This book is great. I enjoyed the light-hearted, cozy mystery kind of vibe. It was a very quick fun read that was sweet, charming, and heart warming.

A forced proximity romance with plenty of snark and really aweee how sweet moments. They were such a cute couple and the meet cute moment was so fun!
I did have a slight problem that they were 'getting along' so well when her sister was in trouble. But we all deal with our problems in our own way.

Very cute and I think I'll pull out my other Ruggle books to read now!

This was definitely not my favorite. I really loved Ruggle's last series but this one just didn't measure up. The plot felt contrived and the characters kept making decisions that didn't make a lot of sense. I have hope that work in the series will be better because I really do enjoy her writing in general.

Having read a few of Katie's K9 dog suspense stories, I was looking forward to this one. However, Fish Out of Water is less suspense and more funny. But apparently I'm more of a suspense and dog kinda girl, because this story just didn't do it for me. Is it a bad book? Most certainly not! It was funny and the story was nice, but just not for me. So I would still recommend it, but it will get no more than three stars from me.

First of all, I absolutely adore books that deal with camping/hiking. There should be more books with these elements! Pair this with a mystery element, and it's a complete win for me. This book was funny and sweet, a bit cheesy (but I don't mind cheesiness!), and definitely heartwarming. Fish Out of Water is the perfect book if you're looking for a lighthearted read that doesn't take itself too seriously. Will definitely be reading more of this author.

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

This copy was kindly given to be for review by the publisher and Netgalley; all opinions are my own.

This is my first Katie Ruggle book but it will not be my last. This book was light, good fun. With how short of a time frame this story takes much of the romance is you suspending some belief of reality but I loved the plot none the less. The one tent... the one sleeping bag, the hiking and rugged landscape... and rugged MMC, lol. It all wrapped together for a book I could not put down. The career of the FMC was interesting and I wish we had seen a little more of it though at the end we started to get a deeper glimpse into it.

If you want a fast paced, action filled romance set in a rugged landscape with grumpy-secret-cinnamon roll MMC, this is the book for you;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-snowed in
-roadtrip vibes
-forced proximity
-the hard and soft one

This was fun, light, and some excitement. I loved going on this trip with Dahlia and Winston.

I attempted this book via audiobook at first and it wasn't for me, so I also gave it a read via eBook thinking/hoping it was a format issue... but it wasn't. The story had potential, it just didn't get there for me

1.5 ⭐️ | 1/5 🌶️ - Fish Out of Water - Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What to expect:
🏕️ Camping/Hike adventure
🌲Underlying mystery plot
🏕️ "One sleeping bag"
🌲 Grumpy/Sunshine
🏕️ Virgin MMC
🌲 Forced proximity


Katie Ruggle unfortunately swung and missed with this Rom-com mystery book. The cover really drew me in, only to find out there's no fishing that happens and despite looking summery - there's a blizzard that happens in this book...

I was intrigued by the plot and was quickly disappointed. The writing felt clunky with long chapters, and felt repetitive. Anytime it got boring there was a new trope thrown in there. The romance wasn't believable and they fell in love after knowing each other for like a week? Even the set up of how Dalhalia got Winston to help her felt so forced.

The only parts I enjoyed were the actual adventurous parts of hiking. But then came the blizzard and the horrible scene that was FMC giving a makeover to MMC which turned to her taking his virginity? Not great in general, but horrible when you think about the fact they are actively trying to hunt for the FMC lost sister...

The actual mystery wasn't good either. Spoilers: she was kidnapped at a meth lab in the middle of the woods near a popular Hiking spot?? And the rescue was more outlandish and hard to follow. It felt all abrupt. Honestly wished I DNF'd but I'm a completionist and had to know how the mystery ended. Would not recommend.

Not quite my cup of tea

"Fish Out of Water" by Katie Ruggle is a RomCom with a mystery and thriller element and tells the story of Dahlia and Winston.

When Dahlia's sister disappears in the mountains, she heads straight to the Colorado Rockies to look for her. And not alone, so that she doesn't get lost in the mountains herself, she hires the town's unwilling hermit to guide her through the mountains. Neither of them expected the feelings that develop between them.

Dahlia is absolutely not the nature type, but for her sister she is not afraid of any adventure or dangerous situation to help her. The love she has for her sister is probably the quality about her that I appreciate the most.
Nevertheless, I'm not a fan of Dahlia. She's a real chatterbox and she really talks everyone against the wall and can wrap everyone around her little finger. She did the same with Winston.

Winston is a real grumpy bear with a penchant for complicated traps. He's a very quiet character, but as an author and survival expert he's unique. I liked him a lot 🥰

I usually love the GrumpyxSunshine trope, but here I actually have to say that I didn't like it with the interplay of a few factors. For me, the book was clearly a romcom that was just way too over the top for me. For me, Dahlia's concern about her sister was totally overshadowed by her hyper persona. The tension was completely missing for me. It all sounds so negative, but it wasn't at all.

For me, "Fish Out of Water" was a solid novel for in between and gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to the Sitzordnung, Publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I struggled to get into this book and ultimately, decided to add it to my “not right now” pile. This is my pile for books that I think I might really enjoy if I read it at another time. I was in the middle of an intense reading slump when I picked this one up and I truly don’t think that I can give fair judgement on this book as I have not finished it. I think there’s a lot of potential here, it just wasn’t what I needed in that moment.

