Great start to a new fantasy series. This is full of gods, fae and magic. I would classify this as a romantic fantasy adventure novel. This is a slow burn with alot of tension between the FMC and MMC, a bit spicy at times. Full of action in the name of that neverending quest to save the world.

Pros: I love the world building and lore in this novel. The backstory of the gods and how the fae were created is well thought out. The author does a great job of immersing readers, I could practically see the different settings in my mind's eye. Liked the fights scenes depicted as well, though I wish there were more. FMC definitely has girl boss energy and can hold her own with magic, combat and conversation as well.

Cons: I feel like the MCs both had contradictory traits. FMC is supposed to have been living in secrecy and concealing her identity, yet easily slips up around MMC and reveals alot about her self early on. MMC is supposed to be very powerful, but during combat is essentially just support for the FMC who is the real powerhouse. Also felt like this was a bit predictable, it was very obvious early on who Arie was; the fact the FMC couldn't figure that out on her own makes her seem a bit dense. Personally, I thought this could use more action scenes. At times the primary focus is on the romantic aspect of the novel instead of the action/adventure. I found myself struggling to read through those parts as I felt some of them were unnecessary and drawn out.

Overall though, a very delightful read. I look forward to seeing how the author continues Rose and Luc's journey in the next book. Will definitely be on the lookout for the author's next novel.

I read this book for free as an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The review above are my own thoughts, others may feel differently than I do.

Overall I really liked this story. Initially I didn’t know what to expect but quickly fell in love with Rose and Aire. One of the biggest things I feel could improve is explaining more about the world. The first 25% of the book I was constantly struggling trying to figure out about the world. The explanation helped I just wish it was earlier on. I definitely will read the next book in the series.

Despite an unsure start, this book turned out to be more delightful than I expected! I love Luc and Rose. Their relationship and banter create such a wonderful dynamic that just makes the whole story worth it. Rose was very relatable as a character and has such a complex background to her. They seem like a solid couple rather than one that originates from lies and leads to an inevitable falling out. Luc has respected her since he met her and is very open about the need to communicate and be honest with each other. I was ready for some backstabbing, but they have what seems like an uncharacteristically healthy relationship compared to others in a genre like this. It was refreshing!

Honestly, I thought this was going to go on my DNF shelf until about 20% of the way in. It was definitely a rocky start. I thought initially I’d somehow picked up a middle-grade novel by mistake, but wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. The pacing was too quick, more for a younger audience with a short attention span than an adult reader. I was shocked when I realized Rose was in her twenties. But it was the talking bear that really had me thinking “middle-grade.” As it goes on you really enjoy Arie and his cameos. He was a fun mystery that kept popping up, but took some getting used to.

We don’t get a full explanation of what the Compass Points are until about 20% of the way into the book, which is far too late. The start is rushed and confusing and left me struggling to get a hold on the characters. It just goes too fast, which is a sad flaw. I wanted to savor different parts of it only to have the rug ripped out from under me. Witt is trying to fit so much content into this one book (according to Amazon it's around 276 pages, so relatively short).

Although some parts leave me feeling a bit shortchanged, it still tells a full story and has a clever plot. Different important points came across well at times, but other times it was very abrupt and almost forced. As if the author had sections she wanted in the book but didn’t know how to bring them about naturally. A number of high points don’t quite hit the epic note the author is trying to achieve. Especially several at the end.

*THERE IS SPICE!* However, the spice also shows up rather abruptly (at least for my taste).

My biggest struggle was that the whole premise we were promised was Rose forging magical weapons. Ever since she leaves the Lake of the Gods at the beginning, all we’ve seen her do is finish an axe that a blacksmith was making, no magic involved whatsoever. However, I feel like her magical weapons will come into play more in book 2, as well as an increase in politics rather than focusing on the romance, which I’m honestly excited for! The ending was less jaw dropping than expected, and leaves you with what seems like more loose ends than you started with, but enough to give you closure to get you to the next book.

There’s so much potential! I struggled between 3 and 4 stars on this one. I’d say it’s on the higher end of a 3.5/5, but not quite a 4. It was really the romance and the quality of the story as it went on that pushes for that 4. It was overall entertaining after the first 20% and I could have easily read it through the night. There were several parts I highlighted I enjoyed it so much! I love what is being built here. There’s so much to explore as we go forward. I can’t wait for more!

Thank you NetGalley and Myth and Magic Book Club LLC for the opportunity to read and review Compass Points by Jillian Witt.
The cover caught my eye, and the description grabbed my attention.

