Compass Rose - bookrastinating.com

Paperback, 375 pages

Published July 10, 2018 by Bywater Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-61294-119-6

In the year 2513, the only thing higher than the seas is what’s at stake for those who sail them. Rose was born facing due north, with an inherent perception of cardinal points flowing through her veins. Her uncanny sense of direction earns her a coveted place among the Archipelago Fleet elite, but it also attracts the attention of Admiral Comita, who sends her on a secret mission deep into pirate territory. Accompanied by a ragtag crew of mercenaries and under the command of Miranda, a captain as bloodthirsty as she is alluring, Rose discovers the hard way that even the best sense of direction won’t be enough to keep her alive if she can’t learn to navigate something far more dangerous than the turbulent seas. Aboard the mercenary ship, Man o’ War, Rose learns quickly that trusting the wrong person can get you killed―and Miranda’s crew have no intention …

In the year 2513, the only thing higher than the seas is what’s at stake for those who sail them. Rose was born facing due north, with an inherent perception of cardinal points flowing through her veins. Her uncanny sense of direction earns her a coveted place among the Archipelago Fleet elite, but it also attracts the attention of Admiral Comita, who sends her on a secret mission deep into pirate territory. Accompanied by a ragtag crew of mercenaries and under the command of Miranda, a captain as bloodthirsty as she is alluring, Rose discovers the hard way that even the best sense of direction won’t be enough to keep her alive if she can’t learn to navigate something far more dangerous than the turbulent seas. Aboard the mercenary ship, Man o’ War, Rose learns quickly that trusting the wrong person can get you killed―and Miranda’s crew have no intention of making things easy for her―especially Miranda’s trusted first mate, Orca, who is as stubborn as she is brutal.

1 edition

shippychaos reviewed Compass Rose by Anna Burke (A Compass Rose Novel, Book 1)

Review of 'Compass Rose' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I read this ebook aloud with my partner (we like pirate sapphics). This book was definitely a unique take on the traditional pirate lesbian storyline, primarily because it’s post-apocalyptic and set about 500yr in the future.

Things we enjoyed:
• the originality of the storyline—Burke must have put a great deal of thought and creativity into building this post-apocalyptic world of Archipelago vs pirates with an inhospitable climate across the planet and most people seemingly forced to live life at sea
• the secondary characters being interesting in their own ways: Orca, Kraken, Comita, Harper, and Crow’s Eye
• the rather large details omitted at the end... it left room for a follow up story or for the readers to use their imagination [slight, vague spoiler:] what was Miranda’s second bargain, who was the prisoner (though I think it’s fairly obvious who it is), and etc.

Things that we wished …

I read this ebook aloud with my partner (we like pirate sapphics). This book was definitely a unique take on the traditional pirate lesbian storyline, primarily because it’s post-apocalyptic and set about 500yr in the future.

Things we enjoyed:
• the originality of the storyline—Burke must have put a great deal of thought and creativity into building this post-apocalyptic world of Archipelago vs pirates with an inhospitable climate across the planet and most people seemingly forced to live life at sea
• the secondary characters being interesting in their own ways: Orca, Kraken, Comita, Harper, and Crow’s Eye
• the rather large details omitted at the end... it left room for a follow up story or for the readers to use their imagination [slight, vague spoiler:] what was Miranda’s second bargain, who was the prisoner (though I think it’s fairly obvious who it is), and etc.

Things that we wished were different:
• clearer voice written in the dialogue
• better developed sexual tension and chemistry in the beginning (though this may be because of the POV mostly feeling like it was from Rose... it felt very one sided and a bit forced when the two MCs first interact)

Overall, we enjoyed reading the book together. It’s adventurous and fun to explore a hypothetical post-apocalypse (I especially liked the detail of microplastic being repurposed in ship building). Next we might read Thorn or Nottingham together....

[update: apparently, a second book already exists in the series