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bitchie's review against another edition
2.0
This book has only been out a few days, but it already has tons of glowing reviews. Unfortunately, I'm about to break that string, because this book was barely even ok for me. In fact, I had to force myself to keep reading, and it weren't for a challenge, I probably would have set it aside to pick back up later.
I expected something closer to the THIRDs series, but without the shifters. I expected plenty of action, with some nice moments between the guys, getting to know each other in that flirt/fight way Cochet does so well. Well, there was plenty of "flighting" going on between Ace and Colton, the initial case, the reason Colton's dad needed his own security in the first place, was virtually forgotten until fully 80% into the story. So that means we had 80% of getting to know you, fighting, flirting, and once they finally gave in, way too many consecutive sex scenes. These guys are in their 30s (or more?), their refraction times aren't that good!
Colton actually drove me crazy at the start. He just came across as, not spoiled exactly, he's a good guy, but he definitely went out of his way to antagonize Ace. For the first half of the book, he alternates between throwing hissy fits, and acting all come hither to get at Ace. I'm not even sure when they formed this connection, or what it was based on, other than sexual attraction. It took a lot of pages, but not a lot of actually time between the guys, before they are all over each other, proclaiming to love each other, and moving in.
But, tons of others seem to love this book, so maybe it was just me, or even just my frame of mind when I read it. Hopefully, I like the next book more, but this is sure no THIRDs.
I expected something closer to the THIRDs series, but without the shifters. I expected plenty of action, with some nice moments between the guys, getting to know each other in that flirt/fight way Cochet does so well. Well, there was plenty of "flighting" going on between Ace and Colton, the initial case, the reason Colton's dad needed his own security in the first place, was virtually forgotten until fully 80% into the story. So that means we had 80% of getting to know you, fighting, flirting, and once they finally gave in, way too many consecutive sex scenes. These guys are in their 30s (or more?), their refraction times aren't that good!
Colton actually drove me crazy at the start. He just came across as, not spoiled exactly, he's a good guy, but he definitely went out of his way to antagonize Ace. For the first half of the book, he alternates between throwing hissy fits, and acting all come hither to get at Ace. I'm not even sure when they formed this connection, or what it was based on, other than sexual attraction. It took a lot of pages, but not a lot of actually time between the guys, before they are all over each other, proclaiming to love each other, and moving in.
But, tons of others seem to love this book, so maybe it was just me, or even just my frame of mind when I read it. Hopefully, I like the next book more, but this is sure no THIRDs.
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Strong Start to a Series Stars!
I admit I’m holding back a bit on my rating here, almost like a figure skating judge waiting to see if the next up is better or not.
Here, Ace is simply doing his job in protecting important mogul Colton. These two of course, clash immediately as Colton doesn’t want anyone encroaching in on his life due to a terrible past betrayal. So understandably, Colton is going to be the biggest brat to Ace and his team, but slowly, as he and Ace get to know each other better due to such close quarters, their fighting each other evolves into fighting their attraction even more.
No doubt, I love Cochet. Her THIRDS series is one of my favorites, and it’s a tall tall order to even come close to measuring up to such a precedent. What this excels at is the humor, the banter, the UST, and the nicely done smex. I’m 100 percent totally on board with a setup involving a security company who’s owned and operated by ex-military tough alpha men who will inevitably fall hard due to lurve. This too is a series that can possibly have a long shelf life, and I have no complaints about that at all! Bring it!
Original Series - Four Kings Security
0.5. Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts - 2.5 Stars
1. Love in Spades - 3.5 Stars
1.5. Ante Up - 4 Stars
2. Be Still My Heart - 3 Stars
3. Join the Club - 3.5 Stars
4. Diamond in the Rough - 4 Stars
4.5. In the Cards - 3.5 Stars
The Kings: Wild Cards
1. Stacking the Deck - 3.5 Stars
2. Raising the Ante - 3 Stars
3. Sleight of Hand - 3.5 Stars
The Kings: A Treemendous
1. Not So Silent Night - 3.5 Stars
2. Sleigh It Ain’t So - 3.5 Stars
3. Home for the Howlidays - 4 Stars
4. Rebel Without a Claus - 4 Stars
I admit I’m holding back a bit on my rating here, almost like a figure skating judge waiting to see if the next up is better or not.
