There's something missing in the execution of this story. Although the consequences are dire, there's a lack of urgency or fear.

The romance is also just sort of mid for me.

I do enjoy reading it because it's a fast read, but the stakes don't seem to be there and the romance isn't holding me.

Rose seems to be missing some type of spark as well.

This was a fun fantasy story for people who don't want to be bogged down with too much worldbuilding. I loved that the story started off with a bang and slipped the necessary world information into the story without ever delving into explanatory monologues. The banter between Rose and Luc was cute and I'm very curious to see where the story will go from here. It was a quick, low stakes read so if you're looking for something light this could be your perfect fantasy romance story. I wish the author had made the story a tad longer and added a bit more emotional and character development. I did love how quickly the story moved though and I will be continuing in the series.

Compass Points is the first in a trilogy by Witt. In this first book we get introduced to Rose, a magical weapon master maker and Luc who is more than what he seems in the beginning, a mysterious mist, and a fabulous animal shifter friend. While this is said to be a new adult, it felt more like a YA read in terms of writing style. The beginning felt a little choppy but not bad enough to be annoying. This is a very slow burn romance and I enjoyed the interactions between the two MC's. I will be heading off to read the next books now. 3.5 stars rounded to 4 from me, while entertaining and a quick read I felt like there could have been more.

Rose is living the quiet, simple life outside a small village, keeping to herself. The talk of the market is the mist plague and the most recent fae town to fall victim to it. And the fearsome Suden Point of the four Compass Points who’s been investigating the deadly anomaly.

Rose is an incredible weapon maker, and when a determined stranger needing a power-infused piece comes around, she’s quick to cast him off. Only a fae would ask, and though she encounters them often living next to a mythical lake, she’s not looking to draw unwanted attention to herself. Unfortunately, Luc, the handsome stranger. is determined to find the half-faeling with the power to forge magical weapons and doesn’t give up. If only he knew her secrets ahead of time and her reasons for running from the Compass Points in the first place, he might’ve thought twice before taking her on. Lucky for him, the mist plague encroaches and forces the pair to work together to escape. When Rose's magically-infused weapon works against the entities within the mist, she soon learns that only hers is effective, and she’ll be forced to return to the Compass Points to make more of them – the absolute last place she wants to go.

Compass Points is a quick, easy read with a slow burn attraction between the two leads that’ll keep you flipping the page. Dive into a unique story blended with faes with elemental powers and gods at the source of their problems, dangerous secrets, a changingly companion and court politics at their worst. And Arie! The bestie that will charm your heart! Definitely recommend!

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I am a huge romantasy fan, and this book did not disappoint. I loved the slow burn romance, the magic, and the secrets to be revealed. I think the author did a pretty good job with the writing. The opening chapter kept me wanting more, but I did struggle with the slowness. I know it was necessary for the build up. I think the character of Rose was well written, and the dynamics of her story were well thought out. I enjoyed the story, and I look forward to more from this series.

Thank you Net Galley ARC

Honestly found some of the world building a little tedious. The higher stakes canceled out any ‘coziness’ in my experience, but I’d still recommend for fantasy fans to check it out.

Rose left the fae courts after a tragic event and moved to a remote village. She is a magical weapons master and Luc, a fae unknown to her, asks her to make a weapon for him. Right after they meet, a mist plague takes over Rose’s village and she realizes she needs to return to the fae courts with him to keep the mist from spreading.

I enjoyed the magic in this book. The fae are divided into four groups and each has a different power. The world made sense and the politics were interesting and relatable.

The book has a cosy, gentle feel. Rose and Luc had good banter and good chemistry. I’m always a sucker for the fake dating trope and it was well done here.

My only complaint about the book was that the pace was a bit slow. The action picked up towards the end but I struggled to stay engaged in the middle section.

Overall, this is a light, entertaining fantasy book. It is the author’s debut and the first in the series. I plan to read the next one soon.

With all the excitement building around this series ahead of book three’s release, I was delighted to receive an ARC of Compass Points via NetGalley. This first installment delivers a captivating mix of magic, secrets, and slow-burn romance that will appeal to fans of romantic fantasy.

The story follows Rose, a 36 year old weapons master with a mysterious past and hidden magical talents. I loved seeing an older FMC take center stage, and her witty, loyal animal sidekick, Arie, quickly became a favorite. The magic system and world-building are intriguing, with layers of political intrigue and a deadly mist plague adding tension to the narrative. Rose’s partnership with Luc, the powerful yet enigmatic Suden Point, brings plenty of sparks, and their fake-dating dynamic was both fun and full of chemistry.

