Compass and Blade

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 Book Review:


I dove into “Compass and Blade” with some anticipation. I do love a rollicking swashbuckler-fantasy, and quite a few people were saying great things about it. Initially, I found the story quite captivating; an island culture of wreckers who lure unsuspecting ships onto the rocks so they can pillage the cargo, and a female protagonist who seems strangely more at home in the waves than on land. Then the lately deceased mother who has left deeply mysterious secrets behind. Ratchet up the tension with the arrest and imminent execution of our heroine’s father, giving an urgent and consequential problem to solve. Finally, add in the steamy shipwrecked love interest and pirates, and – hey presto – instant popcorn flick fun.

The story spun out in a very enjoyable fashion until about mid-way through the book. Then, for some inexplicable reason, the whole narrative seemed to devolve into an endless series of excuses for our protagonist to have mixed simmering sexual feelings for aforementioned steamy shipwrecked love interest. I like a bit of romance as much as the next guy, but when it starts to get in the way of the story, it’s just annoying. And this went on and on until almost the end of the book…

Oh gosh - he’s so attractive, I don’t think I can trust him, I’m burning for him, he’s betrayed me, he kissed me so I forgive him, lets go to bed, damn – he’s betrayed me again, I miss what we could have been, I hate him soooo much…

Please, Rachel Greenlaw!! How to destroy an interesting and beautifully written adventure in three easy lessons. Anyway, I finished the book, but I won’t be reading the sequel.

 

Recommendation: Perfect for teenagers in search of a book about churning romantic feelings and sexual tension without open bedroom scenes. Oh, and some pirates and other cool stuff for window dressing.

 

Author – Rachel Greenlaw

Publishing – Inkyard Press, Toronto, 2024

Genre – Romantasy

Pages - 327



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