Here, Ace is simply doing his job in protecting important mogul Colton. These two of course, clash immediately as Colton doesn’t want anyone encroaching in on his life due to a terrible past betrayal. So understandably, Colton is going to be the biggest brat to Ace and his team, but slowly, as he and Ace get to know each other better due to such close quarters, their fighting each other evolves into fighting their attraction even more.
No doubt, I love Cochet. Her THIRDS series is one of my favorites, and it’s a tall tall order to even come close to measuring up to such a precedent. What this excels at is the humor, the banter, the UST, and the nicely done smex. I’m 100 percent totally on board with a setup involving a security company who’s owned and operated by ex-military tough alpha men who will inevitably fall hard due to lurve. This too is a series that can possibly have a long shelf life, and I have no complaints about that at all! Bring it!
Original Series - Four Kings Security
0.5. Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts - 2.5 Stars
1. Love in Spades - 3.5 Stars
1.5. Ante Up - 4 Stars
2. Be Still My Heart - 3 Stars
3. Join the Club - 3.5 Stars
4. Diamond in the Rough - 4 Stars
4.5. In the Cards - 3.5 Stars
The Kings: Wild Cards
1. Stacking the Deck - 3.5 Stars
2. Raising the Ante - 3 Stars
3. Sleight of Hand - 3.5 Stars
The Kings: A Treemendous
1. Not So Silent Night - 3.5 Stars
2. Sleigh It Ain’t So - 3.5 Stars
3. Home for the Howlidays - 4 Stars
4. Rebel Without a Claus - 4 Stars
evethingiread's review against another edition
4.0
This was very easy to get into. It actually got me out of a reading slump. Solid side characters introduction and I already wanna know how they all have their stories. However, as this book progressed, I kept losing track of who was talking. Ace and Colton sounded the same - listening to this on audio - but it wasn’t that big of an issue because I always knew what was going on just around the corner. So I’m calling this a win, especially knowing that I’m going to be in this universe now!!
kirbyj_'s review against another edition
5.0
ACE! what an introduction to a character! i love the opposites attract dynamic and this one hits the spot.
bhavyamarya's review against another edition
3.0
Whatever was happening between them was more than physical, and every minute he spent with Colton was another crack in the wall Ace had created around his heart.
3.5 stars
So, after loving the THIRDS series and reading them back to back in a very short amount of time, it was only natural that I try to read through [a:Charlie Cochet|5621569|Charlie Cochet|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1513980580p2/5621569.jpg]'s entire backlist.
Charlie Cochet can write some amazing friendships and banter between the characters of her books. So when I really liked the relationship between the entire cast of this book it wasn't really a surprise. The characters were also kind of what I expected. They were a little OTT but I loved them anyways. Also, I was in the mood for some OTT drama and characters so maybe that's why it didn't bother me that much. It was also hilarious at times.
But there was one thing that I really didn't like and hence, the 3.5 stars. The "I love you" was said wayyy too fast. They had maybe 2-3 real conversations ? I just didn't understand it. It kinda put me off the whole book. I actually liked their romance but it seemed like they were moving at lightening speed.
But not gonna lose hope, I will definitely be continuing on to next book because I'm very curious about the couple and the individual characters. Also, I actually kinda liked the world the author created.
mdee's review against another edition
DNF 20%
It's been a month since I stopped reading this & I still haven't picked it back up. Guess I'll just come back to this another time, maybe.
It's been a month since I stopped reading this & I still haven't picked it back up. Guess I'll just come back to this another time, maybe.
booksafety's review against another edition
4.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.
I liked it a lot, but wanted to like it even more. Both MCs in this were really likable, and it was sort of an enemies to lovers situation, but mostly one-sided. One of the MCs had something happen to him which led to losing trust and kind of guarding himself and refusing to lose control of his own life, so while he resented having a bodyguard for a while, he didn’t hate his *actual* bodyguard, the other MC (I love not having to read between, under, over and behind every line to find the motivation for an MCs actions). Their dynamic was really good and they had great chemistry from the start.
