"They say we are wreckers, that we take and plunder and kill. And maybe we are what they say. But we call it survival."

Fans of To Kill A Kingdom and The Daughter of the Pirate King will fall head over heels in love with this thrilling high seas tale filled with danger, betrayal, and adventure. I am always down for a swashbuckling read and Compass and Blade did not disappoint!

"The sea gives. The sea takes."

All of the characters are well done and have such amazing depth. Mira is such a raw character and you can't help but root for her to succeed. At times this does have that cheesy YA feeling with a pinch of a love triangle but it didn't diminish my enjoyment in the slightest. The writing was breathtaking and the worldbuilding was truly immersive. After that astonishing ending, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of book 2.

Absolutely gorgeous cover, it’s what drew me in at first, followed by an equally intriguing premise.

Things I loved: the story, the fast pacing, and the setting. Pirate stories never get old!

Things that didn’t work for me as much: the main character’s personality felt a little underdeveloped even for YA, and the love interest Seth was truly not good for her! Which I know some people will enjoy, but i kept getting so frustrated that she forgave him so easily.

This is the first in a series though and I definitely plan to check out the sequel to continue this adventure! I think that this book will find its audience no-problem, and could see this being big on booktok. Thank you again to NetGalley and InkYard Press for this review copy!

Mira and the rest of the people on her small island survive by luring in ships to wreck on their shores and looting the remains. Their way of life is threatened when the Watch tricks them into revealing their strategy for causing shipwrecks, Mira must go on an adventure to save her father and friend from the gallows and along the way discovers new truths about her life and history that had previously been hidden from her, Wonderful, unique atmosphere. I would have appreciated more of that and less about the romance plot line but all in all a great read.

Conceptually, the story is very interesting. With the execution, I think it focused too heavily on the romantic descriptions and overly wordy prose for my interest. It made the stakes feel hollow. I stopped at 10%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

This book has such a strong sense of place that will make you feel the sea breeze in your hair and hear the roaring of the waves. I was entranced by Mira's story and the magical ties that she has to the sea, which she discovers as the book goes on. Along the way, there are deadly bargains, betrayal, and romance. A beautiful, atmospheric read!

Cleverly written. Rachel did an amazing job world building and pulling me into the story. I was lost in the story and stayed up way passed my bedtime finishing. Will definitely recommend to friends and customers!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I am thrilled to see that there will be more books in this series. I will be anxiously awaiting the second book's release date!

If you're interested in smugglers, pirates, sirens, morally gray characters, betrayal, and revenge, then this is the story for you! I would agree that it has similar vibes to Fable and I would throw in Dark Water Daughter in there too.

This is the first book by Rachel Greenlaw that I've read and I wasn't disappointed! I found her writing to be easy to read and I was swept away from the beginning. I ended up blowing through this book because I simply didn't want to put it down! I think this book is really accessible and a variety of readers would enjoy it.

Compass and Blade revolves around Mira, a teenager who lives on an island and is part of a seven-member crew of individuals who help wreck ships along their coast so that they're able to loot the cargo and provide for their village. With a premise like that, who wouldn't be interested?! As the story progresses, Mira is forced to go on a journey to discover more about her nature and find something her mother left just for her before she died. She must accomplish all this and return with her mother's secret in time to save her father and her crew's leader.

Greenlaw's description of how the sea calls to Mira is exquisite. It is clear that Greenlaw has a love for the sea and she's able to artfully convey that through her characters.

I will say that found some things about Mira to be slightly annoying (which is why this wasn't a 5-star read for me), but that could just be because she is still young and doesn't have any life experiences outside of her tiny island. Specifically, I found Mira's ability to forgive Seth so quickly (multiple times) and, what felt like, so easily to be frustrating and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I get that it might be a case of teenage hormones with a side of naivety, but come on girl *eye roll* have a little self-respect!

One character that I thoroughly enjoyed and can't wait to see more of in the next book is Elijah. I look forward to getting more of his backstory and seeing how he and Mira interact!

I got access to this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This book was an adventure that’s for sure. Mira is a girl with a call to the sea, but when her father is arrested and sentenced to hang, she makes some tough choices to try and set him free - including trusting someone she saved from a shipwreck. as she weaves her way through the different islands, she starts unraveling secrets that maybe it wasn’t an accident her father was arrested, and that she met this survivor. maybe it was planned by something far worse.
this book is definitely a book you will love if you liked Fable by Adrienne Young, or even Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller. My only critique is the pacing felt full throttle all the time, which i didn’t really mind actually. The FMC makes some dumb choices, but what main character doesn’t? overall it was a fun read - full of pirates, adventure, betrayal, and a slight romance plot - you aren’t given a chance to be bored.

I LOVE the premise of this book. When I studied Early Modern English history in university, I was always the most intrigued by the category of “social crimes” — smuggling, wrecking, poaching, etc. When I saw that wrecking was the subject of this fantasy book, I was so so excited. While I enjoyed that aspect (approximately the first 15% of the book), the truly ridiculous characters, random plot, and clumsy “romance” meant that this book went downhill fast and was overall very disappointing.

While the main character, Mira’s, goal is extremely clear and understandable: to save her father and Bryn from execution, the way that she sets out to accomplish this is extremely confusing. All of Mira’s decisions are based on her super special secret sixth sense, described in the nebulous language of “feelings.” This is lazy writing because the author never needs to provide any justification or reasoning for Mira’s decisions since Mira can just have a “feeling” to do something.

Even worse, her “feelings” frequently lead her astray with no reflection done on her part afterward about maybe using common sense instead. To save her father and Bryn, she decides to travel to the coordinates written down by her mother, who died a few years ago, in a secret notebook. Mira “feels” that her mother must have left something at those coordinates that will be able to save her father. What could possibly be left in the middle of the ocean that would save them? Who knows since Mira never even thinks that far out in her half-baked plan.

This gets even worse when Seth, the main “love” interest, is introduced. It’s totally instalove and the reader is never given a real reason to like Seth. Consequently, I was not shocked when Seth ended up being totally awful. The “backstabbing” and “betrayal” might have been believable the first time but the second time that it happens from the SAME character, it’s so obvious. There is no tension but rather second-hand embarrassment from Mira being too blinded by lust to notice how clearly shady Seth is.

Mira acts in ways that are ridiculous and frankly stupid. It’s difficult for me to reconcile the idea that this is a strong female protagonist, as we are constantly shown in scenes of her being badass when she is so easily swayed by cute boys. Rather than connecting with Mira and being invested in her story, I felt like I was watching a train wreck in slow motion since every “plot twist” was so clearly telegraphed, and yet, Mira is still unable to act with even half a brain.

The writing was also overly flowery with metaphors and analogies being used every other sentence. The dialogue between characters was awkward and completely unrealistic, especially since Seth’s dialogue is all weird foreshadowing, Whenever Mira talks with Seth or Elijah, there always has to be “banter” even when it doesn’t fit the mood. This leads to scenes where they begin talking about a serious topic and then the tone randomly switches to have a few lines of light-hearted “banter” before switching back to the serious topic at hand. It feels so forced.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which available March 5,2024!

This is a YA romantasy book with sirens, magic, betrayals and I felt bored.

The premise is unique. The writing style was good. Pacing was okay but the main character was annoying. You can write a strong main character without making her so annoying that common sense is not her forte. I really dislike that. Honestly I feel like this would be a great book to get your tween daughter if they dig romantasy. I will be buying it for my goddaughter when it comes out.

From the synopsis, I thought, YES, this is the perfect summer read for me. It’s got freakin’ sirens, it’s got freakin’ smugglers, it’s on the high seas, there’s magic, it’s high stakes, a feisty FMC, a secretive MMC, and a hunt for buried treasure?!!? It’s got so much I love, which is why I didn’t give it a 1. Let me start with what I loved, which was the world building and lore. Magical creatures, witches, starts on an island but the world is so much bigger with so much history to discovery. I thought the setting and ambience were perfection. I could feel the salt on my skin and the humidity in the air. I could sense the storms, the rough waves, the raging seas, the starry skies, all of it. That was excellent. The plot and pace were also so well done. I never once felt like there was a lull in the action or any of the plot didn’t make sense. It was all working so well. There is even a mysterious shadowy figure that is giving major Rhysand vibes in all the right ways. So why, the low rating? I hate the main couple.

