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A review by booksafety
Love in Spades by Charlie Cochet
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