Read, Run, Ramble

Title: Compulsive

Author: Lia Fairchild

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Lia Fairchild

Publication Date: May 12, 2015

Format: egalley via Lia Fairchild

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review (published at Read, Run, Ramble):

Thank you Lia Fairchild for providing me with an early copy of this book!

Anyone who follows me in any capacity knows that I generally enjoy Lia Fairchild’s novels and short stories. I would recommend any of her books to just about anyone who likes to read. Compulsive has now joined the ranks of her other stories and I’ll tell anyone who listens to read it.

Labeled Romance, I was leery at the beginning because I typically am not a huge fan of the genre. I’ll read them occasionally, but they aren’t often a go-to for me. But Fairchild broke the mold and I absolutely adored it. Typical of Fairchild’s work, she made the genre her own and it really worked – creativity and fabulous writing just ooze from the novel.

Fairchild’s well-developed characters have some of the same issues seen in other romance stories – tortured love, unrequited love, and even sketchy pasts, but let me tell you, this isn’t your mother’s or your grandmother’s romance and it isn’t a swoony, drippy, loaded-with-sex sap fest. This thing has some serious substance and intensity (and no, I am not slamming books that have all that other stuff – they just aren’t for me).

The main characters have secrets – it is clear that there is something going on from the very beginning and the suspense is almost palpable. I was flipping pages (I mean, the best one can “flip” when reading on a device) like a maniac trying to figure out what in the heck was going on and what Gray was hiding. In my opinion, Fairchild handled both the vagueness of the secrets and the revealing of all info in the book with precision.

Additionally, this romance doesn’t have some brooding, bad-for-you guy that is also perfect for the heroine. There are some sexy guys and like their chiseled and unrealistic counterparts they say and do the perfect things at the perfect times, but this book is never predictable; never trite or stiff.

For me, this book is just the right amount of romance mixed with just the right amount of Lia-ness and that balance equals perfection! Do yourself a favor and give this one a try. Do not let the label fool you; if Romance isn’t your typical read, this book is still for you because it breaks the mold in just the right places.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not compensated for any of my reviews.