Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw is a fast-paced adventure about a young woman’s discovery of who she is and what she will become. Mira lives on a small island that sees little trade which means there is little food and money to go around. Her villagers watch for boats to wreck upon a hidden reef not far from their shore. Mira with six others “wreck” the ship searching for valuables and anything that will keep their village afloat through the harsh winters. However, one shipwreck threatens to put the entire island at risk of the gallows, and Mira’s father and the leader of their small band are taken, tried, and convicted unless the others turn themselves in.

Mira is an interesting character. Her mother died when she was young, and since Mira inherited her exceptional swimming skills, she took her place on the wreck crew. Her mother’s death has left a hole in her family. Mira feels like she is missing a part of herself but can’t explain that to her father. He grew up on the island, Mira’s mother came to the island as an adult. Mira wants to know her past, why she never feels the cold of the water, and can hold her breath unnaturally long, but those are questions her father refuses to answer. However, with his arrest and a hanging date set, Mira sets out with one of the shipwreck survivors to find something her mother left for her. She doesn’t know what, but she believes it will be the key to everything: saving her father, saving their village, and learning who Mira really is.

While I really enjoyed Mira and her adventure, I found the story itself to be a bit repetitive. There were several chapters where Mira was introspective about what she would find and who she was, but nothing new was learned in these introspections. The love interest (Seth, the shipwreck’s survivor) was too convenient. Mira was extremely naive, and Seth took advantage of this. That all being said, I do believe this was a tool the author used to set up the next book, and I may feel differently about it once I read that.

Overall, Compass and Blade is an exciting adventure with pirates, sirens, and a little romance thrown in. While I wasn’t thrilled with the repetitive nature of the book, I’m intrigued enough to read the next installment. If you are a fan of YA fantasy adventure, I believe you will enjoy it.

I loved this book. I could see everything and Mira was an amazing character. The writing is gorgeous and the worlds Greenlaw created are so alive (as are her characters). I love that I couldn't predict everything and that her characters are not all good or all bad. i was totally immersed in the book and finished it in 2 days.

Did not like this very much. The SOLE reason I finished the book was because of receiving it through Netgalley.

First, I started this book in February. It is now June. That's how long it took me to finish it.

Second, it wasn't even that bad of a book at first? And then it devolved.

Sure, the writing was a bit choppy and yet somehow a bit dramatic as well, but the pacing was fast and there was action to keep things going. But then after like 100 pages, it got repetitive and there was nothing that made me inclined to pick up the book.

The plot is all over the place. Mira steals from sinking ships to help support her island. Her dad gets taken and she wants to save him, so she embarks on a quest to find something her mother left her. For one, that line of thinking did not make the most sense. For two, the plot shifts. Now there's magic and witches involved, mystical creatures are mentioned, and there's somewhat shady pirates? The storyline didn't feel cohesive, and none of the arguably interesting elements felt fleshed-out enough to keep my interest.

The characters are very YA and very cliche - which aren't necessarily bad things in themselves, but their depth was lacking. I honestly don't have a lot to say here because they all felt blank.

Let's not forget one RANDOM fade-to-black/vague intimacy scene thrown in near the end. Please. Why did we need that. Aside from not feeling connected to the characters, I was approximately 0% sold on the romance. Mira just thought about how much she wanted to kiss him. EVEN WHEN IT MADE NO SENSE. Teenagers, or writing that needs more emotional connection? You tell me.

Overall, Compass and Blade was a big miss for me. Especially with the ending and the rather... open... conclusion we were left with.

2 ⭐️

Compass and Blade follows Mira, striving to save her father from certain death after being caught by the council. He was caught in the act as a wrecker, someone who wrecks ships in order to plunder them - punishment for said act is the noose. She joins a rag-tag crew in order to find her own family secrets and save her father before his hanging in 9 days.

