Review » Compulsion by Martina Boone

Compulsion

By Martina Boone

Release Date: 10/28/14

Published by Simon Pulse

Genre(s): Gothic, Romance, Paranormal

Format: ARC
Page: 433

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MY RATING : 5 Stars

DESCRIPTION IN 6 WORDS

South, Ghosts, Curses, Secrets, Madness, Love

Goodreads Description

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives 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. 

      Surprisingly, I didn't have high expectations for this book. It looked pretty interesting and all, but I didn't really know what it was about. My expectations should have been higher. Compulsion was such an amazing and dark gothic read. Basically, to sum up Compulsion, there are three families, the heirs of Watson Island and each family has a curse or a gift. Barrie Watson, our main character, has the gift to find things that are lost. Eight is a Beaufort, Eight is the lovely man Barrie came across. Eight has the gift to know what someone truly wants. And then we have Cassie Coleworth, she is Barrie's long lost cousin and she has a curse, to want what others have. Along with that, her entire family is extremely poor and their estate crumbles due to the curse. 

      Compulsion was a perfect mix of adventure and romance, seriously - some of the moments between Eight and Barrie were super adorable. The adventure was amazing, it was dark too. It wasn't a typical adventure, this adventure had ghosts, and secrets and blood bonding crap. Along with that this adventure, there was betrayal. Compulsion couldn't have been any better, Martina did such a good job creating an amazing story. I actually got a little freaked out during some parts of this book. There is tons of back story to Compulsion, it had lots of legends and ancestry, murder and definitely secrets. But Martina did such a good job showing the background information in an engaging way, it wasn't boring at all like it sometimes can be. 

      On a final note, the characters of Compulsion drew me in and held me tight. Barrie is definitely  a city girl who is much richer than the residents of Watson Island. Though she isn't snotty at all, she is very brave and kind. I really liked Barrie. Eight Beaufort is one of the sweetest guys in YA. He reminds me of the sun. Does that make any sense? Eight I imagine to have a sweet smile and light brown hair and a kind personality. Eight was written really well, a perfect example of a teenage boy who goes from being to the sweetest person ever to being an ass. But usually he is the sweetest person ever. Eight screams take me on an adventure, and no, I will not say why he is called Eight. Read the book to find out. Some of the smaller characters, like Aunt Pru, Barrie's aunt, and Barrie's own mother also had their story told. Martina did a great job at executing their story and own hardships along with Barrie's. Compulsion for sure impressed me and I need to get Persuasion the second book ASAP.