Liked:
- story was cute
- Writing was fine
- some really good tropes (ONE SHARED SLEEPING BAG, grumpy x sunshine)
- Laughed A LOT


Didn't Like:
- action plot line
- didn't connect to the characters that much
- main character didn't feel fleshed out and therefore sometimes superficial

3 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the eARC!

I sadly DNF'd at 25%.

I was excited about this title because of the cover and description, but it was a bit too slow for me. After reading a few other reviews, I don't think I'm missing out.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this title.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I did not care for this book about a girl looking for her sister. in a secluded mountain. When she blackmails a local author into helping her, they take off on an adventure. I ended up not finishing this book because it was frustrating. We spend a third of the book breaking into Winston's land and then asking about her sister. They didn't seem to have any chemistry and I found both characters to be annoying as well.

As soon as I saw the cover and read the premise of this book I knew I had to read it. Even though I was super excited to read this book, I couldn't get into it at all and ended up not finishing it. There were a number of times when reading I thought that the characters choices were super unrealistic (like who is gonna break into a stranger's home and then con them into going on a hiking trip to find your lost sister). Overall, not the book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to be an early reader.

Romance + Suspense + Virgin Hero = One happy reader! Dahlia is on the search to find her missing sister and breaks into Winston's compound. She's a great character who brings the MMC out of his shell. Yes, it's instalove with a grumpy/sunshine in the wilderness but reading is addictive. This book is a fast read which keeps you engaged the whole time.

First, the cover is gorgeous. Second, the summary sounds amazing!! This was a cute romantic suspense. Definitely read if you're looking for something fast paced mystery with a bit of spice.

Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle is a combination of romance and suspense with lots of humor build in. I loved the two main characters and how they sparked with each other. I found Dahlia a riot, attempting to break into Winston’s compound.

Dahlia is a quirky person for a main character. I have to admit, I love her! Dahlia works on helping people show others a true look at the people they would like to be. This talent works well in California, where she lives. However, her sister Rose is missing and Dahlia will do whatever is needed to find and save her. Unfortunately, no one believes her about her sister needing help. Dahlia finds a person to help her, but he has no idea what he is in for.

Winston lives like a hermit. He has set up traps to prevent people from getting into his compound. Despite his training, Winston writes cozy mysteries. He agrees to help Dahlia (maybe because of blackmail) and plans to help her find her sister up in the mountains despite the weather and the COLD.

The book is a fast read that has humor, suspense and romance! I enjoyed the characters of Winston and Dahlia and found myself ready to cheer them on. I liked how they were able to accomplish so much with so little. Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle was a fun read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Katie Ruggle for allowing me to review this cute romance/mystery for my honest review. This was a cute read and entertaining. I love romances that take place in the wilderness and I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine personalities of the main characters. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Thank you again for allowing me to review this book.

I loved this cover and the synopsis seemed right up my alley! Grumpy mountain? Only one sleeping bag? Yes please! But unfortunately it fell flat. I think it was missing the male POV, which may have helped develop their connection.

This was not only my first Katie Ruggle book, but also my first romantic suspense and I liked it, but there were just a few things that were off for me.

While I liked the plot being Dahlia having to leave the comforts of LA to hunt her sister down after receiving a coded text notifying her of an emergency, there were a few things that threw me. First, while I love a good mountain man character, Dahlia’s priority to save her sister was often overshadowed by her and Winston’s spicy scenes. Just felt like misplaced priorities and kind of fast moving when she initially blackmailed him and they’ve only known each other a couple of days. I also would e loved a dual POV as I felt like we missed out a lot on Winston’s character and he felt generic and like any other mountain man hermit character. Also he was strangely chill with Dahlia making it through his booby traps easily and I had a hard time believing she could do that so easily.

I did like all the action at the end and the camping/survival aspect as they trekked up the mountains to find her sister. Dahlia’s makeup kit that I thought was oddly brought along conveniently came in handy. I liked the characters well enough, but it was very insta-lovey for my tastes.

Overall, it was a fun read but it could’ve delivered a little better and focused more on the rescue than the romance (but alas I suppose it is marketed as a romance so Rose’s rescue must be in the backburner). I can see myself checking out more of Katie’s books in the future as it sounds like she writes a lot of romances in outdoor settings.

I really wanted to enjoy Fish Out of Water however; I couldn't connect to the characters and found the book to be very wordy. As someone who looks for pacing while reading, I found the pacing of this one to be choppy and the book didn't flow as much as I wanted it to. Shorter chapters would have been best! I ended up "DNF'ing" this book at the 23 percent mark.

