Stacking the Deck

The Kings: Wild Cards, Book 1

De: Charlie Cochet

Narrado por: Greg Boudreaux

Ex-Special Forces Communications Sergeant Jacopo “Jack” Constantino heads the cybersecurity at Four Kings Security, working with his tech-savvy team to provide clients with state-of-the-art security systems. But life for Jack is pretty uneventful — despite the exploits with his brothers-in-arms — and he finds himself longing for a little more excitement.

Be careful what you wish for.

Two years ago, Fitz Harlow captured Jack’s heart and walked away with it. Now he’s back.

Fitz spent the last two years picking up the pieces of his life after a disastrous relationship. After much therapy, and ice cream, Fitz leaves the fashion world behind and returns home to St. Augustine to open his own high-end salon, Hair Comes Trouble. Now, Fitz finally has the quiet, peaceful life he’s wanted for so long. There’s only one thing missing, or rather, one man missing, but Fitz has his doubts. With Jack, he’s not just gaining a boyfriend — he’s gaining a boyfriend, his family of mischief-magnet ex-Green Berets, and one highly opinionated Belgian Malinois.

Fitz and Jack discover their connection has only grown stronger over time, thanks in part to meddling friends, but just as they start to pick up where they left off, someone takes objection to their reunion. Danger hides in the shadows, one determined to keep Fitz out of Jack’s life, no matter the cost. With the odds stacked against them, can Jack and Fitz win a battle against an unknown enemy, or will Jack lose Fitz forever?

©2020 Charlie Cochet (P)2020 Charlie Cochet

Wow

I love first the narrator and the author. They are such a winning team together! This book/audio i have been waiting for patiently as I know Charlie wanted the guys to be just right and man did she succeed. These two characters are wonderful. I always feel like I am inside the book when read or listening to her world that she created. Wonderfully done!

Engaging story and characters

Compelling characters, great action, loads of fun banter. Despite being first in a series, it is a spin-off, so there were a lot of previous couples (and potential future couples) sharing page time with the main characters, but for the most part it was well balanced. It did feel like a lot of the relationship building happened through their friends before they really spend significant time together rather than in person during the story so it had a little of an instalove vibe at first, but they did build on that foundation believably. Fun story.

king guys are great

the entire security agency is neat. A lil fofo romance a bit of mystery !

entertaining - solid 4.5 stars

Would I listen to it again: yes ✔
Did the story keep me engaged: yes ✔
Was I invested in the characters: yes ✔

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, nice flow.
I was delightfully entertained with Jack and Fitz. I liked that these guys actually talk to each other when there's a problem in the relationship. Fitz is a great addition to the "boyfriend collective". 😊

🎧 Narrator comment: Greg Tremblay is a master at his craft! He suits the characters, has good cadence, inflections and intonations and it's easy to distinguish the characters from each other. Overall an enjoyable performance and he bought the book to life
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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list • 8 kept me up past bed-time • 9 recommended to family/friends • 10 own it in multiple formats • 11 keep a copy with me at all times
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Enjoyable Listen Even When New to "King" Series

I jumped into "Stacking the Deck" without having read/listened to the Four Kings Security series so I was playing catchup early on to make sense of the many characters (let alone their code names!) and their dynamics, and there's probably a lot of series callbacks that sailed over my head. Fortunately, it's always a pleasure listening to the terrific Greg Boudreaux, this being no exception. All told, I was pulled into this story about Fitz and Jack with its blend of suspense, humor and sweet romance, and enjoyed it. I received this free review copy audio book by request and have left this honest review voluntarily.

Missed the Kings

This book was so worth the wait! Fitz & Jack are so adorkable. Their chemistry is off the charts & how they tried to fight it was laughable. Like with the other Kings, this story has drama, action and most important Chip! Totally recommend this book. But you should read the 4 before so you have a better understanding of the characters. It was great listening to Greg bring my boys back to life.

Jack & Fitz

I must say that listening to this story gave me a whole new experience and really made me love the story even more. Although not necessary, I’m really glad that I’ve read the Four Kings series because it really gives insight into the characters and how they all interact. Jack and Fitz are spectacular together. Their chemistry is incredible and they’re history gives them a great foundation, even if it was just through their mutual friends. You can really sense just how strong their feelings are for one another and how they’ve grown over time. Loved seeing the characters from the Four Kings series. The narrator was incredible with the story and all of the characters. I can't wait for the stories of the rest of the guys, especially Joker, I'm dying for his story!! I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this audio book.

Stacking the Deck

This book was so delightful to read. I was so excited when the book came to Audible. Greg Boudreaux brought Jack and Fitz to life. The emotions of the characters shine through the narration and give the reader/listener a whole new experience. For me it’s like I’m living in the book as a fly on the wall. All of the characters are friends and beloved found family. I will say I don’t know how the narrator was able to keep from laughing throughout much of the dialogue between the Kings and the Wild Cards. The humor level in this one is high and I would recommend that you be alone while listening to this book.

Great start to the series and my favorite narrator

If you enjoy series where a great group of guys get their HEAs and form couples book after book you will love this new spin off series by Charlie Cochet. Here we have a second chance romance for a security expert and a hairdresser who get another chance to make their relationship work. I liked these two guys immediately and wanted to see how they would get together. When the suspense/stalker plot mixed in, it got even better. If you enjoy the THIRDS series or the Nothing Special series by A. E. Via you will enjoy this one too. There is no finer audiobook performer than Greg Boudreaux. His voices are always distinct, the emotional content is perfection and every aspect of the performance just flows beautifully. He brings out the best in any authors he narrates for.

Looooove These Guys

I knew that I was excited about the new series. I knew that the book was going to be good. But what I didn’t expect was to miss the characters so much. The way Charlie writes the books you have no choice be to fall in love, with not only the story but the people in it. I felt like I was coming home laughing the whole way through. Please hurry Charlie and Greg. I need these other tree books ASAP.