To Saint

 Adrienne Young delivers once again with her stand-alone novel, SAINT. The cover, similar to Fable & Namesake, catches the eye with a vivid profile of Fable's father, Elias. Accompanying Fable's father is his lifelong friend, Clove, who was also introduced in Young's other two novels. Better yet, it's the first look at Fable's mother and Saint's true love, Isolde, that brings a heart-wrenching jerk to readers when picking up the book and delving in for the first time. The two narratives coincide with each other, jumping from Isolde's and Saint's POVs throughout the novel. Readers get an inside scoop as to what it was like for Isolde to escape the unloving clutches of her mother, Holland. Whereas Isolde knew only kindness from her father, she knew treachery and deceitfulness from her mother. It wasn't until she found Saint that she was able to dive deep into the waters of trust and love.

The same could be said for Saint when he first laid eyes on Isolde. Saint hadn't expected this supposed dredger to waltz into his life unplanned and unseen. He'd had plans with Clove from the very beginning of their time together, after both their fathers had died in a horrific storm, to build what would become a beneficial future for The Narrows through and through. Isolde's chaos ensued Saint's plans were to go awry as soon as they'd met, however, Saint hadn't planned on falling in love with someone--let alone a "dredger" who had more than meets the eye. It was with inevitable admittance from each other that they'd learned secrets about one another that would keep them wrapped in each other's arms forever. Until Isolde's foreshadowed demise featured at the end of this novel in a few mere sentences:

"The stories the gambit told me are true, I thought. The sea gives. Saint believed that she would never betray him. He'd given his heart to her, after all. Like he'd given it to me. But something told me the deep wouldn't share a love like that forever. One day, she would take" (324).

I'd give this novel 4.5/5 stars, a mere half star away from perfect only because I was fully mentally prepared to have a glimpse of Fable and Isolde together in this novel as opposed to just when she was mentioned within Fable's original story. However, I commend Young for standing true in giving Saint (and portions of Isolde) their own story. Because we all know, children wouldn't be where they were without the beginnings of what brought them into this world - their parents. Young always does a tremendous job when it comes to bringing the reader into the storyline. Not just by riveting dialogue or adventurous scenes, but with elegant attention to detail.

A huge portion of all three novels, but especially Saint, brings the forthcoming backdrop of the Sea. The scenes in which the water, storms especially, were described were merely breathtaking. It wasn't as if Young was painting a picture for readers to view, but actually crafting a voyage for them to sail on as well. Young always mentions her extensive time and effort she puts in when it comes to researching a topic she's choosing to write about and that shows explicitly in her scenes of sailing, especially within Saint. The nautical terms and boating jargon isn't necessarily easy for any reader to follow verbatim, but it makes it much more realistic in viewing what Saint and his crew were undergoing when sailing directly into a storm.

All in all, I would recommend this novel along with any other Adrienne Young piece. I'd highly recommend reading this novel before Fable and Namesake. Despite Young crafting and publishing this book after numerous requests from fans for a backstory to Fable's father, I believe with the overall timeline of these three different lives, it'd be best to read her father's story before embarking on Fable's altogether.

- PS. I almost wonder if Young would ever consider maybe taking a venture on Hazel's story and what might've become of her, especially after introducing her as someone Isolde might've influenced.