Thursday, January 2, 2020

SPOTLIGHT TOUR - Risk it All

Although this is a Spotlight Tour review, the first book in the Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series introduces the five Pax sisters, so I definitely had to start from the first book in the series, In Her Sights.


DESCRIPTION:

Five bounty-hunting sisters
Deep in the heart of the Rockies
Fighting to save each other
...and the men who steal their hearts

Bounty hunter Molly Pax fought hard for everything she has, turning the bail recovery business she shares with her sisters into an unqualified success. So when their sticky-fingered mother jumps bail and puts the childhood home up as collateral, Molly's horrified. To make matters worse, every two-bit criminal in the Rockies now sees her family's misfortune as their next big break.


She needs help, stat.


Enter rival bounty hunter John Carmondy: six feet of pure trouble, with a cocky grin to match. John's the most cheerfully, annoyingly gorgeous frenemy Molly's ever had the pleasure of defeating...and he may be her only hope of making it out of this mess alive.

MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   In Her Sights
Series:  Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters #1
Genre:   Romantic Suspense
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   336
Date of Publication:   March 26, 2019
My Rating:    3 Stars

Molly Pax is doing her best to keep her family bail recovery business in the black. Two major issue are other bail bondsmen trying to hone in on her skips. More importantly, however, is trying to deal with her criminal mother Jane. Along with her four sisters, Molly is now in a very tough situation. Jane has committed a huge theft, was caught and arrested, and has skipped bail. Unknowingly, Jane managed to put the family home up as collateral, leaving the girls in dire straits.

When John Carmondy offers his assistance, Molly is perturbed. On the one hand, he is more than amenable. On the other hand, is is too sexy for his own good and has always gotten underneath Molly's skin. Their relationship may be a bit rocky, but it certainly sets of sparks. Will Molly be able to prioritize their current bond and work with John, all the while work hard to find Jane before her upcoming court case and thus keep their home from being lost to another bondsman?


While not as sharp as some other romantic suspense books I have read, In Her Sights was a good start to a promising new series by Katie Ruggle, an author new to me. The story had some humor, action and a bit of danger. I was very happy to go on to the second book in the series and looked forward for each Max sister getting her own story.



DESCRIPTION:

"Vivid and charming."--CHARLAINE HARRIS, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series for the Search and Rescue series

Five bounty-hunting sisters

Deep in the heart of the Rockies
Fighting to save each other
...and the men who steal their hearts

Cara Pax never wanted to be a bounty hunter. She's happy to leave chasing criminals and tackling skips to her sisters. But if she wants her dreams of escaping the family business to come true, she's got one last job to finish... Only problem is, she doesn't think her bounty is guilty.


Henry Kavenski is a man with innocence to prove. When he realizes that Cara believes him, he'll do anything to keep her out of harm's way. Escaping criminals and dodging cops might not be the best time to fall in love, but Henry and Cara won't give up, not when there's a chance at a new life ahead--if they can survive the fall.
MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   Risk It All
Series:   Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters #2
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   352
Date of Publication:   December 31, 2019
My Rating:   4 Stars

In the first book in this series, In Her Sights, readers met the five spunky Pax sisters. They have running a lucrative bail recovery business. Keeping their mother Jane on the right side of the law was a job all on its own. Now that she has committed yet another crime, skipping bail after putting up the girls' family house up as bail, the business and family home are now in jeopardy. 

Now Cara has her turn at bat. However, she is the least likely sister that has a chance at succeeding in this business. Give her the background work, and she is golden. So, she takes a chance at a huge skip in the name of Henry Kavenski. Try as she might and she runs into many obstacles. If she could just nab him, Cara is sure she will prove herself to her sisters once and for all. Meanwhile, Henry has a convincing story. However, will he get time to tell it?

Cara and Henry end up working together, giving Cara a chance to prove herself. She has to divide her time between classes (in college to become a kindergarten teacher) and the next skip, and things are far from easy. Cara is actually a magnet for trouble and Henry is never far behind keeping her safe. Meanwhile, Cara is drawn to Henry, and, if they could stay alive long enough, the pair just might have their turn at love.

I am enjoying these sisters. The fare in the first two books is rather lighthearted, but I did love seeing five women in a field I've not often seen in books. They certainly have plenty of work in front of them, and danger is always nipping at their heels. Factor in humor and romance and Katie Ruggle has the right formula for what should be a successful series.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.


