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A review by jurizprudence
Compass Rose by Anna Burke
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lesbian sailors!!! lots of tension! also, submarine pirates and mercenaries! need i say more
“I could have sailed on any ship on the ocean, I thought. And I hate that I only want whatever one you’re on.”
i personally enjoyed this one. i had the urge to read it after seeing it pitched as "dystopian sea adventure with sapphic pirates (or something along those lines)" and only after i finished the first chapter did i get the sense to check if it's a standalone or not—and well, it isn't; it's part of a series, and the third book is still forthcoming. i wanted to put it on hold then, but i also wanted to continue because the premise was interesting enough to me, and i badly would like to know what happened next to compass rose (mc's name is a bit on the nose, and so is the fact that she has some special, unexplained abilities of knowing true north and directions at sea even blindfolded, thus the name).
pushing through proved to be a good decision, as i really liked this book—despite the fact that i found issues while reading it. for instance, some of the dialogues in the beginning gave me the ick, and the two mcs are kind of inconsistent . . . but at least they have chemistry and tension, so i guess their characters could still be worked out in the next installments. not to mention that despite somewhat being cringey at times, their moments together didn't fail to get me swinging my feet and giggling like a schoolgirl—it's horrendous, i know. moving on, i appreciated that the author didn't overexplain the world-building, and instead just left enough crumbs to keep the reader familiar with the settings—and in a way it is familiar, because it's set in the same universe as ours, just a couple of centuries from now—effectively painting a probable future our earth could have, one that may be highly advanced, but just as—or even more—polluted, struggling with climate, and rife with politics and war. the plot was easy enough to follow, but i admit that my mind still floated around technical terms about ships and seafaring. anyway, i'm hoping to see more of kraken and orca in the next books because aside from being two of the most interesting, badass characters, they grew on me too.
“I could have sailed on any ship on the ocean, I thought. And I hate that I only want whatever one you’re on.”
i personally enjoyed this one. i had the urge to read it after seeing it pitched as "dystopian sea adventure with sapphic pirates (or something along those lines)" and only after i finished the first chapter did i get the sense to check if it's a standalone or not—and well, it isn't; it's part of a series, and the third book is still forthcoming. i wanted to put it on hold then, but i also wanted to continue because the premise was interesting enough to me, and i badly would like to know what happened next to compass rose (mc's name is a bit on the nose, and so is the fact that she has some special, unexplained abilities of knowing true north and directions at sea even blindfolded, thus the name).
pushing through proved to be a good decision, as i really liked this book—despite the fact that i found issues while reading it. for instance, some of the dialogues in the beginning gave me the ick, and the two mcs are kind of inconsistent . . . but at least they have chemistry and tension, so i guess their characters could still be worked out in the next installments. not to mention that despite somewhat being cringey at times, their moments together didn't fail to get me swinging my feet and giggling like a schoolgirl—it's horrendous, i know. moving on, i appreciated that the author didn't overexplain the world-building, and instead just left enough crumbs to keep the reader familiar with the settings—and in a way it is familiar, because it's set in the same universe as ours, just a couple of centuries from now—effectively painting a probable future our earth could have, one that may be highly advanced, but just as—or even more—polluted, struggling with climate, and rife with politics and war. the plot was easy enough to follow, but i admit that my mind still floated around technical terms about ships and seafaring. anyway, i'm hoping to see more of kraken and orca in the next books because aside from being two of the most interesting, badass characters, they grew on me too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Genocide and Bullying
Minor: Cursing