The opening hooked me right away, and while my interest dipped slightly in the middle, the unraveling secrets and character dynamics kept me reading. By the end, I appreciated how the book set the stage for future installments with action, mystery, and a touch of romance.

While I personally wasn’t invested enough to continue the series, Compass Points is perfect for readers who love slow-burn romance, morally complex fae, and stories steeped in magic and intrigue.
If that sounds like you, don’t miss this exciting start to Jillian Witt’s series!

I thought the world in this book was super original and I enjoyed the build up of Rose and Luc's relationship. The banted between them was great, and I loved the nod to ACOTAR with the Chapter 55 reference. Haha! I struggled a little with how the world was set up at first between the directions and the levels of power, and wish more information was given on how the compass points were tested, but I liked that there wasn't a big info dump and the author kept you intrigued the whole way through with little tid bits of info. It started coming together in the end and I am super excited to jump right into Tangled Powers.

Rose is a talented weapons master, and she just might be the key Luc needs to save the continent. She might be the key to saving her friend, Tara. Forced proximity? Fae? A hidden past? Check, check, and check.

It's a cute romantasy read, and there's not much more to it. It was hard to visualize the world based on National Parks, but the magic of the world was a neat concept, and Luc was a charming character.

As long as you're willing to suspend reading into any sort of complexities, it's a really fun start to a trilogy -- and I don't mean this in a negative way at all. It's a great distraction to the real world, and I devoured this book very quickly. I had a lot of fun in this world and with the characters, and I quickly wanted to read the rest of the series. It's just fun.

Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Rose minds her own business. She has one friend and a talking shifting pet (she doesn't ask too many questions.) She is a talented weapons master and is hiding a wealth of secrets. Aside from being on pins and needles about the mysterious fog that is rolling through the country making people go night night for an undetermined amount of time, life is good. Then HE walks into her life and now she has to face people, places, and memories that she has been running from for 10 years.

Is the story unique? Not really. But the WAY the story goes is different and interesting. I love the relationship between her and Luc. She doesn't spend half the book griping about how she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. She accepts him as an ally and trustworthy partner really early in the book which I appreciate. I am excited to see how this story plays out. I gave it 4⭐ because it was easy to read, had some very quotable lines and fun banter, and is different enough in a genre that is growing stale to keep me invested.

2.5 rounded up to 3

Rose has made a life for herself in a remote village. But when the mist plague reaches her home, she finds herself swept away into a world of intrigue and deadly secrets.

Read if you like:
-Fae
-Secret Identities
-Opposing Courts
-Gods & Magic

Compass Points was billed as an adult romantasy, but it read more like a YA book. I wish there had been more world building as I felt like parts of this were simple/bare bones. There could have been more added to really bring this world to life. Not a bad book, just not one that really captured my imagination.

Compass Points
Compass Points Book 1
By Jillian Witt
5 ⭐️

This is exactly what I like in a lighter (as opposed to dark fantasy/romantasy) themed Fae based romantasy. This story is creative and, while somewhat predictable, it has me very invested in needing to know what happens next. This is a series; book 1 doesn’t have an intense cliffhanger. I love the MCs: Rose, Luc, and I’m including the sassy familiar-like sidesick Arie in that list. Their banter was delightful throughout. There is a bit of spice but nothing too crazy imo.

This was a great introduction for a series. Compass Points (from my interpretation of it) is about a society that is led by royalty or nobles that represent the points of a compass that form gangs or territories? Fae and humans exist in this book. To be a compass point you must be fae (surprise surprise) and then you take a test that is like a handful of quests? The story starts and kicks off fast which is great, but it misses a lot of information that leads you your own interpretation of things. The female main character is a magical weapon maker, accompanied by a “shape shifter”. The male lead seems to be the lead of the whole compass. Pro-tip would be to google definitions the names/titles of the royalty just to help you get an idea of who they represent. Anyways, the king comes to the weaponry and this mist comes to hurt them and the adventure takes from there. The female leads family was slaughtered when she was younger so of course she is really guarded and unsure of a lot of things. Together they must figure out why and where the deadly mist is coming from.

The author drops a couple of bombs in this book that catch you out of nowhere but connect a couple of dots. Absolutely loved the ending with everything.

