Katie Ruggle

I received a copy of Hold Your Breath from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. The following review is comprised of my opinions and mine alone.

While I was reading Hold Your Breath, I was repeatedly reminded of one of my favourite romance novel couples, Blayne Thorpe and Bo Novikov from Shelly Laurenston’s Beast Behaving Badly. Needless to say, Callum Cook and Lou Sparks have now joined the ranks of my favourite romance couples and I’ll be rereading Hold Your show more Breath a thousand times and randomly quoting parts of it in the middle of conversations much to my friends and family’s dismay. What can I say, I’m a weird potato.

Louise ‘Lou’ Sparks is the boisterous, goofy, and messy leady lady I love. She’s the type of woman who will trip over thin air and everybody in the tricounty area will witness it. But she’s also the woman who will teach herself to fix a propane heater the first time it breaks rather than cry about and spend the money she doesn’t have to call in a repairman to do the job for her every time it breaks. She’s just recently moved to Simpson, Colorado to become a person she'll like seeing in the mirror (a thing I can totally get behind) and she's working as the new waitress in the local cafe to make an honest paycheck. She’s also just joined Simpson’s volunteer Search & Rescue Dive Team – for anybody who doesn’t know, that means she’s diving into freezing cold water and swimming under the ice looking for whatever brain trust decided it’d be a good idea to take a stroll on the not-as-thick-as-they-thought-it-was ice. Lou’s pretty hardcore doing that but she’s also the spazz that has a slap fight with her buddy over some random thing.

Callum Cook is a retired Marine (because there’s no such thing as a ‘former’ Marine) and the leader of Simpson, Colorado’s Search & Rescue Dive Team – and Lou’s boss/trainer. He comes off as a bit of a stick-up-his-butt sort thanks to his OCD ways but he’s pretty great to me. He’s the perfect yin to Lou’s yang. Where Lou is outgoing and really friendly to absolutely everybody, Callum plays it more close to the vest, he’s cordial to everybody and he’s friendly to the search & rescue community but he keeps himself apart from his team since he’s the boss. Lou brings him out of his shell the more they’re together and he brings a bit of needed organisation to her life as well. He has moments where he’s “me Tarzan, you Jane” around her male friends but I think he’s pretty 21st century about his relationship with Lou overall – and I’ll admit, even I like a bit of the Tarzan attitude.

As always, Ms Ruggle’s romantic suspense kept me teetering on the edge of my seat, erm, bed, I’m a total bed reader. I was freaking the freak out with Lou’s stalker just standing there watching her sleep right outside her window. I had to hide under Manatee the Service Dog’s head at one point but I kept reading because I had to see what happened! I almost started chewing on Manny’s nails (mine are kept non-existent for a reason!) at a certain point you’ll recognise it when you get to it (did you honestly think I’d write a spoiler?!). Poor Manny didn’t get much sleep during this book’s read time, y’all. I ended up giving him a salmon skin rollup as an apology after I was finished the book.

One of my favourite things of Ms Ruggle’s writing is always her humour. In Hold Your Breath, it’s evident immediately in how Lou and Callum are introduced – there’s an actual slap fight involved. We also have uncle brothers – I thought those were only a South Georgia thing, honestly. And we had mocking of Big Bads, I can always get behind Big Bad mocking. It’s a favourite pastime of mine.

Now, the chemistry between Callum and Lou. I love love LOVE it. It’s dorky and weebly wobbly, is it there or not? But it’s also blatant and everybody and their neighbour knows it’s there, how can you not notice it? Between Lou’s messiness that invades every space that is hers at work or at home and Callum’s OCD proclivities that leave him absolutely horrified at the sight of her work locker let alone her living room, you just have to read the entire book to watch how the two manage to blend their personalities together. I have good reason to believe that the white board comes into play a lot more often than just for Lou’s weird obsession with HDG.

As for the whodunnits and whatsits. I thought I knew who the stalker was and then I was thrown for a loop then a loopdiloop! So I really and truly loved Ms Ruggle’s Hold Your Breath for managing to surprise me not just once but TWICE in my reading. I thought I was wrapping up the story after everything was over and she threw in that curveball and wham I didn’t know what to think! She is a constant font of surprises with every book I read. As always, you can tell that Ms Ruggle has put a lot of research into her writing. I actually found myself looking a few things up because I actually didn't know a thing or two which isn't very often in my world. I will always take the time to read a Katie Ruggle original just for that reason alone!

