Publishers Weekly
12/04/2023
Ruggle (In Safe Hands) delivers a thoroughly enjoyable wilderness-set rom-com with a hint of danger. After makeover specialist Dahlia’s free-spirited sister, Rose, sends Dahlia a 911 text from a wilderness vacation and then stops responding, plucky Dahlia beelines it to Howling Falls, Colo., to find her. Tipped off that her sister may have been seen with grumpy mountain man Winston Dane (aka mystery author Dane Winters), she picks the locks on his formidable gates with a lip pencil, enters his property, and persuades him to help her find her sister. Did Rose simply get lost on a hike? Or is there a more sinister explanation? As Dahlia and Winston brave the wilderness, their explosive chemistry becomes apparent—and is made more intense by sharing a single sleeping bag. Ruggle gender-swaps the typical virgin trope (it’s Winston who has less experience) for some tender and scorching love scenes. The twist-filled mystery will draw readers in, and despite the danger, Ruggle mines Dahlia’s admittedly faulty “brain-to-mouth filter” for plenty of humor. Romance lovers will have no trouble rooting for this raunchy heroine and her strong, protective hero. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Romance lovers will have no trouble rooting for this raunchy heroine and her strong, protective hero." — Publishers Weekly
"Fish Out of Water reads like a sexy Sherlock Holmes, and is the most fun I’ve had in ages. The only hiking I want to do is up Winston Dane’s thighs." — Lana Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author
"Readers will find themselves laughing out loud as they devour the book." — Library Journal
Library Journal
11/01/2023
Dahlia Weathersby's sister Rose has gone missing on a hike in the Colorado Rockies. The local police aren't worried, but an SOS text that Dahlia received at the time of Rose's disappearance suggests something nefarious has happened. Rose is the only family Dahlia has, so she drops everything, travels to the small town of Howling Falls (Rose's last known location), and starts asking questions. The trail leads her to local hermit Winston Dane. Winston has no answers for Dahlia, but she manages to convince (okay, blackmail) the hot, grumpy mountain man to be her guide as she tries to track Rose's path through the mountain wilderness. Her attraction to Winston helps distract her from her worries about Rose, and when they're trapped in a tent during a snowstorm, things heat up between them. The mystery of the missing sister, while the catalyst for the plot, soon takes a back seat to the growing relationship between Dahlia and Winston. VERDICT Ruggle (Risk It All) writes the comedy and adventure aspects of this romance well, and readers will find themselves laughing out loud as they devour the book.—Heather Miller Cover