During the story the author goes back and forth between times periods and the three main ones are to represent:
1. How she discovered she had power
2. The level of her power
3. Why she is hiding her power

There was a couple of instances where time changes were within the chapters and it was incredibly hard to deceiver when and where they were.

This is an easy and quick read. However, sometimes it’s missing a lot and messy writing. I am hoping the following books in the series fills in the gaps.

Finally, I don’t think this should have been labeled a romance. There’s maybe two hot and heavy kissing scenes. Other than that there’s no romance.

This could be a standalone if you decide not to continue with the series.

Book art would have been great for this book.

I really enjoyed this one! The concept of the compass points felt so original and refreshing. I absolutely loved Rose and Luc—they had such great chemistry, and their banter was everything I hoped for. The animal shapeshifting was such a fun element, and I always appreciate a strong female lead, which Rose delivered perfectly.

The story gave me major Emily Wilde vibes, which I loved—it had that same blend of adventure, charm, and magic. Since this is the first book in a trilogy, not everything was wrapped up, but it left me eager to dive into book two and see where the story goes next!

Fake dating, elemental magic, an animal companion and a strong female main character are all components of the adult romantic fantasy set in a world inspired by the United States National Parks. Compass Points was the debut novel for author, Jillian Witt and the first novel in her Compass Pojnts series. Read above for book information. I loved this Romantasy story. Rose was a strong FMC and Luc a strong, upstanding, alphamale. The chemistry between them was impossible to miss and the slow burn was delectable. The world-building was very effective. The story is part politics, part mystery, and a quest to save the world as they knew it. I loved each twist the story took, giving me a piece of the puzzle I wasn’t expecting. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Tangled Power. I definitely recommend this novel for readers who enjoy romantasy stories. This book is available as part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription, audible.com, or on Hoopla. I give this book 4.5 ⭐️ rounded to 5⭐️ on Goodreads and retail sites.

I would like to thank Jillian Witt for providing this book in exchange for my honest review and to prepare for the ARC review of Book 3 next month. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you so much for the arc copy of this book- I was so excited to see that I got approved.

This was a quick enjoyment read for me, I wanted something I could read through in a day and thats exactly what I got with this book. Its about Rose who lives in a remote village making weapons and trying to avoid compass point who are fae and very important leaders. The only issue is there is a mist that is extremely deadly spreading throughout the land. One day it spreads to her village and that is where she meets Luc. I did like the idea of Rose being a weapons master and able to put her powers into the weapons that she created. During the middle of the book I did start getting a little bored and things just didnt feel like they were smoothly moving throughout the book but it came and went as the book went on. If you're looking for a *vibe* read then this is it but if you're looking for a fantasy master piece with moving parts, world building and literary analysis then this would not be it for you.

This was a strong start to the Compass Points series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed how good everything worked in the genre. The characters had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of them. I enjoyed the way this was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the start of this. Jillian Witt has a strong writing style and am excited for more.

I received an advance reader's copy of Compass Points (Compass Points #1) by Jillian Witt from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always excited to read a new-to-me author and Jillian Witt did not disappoint. Overall, I quite enjoyed the book and the morning flew by while I read. There was action, intrigue, and chemistry. The characters were fairly well-crafted, the pace of the novel was mostly steady, and there were some surprises. Definitely worth reading the entire series if future books are this well crafted.

Compass Points is the first book in the Compass Points series written by Jillian Witt.

*Elemental magic
*Fake dating
*Romantasy slow burn

This book takes place is the magical lands of Compass Points, Luc from the Suden and Rose from the Norden. Both main characters posses a form of elemental magic, Rose having two forms.

The book opens up with a mysterious Mist that is trying to take over different villages, if it succeeds it takes everyone inside the village.

Luc and Rose are determined to find out how the mist is working, and stop it from harming more villages. With a trusty sidekick, is the form of a familiar, they set off towards Norden land for help.

I loved how Luc did not use his mind magic on Rose because he wanted her to remember every one of their interactions. 🥰

There is some spice, but you’re going to have to wait for it to suddenly show up. This book is a slow burn, a few kisses throughout the book but the one, and only, intimate scene doesn’t happen until around 85%.

Fantasy romance isn’t a favorite genre of mine but this was written well, it does end in nice spot but the story will be continued into the next book in the series. Overall, it was written well and I enjoy the characters and the storyline.

Thank you to the Myth and Magic Book Club and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Overall Score:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️🌶️
Characters: Rose (FMC) & Luc (MMC)