Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)
TITLE: Brandon Mills versus the V-Card 
SERIES: Prescott College #2
AUTHORS: Lisa Henry & J.A. Rock
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 7 hours, 50 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 19th, 2018
BLURB:
Smart, shy Prescott sophomore Brandon Mills is working hard to overcome his troubled past and be normal. Life at Prescott and in his fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, is good. With the help of his friends Mark and Deacon, Brandon is slowly coming out of his shell. When he accidentally drenches a freshman in orange soda, though, he faces something he’s not ready for: a boy crushing on him.
Alex Kekoa pledges Phi Sig because it has everything he wants – a house full of nerds who won’t tease him for being smart, a dog, and Brandon Mills. Brandon is just the type of guy Alex needs to help fulfill his college ambition: losing his virginity. Except Alex doesn’t know Brandon can’t stand to touch or be touched.
When Alex and Brandon are drafted onto the Phi Sig Academic Challenge team, they start spending time together. If there’s anyone who can help Brandon discover it feels good to touch and kiss, maybe it’s klutzy Alex, with his cute glasses and his dinosaur obsession.
But as the competition – and their relationship – heats up, Alex’s determination not to die a virgin clashes with Brandon’s vow of lifelong celibacy, forcing them to examine what’s truly important to each of them about love.
This is a second edition previously published elsewhere.
STORY REVIEW:
Before I review this book I need to confess something… I hadn’t read either of these books even though I had seen very good reviews and mentions about them because they had college age kids and that’s not really my thing. Last month I was looking for an audio book, and had been listening to lots of books narrated by Joel Leslie. I saw he narrated these, so I bought the first one. I got maybe an hour into it and kinda regretted it. I bought another audio book and switched to that one… but when I finished it, I decided to go back to Mark Cooper versus America since I paid for it and I didn’t want to waste the money. Within another half hour maybe, I LOVED IT! And regretted giving up on it! It was soooo good! Mark was hilarious on a surface level, but underneath was a really cool guy. Deacon was so calm and soothing to Mark’s insanity. But the character that really caught my interest and engaged my heart was Brandon.
Brandon clearly has some issues, and as the story progressed we learned that he was molested by a teacher when he was 12 years old. He goes away to Prescott College and with the encouragement of his father, rushes Alpha Delta Phi, which turns out to be a biiiiig mistake. A fraternity may be a good idea, but not that fraternity. Although Mark does join Alpha Delta, he and Deacon help Brandon join Phi Sig, which is a much better fit. Brandon finds his peers in the fraternity, and with the help of Mark, Deacon, and his frat brothers, settles in to college life. The only thing he’d really like to do is lose his virginity. The issue with that is that he can’t handle being touched. And he’s super shy. And flashes back to the molestation or the night he heard his father cry over his “ruined” boy. But other than all of that he’s good to go!
At the start of this book, Brandon reluctantly joins his frat brothers at a mixer for potential new brothers, hoping he can get in and out quick. Unfortunately he dumps soda on a freshman, and has to interact with the kid, loaning him a clean shirt. Then the kid, Alex, bring the shirt back, and appears to have a crush on Brandon. Which completely freaks Brandon out, since Brandon is NOT gay.
Alex doesn’t have any drama, he’s from a large, happy, stable family, and although he’s shy, he isn’t hiding who he is. He rushes Phi Sig, joins the GSA, and happily embraces college life. At the mixer for Phi Sig, he is surprised to have soda dumped on him, but damn…. the guy that does it is super cute, so maybe it’s ok. Especially when the guy loans Alex a shirt. Which Alex does naughty things with, in the privacy of his dorm room… until he works up the nerve to take it back and see Brandon again.
This gets Brandon and Alex in contact, but things don’t go easily for them. Brandon has not accepted his sexuality himself, has issues with his memories of the drama from when he was 12, has issues with his family, and isn’t excited about Alex and his crush. But the two young men are drawn together, especially when they end up on the Academic Challenge team for Phi Sig. They start to spend time together and bond over dinosaurs, and eventually begin to touch…
There is a lot going on in this book, certainly the sweet story of these two guys falling in love, but we see characters from the last book, especially Mark and Blake (LOVED Blake!!). We see Brandon work through his issues with his family, get some counseling to help with his memories of the molestation, and his issues being touched. He opens up to friends, frat brothers, and ultimately his boyfriend. I loved watching it! And I loved these two nerdy boys. Alex is a huge part of this story, but it’s really Brandon’s story. He’s the one that grows the most, that comes the farthest, that changes the most. Alex goes from a shy, sweet boy, to a less shy, sweet boy, with a boyfriend. But Brandon, wow. He makes amazing changes in his life, and I loved watching in happen.
So yes, I loved this book as much as the first book! It was funny and sweet. The plot was engaging, the characters grew throughout the story, and once the sex happens, it was gentle and lovely. The writing was fantastic, even knowing I don’t care for this age group, I was completely in to this story. That takes skill, to draw me in to something I normally wouldn’t read. I loved the characters, both Brandon and Alex, but also Mark, Deacon, and Blake. Oh my god, freaking Blake! Loved him too!
If you are a fan of college age stories, read both of these books. In order. If you aren’t, like I’m generally not, read them anyway, you might love them like I did!
NARRATION REVIEW:
Well, it’s Joel Leslie, so yah, it was AWESOME!!! His voices were perfect, it’s funny to listen to his American accents for a change after all of the Australian and English books I’ve listened to him narrate. But Mark does still come and go, so we get a little Aussie in this one too! I could tell who was speaking easily, I loved his voices for the nerdy Brandon and Alex, and could hear the passion when they finally get busy. I bought the first book because Joel narrated it, and I jumped on the chance to review this one to not only get to hear Brandon’s story, but to get to hear Joel narrate it!
RATING: 
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