Review: Compulsion by Martina Boone

Summary:

Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finder in this spellbinding new trilogy.

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson had been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Compulsion was such a thought-provoking and well-written YA paranormal romance. I loved the Southern Gothic feel and the setting truly made the book for me. All of the characters were full of their own quirks and I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon.

Barrie was a wonderful main character. She has been through her share of heartache and yet she still has a lot of fight in her. I really felt a connection to her as she moved to a small town and tried to start over after her mother’s death. She never wallowed and I liked how she was persistent as she tried to uncover the mysteries of the island.

The secondary characters were great and I especially loved Barrie’s aunt and the romantic interest Eight. Eight and Barrie had great chemistry and I enjoyed the love/hate thing they had going on. Barrie’s aunt provided some comic relief when some of the parts got heavier.

The plot builds gradually, but I liked the slower pace. I had plenty of time to picture the ghostly plantations and the haunted inhabitants. The author teases out answers and the plot kept me turning the pages.

Compulsion was an excellent debut and I liked the author’s writing style a lot. I can’t wait to read future books in the series!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!