I usually really enjoy Katie Ruggle books and was looking forward to reading this one, it just felt like there was something missing. I really enjoyed the characters, including the side characters but I .... it was the mom I didn't like the mom. I apologize for the turn of sentence but it came to me.

Watching Felicity and Bennett chase her skip was entertaining and at times I was thinking, how could they possibility find themselves in this situation. The women that they met who dubbed themselves the Murder Club were so much fun, even their husbands were hilarious. I liked this book and am looking forward to the next book.

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review from NetGalley.

This book was so cute and fun!!! Felicity and Bennett were such a fun couple and I loved their insta-love. If you want a lighthearted and suspenseful story with grump/sunshine and only one bed - you need to read this one!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy! I had so much fun reading this one!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

I really enjoyed this book. Such a cute quick and easy read. I loved the storyline and the characters. Great writing style. Perfect summer read.

If you are looking for a book that has:

Strangers to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Family Drama
Secrets
Bounty Hunters
One blanket

Will Felicity be able to uncover the truth that connects her mom to the stolen jewels and those pesky small town secrets?

Will the handsome new stranger in town prove he wants to work with her and not sabbatoge her future?

A story with loveable familiar characters for those who have read a handful of Katie's backlist. If not, have no fear this can be read as a standalone.

A slow burn, spicy, romantic suspense that lets you enjoy getting aquainted with all the fun characters or reconnecting with old favorites. How far will they have to trek to solve the case without becoming victims themselves?

Happy reading!

I am not sure what I was expecting but I wasn't expecting THAT. Overall, it's not a bad book. It's not a cheesy romance novel. Sure, it's kinda enemies to lovers and one bed. But it's more of an action packed adventure with what feels like a side of romance.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite fun. It had engaging writing and overall I found it very enjoyable to read. The dynamic between Bennett and Felicity was a fun one and they had good chemistry; I found their relationship very easy. The drama and conflict in this book was mostly all external, and in that sense it was a fairly uncomplicated read. That said, the external plot was pacy and exciting.

Personally, though, the tone of the book wasn’t for me. It was very silly in parts and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I can see it appealing to a lot of people, though, it just wasn’t something I could read a lot of in one go. That aside, though, this was a very fun book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Violence, gun violence, organised crime, references to drugs and drug dealing, head injuries, kidnap, murder, attempted murder, drink spiking, on-page sex, divorce (parents, in past).

The Scenic Route serves up a bounty hunter and a private investigator who team up to catch a criminal on the run. That right there had me completely SOLD!

What a sweet and fun romance!! Felicity & Bennett's story is super cool to read and keeps you hooked from the beginning, this book is perfect for anyone who loves a well-made grumpy/sunshine AND the only one bed trope. I wish the romance wasn't so insta-love but it made sense in the story so I can't complain. Bennett's personality could’ve been better in my opinion, although I found the character ok I felt he was quite forgettable.

Thank you Netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was on my tbr and i was so excited to be approved to read the ARC. This book is so damn cute and funny. Grumpy x Sunshine is exactly what i need to get out of a reading slump and it did just that. It was fun and refreshing.

This was indeed a very funny book, even more than I expected if I'm going to be honest, so thank you for the chance of reading this arc, definitly grumpy-sunshine and I did laugh at some parts while I was picturing their interaction.. I did had a lot of fun

Thank you for this ark!

I liked this book a lot! It was fun and easy read! I liked the MC and you don’t read very many counter hunter romances so this was new!

Thank you

Light and funny romcom disguised as a bounty hunter chase 🏕️

The character / personality aspect was my favorite part, even though Bennett's whole "silent imperturbable mask" wasn't really credible as he regularly reacted and appeared as an awkward softie almost immediately. Comparing him to George who had no emotion and didn't say a word when Bennett often spoke and smiled, it was a bit far fetched.

I was really disappointed by their relationship starting off a bit too early for my taste. By the 70% mark they're already happily in love..... The tension was broken too fast, there barely was any tension as both were into the other and barely resisting.

I really did enjoy the one-bed one-blanket moments 🛏️ as one does.

Overall a sweet vibe but it felt like the author was going through the motions of writing a romcom, like she did with the previous how many stories (since a million couples are introduced at the beginning and appear throughout the story) than actually giving life to a unique story and characters. The bounty hunting thing was original though it was really fun!

Review posted on Goodreads and a short one on Instagram

Before the plot even starts, before prologue, we're introduced to 6 couples (yes, 6!) and 2 women who apparently dont even have their own book yet? Who apparently will be important to the plot of the book.Im'm already exhausted. It's worth to mention, that the note from the author starts by saying that The Scenic Route is the first book in the new series... And according to NetGalley it's a standalone book.

If it's a standalone, why do I need to know all these characters from the previous books and series? Not only was Introduced to he backstory of each characters but also how they fell in love. It was completely unecessary. If the book was well-written - which I now doubt it - then we don't need all of this introduction because we can find out who they are from the context clues of the plot.

