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

So excited for the next one!

Please note, you will be incredibly confused and probably frustrated with this audiobook if you have not started at the beginning! The beginning starts with four kings security Love In Spades! (Beware of Geeks Bearing Gift is a 2-hour story about Ace and Luckys' cousin Quin, but takes place in a different part of Florida and is not necessary to enjoy these books! You never actually meet their cousin, he is just referred to). That being said, I have waited for Jack and Joker's stories! I am so excited for jokers, and I wonder how She is going to incorporate Jay and Ryder, and Joshua and Frank! The story was sweet, sexy, packed with action and everything I could hope for from a Charlie Cochet novel! Greg Boudreaux as always did an absolutely incredible job! Thank you both for giving me a break from real life!

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.

Awesome Four Kings spin off

First I have to say, I can't wait for Joker's book as it going to be a wild ride with him & Gio! Finally after 2 years of Jack pining for Fitz, Fitz is back. I'm glad that Jack understood what was behind the radio silence and forgave Fitz with not much meanest. He wasn't a dick about it, he understood & they moved on. I loved watching these two get to really know each other. The date on the island was so romantic, I could so see it in my minds eye & almost felt the sea breeze. Okay so the bad guy is straight up crazy. I didn't have a clue who they were and the reasoning behind it never even crossed my mind. I was shocked when they were revealed in the end and the reasoning why all of this went down. There is a lot of action but it's soften with a lot of family time. I love when they all get together & just spend time with each other as families do. Fitz is subjected to some real dangers that could have gotten him killed and he comes face to face with what Jack was trained to do and that really scared him. At one point it looked like things were not going to work out for our lovers, but with the help of family, Fitz and Jack both accept what they are feeling and that they truly want a life together.

As good as the rest

Great addition, Great writing, Great Narrating.
I love that all these men stay together in each and every book... A Brotherhood and a Family.
Well worth the credit and your time to listen.

Great Read

Loved this book!
Loved the narration!
The Kings are a true family and take care of each other no matter what. This book will keep you guessing right up to the end. I am pretty good at guessing what is going to happen or who the bad person is but this one kept me on my toes. I can't wait until the next book.

Just my personal opinion

Let me start out by saying I absolutely love the narrator. Greg Boudreaux is one of my top favorites and he does a great job on this book.
Charlie Cochet writing is does a great job of connecting past books with this spin off series without making you feel like you need to read Four Kings Security series. (I highly recommend you do though.) Unfortunately this is not one of my favorite books by her. It's not a bad book, it's just not one I would personally care to read again, I finished it solely bc I would probably need to get through this book for the next one. I did like the last half of this book WAY better than the first half though, and Charlie does leave you wanting for Joker's book and even Saint's (dear baby Jesus give that guy a book!). She also did a great job keeping you guessing on who TF the villain is. The villain left me wanting though considering how much time, energy, and effort he put into his actions to just turn around and rush the last part of it. I kinda feel like in chapter one I was thrown into people of Jack's team and I was majorly confused on who was who when they popped up in the rest of the story. Although considering who the bad guy is I'm wondering if that was on purpose. I was not a fan of this but it worked so I can't hate on it much. I also HATED Fritz. Sorry. I found him very annoying, not likeable, not sweet and caring, not adorable. Just annoying. I also found Jack, who I absolutely loved in the other books, to be lacking in large parts of his own book. It gets better later on in the book and I love it when Joker and Jack are together. This is just not my favorite book. I WILL be reading the rest of this series though. I love Charlie and most of her books. This one just missed the mark for me personally. We all have a type of character we dislike and Fritz is one of those characters for me. I look forward to the next book.

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.

Love, love, love Jack and Fitz!

I love Jack and Fitz so much. They have some struggles and perilous situations before they get their HEA. Their story grabbed me from the beginning, and I kept thinking about them when I wasn't able to listen to the book. I really love the Four Kings as well as Joker and Jack so I'm very excited to see what happens in the next book! Read or listen to Four Kings series first so you know who everyone is. I definitely recommend both series. They made me laugh a lot and cry in a few places.

Must Listen

I loved this story more in audio than I did reading it myself. I adore Charlie Cochets' stories and all the characters she creates and Jack and Fitz are no different. I was so excited when this book came out because Jack deserves his happily ever after. Greg did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life and the emotion he put into his storytelling is amazing.

Great story!

Another wonderful book in the Four Kings Security series by Charlie Cochet. We get to see again all our beloved characters and have an amazing adventure with Jack and Fitz. Absolutely hilarious, especially when Chip and Ace are involved, but also dangerous and romantic, this is a book you will read in one go and that will leave you asking for more. Cover and narration deserve five stars too. Highly recommended!

Daft, but fun

Bonkers, but addictive; everything in this world is over-the-top and the way these guys give relationship advice makes them sound like teenaged girls at a sleepover, but it's all lighthearted (mostly) fun, and I'll be back for more. Greg Boudreaux is one of the best romance narrators around and he never disappoints, somehow finding over a dozen different vocal characterisations for principals and secondary characters and making them all easy to identiry by ear.

