The quick verdict
Hitched gave me an escaped prisoner, a desert carjacking, a dangerously confined road trip, repeated predator-and-prey chase scenes and an unhinged man calling his captive “Little Rabbit”.
So, naturally, the audiobook and I had a very normal time together.
I enjoyed Selena and Lex’s deeply questionable journey, and hearing Teddy Hamilton play completely unhinged was an experience I did not know my listening history was missing. The premise was tense, the chasing scenes delivered and Lexington’s appearances brought a distinctly feral change in atmosphere.
However, the relentless spice eventually started working against the story for me. When almost every chapter contains another spicy scene, it stops feeling like a reward and starts feeling like filler. A shorter, tighter version probably would have landed much harder.
The rundown
Selena is driving alone through the desert when she stops to help a stranded hitchhiker.
Unfortunately, the stranger is Lex, an escaped prisoner who takes her hostage and forces her to drive towards the Mexican border while police search for him.
Trapped together inside the car for days, Selena and Lex fall into an increasingly dangerous captor-and-captive dynamic. Fear, fascination and attraction begin blurring together as Lex’s possessiveness grows and Selena becomes tangled in both his escape plan and his unstable inner world.
Then there is Lexington.
Lex is already an unhinged documented sociopath. Lexington is what happens when even Lex appears to have misplaced the final remaining scrap of restraint.
Those who know, know.
Real talk
I have read Lauren Biel before, so I knew I was not opening this audiobook for healthy relationship modelling, calm decision-making or a sensible roadside-safety message.
The setup worked immediately. A carjacking in the desert creates instant claustrophobia, and the constant possibility of capture keeps the road-trip structure tense. I also liked the recurring rabbit imagery and the way Lex turned “Little Rabbit” into something that was simultaneously threatening, possessive and weirdly affectionate.
The chase scenes were easily among my favourite parts. The book is strongest when it leans into predator-and-prey tension, Lex’s instability and Selena trying to understand whether running will save her or simply make him enjoy catching her more.
Lexington added another layer of chaos. When that side of him surfaced, Teddy Hamilton changed the entire energy of the performance. It felt more feral, unpredictable and genuinely alarming.
And yes, I loved it.
This was my first audiobook experience with Teddy Hamilton playing someone properly unhinged rather than merely charming, cocky or inappropriate for peak-hour traffic. Apparently, the man has range, and one end of that range is “escaped sociopath hunting his Little Rabbit through the desert”.
When five chillies became too many
The spice is not exaggerating its resume.
There seemed to be a spicy scene in almost every chapter apart from perhaps three or four. At first, that intensity suited the story’s obsessive, dangerous atmosphere. Eventually, though, it became repetitive enough that it lost some of its effect.
Instead of increasing the tension, some scenes started interrupting it. I found myself wanting the police pursuit, psychological instability and road-trip danger to move forward rather than pausing for another variation on the same dynamic.
That is why this landed at 3.75 stars rather than climbing higher.
The concept was strong. The narration was excellent. Lex and Selena’s dynamic was memorable. It simply needed more restraint, which is admittedly a hilarious criticism to level at this particular man.
A shorter novella-length version could have preserved all the feral energy while making each chase, confrontation and spicy scene hit harder.
Tropes & vibes
- Escaped prisoner
- Captor and captive
- Forced proximity
- Dangerous road trip
- Carjacking
- Morally black hero
- Primal chase
- Predator and prey
- Possessive antihero
- Stockholm syndrome elements
- Trauma bonding
- Touch her and face consequences
- Split-personality energy
- Pet-name obsession
- Dual point of view
- Dark romance thriller
- Happily ever after
The tiny details that did the damage
- “Little Rabbit”
- The rabbit’s foot hanging from the mirror
- Desert-road claustrophobia
- Lex teaching Selena how to run so he can chase her
- Police-manhunt tension
- The shift from Lex to Lexington
- “Ready or not, rabbit, here I come”
- Teddy Hamilton sounding increasingly feral
- Selena becoming less passenger and more willing accomplice
- Every possible surface being treated as a suggestion rather than a boundary
Read this if…
Pick this up if you enjoy escaped-convict romances, captive road trips, primal chasing, heroes who are several warning labels wearing human skin, and pet names that begin as threats before becoming alarmingly affectionate.
Audiobook readers should also try it for Teddy Hamilton’s performance. Hearing him play completely unhinged was one of the strongest parts of the experience.
Readers who prefer carefully paced spice, substantial breathing room between intimate scenes or emotional development that is not repeatedly interrupted may find the full-length runtime excessive.
EmberSas ratings
- Story: 3.75 / 5
- Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
- Blackout Scale: 🖤🖤🖤½ Lights Low, bordering Near Black
- Emotional damage: No thoughts, head empty, 10/10 (💀)
- Format: Audiobook
- Narration: Duet narration by Teddy Hamilton and Angelina Rocca
- Favourite problem: Lex, with a deeply concerning honorary mention for Lexington
- Public-listening safety: Absolutely revoked
- Final vibe: Desert chase. Little Rabbit. Teddy Hamilton discovered felony-level range.
Group chat verdict
Lex carjacked Selena, forced her towards the border and decided she was now his Little Rabbit.
This is not romance advice.
It is, however, the exact kind of audiobook decision that explains why my Bluetooth connection should be supervised.
I enjoyed the chase scenes, the dangerous road-trip tension and Teddy Hamilton finally being allowed to go fully feral. I just wish the book had trusted those elements more and trimmed several of the spicy scenes. After a certain point, five chillies stopped feeling dangerous and began feeling like an administrative requirement.
Still, Lexington came out to play, and I will not be pretending that went unnoticed.
Comfort-level note
This is a high-intensity dark romance featuring abduction, captivity, violence, murder, suicidal ideation, past abuse, dubious or non-consensual themes, stalking-style pursuit, degradation, exhibitionism and other extreme adult content. Check the author’s complete trigger warnings carefully before listening or reading.
Final vibe
Escaped convict. Desert pursuit. Little Rabbit ran, and Teddy Hamilton lost his remaining grip on polite society.