Hold Your Breath gets 5 out of 5 stars from me and just 3 out of 5 flames for spiciness. I look forward to reading the rest of this series which I’ll also be reviewing, I can’t wait to see who else from Simpson, Colorado gets bitten Ms Ruggle’s Love Bug and how their stories play out as always. I’ll be sure to let y’all know!
Be sure to check out more of my reviews on my blog - www.onceuponatimeireadabook.com show less

SPOILERS: In this review

Another amazing edition to this series! In Through The Fire we have a different set up than the previous books, where our main character Kit Jernigan, is not one of Mr. Espina’s runaways, but a cop who is joining Monroe’s police force. And the male romantic interest, Wes, is not someone we have met before in any previous book. Kit is new to town so from her perspective we’re outsiders looking in. Which for me, was frustrating at first because I’m not privy to show more whatever it is my favorite group is talking about! Naturally, nobody trusts Kit at first because.. well the towns been through a lot! But also because at the same time Kit is arriving in town, so is a woman named Elena, who is one of Mr. Espina’s girls. And Kit doesn’t trust her, which doesn’t sit well with Theo, Hugh and Otto considering it was Jules, Grace and Sarah, that had been sent by Espina as well.
It was so interesting getting to observe the dynamic of the group from a strangers eyes. Everything is new information to Kit. I was cracking up at this part,

“'I knew it!' Hugh exclaimed, sounding more satisfied about being right than put out on his partner’s behalf. 'Gracie refused to tell me, but I knew what was going on the second I saw her chasing you down at the viner.'
Kit blinked. Theo’s girlfriend and Hugh’s girlfriend were having an affair? This small-town policing had a lot more drama than she’d expected.”

I liked the fact that romance took a little bit of a backseat in this one, if only because the two main love interests were people we didn’t know, so at first I was worried we wouldn’t be seeing the rest of the group as much, I'm so glad that wasn't the case! If you read the description of the book, it’s correct to say, “This time, it's personal”. Through The Fire is more plot heavy and focusses on the character development of the characters from the other books, as well as Kit. Which was definitely how I preferred it. So I don't recommend reading this book before the previous three. My one criticism would be that, I feel like it should’ve been Kit on the cover of the book. She was such an awesome heroine! And I liked Wes a lot but Kit truly was the MVP of Through The Fire.

It was also fun getting to see semi serious Hugh as Kit’s training officer. Which lasted all of 5 minutes before his personality broke through. At first I was like… I can’t picture Hugh having to be in charge of anybody at work. Then I was like…. yeah that’s probably exactly what he would be like if he was in charge of somebody at work. They were such a fun pair, they had a brother-sister type of banter, it was hilarious to see.

“'Why would I slow down for you?' she said. 'If you can’t keep up, just get in the car.'
'Oh, I can keep up.' He sounded like he was back to his usual self. 'We could run all the way to Denver, and I’d still keep up. In fact, I could run even faster than you, much faster, but I don’t want to get ahead of the handler.'
'Hugh.' She gave him a sharp look, knowing why Theo always seemed to be at the end of his patience."

As a side note I just want to point out how funny it is that Hugh’s been injured in one way or another in every single book, can we please get him an MRI or something?!

Kit’s relationship with Sam was perhaps the most heartwarming, wholesome part of the book for me. Sam wants help training one of the dogs from the kennel and asks Kit for help, very reluctantly, as reserved and guarded as he is. They share another connection when Kit realizes he has the same suspicions as she does of Elena. And their bond is solidified in the chapter where Courtney arrives in town and Kit stands up for him in the Viner. Which by the way is one of my favorite chapters in the whole series, having that resolution for Sam and Jules’ entire family was so important. It was such an emotional moment, I had tears coming down my face through most of it! One of my favorite parts was towards the end of the book when Sam tells Elena to take him as hostage instead of Kit.

