Books/Series
Kingdoms of the Compass
Flesh and Fire series
Flesh and Fire series

Kingdoms of the Compass

Kingdoms of the Compass
Kingdoms of the Compass
By:
J.R. Ward
  • Spice Scale
  • Number of books

    1 Published

  • KU

    ✅

  • Audiobook

    ✅

  • Series Status

    Incomplete

  • Interconnected

    N/A

  • Overall Rating

    Coming Soon

Crown of War and Shadow by J. R. Ward is a high-stakes fantasy romance about Sorrel, an outcast with mysterious powers who is forced into a dangerous journey to save a kingdom on the edge of collapse. Along the way, she teams up with Merc, a brooding mercenary with his own secrets, and the story blends quest-driven adventure, magic, political danger, and slow-burn romance in a world where demons are breaking through and no one is truly safe.

Jamie’s review

Ugh this was such a disappointment. I wanted to love this book because we LOVE J.R. Ward and became obsessed with her when we met her at ApollyCon and wanted to support her first romantasy book. It had so much potential, but I can honestly say I have NEVER hated an MMC more than I hated Merc.

The chemistry between Merc and Sorrel was non-existent and cringey at best. Not only is there zero emotional connection between them, Merc is a TOOLBAG. The shit that he says… I cannot. I have so much disdain for this fictional character 😂

The good: the magic system is cool, there's some fun twists at the end that I genuinely did not see coming, I liked the found family aspect for Sorrel, and the mystery of demons and the compass and Sorrel's past is entertaining.

But I strongly considered DNF'ing this book and I never DNF books. I finished because I was already at 75% and figured I might as well. My 2.5 rating is being generous. I wish I enjoyed this more, but I couldn't get past Merc and Sorrel's relationship (or lack thereof).

Ugh this was such a disappointment. I wanted to love this book because we LOVE J.R. Ward and became obsessed with her when we met her at ApollyCon and wanted to support her first romantasy book. It had so much potential, but I can honestly say I have NEVER hated an MMC more than I hated Merc.

The chemistry between Merc and Sorrel was non-existent and cringey at best. Not only is there zero emotional connection between them, Merc is a TOOLBAG. The shit that he says… I cannot. I have so much disdain for this fictional character 😂

The good: the magic system is cool, there's some fun twists at the end that I genuinely did not see coming, I liked the found family aspect for Sorrel, and the mystery of demons and the compass and Sorrel's past is entertaining.

But I strongly considered DNF'ing this book and I never DNF books. I finished because I was already at 75% and figured I might as well. My 2.5 rating is being generous. I wish I enjoyed this more, but I couldn't get past Merc and Sorrel's relationship (or lack thereof).

Erica’s review

Where oh where to begin here? I'm so torn because like Jamie, I also became obsessed with J.R. Ward at ApollyCon and wanted to love this SO much and the BDB series is still on my list! I think I hated the MMC Merc less than Jamie, but not by much…he was pretty awful and for this to be J.R.'s 1st Romantasy, when I've heard how spicy the BDB is…I was very disappointed there. I was overall disappointed in the whole "romance" part altogether. It was very lacking.

That being said - if you don't care about spice or romance in these books - the plot, world building and magic system was fun! I loved how the FMC Sorrel used her magic and how in the most unexpected place, she found her real place in life. But Merc really said some shit I wanted to throat punch him for. I would say the last 10% of the book made up for some of the stuff that really pissed me off…..

I am sad to say that even though I didn't DNF the book, I'll have to DNF the series. But read it for yourself and give it a try - I just saw another review of 4/5 and they really liked it - to each their own!

Where oh where to begin here? I'm so torn because like Jamie, I also became obsessed with J.R. Ward at ApollyCon and wanted to love this SO much and the BDB series is still on my list! I think I hated the MMC Merc less than Jamie, but not by much…he was pretty awful and for this to be J.R.'s 1st Romantasy, when I've heard how spicy the BDB is…I was very disappointed there. I was overall disappointed in the whole "romance" part altogether. It was very lacking.

That being said - if you don't care about spice or romance in these books - the plot, world building and magic system was fun! I loved how the FMC Sorrel used her magic and how in the most unexpected place, she found her real place in life. But Merc really said some shit I wanted to throat punch him for. I would say the last 10% of the book made up for some of the stuff that really pissed me off…..

I am sad to say that even though I didn't DNF the book, I'll have to DNF the series. But read it for yourself and give it a try - I just saw another review of 4/5 and they really liked it - to each their own!

Books in this series

  • Book 1

    of

    4

    A Shadow in the Ember
    Crown of War and Shadow

  • Book 2

    of

    4

    A Shadow in the Ember
    Kingdoms of the Compass #2

  • Book 3

    of

    4

    A Shadow in the Ember
    Kingdoms of the Compass #3

  • Book 4

    of

    4

    A Shadow in the Ember
    Kingdoms of the Compass #4

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© 2025 Basic Bookish

© 2025 Basic Bookish