This is quite possibly one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. If you watched the Little Mermaid on repeat as a kid, and then realized that Pirates of the Caribbean was more your vibe, the imagery of this book is going to suck you in.
Plot wise it's almost nonstop adventure and backstabbing and maneuvering and planning and ACTION. I was torn between ripping through this book in a day or two and forcing myself to slow down so I could hang out with the characters longer. I truly didn't want it to be over.
Shouts out to NetGalley for providing the ARC and I can't wait to see others get as hype about this book as I am

Compass and Blade is an adventurous story about a girl and her village who survive on the edge of starvation, resorting to sinking and looting ships that pass their island. When law enforcement of threatens to wipe them out all together, she risks everything to find a hidden secret her mother left for her. And with it, a legacy she’s torn between accepting and losing the only family she’s ever known, or losing everything else.

Compass and Blade has the outline of a good story, but it just didn’t execute for me. The main character was fairly hollow and I couldn’t really understand her motivations or decisions. The romance was so forced and inauthentic, and I just couldn’t justify how she fell for him in the first place, let alone kept pining for him after everything he did to her. I found the characters and their decisions very unrealistic and it just took me out of the story all together.

The plot was interesting, but moved along too quickly for the reader to get into the backstory and mythos of the world which left it feeling very one-dimensional. Overall, I would have enjoyed this more with more world building and better character designs.

I really enjoyed this! Mira was such a compelling and well-realized character which made following her journey even more unforgettable for me. This was a pretty accessible epic with wonderfully crafted characters, a really interesting plot, and a setting that I could vividly imagine. I cannot wait to read more in this world (hopefully), more from this author, and to purchase a copy for myself when it's fully released! Stunning!

I loved this book. From start to finish it drew me forth on the best kind of choppy seas. I had chills from the very first page, and Mira felt so incredibly real. Mira and her journey will be with me for years to come—I just know it. And Seth! Oh, Seth. I think I'm in love. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this book is like a wave. An enormous wave, too mammoth to surf. The kind where the lip and the wave curl thrusting up and over only to crash and become dangerous white water. The best kind of wave. The best kind of book.

I loved this book. It was such an adventure to read as we enter the world of islands, pirates, shipwrecks, mythical creatures, and treasure. Mira is a strong girl who wants to know who she is and why the ocean calls to her. As she reaches out to her dead mother, she must help rescue her father and her island from the watch who enforce the laws, but at the expense of her people. The reader will enjoy the pull of Seth and Elijah on Mira, while feeling the pain she experiences in the relationships.

Compass and Blade is a whimsical and beautifully written YA novel. It was fast paced and incredibly fun. I am so thrilled that this story has more to come with a second instalment.

Pirate fantasy, betrayal, romance... Sign me up! The plot of Compass and Blade, full of twists and turns, will have you by the throat from beginning to end. This is only aided by the beautiful (if a little repetitive) description that brought the cruel sea and enchanted isles to life. The world building was equally delightful, not a drop of boring info dumping!

Honestly, the only thing holding me back from giving four stars are the characters. Mira and her love-interest especially. Their romance was insta-lovey and just… dull. As individuals too, they lacked personality, it made it hard to be invested in either of them.

Overall, though, I'd recommend, this book is a lovely addition to the YA fantasy cannon!

Thank you NetGalley for access to the e-book in exchange for an honest review

This is a solid YA fantasy debut, for readers who love a sea-faring adventure. The world-building and lore are very captivating. I loved all the magical creatures. The descriptive language was written in a way that really immersed me into the setting. The atmosphere and the writing are definitely the highlights of the story. I didn’t feel the connection with the main character that I wanted. And I also didn’t feel the romantic connection believably enough to be invested. I wanted to see more depth and development. Mira just wasn’t my favorite female heroine to read. The plot is full of action and the pacing is well-done. This one is a fun, fast, exciting read that will definitely find its audience who love it. From the writing alone, I would definitely be interested to read more from this author.

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw is an enchanting tale perfect for fans of pirate fantasy such as Mad Kestrel looking for a dash of romance and and intriguing magic system. I would have loved to see the magic system explored a little more but I loved seeing the world as a whole through a protagonist who is a bit naive and rash. I will be keeping an eye out for more titles by this author in the future .

The idea was there but the execution wasn't. I was lost 90% of the time and it reminded me very much of the book The Deep which I didn't really like that one either.

This book was not what I wanted it to be. I wanted wild magic, epic ship battles, and a fierce heroine. What I got was an interesting magic system that was smothered by a naive heroine, instalove, and constant bad choices.

Compass and Blade reads young, which is odd because it covers some very heavy topics. Murder, theft, starvation, betrayal, revenge, pirates: these are all the makings of a solid YA story. And while there are more mature moments, the heroine brings the whole story down a notch.

Mira has good intentions, but every choice she makes is ridiculous. She works and thrives (sort of) as part of a team, so obviously she has to save her father on her own. She's betrayed by someone, so she chooses to trust him again (thanks, instalove and a "connection"). She decides to work as part of a team, but only so she can get revenge. Every decision is a poor one, and I am not a fan of stories driven by bad decisions, especially when they're all made based on emotions.

