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REVIEW: Stacking the Deck by Charlie Cochet
The Kings: Wild Cards: Stacking the Deck – Charlie Cochet
Ex-Special Forces Communications Sergeant Jacopo “Jack” Constantino knows a thing or two about communications technology. As head of Cyber Security at Four Kings Security, Jack spends his days working with high-tech systems. Life for Jack is pretty uneventful—despite working with his brothers-in-arms—and he finds himself longing for a little 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 end to a ten-year 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. Two years later, 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, a stalker 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?
The Kings: Wild Cards series is a spin-off of the Four Kings Security series.
I know Charlie Cochet writes great humor (witness The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard) but Stacking The Deck had me LOLing. Scenes from the book even started popping in my head the next day. I was chuckling to myself while working. These guys are crazy!
The Kings here refer to King, Ace, Red and Lucky who co-own the Four Kings Security company along with Jack and his best friend, Sacha a.k.a Joker. All of them are ex-military. The Kings have their own books and I’m pretty sure Joker is going to get one.
Our hero of the moment is Jack, head of the cybersecurity department. He’s super smart, sweet and nerdy. He’s a Macguyver who can fix anything from broken fridges to military parachutes but can’t cook to save his life. Not even toast because him and kitchen appliances don’t get along.
Fitz was a runway hairstylist who got tired of the limelight. He’s been together with his former boyfriend for 10 years until he caught him cheating. He needed a fresh start. Fitz is first to admit he’s high maintenance. He’s wary of relationships because of his cheating ex.
He and Jack had an brief but unforgettable history together where Jack saved his life. This probably happened in the other books. The attraction was strong but Fitz wasn’t in the right headspace yet to start a new relationship. So he ghosted Jack.
Fast forward present day, Fitz is now in a better place, running a successful salon. Jack receives a text from him about a hair appointment and promptly got distracted from monitoring Joker and the guys on the job. He got razzed about it because Fitz texted all of them
Despite all the USTs exploding all over the place, the romance was a slow-burn. Trust had to be gained and the two danced around their feelings. Everybody did their best to help them along because they knew these two dorks are a forgone conclusion.
I loved how the book didn’t hold back on the fluff. There’s this really squee-tastic scene where Fitz was drugged and Jack had to keep him awake on the way to the hospital. Fitz basically confessed everything while Jack in his best gentlemanly self, tried not to take advantage of Fitz in his present condition. The next day, Laz, Fitz’s bestfriend told him all about it. Then he finds Jack in his kitchen where he burns the toast.
Jack is adorbs! His brain short-circuited when he realized he fell in love and had to be talked through it by Joker. Joker his wild, dog-loving, hates being called by his real name, “I’m never falling in love” best friend was suddenly the voice of reason. What is the world coming to?
Also, famous last words, Sacha.
This is a book about friendship and camaraderie. The author really did a great job with her characters because I remember all of them. King is the alpha and their big brother. His boyfriend is Leo, the best hacker of them all. Red’s a former military doctor. He’s a great cook. His boyfriend is Laz, a fashion photographer. Ace, purveyor of all mischief, is about to be married to his billionaire fiance, Colton. Colton is friends with Laz and Fitz. Lucky is a Latinx whose boyfriend is Mason, a former detective.
The guys are awesome but the star of the show is Chip, Joker’s military dog. Everybody loves Chip.
I appreciated that the author really made the effort to get all her well-loved characters in the picture so readers who want to check in on their favorites get a treat. There were a lot of cute scenes that were mostly there for cuteness sake, all designed to reduce you into a warm puddle of goo. The writing is so thorough in providing every detail, it’s like she anticipated all our questions. It gave all the information we need, giving hints to potential love interests because 99% of the male characters are queer
The thing with this, however, is that it’s easy to guess who the good guys are and who’s not. If their eye color is mentioned, it’s probably either they have a book or will get one in the future. The faceless ones are usually up to no good which makes the mystery weaker. Understandable, since it comes as third priority to the romance and the group dynamics.
While totally consumable as a standalone, Stacking the Deck is best experienced by reading Four Kings Security first. I have not read the main series yet and nearly got lost on the who’s who at the first parts because this had a huge cast. Not only you meet all the ex-Green Berets and their boyfriends, there’s also the other supporting characters that make their appearances here and there. There were a lot of inside jokes and references to hilarious past events that had me itching to start on the other series.
All in all, this spin-off is off to a rocking start! Recommended if you’re up for some fantastic, fan-servicey, escapist fun.
P.S.
Review of The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard here
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Moonlight
Artist: Future Islands
Album: As Long As You Are
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REVIEW: Torch by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott
Unbreakable Bonds: Torch – Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott
Nine months ago, Rowan Ward thought he had it all. Now he’s fighting to pull his shredded life together, buried in work and battling the kind of grief that destroys a man’s soul. When fires spring up around Cincinnati threatening Rowe’s friends and clients, he’s thrilled to find his old Army buddy, Noah Keegan in town. They were a hell of a team when they served together, so in-sync, it was rumored they could read each other’s minds.
