On the Chase

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Title: On the Chase
Author: Katie Ruggle
Publication date: 09/05/2017
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

OK, y’all know that I’m not totally in love with romantic suspense. But this book was on NetGalley and it has a dog on the cover. A dog! How am I supposed to resist that?

Well, Lexie the dog was FANTASTIC. Loved her to death. Just wish the rest of the story was as awesome as she was…

So, there’s plenty of stuff here that’s good. The pacing is great, the sexual tension between Hugh (quick aside: every time I read the hero’s name, I mentally pictured Hugh Jackman, which IS NOT a bad thing in my opinion) and Grace was fabulous, and the dialogue was fun and snappy. But…

​Here’s what didn’t work for me:

• I find it really hard to believe that a really bad guy keeps prisoners he’s torturing in his house. And even if he does, why would he invite company over? And even if he did keep people he was torturing in his house and invited company over, why would he ever let Grace wander around to find the bathroom on her own? I’d be like, “Oh, no, you can’t wander off to the bathroom on your own, sweetheart. Can’t have you stumbling into the pit where I’m keeping my enemies, now can I?” (You know...or something along those lines. Probably not those exact words. But I digress…)
• I also find it hard to believe that a woman would abandon her life and assume a new identify (basically placing herself in her own kind of witness protection program) without first trying to find help in law enforcement. Sure, she went to one police station and ran into the bad guy’s relative, but why not try another police station? The FBI? Nope. Not Grace. She ran into one associate of the bad guy at the police station and decided to assume a new identity. Seems a little hasty and extreme to me.
• Hugh’s behavior after meeting Grace was stalkery. I know it was supposed to be “cute” because he’s hot, but prying into a woman’s life when she’s asked you to leave her alone, letting yourself into her home, and picking the bathroom stall lock when she’s in there trying to get away from you is not endearing, guys. In the real world, any of these behaviors are likely to result in a knee to the groin, or pepper spray in the face. Just sayin’.
• The tone of the book doesn’t match the blurb at all. The blurb makes this sound like a serious book. It was really more a rom-com romantic suspense. I kind of felt misled a little, as I’ve never read any of the author’s other books, and had no idea what to expect.   
• For a book about a K9 cop with a dog on the cover, the dog sure didn’t play a huge part in the story. She was there and she was awesome, but I would’ve expected more.        

​All in all, this one was a little “meh” for me. But don’t let that dissuade you, fans of romantic suspense. Everyone knows I’m a grumpy bitch about romantic suspense, so I’m probably not the best source of recommendations in this subcategory.

Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.    

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Meh, it’s not really doing anything for the stigma either way.

Other reading suggestions
Read Scarlett Cole’s latest, Under Fire.  Seriously, it’s awesome. And for another great funny romantic suspense read with a quirky heroine and a hot, alpha bodyguard, try Willing Captive by Belle Aurora.

Note: Don't forget to check out our 5-star reviews of Willing Captive and Under Fire. ​

---