This book was ok. The female main character is a city girl who ends up in a small town in the rocky mountains, looking for her missing sister. The police don't take her missing sister seriously, so she manages to convince a mountain man hermit to not only help her with some fact finding, but also accompany her on the hike her sister supposedly took.

The good:
-Love the cover
-The setting was beautiful
-The storyline was interesting and I think it could have been great with more details.
-The mountain man is very loveable from the FMC's POV

The meh:
-FMC. I can see what the author was trying to do but I don't think it landed.
-MMC's nickname was not good and distracting
-The missing sister falls to the background of the budding romance and that's not realistic

I thought the narration was fantastic The man voice was very well done.

Read if you like mystery, opposite attract romance, once tent and a happily ever after.

This sounded so interesting but fell flat for me. The characters were dull and had no chemistry; Dahlia was made out to be overly quirky but became unlikeable. The story itself did not hold my interest. Dahlia is supposed to be desperate to find her sister, who sent her a 911 text, but there is no tension or anxiety in the search for her; it’s as if they’re on a leisurely hike through the woods rather on the hunt for a missing person. There was so much promise but this was not for me.

In "Fish out of Water" by Katie Ruggle, when Dahlia Weathersby's sister goes missing during a routine hike, Dahlia ventures deep into the Colorado Rockies in search of her. To navigate the treacherous terrain, she enlists the help of Winston Dane, a gruff survival expert who reluctantly agrees to guide her. Despite their differences, Dahlia's charisma and a touch of blackmail forge a partnership as they tackle the challenges of the wilderness together. Along the way, they face numerous obstacles that put their skills to the test and strengthen their bond. As they navigate the adventure, Dahlia and Winston find themselves changed in unexpected ways, thanks to the unforgettable experiences they share.

This story follows Dahlia's quest to find her missing sister Rose with the help of the reclusive mountain man, Winston. Despite the promising premise, the execution falls flat. Dahlia's minimal concern for her sister's disappearance and the light tone clash with the supposed suspense of the plot, creating an awkward juxtaposition. The dialogue feels juvenile and uninspiring, contributing to the repetitive nature of the narrative. While the plot relies heavily on clichés of the insta-love and the grumpy/sunshine tropes, it fails to evoke any emotional response or capture the reader's attention. Overall, "Fish out of Water" disappoints with its lackluster execution, leaving readers wondering if it was meant to be satire.

I really enjoyed the slow build and who could deny that tent-sion! While Dahlia is looking for her sister she finds help in the 'hermit'-like mountain of a man Winston. Dahlia is a energetic, fun loving and personable gal while Winston is her stoic counterpart. As they look for Dahlia's sister, she starts to discover hidden layers to Winston, maybe he is a hidden cinnamon roll! I enjoyed the narrator and can't wait to read more from Ruggle!

I just finished the audiobook version of this book. It was a bit slow to start for me but once it got going, it was an enjoyable listen. I really like the banter between the hermit and the non-stop talking city girl. They were quite a match and once into the story, were enjoyable to hear them blossom. One thing I have to say is that the narrators, although doing a good job, I would like to have a male narrator doing the voice of the male instead of trying to change the voice tone. Just a personal preference. All in all, a good read and would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape media for the opportunity to listen.

Meh...

* grumpy / sunshine
* light-hearted
* romantic suspense

Sadly, I just didn't feel much of anything after finishing this?

Fish Out of Water is a light-hearted romantic suspense (of sorts) and I think that dichotomy in itself is maybe why I didn't love this? For me, I need a romantic suspense to be a bit more gritty, raw and emotional to buy into it and this was just not really present here, despite the plot at hand (our FMC is trying to find her sister who has gone missing while hiking).

It's almost as if this book didn't know if it wanted to be a romcom or a romantic suspense novel and I think that hurt my enjoyment. I didn't feel much towards the characters either.

All that being said, I didn't NOT like it, if that makes sense? I'm going to settle on a 3 because it was OK...?

