Stacking the Deck

The Kings: Wild Cards, Book 1

By: Charlie Cochet

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

I Want More!

Stacking the Deck is the first spin-off of the Four Kings Security series by the talented Charlie Cochet. We get to see again all our beloved characters and live an amazing adventure with Jack and Fitz. The story has many hilarious moments, especially when Chip and Ace are involved, but also dangerous and romantic ones. Greg Boudreaux is one of my most favorite narrators and does a killer job giving life to all the characters, Stacking the Deck is a book you will want to listen to in one go and that will leave you asking for more. The cover also deserves five stars. Highly recommended!

Excellent story!!

Jack is a partner of Four King Security working in the cyber security division. Fitz is an international famous hairdresser. The story has a lot of action, angst, steam, and romance. Greg Boudreaux did a fantastic job with the narration!!

Awesome adventure

Like most of Charlie’s books, this one is packed full of adventure, a great love story, and memorable characters. Another must read and own by the ever talented author.

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.