Hold Your Breath

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...
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.

Hold Your Breath is the first full-length novel in Katie Ruggle’s Search & Rescue series. This book has been on my TBR list for a long time, and it was about time I picked it up, especially since I’ve been neglecting the Romantic Suspense genre. I’m making it a goal to read more Romantic Suspense this year (2025).

In the first chapter, the characters must unravel the mystery of the dead man who appeared in the water while they were training. Lou is determined to discover the identity of the deceased, even though she isn’t part of the police force, and she has Callum there to assist her, even though it will put them both in danger. 

While Lou and Callum are busy investigating a murder, Lou is also dealing with someone who is stalking and harassing her. She just moved to the area and is completely clueless about the identity of who it is, and Callum is concerned for her safety and is determined to protect her. Katie does give us the POV of the stalker, and I was determined, just like the characters, to figure out who it was. It doesn’t take long to figure out who it is, though and I was right there with Callum on wanting to keep Lou protected. 

I really enjoyed getting to know both Callum and Lou in this book, especially how they were opposites yet complemented each other so well. Lou Sparks had a bubbly personality, while Callum Cook was more reserved and serious at times. Their interactions were entertaining, and there were moments when I found myself laughing out loud. Their romance is a slow burn, so you’ll have to wait for these two to admit they have feelings for one another finally, but it’s worth the wait. 

Katie Ruggle kept me on the edge of my seat while reading Hold Your Breath, and I’m thrilled that I finally made time for this book. I listened to the audiobook, and Rachel Dulude did a fantastic job of narrating the story and bringing the characters to life.

I’m onto book two, especially since Katie left me hanging at the end with the character Ian and what he might be dealing with. He is definitely a character I need to learn more about.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you’re seeking a romantic suspense novel that combines a compelling murder mystery with thrilling action scenes and a slow-burn romance between the characters, then you should check out Hold Your Breath.

What to Expect:
✔️Romantic Suspense
✔️Slow Burn Romance
✔️Workplace Romance
✔️Opposites Attract

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.

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FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
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.)

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