Book Review - Compulsion (The Heirs of Watson Island #1)

Title:

Compulsion (The Heirs of Watson Island #1)

Author:

Martina Boone

Teaser:

“Three plantations.  Two wishes.  One ancient curse.”

Genre:

YA Paranormal Southern Gothic

Number of pages:

433

Released:

October 28^th, 2014 by Simon Pulse

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.

Positives:

-Southern charm.  Perfectly done.

-Romance!  Woot woot!  Builds wonderfully.

-Paranormal story that isn’t over the top.  The ancient curse on two families that creates a fued is done so well that it is not boring or over told.

Negatives:

-Hmmmmmm…  I don’t know, actually.

Overview:

I can’t say enough good things about this book.  First of all, having the setting be in this big elaborate type plantation house with tons of history and secrets…. OMG awesome.  I absolutely love settings like that – an old house that holds family secrets that are revealed one agonizing step at a time.  Sadly, most books just don’t do this write.  The southern feel is over the top or annoying or the story is dull as hell.  This book was neither. 

The characters were subtle, and built up slowly as you grew to know them.  This felt very realistic as the book didn’t super-speed along.  The two feuding families seemed to be their own ‘character’ as well, and you could feel the animosity between them.  The main character, Barrie, had recently lost her mother.  Her grief over this was very realistic.  Although she was especially close to her mom, it still hit home with me as my mother passed just a year ago.

I don’t cry at too many books, but I did at this one.  I won’t say why, because I don’t want to spoil it… But it is epically beautiful and heartbreaking.  Martina Boone wrote the sadness in this book so well you can feel it in your own heart and stomach.

I could write forever about this book, but I would just end up spoiling this for you.  This is a must, must, must, must read.

Rating:

Recommended to:

-Everyone.

Not Recommended to:

-No one.

About the Author:

Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. Her first teacher in the U.S. made fun of her for not pronouncing the "wh" sound right, so she set out to master "all the words”—she's still working on that! In the meantime she’s writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she'd love to visit. 

If you like romance steeped in mystery, mayhem, Spanish moss, and a bit of magic, she hopes you'll look forward to meeting Barrie, Eight, Cassie, Pru, Seven and the other characters of Watson Island.