Reviewed by Jennifer B.
TITLE: Compulsion
AUTHOR: Clare London
LENGTH: 256 pages
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
BLURB: The past always catches up with you. Max Newman should know—he’s been running from his ever since he dropped out of Uni and made a disastrous move to the seedier side of London. Now he’s returned to Brighton to lick his wounds. Though Max believes the club scene is better left behind him, one night he lets his friends drag him out dancing. And suddenly the simple life he’s tried to lead gets complicated.
At Compulsion, the Medina Group’s newest hotspot, Max meets Seve Nunez, a member of the Medina management and a man used to taking what he wants. The sexual chemistry between Max and Seve immediately leads to an intimate encounter in the backyard of the club—just the kind of dangerous behavior Max tried to leave behind. Despite that, he can’t help but crave more, and Seve seems just as eager.
But Max soon suspects that Seve may not be the scrupulous businessman he claims. Max has seen the Medina Group at work before, and what he saw got a good friend killed. He’s not sure what future he has with Seve, but he’ll have to decide whether to trust in Seve’s innocence or keep running. The wrong choice could land them both in mortal danger.
REVIEW:
Max is a down-on-his-luck guy who has had it rough ever since his early foster home days. His current situation finds him back home, licking his wounds while staying with friends, Louis and Jack, who have taken him back and offered support with little to no questions asked. They don’t know what the circumstances were that brought him back, but they were there for him, offering support and a place to stay. Max has been hiding though, in a semi-depressed state, since his return. Louis and Jack finally get him to go out with them one evening to Compulsion, the club where Louis will be putting on a dancing show.
Enter Seve (which I had trouble with not calling Steve for most of the story), dark and mysterious manager of Compulsion. The two are drawn together and end up having hot sex in the Club’s back courtyard, barely speaking two words, let alone names. After quite a few more of these types of hot, steamy encounters, they realize they are drawn to each other more than others before and decide to have somewhat of a relationship.
The reasons Max was hiding in the first place become apparent when trouble eventually finds him. Seve is also a member of a prominent mob-type family, though he has stayed clean and on the up and up with his business dealings. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his family, of which Max had first-hand knowledge. He tried to walk away from that life, but that doesn’t seem to be acceptable to the previous employers.
There is mystery and murder, threats and even some beatings, but underlying all of that is Max and Seve coming to grips with their overwhelming sexual and emotional feelings for each other. They each have secrets and trust issues, but I was totally rooting for them by the end. Max is a bit whiny at times, as he goes on and on about his guilt, but there is so much more to pull you through this story.
The writing was smooth, and the descriptions vivid and easy to picture. I enjoyed this small rollercoaster ride and didn’t want it to end quite were it did. So, I hope this isn’t the last we will see of Max and Seve.
LINK: Dreamspinner Press
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Jennifer B. is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.
To read all her reviews, click the link: JENNIFER B’S REVIEWS
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