Reviews

Love in Spades by Charlie Cochet

marlobo's review

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1.0

The story is meh minus it is utterly predictable; right writing, although it leans a bit too much towards cheesy for my taste.

Until then, the rating would be two stars. And I will continue with the series because I want to know what happens with some other characters.

Pero la ortografía del español es IMPERDONABLE / But the Spanish spelling is UNFORGIVEN. Remember that the author is Latina, so presumably, her Spanish is at a C2 level. It is also presumed that the book underwent proofreading, but it is not very appreciable, there are quite a few typos.

Examples of this atrocious Spanish:

* MadreSita instead of madreCita (literally means little mother, is usually used as an endearment). And more than once is committed, so no typo excuse. My eyes bled every time I saw it.
* Wanting to say Hola (Hello), it omits the "H" and it says Ola (wave)

We'll see if I get through the second installment.

Maybe I should have started my TBR by her with THIRDS?

jacqueleenthereadingqueen's review against another edition

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4.0

This was cute. Ace and Colton started out not so fond of each other Colton because he didn't want a bodyguard babysitting his every move and Ace because Colton made his life difficult and pushed against him at every turn. They spent the first half of the book drowning in UST baiting each other and the second half boinking every possible moment. It was, I admit, a bit like a 180 but I still enjoyed it. The major plot point of someone threatening Colton and the reason for his father hiring the Four Kings security company didn't really come to fruition into the very very end. The bulk of the story focused on Ace, Colton, and the multitide of side characters. There are many. In the end I did enjoy the book, but Ace and Colton are no Sloane and Dev. To be honest, I don't think anyone can top them as one of my favorite couples. 3.5 stars

fresholivebread's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Bodyguard protects unwilling CEO from threats, in a nutshell. A rough start, with all the 30++ men acting like horny, childish frat boys. Ace is laidback, wild but with an intense side. Colton came off as bratty at start, but is actually kind and a good guy. There's more maturity as we go along, and their romance is quite intense but also sweet, though I would've preferred less lust in the initial stages. 

They have a real friendship, the chemistry's good, and their banter is fun. Also when things heat up, they *really* heat up (sex fest ahoy). Suspense wise, it felt a bit unevenly developed, and it seemed rushed towards the end. But the epilogue is pretty sweet. My issues aside, it was a rather good read overall. The next couple seems cute!

tendoheart's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

ariaslibrary's review against another edition

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1.0

How was my reading experience?
My eye was twitching from beginning to end.

Colton is a CEO? Please he's an annoying brat

Ace takes his job seriously? He literally starts the book shooting in a public area and gleefully participating in a car chase.

anatrasullacamelia00's review against another edition

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2.0

Noia cosmica mischiata a parecchi stereotipi sugli uomini gay.

Beh, che dire, un libro che mi ha tolto delle ore che nessuno mi ridarà mai indietro. Non è proprio un libro pessimo, ma nemmeno eccellente... a stento mediocre.
Dovrebbe essere un military romance, ma di military c'è ben poco; tutto romance, e pure di quello becero.

Trattandosi, per l'appunto, di un military romance, e leggendo la trama, mi aspettavo qualcosa di diverso; più azione, più pathos, dinamicità. Invece no. Sono 14 capitoli, più epilogo, di scenette in cui i due protagonisti flirtano. Scenette di pseudo-tensione (spesso interminabili), che più che farti venire le caldane per la piccantezza, ti fanno storcere le labbra in una smorfia imbarazzata. Così come tutte le battute nei dialoghi. Questo romanzo è saturo di battute che mi hanno fatto venire la pelle d'oca per l'imbarazzo.

Tutti gli uomini gay in questo romanzo sono uno stereotipo vivente. Il militare grosso, tutto muscoli, giocoso ma diligente, estremamente virile. Il ragazzetto ricco e viziato, magro e sfacciato, piuttosto effeminato negli atteggiamenti. Il fotografo mingherlino che, uscito da una relazione tossica con lo stereotipo per eccellenza del gay fissato con la moda, si innamora del tizio alto due metri tutto muscoli. E, indovinate un po', il fotografo è effeminato mentre il tizio grosso è la virilità fatta persona.

Insomma, un tripudio di stereotipi che fanno bollire le budella di un qualsiasi uomo gay con un minimo di senso critico, e stufo marcio degli stereotipi, legga questo romanzo. La solita storiella con un quintale di eteronormatività scaraventata addosso ai personaggi.

Una cosa buona, per così dire, di questo romanzo è quando tenta di trattare l'argomento del "chi è vittima di una relazione tossica non ha mai alcuna colpa". Laz (il fotografo) sta con un certo Bryan (lo stereotipo dell'uomo gay fissato con la moda), e quest'ultimo è l'emblema della tossicità: lo schernisce, lo insulta, lo tradisce. L'autrice cerca di trattare l'argomento con la giusta cura, ma a me è parso tutto frettoloso e un modo piuttosto puerile di trattare un argomento di attualità. Bello il messaggio, scarna l'esecuzione.

Lasciamo perdere sul fatto che il tutto comincia per delle lettere minatorie inviate a Colton, ma che poi, nel corso del romanzo, non riceverà mai più, né quella minaccia iniziale sembra pesare più di tanto. Il tutto si risolve (meh) negli ultimi due capitoli. Come tutto il resto, frettoloso e messo lì tanto perché "si doveva fare".

A volte ho come l'impressione che le autrici (donne etero cis; ma anche spesso queer) di romance MM scrivano queste storie solo per poter narrare quelle scene (sappiamo tutti di che scene io stia parlando), trascurando la formulazione di una trama decente e dei capitoli che non ti facciano assopire mentre li leggi.

Insomma, una lettura leggera (non così tanto, visto che molti capitoli duravano più di 40 minuti), ma preferibilmente evitabile.

papercranestitches's review against another edition

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3.0

Pure porn in sparkly blue booty shorts.

so_many_books's review against another edition

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3.0

So.. I was really looking forward to this one because I am kind of into bodyguard romances nowadays. I expected action and drama and a fast paced story.. but it never happened. Unforunately, this was a bit of a let down compared to my high expectations and what I was used to from Charlie Cochet knowing the THIRDS series.

Love in Spades tells the story of Ace, a security agency owner and his client Colton. Four Kings Security is hired to protect Colton against the death threats he receives despite Colton never wanting the protection.

And to be honest.. that's most of the story.
80% of this book is fluff and smut. In the first chapter we hear about the threats and then there's no action until around 85%. Yeah, it was cute but I expected a bit of drama. It seems like a little bit more could've been put into the story and a bit of action would've done wonders.

The characters were nice, though. Colton and Ace both had pasts to deal with and although they kinda hated each other at the beginning it was built nicely how they warmed up to the other.

I was surprised that Colton who was the client saw more action than the ex-Special Forces soldier.

All in all, the story was a let down, but the characters made up for it. But I cannot give more than 3 stars.

rockchick's review against another edition

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3.0

Four Kings series promises to be exiting.

Liked the Kings, didnt connect with Ace's love interest. But will continue to read the series.

Fun, action, friends who support one another and prank each other.

Crazy ride..