We meet Rose, a magic weapon maker with a secret past and a shapeshifter friend, Arie, who is called upon by a powerful Fae leader to make a weapon to defeat the deadly mist. However, this would require her to return to the very place she has been running from for the past 10 years. If she agrees, not only will she have the mist to deal with but also the monsters of her past. To help hide her identity and give her protection, she and the Fae leader, Luc, pretend to be in a relationship but soon catch real feelings. What will this mean for her future? With the mist advancing every day, will there be a future to worry about?
Compass Points is a fast-paced fantasy, with romance, secret pasts, elemental magic, and a deadly mist.

It gave cozy-action-fantasy with a sprinkle of romance. I enjoyed all the library settings and references about books. I loved learning more about the different characters, but felt it was a bit rushed and wish it went more in depth on the magic system and her life growing up in that magic system. There were a few things left unexplained like the necklace and the one time she made a portal.
Arie's purpose in the story didn't make sense at first. I kept thinking he could have been left out, but as the story progressed, he made more sense. I feel he needed more depth in the story instead of just dropping in and out randomly.

This is advertised as a New Adult but felt more like YA. I give it a 1 on the spice level.
Overall, it was a fun read and I am looking forward to reading the next book and finding out more of the story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Myth and Magic Book Club LLC for the ARC of Compass Points by Jillian Witt.

I believe this is Witt's debut book, and it is clear from her layered world building that she understands the romantasy genre, and has taken considerable thought and effort to create Compass Points. I also love that she has taken inspiration from the US National Parks for her setting.

I was first attracted to this book by its comparison to Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries (highly recommend!), but I would compare it more closely to a very toned down Jennifer Armentrout's From Blood and Ash or fast-paced romantasy like Stacy McEwan's The Ledge series. It is listed as being New Adult, but I think with the exception of one paragraph in one scene it is more geared toward the YA genre.

Rose is a 26 year old magical weapons master living a quiet life outside a small village. She keeps to herself, only interacting with others to sell her weapons at the market, and training a young girl in self-defense, She has one friend, a shifter named Arie. In the first chapter, Rose is approached by Luc at the market, where he is looking for a special weapon to be made to help fight the mist plague. Rose does not wish to engage with any fae, but the mist plague is growing in strength and leaving hundreds suspended in a death like slumber. She soon has to choose between protecting her secrets and saving her village and many others like it across the continent. To go to the Compass Points where all fae leaders live, Rose and Luc fake-date to protect her privacy while they continue to investigate the mist plague and the places where it meets Rose's past.

The book is short and very fast paced - 247 pages - and I didn't notice that this would start a series - so be aware that it will have an open ended ending -- if you don't like cliffhangers, it might be good to see when the next book will come out. I honestly think the shortness of the book took away from what Witt was building -- this is one book where I think another 100-150 pages might have really benefited the depth of the story and Rose and Luc's interactions/relationship.

I had trouble with two areas of the book, which is why I removed stars:
- With this being short in length, it still contains a full plot - just one I wish had more of. Even with flashbacks, I feel like I was missing details about how fae powers worked, how much of her own power Rose understands, how gods and fae relationships are related -- I could see this being a bit like an abbreviated version of how Jennifer Armentrout writes, with big worlds that make relationships front and center to the magical/fantasy setting. In this case, because Rose and Luc were able to accomplish a huge amount of things in one book I didn't really feel a great understanding or urgency about the overall story arc - things happened and were resolved immediately - I honestly thought this would only be a standalone because at the 90% reading mark it seemed like everything was going to be resolved very neatly. I also felt that because we didn't get enough emotional resonance from the characters as the plot moved that Rose can be seen as a Mary Sue - some accomplishments just seem too easy as the actions get larger.
- I didn't really see any attraction between Luc and Rose -- I think this was related to the fast-paced brevity of the book - and it sometimes seemed like a relationship/fake dating./flirting was taking away from the larger question of where did the mist plague come from? Luc's first request is for a weapon to be made, and while this is sort of addressed, it seems like the plot layers over this in so many ways -- do the weapons matter? Or are they just a starting point for Rose's strengths to blossom? Again, I think more length and building out Rose and Luc's relationship would help me -- but this may be where Young Adults find this to be the perfect speed.
- Third, this is just related to the genre match, but I do see this as Young Adult through Witt's writing style. Sometimes it is a bit much with telling, not showing, and some of the dialogue is just a repetition of something acknowledged in a previous paragraph, or it feels people are talking just to move the plot forward. I think Young Adults would find this makes the book and the plot intricacies more approachable, but for me it took me a bit outside the story.

I think Witt can definitely make some course corrections in the next book - and again, she has built a complex world with a lot of avenues to explore - Rose and Luc have really just started on their journey.