It was an extremely promising concept, but once we got into the plot, every single YA trope was thrown into the mix. I wish I was kidding. Things were extremely predictable from the get-go, from the protagonist that is a bit different and feels a calling to irresistible insta-love.

I skimmed through a good majority and nearly DNF'd this book multiple times.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, pirate fantasy is genre I would usually love. However, there was a lot lacking for me with the plot and characters. I can overlook the excessively descriptive analogies in the writing, I cannot deal with the awkward, choppy, and unrealistic dialogue.

🧭 YA Fantasy
🧭 Ragtag crew
🧭 Betrayals & Revenge
🧭 Pirates & Sirens & Magic
🧭 Budding romance

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC of Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw.

This was an okay read for me - even though the idea for the story is good, I wanted more in depth characters. I would have liked to feel more emotion when I was reading the obstacles experienced by the main character.

Compass and Blade was such a fun read, I finished the whole book Sunday afternoon.

From a family of wreckers, Mira goes on a swashbuckling adventure to save her dad and people. I liked Mira minus some of her super frustrating decisions. While parts were a little predictable, I can't wait to see more of Mira and the gang from the Phantom in book two!

This started out very promising. It was fast paced and I was excited about where this was going. But then it got bogged down by every YA Fantasy trope known to man. It was super-insta lovey and predictable. Mira falls for Seth even after he’s betrayed her and proven untrustworthy. Of course there is a shadow wielding mysterious boy and we all know how that goes. There was potential here but it was just executed poorly.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy. My thoughts are my own.

It was a very compelling story. The characters were very well rounded and the plot moved throughout the story well.

Compass and Blade- 2⭐️ 2.75🌶️

Fantasy
New adult
Oceanic based powers
Shipwrecks
Smugglers
🏳️‍🌈 side characters
Barely open door, on page romance


The book started out alright. I was compelled by the idea of shipwrecks and the crew that goes out to them. At first it reminded me of Fable by Adrienne Young. But where Fable turned seafaring and the Ocean into a tangible character….. Compass and Blade tried and fell just short. It’s almost like the idea was there, but the author was distracted and forgot to finish the thought. The other characters in the book were so close to being really well done. They just needed to be flushed out more. Given more weight.

The tropes were troping. The plot was almost organized. The only through line I saw was the deadline to save the FMC’s dad. Everything else was like crammed in. There were just too many plot lines and characters that were introduced, then left unexplored or explained.

A f/f side character romance was hinted at in 2 sentences and then never mentioned again. It felt like checking a box. Either put it in and let it have space, or don’t even mention it.

I wanted to like this book. It just fell short in too many places. Maybe it should have been longer and given itself the space to expand?

At 80% I found myself just annoyed that I wasn’t sure what was going on with the romance aspect of this book, because it was so heavy at parts, but then obviously trope-y and cliche… leaning into the teen style of writing. I knew this was a standalone, but it was reading like it was a first book in a series.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Inkyard Press for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw is a young adult fantasy novel. I believe this one may be just the beginning of a series but not totally certain on that as it’s listed like a standalone for now on most sites, there is mention of it being a trilogy though.

Mira has grown up on the remote island of Rosevear where she has learned to be just like her mother once was a powerful swimmer and one with the water. Mira is one of seven that are sent out to shipwrecks to plunder them but it’s Mira’s job to rescue any survivors.

One day however the Council set in motion a plan to stop the wrecking and obtain Mira’s father taking him away. Mira becomes determined to do whatever she can to rescue her father before he is executed so she teams up with a survivor of the latest shipwreck and set out to find her father before it’s too late.

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw was compared to a couple of other young adult fantasy novels that I really enjoyed and I’ve read this author before so I had to take a chance and try this one out. I’m always a bit hit or miss with young adult fantasy though and this one while not bad wasn’t a total hit for me either. I just felt the pacing on this story was a little slow for my taste which is one of my biggest drawbacks to a lot of fantasy, wanting more. Compass and Blade wasn’t a bad read by any means but for me just came in at average at three stars but I do seem to be in the minority so if it sounds good to you I’d suggest checking it out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book had such a promising premise. Right away I loved the lyrical writing, the high seas/pirates vibes and the little hints of magic and magical creatures. Mira is a compelling FMC, and I loved her determination to do something to save her father from an awful fate.

