REVIEW: Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle

Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle: There isn’t much that Dahlia wouldn’t do for her sister, so when her sister mysteriously disappears on a simple day hike, it is a no brainer for Dahlia to go looking for her, even if that means she has to dive head first into the Colorado Rockies. The only issues is the wilds of Colorado are not exactly Dahlia’s regular hang out and if she has any hope of not only finding her sister but also making it out alive, then she is going to need a bit of help and who better than survival expert and self-imposed hermit Winston Dane.

Sure the great outdoors are far from Dahlia’s thing but she is willing to do whatever it takes to find Rose, even if that means she has to share a single sleeping bag with the grouchy Winston, there is enough spark between them to light up the entire Rockies, never mind keep them warm during an exceptional cold night…

I love the whole grump meets sunshine trope so this book was a total winner for me, add in the fact that it was set in nature and I was totally sold! Fish Out Of Water was cute, funny and a good bit steamy making this just my type of read. I have to say the cover was what first caught my eye and let me just tell you what’s between the pages is even better! I loved the fact that this was a low angst, easy read with little to no drama.

I really liked Dahlia, even though she was all about makeovers and make up, she was far from an airhead. I loved that she showed so much of resilience and determination in finding her sister. She was no wilting flower while in the wild, she pulled her weight and wasn’t afraid to put in the work when needed. While Dahlia was a total sunshine type of gal, Winston was the total grump. I have to say I just adored our hero, not only was he a man of a few words but when he did talk he made an impact. Winston was a total caregiver and I just loved this about his character, he encouraged and looked out of Dahlia throughout their journey and I though this was just the cutest. It was a nice change of pace to have a virgin hero and see how this factors into the overall scheme of the book, I will say I personally found that Dahlia made a bit to much of a big deal out of this but good for Winston for not settling for just any girl.

There was some really good chemistry and steam between Dahlia and Winston, I mean really who doesn’t want to get snowed into a tent with a hot six foot tall wilderness expert. I loved the sassy banter that Dahlia brought to the table and that she kind of pushed Winston out of his comfort zone. That makeover scene in the snowstorm was something else all on its own but it somehow worked.

All in all Fish Out Of Water was a pretty good read. I liked that there was a bit more drama and action towards the end of the book when they save Rose. Overall if you are looking for a cute easy read with a sassy sunshine heroine and a grumpy mushy hero then I would recommend this book to you!

Book Info:

Publication: February 13, 2024 | Sourcebooks Casablanca |

Why date a mountain man? Because he knows how to pitch a tent.

When Dahlia Weathersby’s sister disappears on what should have been a simple day hike, Dahlia immediately heads deep into the Colorado Rockies to find her. Knowing she’ll never survive the mountains alone, she convinces the local hermit—adorably grouchy survival expert 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 even with her very own mountain man in tow, things aren’t going to be easy. There are:

Long hikes through gorgeous wilderness? Check.
Bears? Check.
A single shared sleeping bag? Check.
Enough sparks to set the Rockies ablaze? Check, check, check.

With everything the wilderness has to throw at them, it’ll take more than charm and some city girl ingenuity to make this trek anything but a disaster waiting to happen…and an adventure she’ll never forget.