Compulsion by Martina Boone

Title: Compulsion
Author: Martina Boone
Series: The Heirs of Watson Island #1

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

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.

Review

There was so much about Compulsion that I loved. The Southern Gothic vibe. The history between the three founding families of Watson Island. The curses. The mysterious house. The spirits that live on the island. Barrie's mysterious upbringing. Eight. When it comes to setting and plot and characters, Martina Boone pretty much nailed it. I only wish the delivery was a smidge better.

From the moment Barrie arrived on Watson's Landing, it was clear something was up. The house was out to get her, weird things were happening at midnight and everyone seemed to be keeping something from her. It was fun unraveling the history that was there and all of Watson's Landing's mysteries. Throw in a hidden treasure at the Colesworth's place and Martina Boone pretty much had me eating out of the palm of her hand for a while.

But the book didn't go in quite the direction I had hoped... as in the treasure became sort of an afterthought and the plot became very tied up in Watson - Colesworth drama and this weird tension between Barrie and Eight. I was definitely still interested in what was happening but there was so much potential here and I feel like the plot got a little sidetracked. But the ending was still fantastic with a lot of surprises. Like I said, there was no shortage of things for me to love in this book so I still enjoyed reading it despite expecting more.