*Title: Fish Out of Water -a standalone

*Release date: 2/13/24 read: 2/13/24

*Author: Katie Ruggle

*Format: audiobook

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC💙 ! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

*Narrator: Cassandra Myles-does all the characters. Thew pacing was great, I was able to follow along with my eBook like the narration and the author were on the same page.

*Run time: 8:32

*Setting: Howling Falls, Colorado

*Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Adult Fic, Romance

*Tropes: small town, grumpy/sunshine, slow burn romance, forced proximity, 1 sleeping bag, opposites attract

*Look out for: missing sister, h shot, meth lab

*Synopsis: Dahlia comes to small town Colorado after receiving a distress text from her sister Rose. She asks around town and finds Winston-a grumpy hermit who happens to be a great wilderness guide. Dahlia blackmails him into helping her find her sister. While hiking and sleeping together in one sleeping bag, sparks fly.

*Characters:

* Dahlia Weathersby-lives in California, does professional makeovers. Her mother died when she was born
* Winston Dane- 32, local hermit, ex army vet who writes cozy mysteries under pseudonym Dane Winters
* Rose Weathersby-missing half sister she and Dahlia have the same father, they don't have a good relationship.
* Glenn-taxidermist, town gossip

*Review : I loved this cozy, snowy, mystery/romance. Winston is chef's kiss as a new book boyfriend. Together with Dahlia's talkativeness make for a lovable couple. I wish we got dual POV's because I'm sure Winston had funny things to say about Dahlia.

*Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Spice level- 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and Katie Ruggle for letting me review this book.

There's romance. But there's also cliches. Still a fun read, though!

The beginning works. It kept me wanting more and more of the story.

I loved the details. Like everything about hiking, camping etc.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun, light romance read!

Includes:
Feelings
Awkward moments
Cute moments
And even dangerous moments
Camping and hiking

Eh… I felt meh about this one. I thought that the plot overall was really fun and something that I had never seen before with the missing sister and backpacking trip, but I just felt like it could have been executed better. I think my main issue was with the way this one was written. I really think that this one should have been in first person and that it should have been dual perspective and I would have gotten a lot more from it. With the way this one was written I just felt disconnected from the story and not really all that interested. Like even when the romantic suspense elements were happening I just didn’t feel as invested as I should given what was going on. I also didn’t feel much of a connection between the characters. I did think that the beginning of the story was really funny and that there were some great moments in the story. The audiobook production for this one was also really good. Overall, I still think people will have fun with this story, just don’t go in expecting anything life changing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Net Galley for letting me listen to the preview of this cute audiobook.

When Rose disappears and sends a very cryptic SOS message, Dahlia, Rose´s responsible sister, rushes to the police, but no one believes her.
Dahlia and Rose are very united and of course, Dahlia flies to Colorado to the rescue.
Here she meets a grumpy hermit, Winston, who with a series of small blackmail agrees to help her find Rose.

This book was a little unexpected but in a good way. It adds to the typical rom-com vibe some mystery and I wasn´t mad about it. It starts like any other book but from 50% on it adds some spice, mystery, and action.

My favorite character was Winston, whom I found refreshing in his grumpiness and sweetness.
I would have loved to have also his PoV and I have to say that my 3.5 stars are mainly for that.

The voice actress does a wonderful job voicing the curious Dahlia but this book would have been much stronger with Winston's voice in it too.

Totally adorable grumpy / sunshine with a little mystery!

Publisher's summary
When Dahlia Weathersby’s sister disappears on what should have been a simple day hike, Dahlia immediately heads to the Colorado Rockies to find her. Knowing that she’ll never survive the mountains alone, she convinces the local hermit, grouchy Winston Dane, to be her guide.
All it takes is a good helping of Dahlia’s charm—and just the teeniest bit of blackmail—before she’s got all six-foot-something of him wrapped around her finger. But it’ll take more than charm and some city-girl ingenuity to make this mountain adventure anything but a disaster waiting to happen.
As the two retrace her sister’s trail deep into the wilderness, they’re forced to face wild animals, bad weather, and a slowly simmering attraction helped along by a single shared sleeping bag. Dahlia’s never felt more out of her element—or more certain she’ll never fit into the gorgeous world Winston calls home.
Yet as it becomes increasingly clear that Dahlia’s sister isn’t just missing but may have been taken, Dahlia and Winston will have to work together to find her in time…as they face everything the Rockies have to throw at them.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC of Fish out of Water!

Fish Out of Water
By: Kate Ruggle
Narrated by: Cassandra Myles
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Release date: 02-13-24

I'm so glad I went into this one blind! The familiar wilderness setting resonated strongly with me, making it so easy to immerse myself in the story.

I'm so glad Katie Ruggle is back, and while this has a lighter tone compared to her previous books, I was enamored with the story once the main characters set off on their journey.

Honestly, I often found myself so entertained with the banter and chemistry, that I forgot they were trying to find Dahlia's sister, and got caught up in their interactions instead.

I loved that it had both suspense and comedy aspects throughout the book, keeping the reader entertained and on their toes.

This was a fun read, I was entertained but kind of wished there was a little more tension/romance earlier all. It didn’t feel like these two wanted to be together or were being flirty earlier in the book and when romantic thought finally happen it felt a little out of no where.

It was still super entertaining and I never really knew where it was going while they looked for Rose in the mountains. Definitely fun if you like grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity!

4/5 Stars

Thank you to Sourcebooks Cascablanca and Dreamscapes Media for the Earc and Audio arc.

I grabbed this book because some of the authors I love, absolutely adored it and I thought it was ridiculous and fun and romantic all at the same time. I mainly listened to the audiobook which the narrator was amazing and got me super invested in the audio. The premise of this book was insane in the best way and it lived up to that.

Dahlia’s sister disappears on what should have been an easy hike so when Dahlia gets their emergency phrase in a text, she packs up and goes looking for her sister. She knows she won’t be able to survive this alone and finds and convinces a local hermit Winston Dane to be her guide. But even with a mountain man wrapped around her finger this won’t be easy.

I really liked Dahlia and her mind was an insane but relatable place to be. I typically read dual pov books so it was interesting just to get her perspective in this book and it worked well. Winston is a grump and I think being in his mind would have lessened that effect. I could tell Dahlia was worried for her sister and relieved when Winston agreed to help her. Neither of them expected a romance but it still was very sweet and adorable.

This has everything you could be looking for in a romance novel with some good mystery elements, grumpy sunshine, and only one tent. Pick this up if you want a fun book that still has some serious moments.

Fish out of Water was such a fun romance to read with a bit of mystery. Dahlia finds herself in the middle of nowhere when her sister sends her an SOS message. With no one taking the seriousness of her sisters SOS message, Dahlia finds herself about to head off into the depths of the Colorado Rockies alone; until she bribes, or threatens, Winston Dane, the towns local survival expert to join her.
During this story, Dahlia and Winston find themselves in the middle of a treacherous hike through the Colorado Rockies during a blizzard, bears, and a suspiciously closed hiking trail. I thought this book was a nice depart from usual romcoms with the added mystery and adventure aspects. This book had a good amount of interesting plot details while incorporating some slow-burn spice.
I would recommend this book for anyone looking to read an adventurous romance with one tent ;)

Sometimes you need a good palette clenser and this book was just that! It was fun, quick, and a good easy read.