So, why didn’t I love love it? Well, nothing blew up! It took ages before someones life was in peril, and other than an action sequence in the first chapter (which was completely unrelated to the actual ‘case’ in this book), there wasn’t any suspense or action until way late in the book. Now, I am a massive fan of romantic suspense, and the more action, external drama and trauma the better, so maybe don’t use my thoughts as any form of measurement lol, but this would’ve been five stars if only there was a little threat sprinkled here and there throughout the middle of the book. You know, a threatening letter, a weird-ass phone call with heavy breathing on the other end, mysterious dead animals with ominous notes on the doorstep. All that good shit. I really enjoyed the romance, but I forgot one of the MCs was even supposed to be in danger sometimes. Oh well, I’m still already onto book 2, and I’ve read (and listened) to book 3. This series is highly entertaining and I find Charlie Cochet’s writing really sweet and funny and easy to consume, as it were. Just needed to vent out my why-is-noone-nearly-dying-every-other-chapter heart.
I listened to it on audio so no quotes this time.
Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Bodyguard, rich soon-to-be CEO, 6’5 bottom (how did they do that in that chair?? Someone draw me a map), private security company, stalkery vibes but not actually a lot of stalking going on, forced proximity, slow burn (a bit atleast), instant attraction, two out MCs, ex special forces soldier
⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Severed horse dong, mentions of child with heart condition and transplant, gunshot wounds, attempted drugging and kidnapping, violence, mentions of cheating (not between MCs), explicit sexual content, sexual harassment/attempted assault (not detailed and not one of the MCs)
⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
I liked it a lot, but wanted to like it even more. Both MCs in this were really likable, and it was sort of an enemies to lovers situation, but mostly one-sided. One of the MCs had something happen to him which led to losing trust and kind of guarding himself and refusing to lose control of his own life, so while he resented having a bodyguard for a while, he didn’t hate his *actual* bodyguard, the other MC (I love not having to read between, under, over and behind every line to find the motivation for an MCs actions). Their dynamic was really good and they had great chemistry from the start.
So, why didn’t I love love it? Well, nothing blew up! It took ages before someones life was in peril, and other than an action sequence in the first chapter (which was completely unrelated to the actual ‘case’ in this book), there wasn’t any suspense or action until way late in the book. Now, I am a massive fan of romantic suspense, and the more action, external drama and trauma the better, so maybe don’t use my thoughts as any form of measurement lol, but this would’ve been five stars if only there was a little threat sprinkled here and there throughout the middle of the book. You know, a threatening letter, a weird-ass phone call with heavy breathing on the other end, mysterious dead animals with ominous notes on the doorstep. All that good shit. I really enjoyed the romance, but I forgot one of the MCs was even supposed to be in danger sometimes. Oh well, I’m still already onto book 2, and I’ve read (and listened) to book 3. This series is highly entertaining and I find Charlie Cochet’s writing really sweet and funny and easy to consume, as it were. Just needed to vent out my why-is-noone-nearly-dying-every-other-chapter heart.
I listened to it on audio so no quotes this time.
Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Bodyguard, rich soon-to-be CEO, 6’5 bottom (how did they do that in that chair?? Someone draw me a map), private security company, stalkery vibes but not actually a lot of stalking going on, forced proximity, slow burn (a bit atleast), instant attraction, two out MCs, ex special forces soldier
⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Severed horse dong, mentions of child with heart condition and transplant, gunshot wounds, attempted drugging and kidnapping, violence, mentions of cheating (not between MCs), explicit sexual content, sexual harassment/attempted assault (not detailed and not one of the MCs)
⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
mikibooks's review against another edition
1.0
Basura. De esas que llenan las estanterías y se reproducen como plaga. Lo leí nomás porque lo tenía en el Kindle y quiero hacer lugar. Llena de clichés absurdos, diálogos infantiles sin ningún vuelo ni gracia.
wisecraic's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
5.0
Well that was adorable. I read these out of order, I know. But once I read Stacking the Deck, I needed to know the backstories of the rest of the Kings. Should I find a book with life-and-death stakes adorable? Maybe not. But it was anyway. Does some of the action feel cheesy to me? Yes. But I figure it's like watching an action movie--you're not expecting real life (like I'd have a clue what any of that would entail anyway), you're looking for entertainment. And this was entertaining for sure. Looking forward to continuing the series. As always A+ banter. Love love love it.
re-read: this series is like coming home. I adore the Kings so very much.
re-read: despite not being my fave of the series, I still absolutely adore reading this book.
re-read: this series is like coming home. I adore the Kings so very much.
re-read: despite not being my fave of the series, I still absolutely adore reading this book.