One of those titles I'll listen to again when I'm in the mood for something uncomplicated, lighthearted.and completely unrelated to reality!

Loved it!

I really enjoyed everything about this story! The plot was exciting and fun, the connection between the characters was thick and beautiful, and the different characters were fun and entertaining! Greg Boudreaux is a favourite narrator of mine and I of course enjoyed this one immensely. He brings life to the characters, a quirky nature to the story and over all keeps listeners engaged and excited for more.

Romance, humour and suspense in an audio gem!

This is a sort of spinoff off the 4 Kings, so it's best to have read/listened to those (really good) stories.
Jack and Fitz have been pining from afar - when they finally get their act together, all hell breaks loose - with a stalker bent on keeping them apart.
I enjoyed the mystery and the hijinks of the Kings and Wildcard members - they are truly brothers in arms; and the partners and friends they've collected along the way. I've really enjoyed the series and this is a fun addition.

As always, Greg Boudreaux provides a great soundtrack to the story, overall. There were times when I knew who was speaking, but the voices for Laz, Fitz and some of the females were a little close in tone. Didn't stop me enjoying the narration, though :)

Great start to the series!

I loved almost every single thing about this book. Jack, especially, he's the perfect book boyfriend. Sweet, generous, resourceful and so damn lovable. Now, while I liked Fitz, the way he reacted certain times made me want to strangle him. And the fact that he allowed Jack to stew for so long after their first encounter, well, it didn't sit right with me. They had chemistry, but I just felt Jack was too good for Fitz. *shrugs*

I absolutely loved catching up with the Kings, Joker, and their significant others, though! And the stalker case was intriguing. I so didn't see that coming!

Greg Boudreaux is amazing and he can do no wrong in my book. Stacking the Deck wasn't the exception. He has great comedic timing and such a knack to keep voices distinctive, which I'm sure is especially difficult with an ensemble cast book such as this one.

If you can pick this one in audio, do yourself a favor and do so. Only listen to the 4 King's Security books first, or you might feel a little lost. I can't wait for Gio and Joker's book.

A Welcome Return

So glad we get to learn more about Jack, Joker and some of the other side characters mentioned in Kings series, as well as welcoming back some of the Kings, if in smaller roles.

Also really, really happy to see Greg back narrating Charlie's books. He's one of the best and one of the very few narrators who actually narrates the story, rather than just reading aloud in an overly deep voice. Not only is his narration of the story spot on in pace, tone and intonation but his characterisation is perfect, he literally acts the dialogue and it's like a whole bunch of actors are in the booth, not just one man. Along with Joel Leslie and Nick J Russo, Greg is in my top 3 narrators because they enhance the story and elevate it, giving the listener a new experience even if they already know the story because they've read it.

Loved it

I absolutely loved this audiobook.
This was such an amazing start to a new spinoff series.
I am on the edge of my seat waiting for more.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Loved it!
Great narration as always. Loved the Four Kings universe. Can wait to hear the rest of the cast's stories.

Thrilling

This is a thrilling action pack book to listen and enjoy as we get lost in the world of Kings security.

OMG so good!

I've missed the King's so much and was so excited for this story! I loved seeing all these awesome characters again and Jack and Fitz stole my heart! Jack is such a sweetheart, half of the wild cards dasterly duo but with a heart of gold. Jack had so much love to give and of course Fitz is just perfect for him!

I loved the hints at the next stories and can't wait to learn more about Joker and Gio, and seeing the adorable awkwardness between Joshua and Frank is hilarious, their story is going to be interesting 😉

I loved the thrill and twists in this story and again Charlie surprised me with the "who done it"! Amazing!

if you like hot men, heart, thrills and laughs with characters you can't help but fall for this whole series/world/team is a must read! 😍💜

Great Characters

Stacking the Deck is the first book in the Wild Cards series, a spinoff of the Four Kings Security series. Technically, I suppose you could read Stacking the Deck on its own, but I decided to binge the Four Kings Security series first, and I’m so happy that I did. The book was much better having the background of the previous series, and honestly, these characters are fantastic so spending more time with them is great.

The first thing to know about the Wild Cards series is that it is set in a contemporary world very similar to our world, but the rules of the world follow Hollywood and comic book logic. That means that action scenes are over the top and the abilities of the main characters are exaggerated. Think something along the lines of James Bond if he decided to open a security firm. This type of exaggerated realty was something I struggled with getting used to in the Four Kings Security books, but I was ready for it in the Wild Cards series. I think finally understanding and accepting the rules of this fictional world really made this book so much better for me. The second thing to know about the Wild Card series it that it has fantastic characters who make me laugh out loud and cheer them on. Charlie Cochet has a very distinct kind of humor that I just love. The characters are witty, sarcastic, and so loyal and determined. They value friendship and love, and are great at showing it. Charlie Cochet also has a wonderful writing style that makes it easy to read and enjoy her books.

The audiobook was narrated by Greg Boudreaux who does a fantastic job. He has to voice a lot of different characters and some extreme action scenes—all of which he does a great job at. I never got lost in the book and thought his character voices were all distinct and clear. The audiobook production was well done which made the overall experience super enjoyable.