The plot is weak, and while there is some lovely writing sprinkled in, overall, the story is sparse on details and the pacing is awkward. There's potential, but more work is needed to give this story the depth it needs to really feel gritty and like a high seas adventure. The magic system is the most interesting part of the story; the killing of magical creatures for their blood to use in medicine and potions is unique and was woven into the story well. Even the magical twists were pretty well written (despite being pretty obvious), and the use of magic is described wonderfully.

Compass and Blade isn't bad, it's just not great. I wanted more detail and depth and character development, and instead I got romantic "connections," high emotions, and cookie cutter action scenes. Two stars rounded up for interesting magic.

Rachel Greenlaw's writing transports you right to the Isles and makes you feel as though you are there with Mira on her fast paced, high stakes journey. The story is filled with secrets, twists, bargains and betrayals you might not see coming. The characters and action packed scenes make it impossible to put down, keeping you hooked, desperate to find out what happens next.

If you loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (but make it YA), this story is for you.

Cannot wait to return for the next installment and see what twists Greenlaw has in store for us.

I did not really enjoy the story but I think it has potential. The world is interesting and I liked the concept it; but I feel as though the characters and the story could use some more development. This could be because I was skimming through a lot of the book, however I was struggling from the very start. The pacing and writing felt really slow and I feel like some things could have been dealt with faster and not talked about in extreme detail whereas other parts could have been elaborated on more. I think I will try again when the book releases and I can read it as a physical copy instead of an ebook, ebooks tend to be more difficult to read for me because its just on a screen and I can't see the actual progress I'm making.

I definitely recommend reading the synopsis and other reviews for yourself and if it seems like something you would enjoy, I'd say give it a try.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me review this book. 

This YA romance fantasy was charmingly successful in the fantasy section, but the romance fell short. The main character is driven throughout the whole book, trying to save her father, often overlooking reason. Now, I still enjoyed Mira, the scavenging sea-loving criminal, but I could not understand why she was attracted to the love interest. It seemed like one moment they met, and the next, they were in love without any natural attraction or intimate moments. It felt oddly out of place and made it difficult to root for him. 

The world itself is so fascinating and beautiful, and I wish we could have dived—no pun intended—into more of the magic. Overall, I think it falls nicely into its age demographic, and a more hopeless romantic would find great joy in this story.

If I’m being honest this one just wasn’t my thing. I’ve heard great things about this author though so happy to give it another shot!

This was absolutely fantastic. I could not stop reading this I was hooked from the beginning. The story line was so good. I loved it so much. This was a definite 5 star read.
I just reviewed Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw. #CompassandBlade #NetGalley
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Oooooo this was such a good one! I saw a review that compared it to Fable, which I devoured, and this did not disappoint. I was hooked from the very start. The adventure, the deception, Mira's difficult decisions and her naive trust in others. Compass and Blade is exactly what I was looking for - a book that keeps me coming back for more. You won't be able to put it down!

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book. I loved it!

this weekend, i finished compass and blade by rachel greenlaw. this book follows mira, a girl raised on an isolated island, in her journey to save her father from being put to death and to uncover the truth about her late mother. i was initially really intrigued by the concept of this book, but a lot of it fell flat for me, unfortunately. the characters outside of the mc and her love interest were fairly one-dimensional, and the plot details felt like they could have been better suited for a middle grade novel on the older end rather than a young adult novel. that was also the case with the writing style, weirdly, though i believe this was a debut, so i’ll give it a pass. the romance subplot, while firmly in the young adult category, was just not for me. rather than enemies-to-lovers, it’s more enemies *and* lovers, which just isn’t my cup of tea and wasn’t made super clear to me when i requested this book. compass and blade was very obviously setting up for a sequel, if not a trilogy, and unfortunately i don’t think i’ll be picking those up. if you enjoy the concept of enemies and lovers, this may be worth your time. thank you to netgalley and inkyard press for giving me access to this title in exchange for my review!

A soft 3 because I’m always a fan of ship wrecks and sirens.

“Compass and Blade” travels to an island of wreckers who ruin ships and take their fill of the cargo but when a boy is found amongst the debris Mira’s life is turned upside and she finds herself ripped from her home and following a trail of blood that leads her to unlock the secrets of her mothers past.

This book was just okay with the characters, plot and atmosphere the perfect pieces for a formula I will always fall head over heels for however they were two dimensional enough that almost all of it can be figured out before you hit chapter 3.

I feel like we had cardboard cutout characters that are easily lost in a sea of their familiars scattered across other novels and while I wished for someone to stand out we never quite managed to get there. I do however think there is room for that to change as the series progresses and more time is given to carve them out of the molds they fit so perfectly inside but time will tell if that’s taken advantage of.

The plot too is something somewhat cookie cutter leaving me wanting of more of this village culture of people who intentionally wreck and scavenge what they can to survive but that unfortunately filters out after a few pages. There’s a lot of moving pieces and parts that don’t grant a lot of time to building on this world rather just skipping through it and I hope to see that fleshed out in later books too.

Not awful and definitely benefits from the nice weather making me long for a trip out to sea but other than that I fear I will forget this book and never see if there is a pay off.

*special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

It is a good YA book. I felt like some of the character connections were a bit rushed but all the while I was still intrigued enough to keep reading. I think it’s a book that I could definitely see teens liking