The best way I can think of to describe this book is just fun. From the cute cover to the small town setting, the dynamic characters, the flirty banter...I just loved this book! Who knew a character named Winston would be so hot?! Yet the contrast of his huge, untalkative, yet cinnamon roll only with her personality and Dahlia's chatty, citified, and totally out of her element in nature character went together perfectly. He's so protective of her and shocked that she understands him so well when everyone else seems to avoid him. They're supposed to be on a rescue mission to find her sister, but most of the trip just seems like a fun trek into the wilderness with an expert guide and lots of tension and spice until the action at the end. I'm looking forward to more fun adventures by this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I enjoy reading this author however I found this book a little slow to start with. The second half zoomed by though, as I got into the story. Miss Sunshine picks the lock of Mr Grumpy and their adventure begins. The majority of this story being the hike to find her sister. These two became closer as he couldn't resist her constant banter. This was mainly a light almost rom-come until closer to the end. Will the good guys win this battle with the bad ones?
A fun read, I recommend this author's books.

Felt like I was reading two different books, one with a missing sister and the other where the MCs fall in love. Somewhere halfway into the book the MCs forgot the missing sister and got stranded in a blizzard inside a tent. The romance was cute, the reclusive MMC was a big cinnamon roll and their relationship was cute together.

I loved the small-town setting and enjoyed the banter and flirtiness between Winston and Dahlia. I thought their first meeting was both fun and cute. Dahlia is sassy and sarcastic, and Winston is an adorable and super nice guy who seems grumpy but is definitely more cinnamon roll reluctantly agrees to help her find her sister.. after a bit of blackmailing. I enjoyed seeing them grow closer as they trek through the forest and enjoyed some laugh-out-loud moments.
Even with the fact that they are trying to locate the sister the stakes feel pretty low, at least until they find Rose then the stakes feel higher. I liked the way it ended and will pick up more by this author in the future

it was such a lovely romcom for the first half! lumberjacks are not my favorite type but it still gave me butterflies from the second chapter. I was confused about the investigation part because at first it feels more like a thriller than a romcom but suddenly it's like her sister is not missing at all and she's just hiking with her buddy in the woods.

also, I'm traumatized by the spicy scene with him having his face real close to her "there" and asking for a flashlight?? to look at it properly?!?!? if anyone ever asked for a FLASHLIGHT to look at this I'd kill him and myself in the next minute

[review posted on goodreads]

I binged this book in one day, the writing style was so easy to read!

I really loved the characters in this book. The two main characters were my favorite (no surprise there, as we spent the most amount of time with them), but I also enjoyed other characters like the police officer in Howling Falls. I loved the way Winston’s character was slowly revealed, and liked how Dahlia’s personality brought him out of his shell. Because the majority of this book is a long hike/rescue mission, a lot more of the character revelations and development came through dialogue rather than action. I didn’t mind this, as the actions that did happen to show character (primarily with Winston) held a lot more emphasis. I do definitely wish we had more of Dahlia’s sister, as she is a major plot point, but obviously circumstances didn’t allow for that.

I also liked the ending of this book; Officer Bitts coming to Dahlia for help was unexpected but also showed Dahlia that she didn’t have to pause her dreams if she didn’t want to. I also thought it was very sweet that Winston found a way to be with Dahlia and take up a job that he would enjoy as well.

Though I loved the ending I was a bit surprised that the two main characters made these plans in literally two weeks? It seems like such a small amount of time to me but I’ll give it a pass considering the near-death experience and all. The thing that really confused me was the logistics of the spicy scenes while they were confined to a tent after hiking for days. I just feel like that would all be a bit gross even in the heat of the moment, not to mention no cleanup after? I feel like they could have waited until they were back in town lol

Overall a great binge though, and definitely a fun romcom!

Very cute romance with the perfect amount of steam! I loved the originality of a camping/hiking centered romance, plus I’m a sucker for a small town setting and lovable characters. This is the perfect book to read during your next adventure!

This was a super cute grumpy/sunshine pairing. I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions and you get so much time with them together since they head out into the woods to find Dahlia's sister. The had a bit of suspense to the storyline so not only did the couple keep me entertained but I was also very intrigued to find out what happened to Rose, Dahlia's sister. Fun read!

Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle is a wonderfully quirky blend of rom-com and romantic suspense. Dahlia receives an emergency text from her sister, before suddenly losing all contact. She jumps on a plane and heads to Colorado to track her sister down. The only problem is that no one takes her seriously when she tries to go to the police for help because their coded phrase is "Tell Mom I said hi." Doesn't exactly scream "urgent."

With nowhere else to turn, Dahlia breaks into the compound of the local recluse/survival expert, Winston Dane, blackmailing him into helping her. After a bit of sleuthing and the gathering of supplies, together they head off into the wilderness, retracing her sister's steps. Wild animals, unexpected snow, and *just one tent* are some of the obstacles they face before they finally find her sister...and things only get more dangerous from there.

I've read other Katie Ruggle books, but this one definitely was a lot funnier/cheekier/cheesier than her others. The other series I've read have been 100% romantic suspense. Fish Out of Water reads more like a rom-com with a tense third act.

Winston is grumpy, reclusive perfection. And he's a virgin! Love that in a MMC. If you don't typically do romantic suspense but maybe want to dip your toe in? This would be a fun, low-stakes introduction.