Blurb:
Mark Cooper is angry, homesick, and about to take his stepdad’s dubious advice and rush Prescott College’s biggest party fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. Greek life is as foreign to Aussie transplant Mark as Pennsylvania’s snowstorms and bear sightings. So, when the fraternity extends Mark a bid, Mark vows to get himself kicked out by the end of pledge period. But then he’s drawn into Alpha Delt’s feud with a neighboring fraternity.
Studious Deacon Holt is disappointed to learn Mark’s pledging Alpha Delt, his fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa’s sworn enemy. Mark is too beautiful for Deacon to pass up an invitation for sex, but beyond sex, Deacon’s not sure. He wants a relationship, but a difficult family situation prevents him from pursuing anything beyond his studies.
Mark and Deacon’s affair heats up as the war between their fraternities escalates. They explore kinks they didn’t know they had while keeping their liaison a secret from their brothers. But what Romeo and Juliet didn’t teach these star-crossed lovers is how to move beyond sex and into a place where they share more than a bed. That’s something they’ll have to figure out on their own–if the friction between their houses, and between Mark and America, doesn’t tear them apart.
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Loose Id LLC
Contemporary, NA, M/M, GLBT+
252 e-book pages
3rd person
Prescott College, book 1
May 23-24, 2016
Kindle Edition
Rating: ????????
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Review:
My, my, my…this was quite the kinky little tale.
This was my first book by Lisa Henry (I’m pretty sure). But, I’ve read quite a few by co-author J.A. Rock, who is hit or miss for me…usually a hit.
For a person who says she avoids New/Young Adult and collegiate settings I sure seem to be reading quite a few these days. And, I actually end up enjoying them most of the time. They take me back to nostalgic places I left behind yonks ago. Some times are best not revisited. But college? Those were good times for the most part. I need to get my head right and stop being so nit-picky so I can look at it from a clearer perspective. I’ll work on it.
This book was highly enjoyable. Not really my kind of prose, though. A lot felt overly narrative like I was reading a transcript of the evening news and not getting the full story. I got over that because there was so much more to like.
The action and conversations were sublime. The characters and their budding relationship were fun, sweet, and kinda dirty-sexy — the good kind. Their banter was loads of fun and witty — especially smart-mouthed Mark.
These kids (I can say that since, technically, I’m old enough to be their mother [goddammit]) start off with a one-night stand that took a right turn to Relationshipville. Along the way, they shyly start experimenting with…sexual things. And, it was fantastic to read. Really. There’s a little bit of cross-dressing, there’s a little bit of spanking, there’s a little bit of discipline, there’s a little bit of…well, another thing they work up to as a Grande Finale. All I’m gonna say about that is *fist-bump*.
And really, all that experimentation was so well done. It was two guys finding their way together and what worked for them. Doing things that were right for them. Finding their way at a time that’s perfect for figuring out one’s place in the world. And poor Mark was coming at this as a true outsider. An Australian in America. A new college student who’d just turned 18. A bit of a chip on his shoulder where his step-dad is concerned. He’s utterly alone in a lot of ways and having to figure out everything.
Deacon was perfect for Mark and super-likable. He’s a bit older and knows himself a lot better. He’s still sorting through some stuff. But, mostly, he does well as the voice of reason and looking out for Mark and being his sounding board.
I loved the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet parody of feuding fraternities. I have love/hate opinions of the collegiate Greek system. I’m not getting into my thoughts on this…the book covered all aspects, good and bad, perfectly.
Enjoyable and recommended.
This review also posted on GoodReads.