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

"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.