So while I initially thought this was going to be a good YA fantasy with a well-rounded supporting cast, once the romance started developing, I knew this wasn't going to go well for me. The insta-pull towards one another, the seemingly deep feelings after minimal interactions and conversations... all of which culminated in a closed-door scene after a less than 2-week relationship? No, thank you.

I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities for a good slow-burn romance, and while the set-up for a love triangle is somewhat interesting, I just think that first romance fumbled the ball a little too hard to convince me that I would want to continue with this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Fantasy
Age Level: Upper YA
Content: fade to black

A big thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

.............I have no real words for this book. In a not so good way.

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw is a YA fantasy book set in a world where the economy runs on wrecking boats. This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood. On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim out to shipwrecks to plunder them. Mira’s job is to rescue survivors, if there are any. After all, she never feels the cold of the frigid ocean waters and the waves seem to sing to her soul. But the people of Rosevear never admit the truth: that they set the beacons themselves to lure ships into the rocks. When the Council watch lays a trap to put an end to the wrecking, they arrest Mira’s father. Desperate to save him from the noose, Mira strikes a deal with an enigmatic wreck survivor guarding layers of secrets behind his captivating eyes, and sets off to find something her mother has left her, a family secret buried deep in the sea. With just nine days to find what she needs to rescue her father, all Mira knows for certain is this: The sea gives. The sea takes. And it’s up to her to do what she must to save the ones she loves.

The tropes. The cliché's. It honestly just made it a hard read and a hard pass on recommending it.

This reminded me of another at-sea, oceanically gifted protagonist story that I enjoyed. It’s not the same story as the other. The characters and motives are really different than the other book. But it definitely delivered on the adventure-on-the-high-seas kind of vibe I hoped for.

It feels like a series opener. I’m not sure what will happen with it now, though, since Inkyard Press has closed down. I’ve heard that the authors have been transitioned to HarperCollins, so maybe the series will continue under a new publisher? I don’t know how all of that works. At any rate, I hope the story continues– I’d love to know what Mira does next.

Only two things tripped me up a little bit, and one is absolutely a personal preference thing that I’m only now realizing is the case for me. You know those stories where there’s instant sexual attraction between two characters for no reason or even against good reason? I’m discovering that makes for a difficult protagonist for me to connect with. I find it really hard to buy in, especially when she’s in real danger from him, a stranger. Not saying that someone couldn’t have those feelings. But because I don’t react to danger that way, I find it pulls me out of the story or makes me question the narrator’s reliability.

Totally a personal preference. I enjoyed the book despite that element. It really only comes up a small number of times.

The other thing that challenged me was the magic system. I think the story moved so quickly that sometimes I wasn’t quite sure I understood how things fit together in the larger world. For instance, the blood of magical creatures can be harvested by witches and given to an apothecary to make a powerful potion that can, for example, heal a bad wound. Beyond that mention, we never learn anything about witches. Are they people who have a natural magical ability? Is Mira a water witch? Do they perform magic or are they magic hunters? This doesn’t really come into play in the story, so it doesn’t require a deep explanation, but I found myself wishing that some of the peripheral magical elements were better explained.

