Book 63, 2024

[chez_jae]

Hijacked by Lucy Lennox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I took advantage of my long weekend to read Hijacked. It's the first book in May Archer and Lucy Lennox's "Horn of Glory" series, which is a spin-off of their "Licking Thicket" series. This one was just as funny and punny as the original series. Main characters are (William) Riggs, former Marine currently working for Champion Security, and Dr Carter Rogers (whom we met in the Licking Thicket series).

Carter has to get out of Dodge. He's surrounded by loving couples, including his ex Tucker with his new husband, and Carter just needs a break from it. He decides to travel to Venezuela with the Doctors Across Continents program to spend several weeks in an under-served community. There's just one catch--Carter's grandfather insists on hiring a bodyguard to keep him safe.

Riggs doesn't want to accompany a prima donna doctor to Venezuela, but he knows this assignment is punishment for the fact that he screwed up his last mission with an ill-advised hook-up. The more time he spends with Carter, however, the more Riggs realizes that the good doctor is also a good person. When the two of them are abducted by a local drug cartel, they'll need to rely on one another to escape.

In spite of the dire circumstances, this book was hilarious. Initially, Carter and Riggs couldn't help but antagonize one another, but their attitudes shift when they have only each other to count on. The Horn of Glory game played a large role, and it will be interesting to see how that subplot develops.

Favorite lines:
♦ "I don't know. Maybe I'll ask my husband. The gun-toting drag queen."*
♦ "There are a limited number of people in the world I'd save from a rampaging capybara."
♦ "I just gave you the best orgasm of your life. If you don't pass out in the next five minutes, it's because you're trying to stay awake."
♦ What I was not going to do that morning was obsess over Riggs or what I'd decided to call the Unfortunate Insomnia Frottage Incident.
♦ "You just sound so put out about it. Like you're offended that these were the best henchmen the cartel could come up with. You want to give them a course in remedial badassery, don't you?"
♦ It was a sad day when a man's own flopping couch was taken over.
♦ "I'm sure relationship advice coming from someone who's married to a gun-toting drag queen may not seem like much to you."* That bit was funny enough early in the book, and when it got trotted out again near the end, I nearly died laughing!
♦ "I gave you a fucking naked mole rat, and that wasn't good enough for you?"

Epic hilarity, forced proximity, groan-worthy puns, tension and high heat make this one a winner. Five stars!