Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: The Marine in Unit A
SERIES: Mockingbird Place #1
AUTHOR: Kris Cook
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 169 Pages
BLURB:
The man who has been more of a dad to me than my biological father is dead.
He rescued me from the streets six years ago—a runaway teenage boy, escaping a family who thought I was an abomination.
Now what do I do? I have no one.
My life might look great from the outside. I’m in college. I have my own apartment. I have lots of friends.
But I’m dying on the inside.
I feel so alone. Lost. Hopeless.
I’m not the kind of person to wallow in self-pity. I need a distraction.
The guy moving into Unit A may be just what I need to take my mind off of losing my dad.
****
21-year old Oliver Lancaster is attracted to 22-year old Adam Stockton, the former-Marine moving into Unit A. But attraction for the closeted man morphs quickly into something deeper, something meaningful, something that terrifies Oliver. What will happen if Adam learns about the secret from his past?
REVIEW:
I picked this book up after seeing a post on Facebook about it. Honestly, I have no idea who did that post, but I’m happy they did. In The Marine in Unit A, Kris Cook introduces us a new series that he is undertaking. The stories will be centered on Mockingbird Place, a 10 unit development in Dallas, TX.
The first story is about Oliver Lancaster and his instant attraction to the former Marine who has just moved into Unit A. Unit A is only open because Oliver’s friend and mentor, Malcolm, the man who took him in off the street and got him on the straight and narrow has just died. When this loud jerk shows up and starts moving in right in the middle of Malcolm’s final memorial service and the planting of his ashes and a tree, Oliver is pissed! How dare this guy?
Once Oliver storms over to him, his anger goes away quite quickly when he discovers what a hottie the guy, Adam, is, and Adam is so apologetic! Adam Stockton is a former Marine. A man living with secrets. But is he straight or gay? The way he keeps calling Oliver “buddy” seems to lean toward the hetero side, but something just doesn’t seem right.
Secrets are made to be shared. When they are, can the men move past them, to at least be friends?
I really enjoyed the world building, and up to date storyline in this book. It could have literally been ripped from this week’s newspapers. I’m not saying anything else because I don’t want to do any spoilers. The only negative I can say about the book is everything seemed a little too magical and happy. The real world issues were there, but everything works out just peachy. Does it really in the real world? Maybe I’m an old cynic, but I’m not so sure.
That said, I’m still happy to recommend this book. It is a nice fast read for an afternoon. I think it is a good start to a new series and I’ll be waiting on November 17th for book two with its interesting title, The Cowboy in Unit E. Who can resist a cowboy? Take my advice, if you are a fan of feel good, albeit not 100% realistic, HEAs, pick this book up now so you’ll be ready for book two!
RATING: 
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