"Compass and Blade" is a ya romantasy written by Rachel Greenlaw.

I love fantasy with marine settings, so I jumped on this title with great enthusiasm! And what a wonderful read it turned out to be! "Compass and Blade" is a gripping, adventurous and magical book, filled with quaint islands, mysterious chests, secret maps, deceptive smugglers, ruthless guards, frantic chases, precipitous escapes, violent storms, intriguing magic, ravenous mermaids, ambiguous characters and much more. All enveloped by the enchanting, unfathomable and unpredictable charm of the sea! A fast, dynamic and highly atmospheric story featuring evocative, crisp and vivid prose that absorbed me completely! A tale in the wake of "Fable" by Adrienne Young and "Daughter of the Pirate King" by Tricia Levenseller, which I loved so much!

The story unfolds between a group of rather close islands, called Fortunate Isles, the open sea and the coast of the mainland. More precisely, the events start from the small Isle of Rosevear, the birthplace of the protagonist. A rocky island, where life is arduous and tough. The inhabitants of Rosevear survive by wrecking passing ships along the rocks surrounding the island, using deceptive light signals, then running into the water and retrieving the cargo from their holds. A choice dictated by survival, not by cruelty, which pushes them to try to rescue the survivors, whenever possible, keeping the truth from them. A well-tested system put at risk by guards sent from the mainland to root out any illegal activity. I loved the Isle of Rosevear, the strong sense of community that hovers among its inhabitants, the traditions that characterize it. The magical element is intriguing but marginal at the moment, mostly illustrated through stories and tales. There are witches, potions infused with magic, legendary creatures such as wyverns, narwhals and mermaids, and much more. Let's just say it's all very hinted at for now, with glimpses here and there that have me fairly intrigued! Overall it's a simple world building, not too thorough, giving the minimum amount of information needed to not get lost. I enjoyed it and found it extremely fascinating!

The story proceeds fast and brisk, full of action, lies, secrets, deceptions, subterfuges, deals, betrayals and power plays. The captivating pace, coupled with the presence of short chapters, pushed me to devour the reading, without moments of boredom or heaviness. I admit I spotted the various plot twists in advance, but that did not prevent me from enjoying the book. The naval and marine scenes then are really wonderful, as are the various port scenes!

Mira, the protagonist with her only first person pov, convinced me! Mira is an 18-year-old girl born and raised on the Isle of Rosevear, one of the seven chosen to swim in the waters off the island and plunder the wrecked ships. Specializing in the rescue of any survivors, she inherited her position from her mother, who died during one of the pillages. A task she easily accomplishes, thanks to her excellent swimming skills, her ability to hold her breath longer than others, and the fact that for her, the waters never turn out cold, but warm and pleasant. Mira loves the island and its inhabitants, but at the same time she feels the call of the sea, the attraction to the abyss, the need to explore. A call she has always tried to ignore, because Rosevear and her dear father need her. That is, until the man is arrested by The Watch, setting in motion a series of events with unpredictable outcomes. Mira is a strongly empathetic, caring and kind girl with great courage and determination, used to extricating herself from difficult situations. A person who always tries to save others, hating the idea of leaving anyone behind. I found her to be fantastically portrayed, with incredible development! Her relationship with the island, its inhabitants, and her father involved me a lot, as did her connection to the sea!

The secondary characters seemed well portrayed to me! Some are quite gray, ambiguous and mysterious and obviously they captured me! I admit that I wasn't particularly hooked by the romance, at least in the beginning, but that's because I'm not a fan of instalove and I felt a strong instalove here. However, as I went on, I found myself changing my mind, thanks to the various plot developments and now I am very curious about it! Seriously, I can't wait to read the sequel to see how the whole story will evolve!

All in all, "Compass and Blade" is an excellent start to the series, which I recommend to lovers of fantasy with marine settings!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A middle grade/YA adventure for those who loved a Pirates of the Caribbean, and Daughter of the Pirate King, following characters on a journey through the sea and storms, not knowing who to trust.

A truly lovely tale to sit down and read with ease. I would say this writing style is definitely more middle grade, however, the story tends to be more ya which is such a lovely mix because it means that you can sit down, read this book and enjoy it without it being too heavy to read. The perfect book for this time of year.

Thank you to publishers for the copy of Compass and Blade.

I really enjoyed the premise of this novel and I found myself drawn into the storyline. The way the plot played out was intriguing and I was eager to find out how it all ended.
I loved the character of Mira, she was strong willed and her fierce loyalty to her father was endearing. I really liked how she grew but I was frustrated by her lack of judgement of Seth. I liked Seth's character but I felt him predictable..
The whole story was great to read and the twists and turns made for a terrific read. I really enjoyed the ending and do wonder if there's going to be a book 2.
This YA debut is a fantastic read and I can't wait to get hold of my copy I have on pre-order.

There was a lot of promise with the premise of this book but, for me, something just fell really short.

Mira, our female MC, is so incredibly niave, frustrating and blind. It was so hard to connect with her because all the way through I could tell what the outcome of her actions were going to be and she never seemed to learn from her actions.

I also do not get how this romance came about - it gave you no build up to how Mira and Seth "connected". When? How? It made no sense.

I'm gutted I didn't enjoy this.

This book had me compulsively turning the pages, filled with adventure mon the seas, ship wrecks and smugglers and sirens, I was hooked and impatiently waiting book two.

If you love morally grey characters, adventures on the high seas and high stakes which ask the question what are you willing to do for family, this book is for you. If you loved To Kill a Kingdom or Daughter of the Pirate King, you'll love this. Filled with betrayal and non stop adventure, you'll be questioning everyone's motives.

Emojis Out of Context - 🧭🗺️🪢🔪🗝️⛵

Compass & Blade is a fantastic entry to a unique new series. The introduction to the island of Rosevear and the Breakers was a brilliant hook and the visuals of them at work was awesome. I'd have been happy of just a novel of the Breakers at work!

Following Mira's journey to free her father across different islands introduces us to a variety of settings & plenty of great characters. The crew of the Phantom are standouts for sure. The world building is wonderful and I'm eager to see where Greenlaw takes us next. (Especially after that ending 👀)

My first 5⭐️ read of the year 😍

Mira is a wrecker which means she and 6 of her friends and villagers swim out to ships wrecked on the rocks surrounding their village, plundering whatever goods they can find to survive.

I was immersed from the first chapter and finished the whole book in 1 sitting.
There is ALOT going on within the story but the writing flows beautifully and I was swept along with Mira on her journey and loved every minute!

The characters are interesting and the world building was beautifully done, no info dumping,
I was kept on my toes from beginning to end and I’m excited to see where book 2 takes us!