Survive the Night (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit, #3)

by Katie Ruggle

"Vivid and charming." —CHARLAINE HARRIS, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
He's always been a haven: For the lost. The sick. The injured.
But when a hunted woman takes shelter in his arms, this gentle giant swears he'll do more than heal her battered spirit—he'll defend her with his life.
K9 Officer Otto Gunnersen always had a soft spot for anyone in need. As Monroe's very own Dr. Doolittle, he dedicates himself to rehabilitating the injured souls that cross his path—but for all his big heart, he's never been in love.
Until he meets Sarah Clifton's haunted eyes. Until he realizes he'll do anything to save her.
All Sarah wants is to escape a life caught between ambitious crime families, but there's no outrunning her past. Her power-mad brother would hunt her to the ends of the earth…but he'd never expect Sarah to fight back. With Otto and the whole of Monroe, Colorado by her side, Sarah's finally ready to face whatever comes her way.
It's time to take a stand.
"Gripping suspense, unique heroines, sexy heroes." —CHRISTINE FEEHAN, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit Series:
Run to Ground (Book 1)
On the Chase (Book 2)
Survive the Night (Book 3)
Through the Fire (Book 4)
What People Are Saying About Romantic Suspense by Katie Ruggle:
"I love Ruggle's characters. They're sharply drawn, and vividly alive. I'm happy when they find each other. These are wonderful escapist books." —CHARLAINE HARRIS, #1 New York Times Bestselling author
"Sexy and suspenseful, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." —JULIE ANN WALKER, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author for Hold Your Breath
"Chills and thrills and a sexy slow-burning romance from a terrific new voice." —D.D. AYRES, author of the K-9 Rescue Series for Hold Your Breath

• ISBN10: 1492643106
• ISBN13: 9781492643104
• Publish Date: 6 February 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I have followed the Rocky Mountain K9 series from the start and was eager to read Otto’s story.

This installment differed from the first two as the focus was on the action and suspense arc while less attention was given to character development.

Survive the Night tells the story of Alice/Sarah who is a victim of abuse at the hands of her brother. She was a prisoner in her own home and was not allowed any social interaction with her peers. She longed for the day when she could escape. That day was closer than she thought. Her opportunity for escape came from an unlikely source. Here was a chance for freedom and a life without fear. This opportunity opened new doors for her. She made new friends and for the first time in her life; she knew what it meant to be in love. However, the thing she thought she had escaped would threaten her newfound happiness. Will she stand and fight for her happiness or will give up and accept what she believes is her fate to save those she loves.

The first ten percent of the story was heart pounding. There was a slight break in the action and suspense as the author focused on the developing relationship between Otto and Sarah. The action picked up again and what a ride it took me on. I have to admit though there were parts I found exaggerated. The scenes rivalled those one would expect to see in a movie.

I enjoyed spending time with the characters. It was pleasure catching up with those from the previous books. Otto and Sarah were delightful together. Otto was such a sweetheart. A lover of animals, kindhearted, gentle but can be a beast when those he loved are threatened. He was just the person Sarah needed in her corner.

I admired Sarah immensely. Despite her fears, her determination conquered. A taste freedom was enough to get her putting on her armour, push part her fears and claim the life she so desired.

As stated earlier less attention was given to character development, which was disappointing. I hoped to learn more about Otto. The information provided was minimal at best and it left me wanting to learn more.

The ending gives readers a brief view of what to expect in the next installment. I cannot wait to see what next Ms. Ruggle offers in regards to this series.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Fans of romantic suspense featuring a sweet romance, a sexy heart throb and intense action will enjoy Survive the Night

[thebookdisciple]

Things I liked about Survive the Night:

1.  Otto and Sarah/Alice have some hilariously awkward initial interactions. Both are adorkable!


2.  Fun animals throughout the story! Baby puppies, cats, dogs, a horse, and even a goat round out this fun menagerie!


3.  Previous characters play important secondary characters in Otto and Sarah's story and I love getting to check back in with all of them.


4.  Lots of danger and action!

Now, listen, if you are one of those readers who like realistic fiction, you will struggle with the main events of the story that unfold in the last 70%. Its a bit overly dramatic (helicopters, bombs, mercenaries, etc). However, if, like me, you can overlook that over the top type of action for the pure enjoyment of the story, you will really love this! Otto and Sarah are sweet and so are all their crazy animals!

If you like beta heroes, Otto is perfect! Survive the Night is a delightful story of romance and danger that will have you flipping pages non stop!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: secret identity, on the run


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: series (while this focuses on a different couple, the larger story arc has been in play for the previous 2 books


• Cliffhanger: not for Otto and Sarah but there is a set up for the next book


• HEA: yes for Otto and Sarah

authors like Julie Ann Walker, Susan Stoker, Janie Crouch, Piper Drake...then you will probably like Survive the Night!

 

Survive the Night

 
See full review on The Book Disciple

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

I really love this series. It is set in a small town in Colorado. It has a dog as the third main character (after the hero and heroine of the story). It also has women who are running from something in their past. They create a new life under a different name in Monroe, Colorado. The characters in this series are just great. I’ve really enjoyed meeting every new couple and have really enjoyed the kids from the first book, who continue to have a decent size part in each book.

So, in this story, Alice has a brother who is just evil. She finally gets some help to escape him (and the evil guy that he wants to marry her off to) and finds herself living with Jules and Grace and the kids. She is now going by Sarah. She has not a lot of background in anything, since her brother kept her under lock and key. She has learned a few things from the staff that weren’t horrible to her.

