Reviewed by Lisa
TITLE: Love in Spades 
SERIES: Four Kings Security #1
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochet
NARRATOR: Greg Boudreaux
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 53 minutes
RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2018
BLURB:
When the cards are stacked against you, the Kings will even the odds.
Ex-special forces soldier Anston “Ace” Sharpe is fighting a different battle these days – one involving the world of private security across the state of Florida. As part owner of Four Kings Security, Ace and his fellow Kings tackle everything from armed transport and investigations to cyber intelligence and executive protection. Cocky, fearless, and brash, Ace isn’t afraid to take risks.
After years of working alongside his father, Colton Connolly is ready to take the helm at Connolly Maritime, but his father’s retirement is put on hold when Colton begins receiving death threats. If that isn’t bad enough, his father signs a contract with Four Kings Security to provide Colton with round-the-clock protection, despite his adamant refusal. Colton’s life has been turned upside down, the last thing he needs is a shadow, especially in the form of infuriating, sexy-as-sin Ace Sharpe, who seems to be on a mission to drive Colton mad.
Sparks fly the moment Colton and Ace meet on a sultry night club dance floor. But getting involved with a client, even one as fiery and beautiful as Colton Connolly, is a line Ace is unwilling to cross. Colton might be attracted to Ace, but he’s been burned before. He might be willing to put his life in Ace’s hands, but not his heart.
As the Florida nights heat up, so does their passion, and Ace and Colton are faced with a difficult choice – take the plunge and risk it all, or play it safe and walk away?
If Ace can keep a deadly threat from robbing Colton of a future….
REVIEW:
I’m a big fan of Charlie Cochet’s THIRDS series and also a big romantic suspense fan. There’s just something about people finding their romantic partners while also dealing with dangerous situations that puts me in a happy place.
Four Kings Security is owned and operated by four guys who served in Special Forces together and consider themselves brothers. The firm is considered one of the best in Florida and the guys take their jobs and clients very seriously.
Although they take the jobs and clients seriously, Ace is a jokester and never misses a chance to play pranks or otherwise mess with his brothers-in-arms.
Colton is stubborn and determined to take care of his self and even with receiving homophobic death threats, feels like he doesn’t need personal protection and that the company’s current security is good enough.
I didn’t particularly care for either Ace or Colton in the beginning. I felt Ace was a dickhead, especially to his fellow Four Kings associates. And I thought Colton was acting like a spoiled brat with the way he refused to consider his father’s feelings regarding the death threats. After the guys got over their posturing and allowed their true selves to be seen, I liked them both much better.
The comedic relief in the book was very reminiscent of Ms. Cochet’s THIRDS series and it seems liked Ace was the contemporary version of Dex. The story had an action/adventure movie feel about it and the wording was so descriptive, I had no trouble feeling like I was in person observing the scenes.
Although I like people finding their partners in romantic suspense, I was bothered by what felt like coercion for the couple to become more than bodyguard and protected while Ace was still providing security for Colton. I’m ultra-sensitive to someone not taking no for an answer, so both the pressure to become sexually involved and the unprofessionalism of that situation had a negative impact on my enjoyment of the story.
I loved the action/adventure movie feel of the story and how the big bad was not who I expected it to be. I would recommend this book to those who like romantic suspense with some humor, adversaries-to-lovers, found family, and UST.
Greg Boudreaux (AKA Tremblay) is one of my favorite audio book performers. His accents and range for character voices are outstanding. He’s also quite talented at using his voice to create scenes that feel like the person listening is part of the story. There were some instances in this story though where I had some difficulty distinguishing between Colton and Ace.
RATING: 
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