Compelled by Mia West

Compelled
by Mia West
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started reading this book pretty much as soon as I got it. I was very excited about it. Lately, I've been on a roll for very compact stories and this one fit the bill just right. I love Mia West's voice, her stories really pull me in and leave me with a smile on my face. I pretty much ignored the world for this story and it was worth it.

Kat and Neil get trapped on a deserted island after the weekly ferry leaves without them. They end up having a little bit of camping jungle adventure. The whole story is pretty much just the two of them, no outside influences, nothing to interrupt their budding relationship.

Kat is an invisible-feeling people-person, while Neil is an awkward, geeky, know-it-all type. I felt like the author really got deeply into their heads. Neil uses big words and thinks very analytically. Kat's thoughts and actions are much more flowy and organic. I loved how the author could switch back and forth between their heads so naturally.

There's a bunch of awkward sexual situations, with Kat being a virgin and Neil not. Their relationship grew at a steady pace and progressed from looking to touching to full-on sex. Kat felt self-conscious about her own body, but in some ways, I felt she got over it very quickly. And she wasn't at all self-conscious about Neil's body. They were able to grow their relationship in sexy and emotional ways with a lot of analytical language and some not-mainstream sex acts (hello, little bit of butt play).

The story is rather short, a little more than an hour to read, which perfectly fit the amount of time I had. The sex was kind of awkward and analytical, but it flowed naturally with the story and how the characters interacted. The beginning and ending felt solid, even though there were lots of questions left open. Their relationship was enjoyable to watch and I felt good about where they went. I think this is my favorite book of the series.

This is book three of the Stranded series, but all books are standalone with no overlapping storylines.

I received a complementary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

*This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine