✨3.75 (rounded to 4 for GR)
🌶️1.25
📖~374 pages
📚Trilogy series
🎬Cozy fantasy romance
❓Would I Recommend? Yes
This is an ARC review of Bound Paths. Thanks to the author and publish for the opportunity to read ahead and let other readers know my thoughts!
Expected release: December 11, 2024
And that’s a wrap on the original Compass Points trilogy and Rose and Luc’s story. It’s a little bittersweet to say a fond farewell to them, but author Jillian Witt has given hints she’s not done in this world, so perhaps we’ll get some potential cameo appearances.
Readers, if you’re looking for a cozy fantasy romance series that also integrates interesting but contained worldbuilding – and is now COMPLETE – let me be the first to recommend the Compass Points series. You’ll need to first the first two books of the series to ideally best understand the events of this third and final book.
Bound Paths picks up almost exactly after the epic cliffhanger ending of the previous book. Rose and Luc are separated, but the two are learning, together and now alone, that their bond may be uniquely intimate – and strong enough to unite the continent. But with a veil separating the pair, Rose must now turn to the other Compass Points to work together. They all have secrets of their own, and special powers, and it must be through trust, sometimes blindly, for things to reveal themselves.
I grew fonder of the other Compass Points, Carter and Juliette, during this book. Some of their backstories were revealed and deeper personalities explored. I have a feeling that when the author decides to venture back to this world, we’ll see some stories featuring these characters and potential love interests. In this book we saw Carter becoming incredibly close to and intertwined with Cassandra, the Lady of the Veil, so their stories may converge at some point in the future. Juliette is the one I’m not totally sure of where I can see her going next. I thought I saw some crumbs of a Juliette x Zrak situation happening, and I will be the first to say that I’d be here for that, if anyone is listening.
Supporting characters added life and color to the series, particularly characters like Arie. It was nice to see him reunited with his long-lost love, Aurora. I’m still not sure I totally understand all of Zrak’s motivations, but perhaps that’s on purpose and is being left to explore in a future book *cough* with Juliette *cough*.
Because we are potentially getting that Carter x Cassandra (Lady of the Veil) book/series, I thought there were too many backstory scenes included in Bound Paths. I found myself wanted to stay in the present timeline more, and felt the amount of time jumps could’ve been reduced.
I never usually say this, but I almost think this series could’ve used another book, having this one, Book 3, as the penultimate book, and Book 4 being the finale. I say this because the two main characters and love interests were separated for the majority of the book, and it showed. I love that the author tried to circumvent this with giving the MCs another way to “communicate”, and it worked to an extent for a little while. But there was an ultimate point where all the buildup and tension by the reader should’ve been rewarded with a reunion scene, but a tease (more than once) and a final reunion scene that was way too short for my taste. So, I say I would’ve liked to see four books, because Bound Paths would work so much better as the lead up to the finale, where all the MCs, and particularly the main couple, are reunited in the flesh and ready to take on the final threat together.
I’m so glad I found this series. It fit into a place in my heart where cozy romantic fantasy with worldbuilding was lacking, and for that, I’ll always be grateful. Rose and Luc were a brilliant couple to read about falling in love. They were sweet, but also saucy, and everything in between. They’ll be a hard couple to contend with!
My Compass Points series Ratings
#1 Compass Points - 4✨
#2 Tangled Power – 4.25✨
#3 Bound Paths – 3.75✨