ARC Review: Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle

Hold Your Breath
Author: Katie Ruggle
Series: Search and Rescue (Book 1)
Publication: Sourcebooks Casablanca (April 5, 2016)

Description: 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.

My Thoughts: Louise Sparks has moved from Connecticut to the mountains of Colorado to get away from her controlling parents and an unwanted boyfriend. She is working as a barista and has joined the Field County Dive Team. Her captain is Callum Cook who has really caught her attention. She delights in seeing if she can upset his careful control. Callum is a neat freak who is obsessive about organization and order in all phases of his life. Lou is definitely a more casual person. But Lou has a talent for making Callum happy which their colleagues have noticed and quick to tease them about.

One winter's day when they are practicing ice rescues, Lou dislodges the headless and handless body of someone who had been dropped in the reservoir attached to a weight. She feels a responsibility to try to identify him and find out who murdered him. Callum decides to help her with her investigation primarily to keep her out of trouble.

It really looks like trouble has targeted Lou. She has her truck tires smashed and her propane tank tampered with. She is at a loss because she hasn't made any enemies in Colorado and can't imagine who would be doing this to her. If the tire slashing hadn't happened before the body was discovered, she could think that someone was warning her away from her investigating but she was already targeted before the discovery.

Callum is there as Lou's protector. Lou, however, is determined to keep the independence she developed after leaving her controlling parents. She worries that letting Callum protect her will make her helpless again. I loved the chemistry between Lou and Callum.

This is the first book in a series. The book ends with the stalker problem solved but the mystery of the body is the reservoir is still unsolved in this book. I can't wait to read FAN THE FLAMES to find out what happens next in the mystery and in the lives of other Field County rescue personnel.

Favorite Quote:

It was too bad about his surliness, since Callum was a joy to look upon otherwise, in a gladiator-meets-drill-sergeant kind of way. His blond hair was military short, and his eyes were a startling and beautiful blue against his tan skin. His jaw was square and his body...Taking a deep breath, she carefully did not check out the neoprene-wrapped perfection below his neck.

Because...damn.

I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.