Mira is so so so so special with a major savior complex that is devoid of any charm to make her palatable. She has lived in community her whole life, working on a team that needs everyone’s cooperation to work. She understands the importance of teamwork in getting the job done. Yet she alone thinks she can save her father. Why? Because she’s got a secret, yet she doesn’t know what that secret is. If you read the synopsis, it is not hard to figure out. Not only that, for someone who balances the major moral conundrum of the survival of her people by frequently destroying other people’s property, stealing property, and potentially killing innocent people in the process, she is extremely naive. She trusts too easily, forgives too quickly, moves too slowly, and has zero control over her emotions. Even when the stakes are literally life or death, she lets herself get caught up in her own lustful feelings for a boy she barely knows. She just has the major hots for him. Who is this “him”? He is Seth, but he gives off major Chad vibes. Again, why does she like him? No one knows. She doesn’t even know. There is zero chemistry between them. They barely tolerate each other, there is no character growth between them, they both suck at any kind of personality. All they have is some metaphysical tether tying them to each other’s loins. I just can’t with the both of them. They irritated me to no end.

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Greenlaw’s story-telling is a beautiful mixture of lyrical prose and heart-pounding adventure. I highly recommend this book to fans of Adrienne Young.
Mira is an appropriately aged character with mixed emotions—torn between helping those she loves and finding her own way. It is easy to get swept up in her struggles, and root for her success.
Greenlaw’s descriptions of the world she has built gives the reader a beautiful visual. The harshness of the sea is tangible and I loved the ocean metaphors.
The last couple chapters had me eagerly turning the pages. Overall, it was a compelling story and I hungrily await book two in order to dive back into Mira’s story.

So this was compared to Fable (4 stars) and To Kill a Kingdom (3.5 stars). This one fit right in the middle for me at 3 stars. It was decent, but nothing amazing. A good quick read.

The sea gives. The sea takes.

Mira is a wrecker. One of seven individuals who swim out to the ships that the isle of Rosevear lures to their dangerous shores. They pillage the merchant vessels, saving any they can, doing what must be done in order to survive. But she's more than the others. The sea is a part of her. It calls to her, as it once called to her mother.

But the tide is shifting and a ruthless young Captain is determined to stamp out any sense of resistance and lawlessness from the Fortunate Isles. He sets his sights on Rosevear and springs a trap to catch the island in the act of wrecking, a trap designed to quickly bring them to heel once and for all. And when Mira's father is amongst those taken in the raid - she will stop at nothing to save him and the other islander taken with him from the hangman's noose.

But she's never left Rosevear. And she only has nine days before her Father is set to hang. If she expects to save him and find whatever it was her mother left behind for her, she'll need help. She puts her faith in a mysterious boy whose life she saved from the last wreck. He knows how to sail, how to navigate, and more importantly, how to find a crew. With his help Mira can save her Father.

But she can never forget - the sea gives. And the sea takes.

This was an incredible read. Mira is such a determined and headstrong character, forced to grow up all too fast and living in a world that is as deadly as it is beautiful. She is untried and naive, but knows how to grit her teeth and do what needs to be done. And the rest of the cast of characters are equally as strong. This book is a veritable melting pot of backgrounds and personalities and is woven together beautifully. Each supporting character brings necessary depth to the novel and none of them feel out of place or forced.

The way of life that Ms. Greenlaw has created for the Isle of Rosevear is such an interesting take on a seafaring island. Typically it is the monsters of the sea that wreck ships and send sailors to their graves. But the people of Rosevear aren't fairy tale monsters, they aren't mythical creatures out for blood, they are merely the denizens of an island that does what it has to in order to survive. They're more akin to Robin Hood than to pirates, taking from merchant ships in order to put food in their bellies and keep their people alive. But that doesn't mean that pirates and smugglers don't exist too. And Ms. Greenlaw makes it clear that there is a distinct difference between the two groups.

