Review: Compelled

Compelled by D.B. Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This short story was exactly the right amount of introduction that we needed to be tempted by the world of Nick Katsaros. If you’re thinking of or have already read the spinoff series, this is a nice glimpse of the backstory and inner workings of the stoic sorcerer. If you’ve read the original series, then you (like me) must feel *compelled* (HAHAHAHA) to read all short stories to complete the set. Either way, this story was a good, solid installment to whichever series you have interest in.

We get to spend time with Cyn and Raphael, which is always a delight. This couple has been through some amazing things and managed to only become stronger. There is, of course, the problem of Cyn’s ego getting her in trouble when she inevitably doesn’t follow one of Raphael’s orders. This story is no different, except that we get to spend some time with Nick, too! Nick gets re-introduced here as the sorcerer we now know he is. The guy who was once a footnote in Cyn’s past is now a formitable ally/enemy to the vampires. We get to take a look at the history of vampires and sorcerers and (of course) it isn’t good.

In an effort to find the missing manacles, these two supernatural masters need to find a way to ignore the tension and work together. Spoiler alert: they don’t work together well. In the end, we get more of Cyn than anyone else (and who doesn’t love that?). We get some good resolution here and even a touch of romantic damsel-saving (if you’re into that). This was an excellent lead-in to the Nick-related books and I really wish I had read this first.


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