Crown of War and Shadow: Kingdoms of the Compass

Lavena Jenkins

Exciting treacherous and totally mind blowing ending

"I actually rate this one 4 1/2 stars. It’s a fine read and the plot twist at the end I did not see coming and it has my head reeling. So bonus points for that. I knew when I read this there was a lot more to the orphan, Sorrel, then even she realized and it was revealed bit by a bit throughout the book. Unexplained things that she just passed over because she had always been told she was nothing but an orphan and everyone seem to utilize her strange healing gifts she had, but for some reason everyone hated her in the village and would not acknowledge her when in public. Even the village pub she worked at made her sleep under the stairs and worked her to the bone. She never knew a minute kindness. always has the instinct to hide and always keeps her face covered. She literally had one friend, and older noblewoman they had come upon hard times and she was caring for her when she could get away from the pub. Then there’s Merc. The dark, scarred, ruthless mercenary for hire it takes an interest in her. When events happen that she has to escape she is actually assisted by what she thinks is the knight from the kingdom, but it ends up that Merc is the one that takes her on her travels. And he seems to have his dark secrets as well. She finds she has strange magic that starts to appear that she can’t explain but continuously hide them from everyone. He is her protector at least that how it seems. She is good, albeit shunned and misunderstood. But if something needs help or be healing she will give what she has to others, never asked for that but she has never gotten it. He is darkness, an assassin, but very protective of her. She’s trying to save their land from the dark king and seems to have been impressed with some magical objects to deliver to the queen that no one sees which lives in the southern kingdom. And then….. then comes the plot twist and nothing is as it seems. The whole book move quickly and I enjoyed reading the story and the world. It was a little world building at first but I actually got pretty quickly into the story. ["

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March 25, 2026 Verified Purchase

Sara Giles

Excited for book 2!

"A huge thank you to MacMillian Audio and Netgalley for the ALC🎧. All opinions are my own. 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️ First off I would like to say that to me, this is not a Romantasy. I went into it with the thought that it was going to be romance based and it is definitely not that. As a long time fan of JR Ward, this is completely different from anything I have read of hers before. I adored the Black Dagger Brotherhood and was hoping that it would have similar vibes. I would consider this a mostly fantasy novel with a side of romance. There is a ton of world building in this, which is to be expected for the first in a series, but it does seem as though the takes almost half of the book before we get to the main conflict. I do think that this story would be best enjoyed as an immersive read, as just listening to the audiobook I found myself drifting off quite often and having to rewind every once in a while, to figure out what I missed. I think if I had had the physical or ebook in front of me, it would’ve stopped this from happening. I will say that at no point in this book did I really know where the story was headed. There was one plot point that I guessed from the beginning but that was about it. This story had a lot of descriptions of what they were planning on doing and not much action. At times, I think there could have been a little less descriptive writing and more moving the plot along as it got very repetitive for me personally. Also, a mercenary named Merc? I feel like we could’ve gotten a little more creative with that one ✨Forced proximity + only one bed ✨Mistaken identity + memory loss ✨Hired mercenary + paying in dubious means ✨Epic fantasy with a side of romance ✨Silent, brooding MMC who will protect her with his life ✨Timid FMC who has been chosen to save her kingdom ✨Demons and dark creatures out to get them I think if I had gone into this book with the expectation of it being more of a fantasy instead of a romantasy and if I also had the physical copy as well as the audiobook that I would have rated it higher. Unfortunately, expectations can really set the tone. That being said, the audiobook was very well done, and the narrator was easy to listen to. I look forward to reading book 2 when it comes out! And I would highly recommend reading this author’s backlog. The Black Dagger Brotherhood was one of my favorite series! ["

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April 21, 2026 Verified Purchase

JoMama

Make sure when you pick this up that you are ready for the Ride

"I can’t even explain how excited I was when I saw J.R. Ward was starting a new series! She definitely did not disappoint, it was a great read! nothing like her BDBH Series. I loved her world building and I always loved her imagination in creating characters in all of her books. I personally couldn’t put it down, the way the chapters were written in smaller batches than most books made it easy to enjoy and made me feel pulled to keep reading. The twists and turns were Amazing and contributed to the transport of feeling so invested in the journey. The ending was so full of emotions and the way this was written, keeps me wanting More. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. If you haven’t read this yet, my only question is Why?! I will continue to sit on the edge of my seat until the next book in this series comes out! Happy Reading to all the fantasy, slow burn romance readers out there. Especially those who love to be transported and invested in this book. ["

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March 30, 2026 Verified Purchase

Carol Ann 57

Breathtaking, life threatening adventures with slow burn love

"I have loved all of J.R. Wards's books. I wasn't sure what to expect with a new series. I enjoy romantasy stories, and so I dove right in. The writing is excellent, with vivid descriptions of the people, places, and all things. This story is action packed and intense. Sorrel is the main female character and she is multi-layered. She is powerful yet does not know how much power she has until further into the story. Her description when given, have her as beautiful. She is kind, caring, and loving. Helping any and all in need. Merc is a mercenary we are told. He is also powerful and has many layers. He is handsome in a rugged way and they are drawn to each other. Together they have one breathtaking life threatening adventure right after the other. Merc has his own secrets which we do find out about eventually. He thinks Sorrel is light and love and the world needs her. A gorgeous sentiment. I saw on a Q&A reel starring J.R.Ward, that she really loved the ending to this book. I have to say she wrote one of the Best endings I have ever read, and I have read thousands of endings. Incredible, Amazing, and I never ever saw any of it coming. Kudos to our BDB author and some contemporary romance novels. The movies in her mind are spectacular. ["

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March 9, 2026 Verified Purchase

Joanna Criswell

a bit chaotic

"Well I’m not exactly sure how to review this. I liked the characters and the overall storyline, but it just kept making wild leaps. You knew exactly where it was going, but instead of a steady progression to those reveals, it just boom! here’s the new thing! It’s just very choppy throughout. ["

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February 25, 2026 Verified Purchase