But I digress.

The story was interesting, and faced paced. Bit everything was fast paced. Both the investigation and the love story. I'm not a fan of I sta lust and the way the male main character was so in love with her and accepting of that fact was weird but it wa dthe sudden realization a Nd acceptance of female love interest that was jarring to me. So they shared a bed a couple of times, got married drugged in Vegas (more of that later) and had sex and they're suddenly in love? They knew each other for a week. If even that.

And while I usually love surprise Vegas weddings none of the description actually suggested anything like that. In fact it did the opposite of that. Because according to the blurb, they were supposed to be dating during the investigation - there was none of that. And, the female lead was supposed to make a decision, whether to be with him or not. Like it was literally in the description. That she would struggle with that choice, be conflicted etc.

There was none of that either.

Why include the "why date a mountain man" and "Felicity will have to decide what's most important to her: staying one step ahead of her "enemy" or giving herself a freedom to experiece adventure of a lifetime" of you're not gonna deliver? Felicity just went along with it with no hesitation, there was no decision to make???? She was just like "yup okay whatever" what was that???

Also, the Vegas wedding. It raised some suspicions that weren't confirmed??? But it took me out of this book and made me hate and distrust Bennet immediately. Because it was like that: Felicity and Bennet were on a stakeout in a bar, someone spiked their drinks and in the high state they decided to get married. Okay. Fine. The questions arose the next morning: because Bennet remembered everything while Felicity didn't. And Bennet's a big guy so if the dose was small... Did he knew what was happening? Was he just drugged and went along with this? Because she was. Or, more nefarious, if the dose was small enough, was he only a little tipsy, but still able to make good decisions and then decided to just marry her while she obviously couldn't give him her full consent given the state of her at the time? Those were literally the question Felicity ahs and she just... Brushes them off?? Excuse me?? If someone I trusted(or began to trust) did something like this to me while I was vulnerable and unable to say no, I would be horrified. Not horny. That would be it, the trust would be broken and no amount of grovelling would ever get it back (and there was none of grovelling. None at all). And the author just brushed the issue off! After Felicity's initial freakout, she just brushed it off and never mentions it again. Seriously?? No, don't do that! If he took advantage of her, that's not cute or romantic!! It's horrifying!

Another thing that annoyed me: the murder club. All of those women (especially Lou) were horrible and nosy and just the worst. And the female lead who was supposed to be a bounty hunter, so someone smart, just told them all the truth with no hesitation? She didn't even know them. But she immediately spilled the beans and then was surprised that the guy she was after knew about her being there? Please. Let's apply some logic here.

While it was a fun book, everything unravels when you think about it. I took offence about the consent (or lack thereof) and how it was brushed off. Just no. It took me out of the story and I couldn't enjoy it after that.

Like seriously, did he know hat was happening? Because if he had the same dose of drug as she was, there was no way he was that high. His body built and mass would protect him somewhat. If he was tipsy, he could still make decisions and then decided to take advantage of her. I hate that. That ruined the book for me (even more than over the top third act drama - and it wasn't even wrapped properly. What about their mom? And I was seriously thinking that Charlie book would be next since she was on the case AND was mentioned the most -and in epilogue we got Nora, very randomly?? Makes no sense. There was no build up to it at all. Ughhh. (Also a note from me but if authors do epilogues, make them about the main couple. Don't bring out the entire new pov that aha nothing to do with the main couple, it's not wanted nor needed. If you want to set up the next book, leave context clues and easter eggs throughout the plot instead. It's much more satisfying that way.

I enjoyed this one more than I expected, I read & reviewed Fish out of Water by Katie a few months back & was pleasantly surprised how much I liked her writing. The Scenic Route follows Bennett & Felicity. Bennett, a normally grumpy & quiet private investigator & Felicity, a bounty hunter. Now can you imagine a one bed scenario???

Felicity & Bennett could not be more opposite characters, but I loved them. We love a silent brooding guy, truly a head turner (for me for sure). I loved seeing them team up so early on in the book to catch a guy who skipped his bail, it & they were hilarious!! While they were so opposite, felicity had a knack for reading Bennett & understanding him on another level, I loved her inner monologue when describing him & things she noticed & observed.

Really my main thin with this book was the insta-love, not my favorite trope although I feel like related to Bennett’s character & his grumpy man of few words vibes, they usually tend to fall the hardest for the right one. I love the slight aspect of what’s going to happen next & this book kept me guessing & I loved that. It didn’t feel typical.

Thank you for the ARC! Can’t wait to continue to read more of her books!!

I enjoyed this book. It was funny and cute. There were so many fantastic characters and I really want to read some of the other books in which these characters feature.