Noah thought devoting his life to the Army would be enough. Then he realized he had no family and only one friend he cared about. When his enlistment was up, he found himself standing on Rowe’s doorstep, looking only for friendship but secretly hoping for more. He needs to know if their one unbelievable night together years ago wasn’t a mistake.
Caught in a dangerous game of fire and bullets, neither expects the inferno of emotion that ignites between them. One Rowe isn’t prepared to accept. One that could break Noah…
Unbreakable Bonds is centered around four men who have deep connections with each other. Lucas Vallois, the alpha and the center who holds everything together. Ashton ‘Snow’ Frost, dark and brooding, is a trauma surgeon and the one Lucas considers his brother. Rowan ‘Rowe’ Ward, laid back and goofy, they met him during basic military training. He is their warrior. Their heart is Ian Pierce, a talented chef. He’s adorable, the type you want to put in your pocket to keep safe. Well, I want to put them all in my pocket really. I love these guys! ♡
Torch is Rowe rekindling that spark.
Rowan ‘Rowe’ Ward, owner of Ward Security, is dealing with a security breach of his system which caused fires in his friends’ and clients’ properties. Normally full of jokes and pranks, he has become less than his normal goofy self and this had his friends worried. He’s trying to cope with the loss of his wife, Melissa this past year. Rowe loved his wife wholeheartedly but sometime in his army ranger days, he had something going on with his best friend that he buried deep.
Enter Noah Keegan, army ranger and Rowe’s bestfriend after Lucas and Snow retired from the military. Noah, now also retired, always had feelings for Rowe and could never forget that one night they spent together. He is as easy-going and just as much of a prankster as Rowe. He came in, regaled everyone with his stories and won over Lucas, Snow and Ian. He also won me over with his patience and understanding of what Rowe was going through. He’s steady and dependable. He always had Rowe’s back even though every time they slept together, Rowe bolts. Most importantly he loved Daisy, Igor and Vlad. ∪＾ェ＾∪
Truth be told, I was hesitant about Rowe’s story. I liked Mel and grieving spouse stories are not really my thing, they’re painful to read. Here, I could feel Rowe’s grief and pain but the story didn’t feel heavy. Mel’s presence was strong but it wasn’t overwhelming. I get a kick every time one of Rowe’s friends say Mel would be happy for the two men and as Snow wickedly added, would even demand a video. The woman was a certified fujoshi.
At the same time Noah brought joy and relief to Rowe that was palpable. Rowe deserved this second chance. He just needed to stop running away.
He couldn’t lose Noah. Mel’s death had destroyed his life, but Noah had given him balance and laughter again. He lifted him out of the abyss and made him feel alive. He had to find a way to meet Noah…at least part of the way. After years of loyalty, patience, and unwavering love, Noah deserved at least that.
Rowe finally stepping up! He and Noah had such great chemistry.
We all know Rowe moving on from the past into his present life with Noah can’t be easy. The authors did a great job of portraying all the complicated feelings involved. And we get to see Rowe as so much more than the goofy one of the family.
Torch has the most shocking revelation so far. The fires were obviously caused by arsonists and the hunt for these criminals relates to the overarching thread regarding the men’s past with Boris Jagger, a criminal mastermind, also a pederast who abused Ian many years ago. When the arsonists were caught, they revealed the main reason why Jagger was targeting them. And I was as shocked as the rest of them. My heart skipped a beat! Poor Lucas can’t handle it.
It also has some of the funniest scenes in the series. Witness Rowe and Snow getting plastered:
Snow was silent long moments. “I thought it was something like that. We’re all scared of giving our hearts, Rowe. Sometimes, we have no choice. Sometimes a person comes along who completes you in a way you can’t imagine being able to breathe without them. We have to take that chance then. We have to revel in the good times. Cherish them. Being in love makes you feel so damn alive.”
Rowe stared at him. “Who the hell are you?”
“I have no fucking idea.”
Snow and Jude got a kitten named Sargeant. How freakin’ adorable is that!! Again, Jude gets a medal for domesticating the General.
Meanwhile, Lucas ‘Grumpy’ Vallois finally managed to say the L-word and Andrei got a big promotion. Later on, when the Jagger bombshells were dropped, Lucas shut down and practically avoided his poor boyfriend. No dammit!･ﾟ･(｡>ω<｡)･ﾟ･
Ian meets Hollis again. The detective disappeared and resurfaced to give Ian warning. The younger man wasted no time in letting his feelings known. Attaboy!
Overall, it was a pleasant surprise that Rowe’s story was as enjoyable as Snow’s. Torch is a wonderfully executed second chance romance and a grieving spouse trope that gave justice to both past and present loves. Despite Rowe’s grief, fears and push/pulls, it wasn’t as emotionally draining as I expected. It has many somber moments yet it felt hopeful, optimistic and eventually, cathartic.
P.S.
Ian’s next. Boy is desperate to get some.
This is not a standalone. Unbreakable Bonds should be read in order (here).
Jocelynn Drake books here.Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Torch
Artist: The Sisters of Mercy
Album: Floodland
