Book 82, 2025

Hacked by Lucy Lennox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

I finished reading Hacked last night, which is the third installment in the “Horn of Glory” series by authors May Archer and Lucy Lennox. This story follows Jasper Huxley, of Champion Security, and Kevin Rogers, inventor. Both of them are computer whizzes, and they each play the trendy ‘Horn of Glory’ game.

Hux and Kev have been butting heads long before they met, as rivals in the HOG game. Now, however, they’re forced into close proximity and working together to hack the Horn game systems of some members of an infamous drug cartel who’ve been using the game to launder money. Hux can’t believe his boss is allowing a civilian to assist with a covert operation, especially a civilian as infuriating as Kevin. For his part, Kev is determined to prove Huxley wrong. The more time they spend together, the more difficult they find it to ignore the attraction and sexual tension simmering between them. When the UST is finally resolved, it opens another slew of problems. Namely, how can Hux sit back and watch Kev put himself in danger for the sake of the operation?

Lots of humor in this one, in spite of the nerve-wracking mission that Hux and Kevin were involved with. Characters were relatable and real, and I enjoyed reconnecting with familiar characters from previous books. There were some tense moments, along with some emotional ones, and the spicy moments were delightful. Some things I figured out as the story went on, and others caught me by surprise.

Favorite lines:
♦ “The time travel was the trickiest part. Once I had that down, the rest was easy.”
♦ What did you call someone you wanted to kiss the shit out of but also strangle?
♦ Was it a friendship sort of duck? Or a courtship sort of duck? Or a “Hey, sorry I gave you a giant boner last night – oh, and the night before – but I don’t actually find you all that attractive, so have this duck in lieu of hot sex, you giant loser” sort of duck?
♦ “Let me kiss you all over.” // “Like...naked?” Kev pretended to sound shocked, though his eyes danced. // I held back a snort of laughter. “Naked! God, no. What kind of guy do you think I am? I meant I wanted to taste your cotton-blend hoodie.”
♦ “The last time you guys threw down a food challenge, he was up all night crying and trying to pick out a name for his ‘cake baby’.”

Marvelous fun, and I do hope the authors revisit this verse. Five stars.

Book 83, 2025

Pick Your Poison by Leann Sweeney

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

I didn’t have much of my work book remaining to read; therefore, it came home with me and I finished it this evening. The book was Pick Your Poison by Leann Sweeney. It’s the first in the “Yellow Rose” cozy mystery series, featuring Abigail Rose.

Abby is sort of coasting through life at the moment. She’s divorced and directionless. She and her twin sister, Kate, are wealthy heiresses, and while Abby puts in an occasional appearance at the company founded by their father, she’s at loose ends most of the time. All that changes when Abby discovers their gardener dead in the greenhouse. When the police determine Ben was murdered, Abby is compelled to find out what happened. The more she looks into Ben’s life, the more mysterious everything becomes. Soon Abby is chasing down clues and leads, and what she’s learning leaves her questioning everything about her life.

I appreciated the unique premise of this one, although it featured many of the yawn-inducing tropes that so many cozy mysteries incorporate these days. The plot moved at a quick pace, and characters were fully realized. I did think Abby took some rather foolish risks in her single-minded pursuit of the truth.

Favorite lines:
♦ I was beginning to feel about as useful as an outhouse on a submarine.
♦ “You’re living proof that there are more horse’s butts than horses.”
♦ I asked myself why all important cat business had to be conducted in the dead of night.

Wishing I could award 3.5 stars. Giving this one an average score of three.

( Trope Test )