Otto is another one of the cops on the police force in Monroe. He was part of the K-9 unit too, but his dog is retired and just living at home. Otto is hoping to get budget to get another dog for a partner, but it just isn’t in the cards just yet. Meanwhile, he’s working with a pitbull at a rescue. Otto seems to be a collector of animals that have had a difficult life. We first meet some puppies that lost their mom a few days after birth. Then we meet his old cat and retired dog. He also has a off-the-track thoroughbred and a goat.

I don’t want to go too much into the suspense of the story. I will just say that Alice/Sarah’s brother and his goons are pretty evil and they are evil with a large budget. I do feel that you have to suspend a bit of disbelief in what they go through to get back one woman, but hey, this is fiction and I’ve seen stranger things in movies. I was also not completely convinced with how the horse acted in a few places. As an owner of an off-the-track thoroughbred (and I’ve been around and ridden several others over the years), but hey, every horse is different.

I do want to say how much I enjoy these characters. Not only Alice/Sarah and Otto, but also all the previous characters in this series. As the cast continues to grow, I just love them all the more. The secondary characters who don’t partner up are just good people that I like reading about. The animals are also characters in and of themselves.

If you like Romantic Suspense with likeable characters and animals, this is a great series. There is a ton of action and the romance in strong. The dogs will win your heart, almost more than the hero and heroine (but then I’ve always like animals more than people LOL).

Narration
Callie Beaulieu continues to do a great job with the narration of this series. I think she is really good and making you feel the emotions of each character, no matter what is going on at the time. It can be romance or action and Callie has it covered. I do enjoy both her male and female characters. I highly recommend her if you get a chance to give her a try.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Coffee Dates with Survive the Night

• First Date: Our story begins before Sarah Clifton makes a hair-raising escape from her former life and it was quite chilling. Sarah arrives to in Monroe, Colorado where she stays with Jules, Grace, and the kids. Otto is a member of the local police K-9 unit and perhaps the most swoon-worthy hero of the series to date. The man has a thing for animals, rescue animals in particular. He's huge with a big old' heart, and it was easy to fall for him. Sarah begins to get a taste of freedom before danger once again comes knocking.


• Second Date: The suspense angle for this story was intense with tons of action scenes that kept me listening. Callie Beaulieu narrates the series, and I have come to enjoy her voices, pacing, and tone. She adds an extra element to the story pulling me in. All of the gang is here and bear witness to how smitten Otto is with Sarah. The romance was sweet and didn't contain a lot of sizzle in part because of Sarah's past. She is timid but its slow burn satisfied and felt genuine.


• Third Date: Holy apocalyptic suspense. The last one-third of the book was non-stop action with scenes deserving of the cinema. Readers of the series were rewarded with some answers, and at first, I suspected this was the last book in the series, but a teaser at the end has me excited for Through the Fire which will release in August of 2018.  Survive the Night wrapped up nicely, leaving me with a smile even as my stomach did a belly-flop at the danger that is to come.

This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[EBookObsessed]

Survive the Night suffered from a case of insta-love and a few other plot flaws but can be forgiven since Otto and Sarah are adorable and the last third of the story is full of tension that you can easily forget about the nit-picking.

Monroe's favorite K9 Officers Theo, Hugh and Otto are now very aware that there is something wrong whenever Theo's girlfriend Jules has a "old friend" suddenly show up in town. And suddenly Sarah Clifton has shown up for a visit, just as the rest of Monroe has bugged out for the winter, acting quite jumpy. Neither Jules nor Grace are willing to give up the name of the name sending these women to Monroe, nor any information about the newest arrival in town.

Sarah (formerly Alice) is on the run from her brother, the head of a crime family who has kept Sarah all but locked in a tower like a princess in a fairy tale, until he has decided to sell her off to a dragon. A dragon in the from of the current head of the Javanovich crime family, a man known for brutalizing women.

Sarah is just so happy to be away from her brother and free of his grasp, she is even happy stocking shelves at Grady's store. Sarah is also fascinated by Officer Otto Gunnerson, a ninja-viking-lumberjack of a man, who size should have her running the other way, but his love and care for wounded animals keeps drawing Sarah to him.

Sarah knows her brother doesn't like to lose, and her time with Otto might not last if she has to run once again.
When her brother tracks her down to Monroe, he starts a war which might just take out what's left of the citizens of Monroe, CO.

With so much going on in this story, the romance between Otto and Sarah needed to be sped up. There is also the issue of how her brother was able to locate her so quickly. When he first appeared, I thought this would turn out to be a nightmare that Sarah would wake up from and I was more than surprised that it was actually a plot point in the story. I don't remember any explanation of how he managed to locate her so quickly. The action does pick up from this point so it was hard to focus on being annoyed with the plot fault.

I thought this would be the end of this series, but there is another story coming out this summer although I don't remember meeting either of the main characters which is unusual after the other books by Katie Ruggle that I have read so far. There is also something which happens at the end of Survive the Night which revamps an nagging issue left over from Run to Ground and that is the fact that Jules "kidnapped" her siblings from her abusive stepmother and while the Sarah and Grace are both on the run from crime bosses, Jules's action are actual considered criminal. I am guessing that Book 4 will come back and give us some closure on this issue.

I have enjoyed the Katie Ruggle stories that I have read so far, both in the Rocky Mountain K9 Unit and Search and Rescue series and have made her one of my automatic request authors.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.