The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on June 7, 2017 (currently $4.75 at Amazon as of writing this post)
Overall rating 4.10 with 2,366 ratings and 426 reviews
Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle Series: Search and Rescue #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on April 5, 2016
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 386
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
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.
I really enjoy Katie Ruggle and am excited to read this Search and Rescue series. So I was thrilled I had this as a Kindle freebie. I also got the prequel On His Watch as a freebie. This seems to be the author’s first series and it shows to me. I have read all her later series and they are better. Her skill at character development has improved tremendously for me.
Lou is the main character and we get mostly just her point of view. I think this is a key to some of the other books where we are getting both of the couple’s perceptions which I like more. I didn’t connect with her very well as she seems a bit immature and flip for the important and often dangerous work of this team. The villain was a cliche as he was seriously loco.
I did enjoy Hold Your Breath and will continue, especially as Fan the Flames is Ian’s book. I want much more of this motorcycle riding firefighter.
These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don’t include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those. Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.
So I have thought about doing a Thrifty Thursday Challenge someday. For now, what I think would be fun is if you have read and reviewed a freebie, link up to your review (Goodreads, blog, facebook or wherever) below.
Add your review link here:
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About Katie Ruggle
A fan of the old adage “write what you know”, Katie Ruggle lived in an off-grid, solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains until her family lured her back to Minnesota. When she’s not writing, Katie rides horses, shoots guns (not while riding, although that would be awesome), cross-country skis (badly) and travels to warm places where she can scuba dive. A graduate of the Police Academy, Katie received her ice-rescue certification and can attest that the reservoirs in the Colorado mountains really are that cold. A fan of anything that makes her feel like a bad-ass, she has trained in Krav Maga, boxing and gymnastics.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- BTB 2019
- COYER WINTER
Well, at least you know the author’s storytelling improved and this can’t turn you off to her other books. Thanks for setting the right expectations, Anne.
It wasn’t bad. I liked it. I just wanted more, depth I guess. The author has definitely grown.
I’ve yet to read anything by Ruggle. This might not be the perfect one to start with but I’m still interested in giving her a try!
I highly recommend her I’ve really enjoyed all her books. Rocky Mountain Christmas Cowboy which came out a couple months ago is the start of a new series, just a little related to this one, and it was a 5 star read.
Tanya, you should check because some of her first in series books are freebies or are occasionally.
I liked this book. It just wasn’t amazing as some of her other works.
I heard a lot about this author but I haven’t tried her books. I think I’ll wait for you to read more to see how it is!
Well I have read and loved all her other series. I just went back to read this first series. I hope you try one series and enjoy it.
I have a print copy of this book and I also picked up the kindle freebie. I think that I own the whole series. I am a little sad to see that you didn’t like this one a bit more but it makes sense that her writing would improve over time. I am looking forward to giving it a try at some point.
Your mileage may vary! But I definitely think her skills have grown over writing the different series. I hope you enjoy!
One of these days I’ll read more from this author. This sounds like one that I would like though.
All her books are in the law enforcement, firefighter, search & rescue genre and I enjoy them all. This is just at the beginning.
I liked the prequel that introduced this pair more than this one and thought Lou was rather flaky, too, but still likeable. I think the series got stronger as it went. Loved Ian’s book and mostly for the heroine he had. She’s a little different, but he was great about that. 🙂
Thank you. Yes, I liked the novella prequel a bit more also. I already ordered up Fan the Flames – Ian’s book from the library. I mean firefighter on a motorcycle – of course I did! I really enjoy this author.
I recently started reading this one. I lover her K-9 series. Crossing my fingers this one is a good read too.
I hope you like it. I think her books just get better. I started with the K9 series and now went back to read this earlier series.
This is a fun series. I agree that she’s gotten better as she’s written more books.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart