FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fish Out of Water
by Katie RugglePublished by Sourcebooks Casablanca on February 13, 2024
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: eArc
Pages: 336
Source: the publisher
Audience: 18+/Adult
Add to Goodreads
Purchase at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
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.The Rocky Mountains get unBEARably hot in Katie Ruggle's brand-new romance packed with adventure, action, tall dark & scruffy heroes, and a sense of quirky humor that will be your next perfect escape.
Fish Out of Water is the first book I’ve ever read by Katie Ruggle, and I definitely need to check out her backlist after finishing this book.
Storyline: Dahlia Weathersby is in the Colorado Rockies due to her sister sending her an SOS message for help. No one in the town is taking it seriously that her sister is missing, not even the police, and she needs someone to help her. The only person, who could help her is not a people person, and he’s the town’s grumpy hermit for a reason. She’s going to need him to convince him to help her, especially when she has no idea what happened to her sister.
My thoughts after finishing are that the storyline was promising, but I wished it would have been written in dual POV instead of single because I would have loved to know what Winston was thinking, especially since he’s one of my favorite kinds of heroes: grumpy and introverted. I only got to experience him through Dahlia’s POV, and I felt cheated. I didn’t connect with him like I wanted. I did like Dahlia to a point but I did find her personality a little over the top, especially when she’s supposed to be looking for her sister. The whole time, she’s admiring her very quiet, grumpy guide and putting makeup on him to pass the time when they are stuck during a snowstorm in their tent.
I liked the story but didn’t love it. It was an adorable meet-cute small-town romance that had mystery/suspense elements, but it was silly at times with what happened to the characters and how the sister was too focused on things other than her sister in danger. The ending definitely kept me on my toes, though, with the action-packed scenes.
I give this book 3.5 stars, and after reading this, I definitely want to check out Katie Ruggle’s Romantic Suspense books after reading this one.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
Steam/Spice: 🌶️
Standalone or Part of Series: Standalone.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy with mystery/suspense elements.
Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Contemporary Romance | Romantic Comedy
Trope(s)/Element(s): Small Town | Opposite’s Attract | Grumpy/Sunshine
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. It will help sponsor future giveaways but costs you nothing extra. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.
About Katie Ruggle
When she’s not writing, Katie Ruggle rides horses, shoots guns, and travels to warm places where she can SCUBA dive. Graduating from the Police Academy, Katie received her ice-rescue certification and can attest that the reservoirs in the Colorado mountains really are that cold. While she still misses her off-grid, solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains, she now lives in Rochester, Minnesota near her family.
Related Posts
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
- Book Blitz + Giveaway: ‘Mr. Emotionally Unstable’ by Alina Jacobs - May 12, 2026
- Cover Reveal: ‘Burning for You’ by Kasie Haley - May 11, 2026
- Happy Mother’s Day – Single Mom Romance Books - May 10, 2026