However, I did struggle with it at times for the very reason above; it felt like an extension of another set of stories rather than a story in it's own right. I also really struggled with how naive the main character was, despite constantly being told that she was a strong, independent woman.

Pleased to have found this author and this series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When I first started started reading this book I thought, wait a second, I know these characters! The Pax sisters have been featured in other novels and I wondered when they’d show back up again. A bounty hunting gang of sisters was too good a premise to pass up and it looks like the Beneath the Wild Sky series will feature the rest of them. Yay! We also return to the small town in the rockies where the Search and Rescue Series takes place and we get to revisit that fun group of ladies and their guys who have all been involved in solving crimes and are eager to involve themselves in Felicity’s investigation. It was fun to be back in the rockies with all of these characters again!

I’m a huge fan of Katie Ruggle’s and am so glad she’s writing back in this romantic suspense/rom-com category. I split between the two because there’s a lot of humor in her writing as well as dangerous elements and plenty of romance. Felicity and Bennett were absolutely adorable. She’s the work out self defense expert among her sisters and despite her young age (22) seems pretty adept at navigating this investigation. Bennett is the grumpy hero with a heart of gold and I loved him for Felicity right from the start of this novel, despite is stalker-esque start. He fell instantly in serious like with this woman and was determined to help her and keep her safe. Their special brand of communication with glances and humorous mini dialog’s kept me reading, and the action-adventure style investigation made me hunger for more. I can’t wait for the next novel in this series to come out!

Thank you to Casablanca books for the ARC of this one. Overall, this was a fun one and I did enjoy reading it. That being said, I found a lot of aspects of it to be incredibly unbelievable. I liked both main characters, but some more background details about their lives would have served the book really well. I feel like I have only a slight hint about what makes them who they are. This book leans heavily on the "insta love" trope. I can sometimes enjoy that, but here it felt like there was no real reason for their love. Almost like fingers were snapped and "poof" that loved each other. I enjoyed the premise behind the book in that Felicity is a bounty hunter, Overall, it was a fun read but I don't know if I'd recommend it to my audience. Thanks for the chance to review it.

4 stars!

I was so happy to have this book to be reviewed! Katie Ruggle's previous book was absolutely brilliant, so I couldn't wait to read this book as well.

Felicity is a bounty hunter. Bennett is a private detective investigating a theft (Felicity's mother is the guilty one!). Bennett stalks Felicity and ends up following her in the small and slightly weird city of Simpson. Those who like Katie Ruggle's previous books love this because in Simpson we meet several familiar characters as side characters!

Felicity is a great heroine: strong and bright, and Bennett is a swoon worthy hero, like heroes created by Katie Ruggle are in general.

The story is told in the third person, mainly from the perspective of Felicity - I might have wanted a little more about Bennett's perspective as well. The book works well as a standalone, but you get more out of it if you have read the previous books.

Katie Ruggle knows how to weave a story with romance, comedy and suspense. This book was a pleasure to read, and I will certainly read this again.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
* Accidental marriage
* Alpha Hero
* Enemies to friends to lovers
* Family drama
* Forced proximity
* Grumpy - sunshine
* Hea
* ”My wife”
* One bed
* Open doors
* Opposites attract
* Physically very different
* Point of view: 3rd person
* Small town
* Third act: no break up

This book didn’t work for me due to the characters falling in love within one week of knowing each other. It also featured a lot of characters from previous books but is billed as a standalone. I would definitely recommend reading the other books first as these characters are clearly supposed to mean something to the reader.

Readers who don’t mind over the top plots and unbelievable instant romances will enjoy this.

Felicity is a bounty hunter working in the family business. Her mother allegedly stole an expensive piece of jewelry from a famous artist and then skipped out on bail. Bennett is the private investigator hired by the insurance company to find the necklace Felicity's mother took. Likable main characters and a large supporting cast of characters. A few blips of humor here and there, with a nice mystery to follow. Open-door romance, with insta-love and just-one-bed tropes. Primarily 3rd-person POV from Felicity's perspective, I would have liked more from Bennett as his personality felt blank and he barely said anything for the first half of the book. First in a series but part of a larger book universe, there is a handy reference section in the front of the book that explains who everyone is. If you're a fan of the author's other books then you'll enjoy seeing characters from previous books popping up in this story. As a newbie to the author I could follow the story, but the book heavily relies on familiarity from her other book series so it was hard for me to fully engage. The story was engaging enough but you're thrust right into a story whose initiating events have already happened, so there's missing build-up and a lot of assumed knowledge right from the start. And based on the description I really thought this book was going to be about solving the mom's crime but it's not, there's a plot with a mountain militia group and meth instead. It felt disjointed, like there's an over-arching plot across books and this particular book is just a side quest, which I wish I'd known going in. I liked it overall and it's a quick read but it didn't grab me fully. This would be a fun book for someone who's read all the other books and knows a lot going in, but it wasn't quite the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Ebook ARC of this story.