Review: Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle

Hold Your Breath (Search and Rescue #1) by Katie Ruggle
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: April 5th 2016
My rating: 4 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

 

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

As the captain of Field County's ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise "Lou" Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he's never felt more alive...even if keeping her safe may just kill him.

Lou's new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she's determined to make it on her own terms...no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou-and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.

My Thoughts:

As a fan of romantic suspense I’ve read quite a few.  Some super addictive, some okay, and others not-so-much, so I’m always excited when I find one that’s really good!  Hold Your Breath had me hooked from the beginning, and I plan on gobbling up the rest of the series!

Lou Sparks is a new addition to the Search and Rescue dive-team in a tiny town in Colorado. Even though her team leader, Callum, is tough, stoic and barely cracks a smile, Lou can’t help the big crush she has on him or what a bumbling mess she turns into when Callum’s around.  He’s hot, strong, focused and so good at what he does, so how can Lou resist? 

While on a training exercise Lou dislodges a body from the icy depths and her quizzical side can’t let the mystery go.  Who was this man, and why did someone kill him?  In addition to that mystery, Lou is the target of some nasty, dangerous pranks that start to take on a sinister tone.  Surprisingly, Lou finds help in Callum.  He won’t leave her side once it’s apparent she’s in danger and also intent on solving the mystery behind the body that popped up. 

I thought Lou was a little ditzy at first, and she is a little clutzy when Callum’s around, but that’s mostly from nerves.  Anyone with a mad crush could relate.  I certainly can!  In reality, Lou’s pretty strong and intelligent, and displayed the courage to leave when her life in Connecticut was proceeding without her control, thanks to a possessive boyfriend and steamroller parents. Callum was a bit more of a mystery to me for a lot of the book because we didn’t get his point of view, and that’s the only reason I didn’t rate this book higher, but I still loved his character! He was protective and possessive, and his hard exterior cracked bit by bit spending time with Lou.

Lou’s situation becomes more and more dangerous as the story progresses, but she was smart in her responses.  It’s so frustrating when a heroine makes unbelievably stupid decisions and I was relieved this wasn’t the case with Lou.  The mystery behind the dead body isn’t completely solved, so I’m sure it will be picked up in the next book, Fan the Flames.  It’s already loaded on my Kindle and I’m excited that it will feature Ian, the hunky firefighter/motorcycle club member! Can’t wait!

 Connect with Katie Ruggle:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter