! dystopia is back !!!!
i was hoping for a little more commentary about the systems that put the world into a dystopian society, but overall a very solid dystopian book.
Ava Reid creates a world where AI and capitalism has ruined the air and led to places being underwater. and pollution has harmed the bodily systems of people and animals. and there is some mentions of class divides.
I wish it was explored a little more. And critiqued more. But it is YA sooo...
It's clear to me that Ava Reid is a hasanabi and qtcinderella watcher with how they talk about how streaming is used to put characters on display (as am i)
i was hoping for a little more commentary about the systems that put the world into a dystopian society, but overall a very solid dystopian book.
Ava Reid creates a world where AI and capitalism has ruined the air and led to places being underwater. and pollution has harmed the bodily systems of people and animals. and there is some mentions of class divides.
I wish it was explored a little more. And critiqued more. But it is YA sooo...
It's clear to me that Ava Reid is a hasanabi and qtcinderella watcher with how they talk about how streaming is used to put characters on display (as am i)
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