“Kit knew that whoever left as Elena’s hostage was most likely not coming back. She was willing to take that risk with her own life, but not with Sam’s. Not Sam.”...."‘If you take him, I’ll chase you down.’ The gun barrel jammed harder into her back, but Kit ignored the pain and the way that her head injuries and adrenaline were making the room spin. She couldn’t mess this up. Sam’s life was at stake. ‘Think of how much you hate me. I ruined all your plans. How good will it feel to use me as your hostage and then kill me?’”

It was such a relief that the last chapter wasn’t a definitive ending. As a super fan of this series, I hope we get 100 more installations of the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit, I would love to read another book from the POV of our already existing characters again, or a multi POV book, I miss being inside their heads! But really I would read anything set in Monroe.

“It had been worth the frustration and loneliness and fear and even the painful hole in her leg to have found her place in this weird mountain town she’d grown to love.
Finally, against all the odds, she was home.” show less

SPOILERS AHEAD!
God this was so much fun! I had already decided that the second book in this series was going to be an all time favorite, but this book really solidified the whole series as a favorite of mine. Survive The Night felt like when a television show is in their third season and all the characters have settled into their personalities and you start to really appreciate the development, even if in this case it was happening in the background. I think of Theo, I loved the first book show more but his character didn't really make any mark on me as I read it, but somewhere between the second book and the end of the third I started to really love his character! I wish we could get 100 more additions to this series of women on the run showing up in Monroe just so I can catch up with my favorite people. Actually, it doesn't even have to follow that pattern of Espina sending women there. I would read anything set in Monroe.

I really have to applaud Katie Ruggle on the whole sequence beginning from when the first bomb dropped, all the way through the night, the back and forth POV between Otto and Sarah who were practically on opposite sides of town was riveting. All communications down, the town being silent and empty, I loved how apocalyptic it all felt!

"All Otto's instincts-which had been muttering at him that something was very, very wrong- turned up the volume, shouting at him to get out of the building."

Sometimes in suspense books, the threat is there but nothing really ends up happening that has lasting damage, not in this one, Monroe has a lot of rebuilding to do in the aftermath of Aaron's visit. I couldn't see how the titles of the first two books related to the plot, but this one was truly fitting. There's SO many fun moments between all the characters in this book, I was going to try and add some of my favorites but after checking my e-reader I realized it's a highlighted mess, there's just too many! I was not expecting Otto and Sarah to beat, Theo and Jules, or Hugh and Grace to the alter! It's so cute how Hugh is constantly making comments about Grace moving in with him, I was sure they would get married first but I also like that Grace is firm in her decision to take things slow.

"'We could go, too' Hugh gave Grace a hungry look. 'Have a double wedding.'
She made a big show of pretending to consider it and then shook her head. 'I'm having too much fun dating you.'
'C'mon, then, girlfriend.' Hugh ushered Grace into the house. 'Let's leave the lovebirds alone.'"

Sarah fits in perfectly with the group, I love the dynamic between the three girls'. I can't wait to start the next book. I think I already said this in my review for the second book but, the epilogues in this series are great, they feel like a teaser, almost like a post credits scene of a Marvel movie!
Lastly my obligatory Taylor Swift song that I'm assigning to this book is, Out Of The Woods. For no particular reason.. show less

I received a copy of Survive the Night by Jackie May from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. The following review is reflective of my opinions and mine alone.

Alice Blanchett is the not-at-all beloved sister of crime lord, Aaron Blanchett and she is so used to having nobody on her side that when she receives a note in her dry cleaning telling her to be ready to escape, she doesn't dare to hope because who would be willing to go against her brother. But when her show more brother promises her to a cruel man to gain favour and form a partnership with an even bigger crime family, she hopes against hope that her unknown saviour will come through. Amidst the bombardment of her home, help comes in the unlikely form of her brother's associate who whisks her away and provides her with a new name and safe passage to a welcoming safe house.

Otto Gunnerson is every animal's best friend, always going out of his way to help an animal in need. When he meets his friend's new housemate, Sarah Clifton, he's speechless. And then awkward, then speechless again, and then awkward again. When Otto comes to Sarah's rescue one day, he offers up his underground bunker to the woman that's captivated him and rendered him tongue-tied.