Once I finish it, I will update my review! But I’d definitely recommend giving it a chance.

This book was so funny and charming! I felt the chemistry between the winston and dahlia was really electric and I loved the premise of this story a lot and found it to be completely unique but with all the tropes we love (grumpy sunshine and one sleeping bag??? Sold) highly recommend!

I’m definitely a fan of this author. I’ve read almost all of her books and have liked all of them. Katie is definitely one of my favorite suspense authors. Fish out of Water is her least suspenseful book, but it was just as good as her others. I would say this one is more 80% romance and 20% suspenseful.

This book was cute. The H was a green flag. I really liked his character. He was the grumpy and quite lumberjack character. But, he was honestly a big ole teddy bear. I liked the h too. She was sweet and very talkative.

Safety
Safe. No ow/OM drama. Virgin Hero. Heroine not a virgin. No others after meeting.

This book was a little different than my usual go to and, I didn’t hate it. I actually enjoyed the light hearted, cozy mystery kind of vibe. It was a very quick read, a perfect pallet cleanser for in between your more heavier reads .

I’m always a sucker for a city girl falling for a rugged mountain man. In this case is was an LA stylist, Delilah and a semi famous author who is also known around town as a total recluse. This information alone was enough to have me itching to dive into this book, but add in said city girl on the hunt for her missing sister, who is lost somewhere in the mountains… you just know this big grizzly lumberjack of a man won’t be able to stop himself from stepping in to lend a helping hand 😉

It was fun, it was funny, it was sweet, a little cheesy at times, but overall it was charming and heart warming.

Thank you Netgalley and Katie Ruggle for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Romance 🩷🩷
Spice 🌶️🌶️

This love story is so cute, you almost forget there’s a missing person! The setting is breathtaking, the characters’ banter is hilarious, and the romantic tension is captivating. The author creates characters you want to meet and befriend in real life.

A must read if you enjoyed Something Wilder by Christina Lauren, Along Came Holly by Cori Hall, and Not Bad for a Girl by Anastasia Ryan.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my eARC!

Dahlia's sister has gone missing in Colorado and has sent their secret SOS signal. She decides to hire the town grump and has to get past all of his house defenses first. Dane is a popular author living in anonymity in small town Colorado. Dahlia wears him down and he agrees to be her guide as she needs to hike out to her last known location. They will encounter weather, animals, and fight to deny their feelings for each other! This story was so much fun! I loved the adventure aspect of it as well as the romance. It was light hearted but not at all over the top. I enjoyed the tropes of forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, and remote setting in the Colorado wilderness.

Dahlia is a chaotic, energetic, take charge woman on a mission to save her sister -- who no one else really believes is missing thanks to their secret SOS code. Winston is a grumpy hermit mountain man who lives alone in a boobytrapped house and gets pulled into Dahlia's rescue mission. I like that both MCs take honesty very seriously and while for Dahlia this means wearing her heart on her sleeve and her thoughts on her face -- also out loud because she can't seem to keep her thoughts contained -- Winston doesn't speak much but when he does it's with sincerity. Dahlia is a fun main character and I found myself highlighting a lot of her dialogue because of how absurd and funny it was. She has an interesting family background and a cool job that is perfectly suited to her. She's loud but kind and super loyal. Winston is harder to get a read on because he's presented as this stoic, quiet, grumpy man who has seemingly been an unwilling partner from the start, but he makes sure Dahlia is safe and comfortable and he believes her that her sister is missing. I found the plot to be a bit slow and it made little meaningful progress really until the end in my opinion but it's still a light read with a bit of suspense and lots of funny moments. The writing is great and I have heard the author's other books are really good so I'll be checking some more out soon.

Grumpy x sunshine
Family dynamics
Basically woman vs wild (but with a large, protective, survivalist guide)
Only one tent

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca for the digital ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this one up Read Now a few months ago and was excited when I saw that the audiobook was available on Spotify! I was very sad to be completely turned off to this one based on the selected narrator and just could not get into it. I decided to DNF ay 10%.

It was OK. I enjoyed the writing style but the story got away from me about halfway through.
First, the mmc was written like a teen male. I understand that there are men out there who have no experience with women and are very immature but this guy was sooo cringe whenever there was a semi smut scene. Like the way he talked to our fmc and the way his mannerisms were almost like he had been living in the wild for his whole life when he has only been living as a hermit for maybe 3 years so he shouldn't be as awkward as he appears to be. Idk I just couldn't stand how cringe he talked and acted.
Also, the meth lab in the forest part was not particularly my favorite thing in a romcom story but ok.

I will be down to try a different story by this author as I did like the writing.
Thank you to the publisher for the copy.

I forced myself to finish this and realized it had been an utter waste of time. This book was not for me. Dahlia, more concerned with her makeup and her fashionista clothing, is ostensibly searching for her sister, Rose. Dahlia breaks into Winston's compound and convinces him to help her go on a mountain in the middle of a Colorado blizzard. Winston was prepared. Dahlia was not. Her cute little fashion boots did not hold up well and her cashmere went only so far. The cover shows a lake, summertime - none of this is true.