From the publisher, “With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems. As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.”

Namesake is a fitting continuation of the story that began with Fable.  We get a bit more insight into West, Saint, and learn who Fable’s grandmother is and why Isolde ran away.  This story was difficult to put down and I eagerly went back to it.  Only one thing doesn’t make sense despite the author repeating the reasoning several times.  Why did Saint abandon Fable after the shipwreck that killed her mother?  To preserve her anonymity so no one knows she is Saint’s daughter?  Meh – for the first 13+ years of her life she lived with Saint and Isolde and not just on the ship that went down.  If people really didn’t know he had a daughter, after Isolde’s death, he could have kept her on, pretending to take in the daughter of a crewmate.  However, being abandoned is the central point of the story.  I’m thinking I like duologies more than trilogies.  The story was difficult to put down and neatly wraps up.   Excellent.

eGalley review                                                              Publication date 3.16.2021