Title: Mark Cooper versus America
Author: J.A. Rock & Lisa Henry
Genre: New Adult Romance
Length: Novel (273 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-62300-583-2
Publisher: Loose Id (January 28th, 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
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.
Purchase Link: http://www.loose-id.com/mark-cooper-versus-america.html
Review: This book is a gem. That’s the most proper word to describe it. While the theme is the old college kids and frat-boys rivalry, the execution of this book is brilliant.
First of all, the description and portrayal of this young man, Mark, who has come from another country, hell another continent the other side of the planet, to live in America is plain brilliant. His enormous change in his life, his education, his knowledge and lifestyle are displayed with great mastery. His anger toward everything and his sense of loss that he so hard tries to hide, how much he tries for the sake of his family and on for his very few friends, his sweetness under all that bravado, everything about Mark is a lure. He literally is enchanting and requires no effort from you to like him and love him even. His antics as he tries to do what he’s asked – practically join a frat house for the sake of his stepfather and make an effort to be nice and make friends – trying to assimilate to this new life, trying to understand his peers yet not wanting to settle and change for no one… I loved him.
I loved how scared he was, how much people and love mattered to him when all he tried to do was hide it under the mask of the uncaring and daredevil. It’s been a long time since I felt for a character that he’s too close to being real and Mark managed to give me that feeling.
Then, there’s Deacon – Deke – and his amazing, supportive character. Deke is fantastic in his own way and his relationship with Mark was a treat for me to read. Their “hook up gone repeatedly wrong” was brilliant, witnessing this relationship bloom and evolve was the best part of the book. There are no words to describe the mastery of the writing for this couple, their wonderful kinks that were revealed through natural exploration and chance, making me at least love the intimate scenes beyond description.
The trap of going too far and being a stereotypical cliché in the “BDSM” genre was so brilliantly avoided and at the same time provided a beautiful, gorgeous eroticism to this book that left me speechless. Everything I read was an adventure that mixed the social, sensual, and emotional parts of this novel with a subtlety worth any praise.
I loved it – it seems I can’t say that enough – it was truly a very enjoyable book, full with humor and a playfulness that had you with a smile on your face almost non-stop. If that’s what you’re looking for then yes I totally recommend this book. Definitely “frat-boys” written right for me.