This is my first book by this author, and it did not disappoint. Dhalia sets out on a mission to find her missing sister, Rose. Rose had decided to do a solo hike, and after sending Dhalia an emergency text, Dhalia goes on a quest to rescue her. Since Dhalia is from Southern California and not familiar with Colorado, or hiking/camping, she enlists (through friendly blackmail) Winston to be her guide. This book is the epitome of Grumpy/Sunshine and I am here for it. I liked the hiking scenes. The spicy scenes weren't very spicy, which is ok if you don't like a lot of explicit descriptions. The suspense scenes were exciting and they didn't drag out, which I liked. #FishOutofWater #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC of A Fish out of Water in exchange of my honest opinion.

A Fish out of Water is a romance book about a girl that received a distressed message from her sister that loved hiking, and traveled to a small town in Colorado to find where she was.

I had a lot of very confusing feelings about this book. I liked the premise of the book, but I believe there was a not good execution.

First, the romance. I will try my best to not give spoilers but basically the meet-cute gave the first insight how odd this book would be. They clearly felt a mutual attraction from a meet-cute but the whole circumstances was.. odd to say the least. On the course of the book, the romance fully developed even though she was on a trail trying to find her sister even though there was a good chance of her sibling to be dead. All this time that she was a having a good time I was questioning myself if she shouldn’t be more worried. It was a bit odd for me to see she being giggly and sexy and having some romantic moments while trying to find her missing sister.

I really enjoyed that she loves makeup and wants to help people feeling better about themselves. However, I believe this point does not fit well to a several day hike plot.

I also found extremely positive to see a MMC that was sexually inexperienced. That is really rare in romance books and I thought it was quite refreshing.

Lastly, the book really lost me when it became an almost-thriller/action-packed sort of book. By the 80% mark I was questioning myself what was this book.

Anyway, it had a lot of hopes for this book but the execution was not for me.

When Dahlia Weatherby gets a text from her sister Rose to tell their mom hi she knows this is an emergency situation and immediately goes to Colorado to search for her sister. The only problem is Dalia is a city girl and unlike her outdoorsy sister Rose she knows nothing about hiking through the mountains and has no clue what she is doing. When she hears about a military trained hermit who may be able to help her she is not prepared for the hotness that is Winston nor the grumpiness and she is definitely not prepared for his reluctance to help her. When she finally gets him to agree the other thing she is not prepared for is hiking, camping, eating outside, wild animals, and being around Winston who is not only hot but who she is definitely falling for him and despite his grumpy attitude he is also falling for her and they work well together. When they run into strangers Dalia takes the lead when they run into danger Winston does and this is all fine and good but Dalia still is wondering will they ever find her sister Rose? Especially since everyone they run into says they haven’t seen a girl that looks like her. Will she find her sister and when she does will she introduced Winston as her boyfriend or her guide? The narrator of the book was Cassandra miles in my opinion I think her voice would be better doing teen books or Cozy mysteries she has a great voice but I didn’t feel it for this romance action mystery I did get used to it as I said her voice is nice I just think it would be better put to use for something it seems more suited to. Having said that this was a fun book to read it has 15 chapters it’s of the book goes by fast I didn’t really see what Dahlia saw in Winston because he is quite grumpy and not in a good way but I thought by the time they were falling for each other it was easy to buy in to,an easier to route four I even laughed a bunch of times especially when she got in her burrito sleeping bag. This is a great audiobook and one I definitely recommend. I want to thank dreamscape media and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I really enjoyed this! A romance with some actual action!
I did think the main characters were a little extra though. Dahlia used an excessive amount of sayings, phrases, and innuendos that it became a bit distracting. And Winston seemed a bit extra grumpy. I don't think I've ever witness someone be asked a direct question and have them say nothing in response but provide a grumpy stare. Unless he had a disorder that I missed that would explain why he didn't like talking to people.
I did like the story though! It felt like something that could actually happen, her sister being kidnapped, sending a discreet text her captors wouldn't suspect, and a sketchy meth lab in the middle in nowhere.
Narrator was not it, I could barely distinguish between the different characters. And her portrayal of Winston was not my favorite. I don't think he was supposed to come off as a dunce, but her tone made him seem like he wasn't the smartest guy.