I was excited to be finally able to read a book that has been hyped up all over Bookstagram, and by an author who I have always admired. Fable seemed to the perfect read to get me out of my semi-slump caused by my never-ending university reading list, and I was eagerly looking forward to read it as our October pick for #Booktalkwithwifey!

As I dived into the book, I discovered a beautiful world set at sea and a strong, female protagonist that I came to love dearly. Years ago, Fable has been left on an island known for its danger and thieves to tend to her own, and has ever since only one mission: to surive and prove her father that she is made for this world. When the chance arrives to get off the island, she takes it and finds herself on the ship of West who seems to have his very own reasons to take her as a passenger, and darker secrets.

I truly enjoyed the first part of the book, and loved reading the underwater scenes, the interactions between Fable and the crew of the Marigold as well as finding out how this world of "traders" works. I was sure I would love this book with passion, and was already excited to dive deeper.

However, during the second part of the book I found myself struggling with the pace and the romance, and especially both aspects in combination. During the first part of the book, we rather witness all events in a rather slow pace that fits the situation and story. However, when things start getting serious, it seemed that scenes that I wished would take longer or were slower in order to give us time to understand and proceed information took only a few pages, while other journeys or events that don't seem to have any relevance to the main plot took unbelievable long. I would have wished that maybe some scenes during the first part of the book would have taken less time, while especially the second half of the book would have been explored more ... in a corresponding pace. Same happened with the romance. Instead of building up the tension, we can only guess as much due to the blurb, and when things start to become interesting the development went from not there at all to a full make-out session in such a short period of time that I found myself not enjoying it at all.

Nevertheless, the book has openend many many doors to new plotlines, and the ending had me left craving for more. I can't wait to finally have Namesake in my hands and find out what happens next, as the potential is way too big and my excitement fully there. And don't let me start about all the theories I have already thought of!