Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle Pages: 352
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on April 5, 2016
Series: Search and Rescue #1
Genres: adult, contemporary, Romance
Source: eARC from Publisher
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.
Hold Your Breath is the first book in the adult romance series, called Search and Rescue, by Katie Ruggle. Oooeee, did I love this book. So much love. Without a doubt, this is an author I want to be on the lookout for and a series I need to be continuing. I really loved everything about this book. I loved the characters (especially Callum), I loved the concept of a series centered around various responder units (Hold your Breath is about a search and rescue dive team, but there are also cops and firefights in the town that I think will get their own stories), I love the idea of a overarching plot line with a murderer throughout the books; and I really, really loved Callum. (did I already mention that?)
Hold your Breath is told in dual narrative between Callum and Lou. Lou is a new diver on the team and is relatively new to the area. Lou certainly has attached a fair bit of attention, and I have to believe that part of it is due to her winning personality and part of it is due to the remote location and nature of being in a small town in the middle of nowhere. If they were in a big city and every guy she encountered (young and old) tried to ask her out I would have probably rolled my eyes, but for some reason in this set of circumstances it was completely believable and felt genuine. Not to mention Lou only had eyes for Callum. (and I don’t blame her one bit!)
Speaking of Callum, let’s talk. He is currently in the lead for Book Briefs Book Boyfriend of 2016. Let’s just say I am a big fan. He is take charge- the strong quiet type for sure, but he is also caring and very kind. And just a tad possessive, which you all know if exactly what I look for in my book boyfriends. (in fact, I am on a current mission to read more books that feature leading men like him…so leave me recs in the comments below. I have already started and stopped two perfectly good books because the guys just weren’t Callum.)
Bottom line: Hold Your Breath will appeal to both readers of romance, as well as mystery/suspense novels. Each of the books in the series will focus on a new couple, but this is one that I would read in order because there is an over-arching murder mystery throughout the novels. Plus, Hold Your Breath is a fantastic read. You do not want to miss it.
Come meet Callum: @BookBriefs current 2016 pick of Book Boyfriend. Hold Your Breath by @KatieRuggle @SourcebooksCasa Click To Tweet
Leave a Reply