Please enjoy the following excerpt:

Excerpt:

When the woman stopped the stroller next to the bus-stop bench and took a seat next to Kavenski, Cara knew something was up. For one, she would eat her phone if that woman would ever set foot on a public bus. Also, Kavenski, for all his hotness, was a big and intimidating guy. No one would casually plop themselves down next to a dangerous-looking stranger, especially with her baby right there.
With both Kavenski and the woman facing forward, it was impossible for Cara to see if they were talking. She was tempted to move closer to the pair to see if she could eavesdrop, but Kavenski had known she’d been following him earlier, and that made her hesitate. It was one thing for her to follow as he skulked around town, but this meeting seemed very shady and purposeful. He’d let her go once, but who knew what he’d do if she had incriminating information on him.
The woman turned her head toward Kavenski for just a few seconds, and Cara hurried to take a few pictures. With the oversize sunglasses, hat, and scarf, it was hard to get an idea of what the woman actually looked like, especially from a distance. The only things Cara was sure of were that she was white, tall, and fashion-conscious.
To Cara’s frustration, she saw that the woman’s lips were indeed moving. Once again resisting the urge to get close enough to listen to their conversation, Cara watched as the woman reached into the stroller and appeared to adjust the baby’s blanket. When she withdrew her hand, however, she was holding something white and rectangular.
Almost bursting with curiosity, even as her heart pounded from fear of discovery, Cara found herself leaning forward, straining to see what the woman had taken from the stroller. In just the split second it took her to pass the item to Kavenski, Cara was pretty sure it was a legal-sized envelope. Before she could see any other details or even take a few steps closer, he slipped the item into his jacket pocket.
The woman stood and pushed the stroller past Kavenski, and Cara realized that she would be passing right by. After a frozen second, she forced her gaze to her phone screen. Her hair fell in heavy curtains on either side of her face, hiding her profile from the woman’s view, and Cara was intensely grateful that she hadn’t pulled it back that morning.
The seconds seemed to tick by agonizingly slowly as the burr of stroller wheels and the sharp click of the woman’s bootheels drew closer. Cara didn’t breathe as the woman passed just five feet away, and her pounding heart was so loud it made it hard to hear if the footsteps were slowing.
When she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, she dared a pseudo-casual glance and saw the back of the woman a half block away. Sucking in a much-needed breath, Cara returned her attention to Kavenski, just in time to see him rocket off the bench right into rush-hour traffic. The movement was so sudden and unexpected that Cara jerked back a step, startled.
“What is he doing?” Without considering the wisdom of what she was doing, Cara bolted toward him, her eyes locked on his big, surprisingly nimble form as he played a terrifying game of Frogger with oncoming cars. Brakes squealed and drivers laid on their horns as Kavenski shot across the road to the far lane. Turning to face the SUV heading toward him, he raised both hands, palms out, like a traffic cop.
He faced down the oncoming vehicle barreling toward him. The tires squealed as the wheels locked, and Cara instinctively reached toward him as if she could somehow snatch him to safety. His huge frame actually looked small as the five-thousand-pound vehicle bore down on him.
Cara reached the curb, a useless shout of warning building in her chest. Kavenski stared down the SUV, not even flinching as it rocketed closer. Just inches from Kavenski, the vehicle lurched to a halt, rocking back from the force of the stop. Cara’s breath escaped her in a rush. She stopped abruptly, realizing that she had been about to run right out into traffic. She’d been so focused on Kavenski’s near death that she hadn’t even thought about her own safety.
As the driver of the SUV rolled his window down and screamed invectives, Kavenski turned and strode over to a small dog huddled in the center of the lane. Scooping up the tiny furball, Kavenski stepped out of the street, waving casually at the still-yelling driver to continue on his way.
Cara gave a small gasping laugh at Kavenski’s nonchalance. He was acting as if risking his life to save a tiny dog was no big deal, while Cara’s heart was still trying to pound out of her chest and her hands shook with an overdose of adrenaline. As if he’d heard her slightly panicked laughter, Kavenski met her gaze across the four lanes of traffic. They stared at each other for an eternal moment before the corner of his mouth kicked up in more of a grimace than a smile.

***
Excerpted from Risk It All by Katie Ruggle. © 2019 by Katie Ruggle. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When she’s not writing, Katie Ruggle rides horses, trains her three dogs, and travels to warm places to scuba dive. A police academy graduate, Katie readily admits she’s a forensics nerd. Connect with Katie at http://katieruggle.com/, https://www.facebook.com/katierugglebooks, or on Twitter and Instagram @KatieRuggle.



7 comments:

  1. This is a new to me author thank you for sharing.

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  2. I love her books. These are on my list. Great reviews.

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  3. Great reviews. Sounds like a good series.

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  4. She is a new name for me, thanx for sharing

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  5. Not familiar with this series. Good to see book two was better than the first one. Great reviews.

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