The ending of the novel makes it clear that there is more in store for Mira and the friends that she has made along the course of her journey. I cannot wait to see what else the threads of fate have in store for them.

I really wanted to love this but the plot moved at a snails pace and it felt like there was way too much info dumping and I couldn’t care less about any of the characters

Compass and Blade is a seafarer romantasy with magic, mythical creatures, and pirates. It follows Mira as she attempts to both save her father from the Watch, a sort of corrupt government, and learn about her mother. The world is interesting and full of magic and I really enjoyed the time spent on Rosevear.

This book just didn’t really click for me. The romance felt rushed and wasn’t believable and Mira was just completely unaware of the world around her. I liked parts of the plot but found it unconvincing that Mira would have gone on a mission to find what her mother left her instead of trying to break her father out of prison (getting ready to be hanged), there was no proof that her mothers legacy would help her father in any way but she still left. I think a lot of the relationships fell flat because of the condensed timeline. The whole book takes place over a week. I can’t believe that all of this happens in a week or that characters feel so connected to one another after knowing each other for less than 48 hours. Mira also had very little understanding of the world she lived in. This was a good way to introduce readers to the world but wasn’t convincing. Maybe if we’d spent more time on her home island learning about her sheltered life this would feel more realistic. It was just hard to believe she wouldn’t know anything about herself or the world despite some of the plot twists being incredibly obvious and the fact that she’s lived in this world her whole life.

I loved the first part of this book (first 30ish percent) and wished that the author had stuck with these characters and plot lines. It just felt like too much was going on during this book. The prose in the beginning was great and I enjoyed learning about the connection Mira had with the ocean. This sort of fell off as the plot got overcrowded which was disappointing since it was really the authors strong suit. Overall this was an interesting book and concept it just wasn’t for me!

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw is an action packed, intense, story of self discovery, false hope, and learning just how far you will go to protect the ones you love. With a gripping romance subplot that will have you begging for more this book has it all, sirens, magic, high stakes, plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat and of course is full of suspense.
I really enjoyed how detailed the author’s descriptions were and specifically the personification of the ocean. Along with the other magical elements the descriptions truly gave this book the magical spark I had been craving. The plot twists in this book were absolutely unmatched to any other I’ve read and each time I thought it was over there was another twist ready to rip my heart out just around the corner. I appreciated how relatable the main character was in the face of grave danger and how she wasn’t utterly fearless but still did what she needed to accomplish. Speaking of characters Pearl was an absolute girlboss and I LOVED her personality so much, I also enjoyed the bond and sort of found family within the Phantom crew. And don’t even get me started on Elijah oh my lawd. That man is so fine, every time he spoke I was swooning. The chemistry between him and Mira was amazing. There is definitely something there and I want to see more of them already. I hope this book becomes a series or at the least a duology because the ending of this book was so thrilling, I loved the fight scene and when Mira finally let herself rage as she should've. I cannot wait for her revenge arc and to see her further develop relationships with the characters that I have come to love.

Compass and Blade is a YA fantasy adventure. I would have liked to see more of the main characters life before she went on a quest, because her life seems morally grey. Her family are basically criminals and you are forced to root for them. It was slow to get going but has a good ending and many twists. My only concern is that the author thinks Narwhals are fictional because they are compared to wyverns, firedrakes, and krakens throughout the book.

I enjoyed this! I loved the FMC's relationship with the ocean, and how she's constantly feeling like she's being pulled to something else/something more. There are secrets, betrayals, bargains, and pirate vibes throughout. If you enjoyed To Kill A Kingdom or Beneath Black Sails, you'll like this book.

This book had my heart racing as I sailed through the waves of emotions it brought on. Literally from the first page I knew I wouldn’t be able to put this down.

The thrilling adventure, high stakes, the morally grey characters and the romance. 😩 Mira felt so real, and Seth I have such a love hate for him but man does he pull on your heart the whole book.

I felt so on edge the entire time I read it, this one is gonna stick with me for awhile.