Story Rating: 4.25 stars
Audio Rating: 4.5 stars
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Length: 7 hours, 53 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Love in Spades is the first book in a contemporary military veteran/private security romantic suspense series. It’s a promising start!
Four Kings Security is co-owned by, I think, four ex-comrades-in-arms, Ward “King” Kingston, Anston “Ace” Sharpe, Russell “Red” McKinley, Ace’s cousin “Lucky” Morales, and perhaps “Joker” Wilder and “Jack” Constantino. At least, these six sexually-fluid men all work within the company. Ace is gay, and this is his love story.
Colton Connolly is an out and proud gay man living a swinging bachelor life in south Florida. He’s also the rising head of Connolly Maritime, a multibillion-dollar shipping and logistics conglomerate, due to take over as soon as his father retires completely in a couple of months. Colton’s father gets wind that someone is threatening Colton and hires Four Kings to provide around-the-clock security for Colton—knowing that Colton will never agree. Their contract is iron-clad, and Ace is point man, moving into the adjoining bedroom in Colton’s lush manor house. Lucky and Red are also there, but it’s Ace who is in the line of sight and fire…even following Colton into the back rooms of sex clubs to ensure a random hook-up doesn’t lead to mortal peril!
Colton, for all his thirty plus years, is rather petulant about the security detail. He’d totally fall for muscle-bound Ace if the circumstances were different. Instead, he lashes out and is only more frustrated that Ace takes his shenanigans in stride—and in hand. They don’t intend to fall for one another, but Colton’s libido isn’t one to be denied, and Ace tries hard to maintain his professional distance. It was so fun to hear the naked want in his dialogue and inner thoughts, even as he was denying himself the pleasure Colton delighted tempting him with. Ace knows that getting involved with a client is a bad business move—and Four Kings has a lot to gain if he is successful at preventing harm to Colton. Though it seems to be an inside job, the threats Colton received were highly personal and specific, finding the malevolent party is not easy. Days of investigation turn into a few weeks, during which time the bond between Ace and Colton grows tight—and steamy.
I liked this one. It’s got a lot of fun banter and good twists to keep the mystery going. I picked up on a few of the red herrings easily—and had my suspicions affirmed. While Ace is firm that he won’t get involved with Colton, a near miss helps them both recognize that life is short, too short to put off their happiness. The dynamic of the Kings was rapid fire and familial. All of these guys are closer than blood, and they are in each other’s pockets emotionally, so it was hard for Ace to keep his growing feelings–and sexytimes—from the rest of the Kings. We get a lot of backstory on the Kings, about halfway through, as Ace and Colton build a rapport that forms the foundation of their love story. I liked that Ace was circumspect about his activities with Colton, and how they both planned to go public when the danger was past. There are some unrealistic bits–especially with their sneaking around and lying to King and Lucky. Their deep connection does lead to a future side romance with Red and Colton’s dear friend.
The narration was solid, and just the right pace for both the tense and sexy scenes. I loved the cadences and emotive moments, which lifted the humor to a higher level. I laughed a bunch, and was swept along the story without any hiccups. I’m looking forward to the next book with excitement.
