Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid Published by Harper Collins on March 4, 2025
Genres: Fantasy
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I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this standalone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.
By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.
Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.
Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.
When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, she might stand a chance of staying alive.
For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.
As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.
And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.
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This is a very the rich are rich living in the city, while the poor are poor living in the slum’s society. Everything runs on credit and if you are unfortunate enough to be on the poor side you could be risking your life. If you wrack up enough debt, Caerus will come calling and you will be entered into the Lamb’s Gauntlet. A live streamed event that shows the indebted person against an assassin, who will come out alive?
Inesa lives in a not so great town, struggling to make ends meet. Her brother does the hunting, and she does the taxidermy to sell to the rich. Thanks to her mom, the family’s debt is going up and Inesa winds up being chosen for the Lamb’s Gauntlet.
Her assassin, Melinoë, has a reputation that precedes her after the last Gauntlet where she killed a child brutally. While she might seem cold and merciless, she cannot get that memory out of her mind. It comes to the forefront while this Gauntlet starts, and she is determined to show her worth to her boss. This was a race until the clock to see who will come out of this alive.
This is my first Ava Reid book, and I was fascinated with the world building and story while reading this. It has so much action going on that you just keep saying one more chapter and not wanting to put it down. My feelings were all over the place as the story progressed, you get to know about each of the main characters and your heart just breaks. This has alternating POVs with each chapter which I think really added to the story. If you are a fan of Fantasy, you need to try this book out!