Conclusion
I truly enjoyed the chapters on the water, whether Mira was swimming out to a ship or joining a crew and sailing off somewhere. Despite our differences in how we approach romance, Mira’s loyalty to and love for her people made her an easy character to root for, and I’m invested enough to watch for the release of a sequel. I think readers who like stories at sea or characters with a strong connection to the ocean or readers who swoon at star-crossed love will enjoy COMPASS AND BLADE.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes, you read a book expecting one thing, but you get something totally different... I think this is where I find myself with Compass and Blade. For me, it was a book I was really excited to read, because the premise sounded really interesting. Yet, I feel like it didn't live up to the premise for me. I think there was so much potential, and it just fell short for my taste. 
One thing I will say is I think this book would have been really great if it had been aimed at a little of an older audience than YA (Maybe NA), because I think it could have benefit with more mature characters. And I also think that it might have led to thing before explored deeper than they were. I think there was a lot that could have been done, and we kept really superficial on so many things that it lost my interest. There is a romance that feel just too instant, and the classic tropes felt too present and expected. It felt a little predictable, because without the depth to the story, there was no where else to go with everything.
When I started this book, I wasn't aware whether or not this was planned as a series (it appears there is a book two in the work). I do have to say that when I started the second half of this book, I really felt like this book could have been expended into two books, and this could have given a chance for the book to be able to go into the depth that I was hoping for. I just wanted more depth; from the world, the characters and the story. This would have made me I think really enjoy this book more.

Thank you Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

The inhabitants of a tiny island purposefully wreck ships to loot what they're carrying. They are generally overlooked by the bigger islands and this is how they keep everyone fed and clothed. Mira, our heroine, works on the wrecking crew and has an affinity for the water, but she doesn't understand why. After catching the attention of the "law" Mira's father and the leader of their island are arrested. Determined to save them, Mira leaves the island hoping the mysterious information her mother left her will help save everyone.

My problem with the story was the number of times Mira gave Seth a second chance and proceeded to break her trust and her heart. This wasn't some sweeping romance, this was a guy using a girl so he could get approval from his mother and his own crew. In my opinion, there wasn't one redeemable quality about Seth and I couldn't see any reason for Mira to ever take him back. Lord Tresillian might be another story, but nothing was cultivated between them that would lead me to believe he's her HEA.

I loved the premise of this book, but in the end it feel flat to me.

thank you netgalley for an arc of this book!

i thought i was going to love this one but i just didn’t. i found myself losing interest and it just dragged. the story was a bit too much at time and the similarities with acotar put me off a little. i also didn’t connect with the character especially the fmc. the book was well written but the overall plot, execution and characters just weren’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Inkyard Pressfor the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.

“Compass and Blade” by Rachel Greenlaw was easily put at the top my best book of 2024 list for having the perfect mix of interesting characters, a magnetic romance, and a thrilling story full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

The cover art for this book is absolutely gorgeous! Honestly, it’s one of the best covers I’ve seen this year. The artwork really sold the book for me, and I would happily enlarge and frame it on my wall if given the chance.

Mira lives in a small village on the island of Rosevear with her father. However, Mira’s people are basically land pirates who purposely light fires along the cliffs to lure approaching ships to wreck on their rocks so they can plunder everything on board. This is their way of survival. The work is extremely dangerous, so only a handful of people are chosen as Wreckers. Mira’s mother was a Wrecker until she accidentally drowns while working, but Mira took her place because she’s the only person left on the island who can stay in the ocean the longest with the ability to swim further and dive for longer periods of time. The cold doesn’t affect her like everyone else.
When Mira’s beloved father is suddenly arrested and sentenced to death, she will stop at nothing to save him – even if that means risking her life in the process.

This debut book was beautifully written. The author’s style of storytelling was captivating and full of details. It had mystery and adventure, romance and betrayal. The story could have gone on for several more chapters and I would have happily gone along for the ride.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to any teen and young adult who likes “The Pirates of the Caribbean” with a strong female lead character.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This was a good read, and I loved the various tropes. The romance was not my type though, but it was good nevertheless.

I really enjoyed this for the most part. I will say I did struggle with the naïveté of the main character throughout, which really brought the story down for me at times. I loved the world within though and found the siren storyline so phenomenally fun. I'm curious to see where the romance goes in the second book, as a lot was set up here for more.