Otto Gunnerson is really my ideal male gender mate. He's adorably awkward when presented with a woman he finds attractive and he'll bend over backwards to help an animal in need as you can tell the moment you meet him climbing up a dilapidated windmill to rescue a kitten for his friend's little sister. In addition to the rescued kitten, he's also taking care of a frightened horse, a neglected goat, and a litter of orphaned puppies, which turns out to be his 'in' to getting to know Sarah Clifton. Sarah (previously called Alice) is wary of men in general and while she's attracted to the viking-lumberjack LEO, she's also hesitant to get involved with Otto because she knows sooner or later she'll have to disappear again to stay ahead of her brother and pseudo fiance. But Sarah and Otto cannot ignore the heavy attraction building between them and finally decide to make the most of it while things are calm and before Sarah has to leave for parts unknown.

When war comes to Monroe, the ties that bind are tested and lives will be lost. What does the future hold for Sarah and Otto?

Survive the Night was my first approval on Edelweiss and I'm so very glad I was approved for it. I actually finished reading it back in January and was so reluctant to write this review because I didn't want to say 'goodbye' to it. I mean, I kept coming up with excuse after excuse not to finish writing it. I reorganised my books six different times in four weeks, I decided to learn Korean, I bingewatched Dollhouse and some Korean shows on Hulu and Netflix, I made pancakes, pretty much anything I could do to prolong my relationship with Survive the Night. That's why I'm going to warn y'all right now before we go any further. You will get emotionally invested.

From the very beginning readers will become attached to Alice as she endures her abusive life with her older brother, the head of a small crime family. When Alice is manhandled by the twisted creep that her brother chose as her betrothed as a means to attaching himself to a much larger criminal family, I wanted to raze the entire fictional country to the ground. I actually got a bit loud celebrating the explosive entrance her rescuer has at her bedroom window one night and I cheered Alice on as she climbed the roof then rappelled down the other side of the house, and holding my breath and biting a hole in my lip as she passed her brother's office. I chewed my thumbnail down to the quick as Alice struggled up the ravine with her 'bodyguard' and thoughts of what her brother would do if said 'bodyguard' caught her pushing her onward. When Alice, now called Sarah, meets Otto, the awkwardly adorable meeting made me feel embarrassed. With every awkward interaction between Otto and Alice, I was overwhelmed by their adorkable factor. And as the story progressed, I started morphing into one of those really wild ship fangirls that you see on tumblr.

Alice and Otto are both well-developed characters, adding their love story to the series and reintroducing couples from earlier in the series that will worm their way into your hearts and make you want to read their stories as well. You will fall in love with the mischievous twins, Ty and Tio, and want to fight Sam's demons for him. You will cheer Alice/Sarah as she becomes more and more sure of herself. But you'll also find yourself hoping she'll leave Monroe so you can have Otto all to yourself. My favourite part was how detailed Ms Ruggle was in her research for how to care for orphaned puppies. It reminded me of the days when I was bottlefeeding Manatee and Ozymandias' litter, an event that actually saved my life nearly 9 years ago. Let's just say that Otto was made for me.

Survive the Night is an emotional read all-around. I laughed at the kids' antics, I cried at sad animal moments (no animals were harmed or killed so don't worry), I nearly died laughing during the bull elk scene. The buildup of the final act had me looking like a strange cross between a caterpillar (a woolly bear, if you must imagine it) and a blanket burrito gone horribly awry. I'm avoiding telling you the entire plot even though I want to gush and gush and gush, but I won't. You'll need to grab a copy of your own to find out what happens to Alice and Otto.

I cannot properly express how intense the emotions were that I felt reading Survive the Night. Ms Ruggle truly knows how to keep a reader wrapped up in their blanket burrito waiting with bated breath with every turn of the page.

In the end, I'm giving Survive the Night by Katie Ruggle 2 flames for the sexy times and 5 out of 5 stars. That's right. FIVE STARS. I devoured this book in a few hours one night. After I had finished it, I immediately went to the kindle store and bought the first two books of the series and the first book of her other series because I needed more!

This is a copy of my review that can be found on my book blog, www.onceuponatimeireadabook.com show less