ARC Review of Survive the Night by Katie Ruggle

Survive the Night
by Katie Ruggle
Book Three of Rocky Mountain K9 Unit
Published by Sourcebooks on 6 February 2018
Source - Edelweiss+
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"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."

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I received a copy of Survive the Night by Jackie May from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. The following review is reflective of my opinions and mine alone.

Alice Blanchett is the not-at-all beloved sister of crime lord, Aaron Blanchett and she is so used to having nobody on her side that when she receives a note in her dry cleaning telling her to be ready to escape, she doesn't dare to hope because who would be willing to go against her brother. But when her brother promises her to a cruel man to gain favour and form a partnership with an even bigger crime family, she hopes against hope that her unknown saviour will come through. Amidst the bombardment of her home, help comes in the unlikely form of her brother's associate who whisks her away and provides her with a new name and safe passage to a welcoming safe house.
Otto Gunnerson is every animal's best friend, always going out of his way to help an animal in need. When he meets his friend's new housemate, Sarah Clifton, he's speechless. And then awkward, then speechless again, and then awkward again. When Otto comes to Sarah's rescue one day, he offers up his underground bunker to the woman that's captivated him and rendered him tongue-tied.
Otto Gunnerson is really my ideal male gender mate. He's adorably awkward when presented with a woman he finds attractive and he'll bend over backwards to help an animal in need as you can tell the moment you meet him climbing up a dilapidated windmill to rescue a kitten for his friend's little sister. In addition to the rescued kitten, he's also taking care of a frightened horse, a neglected goat, and a litter of orphaned puppies, which turns out to be his 'in' to getting to know Sarah Clifton. Sarah (previously called Alice) is wary of men in general and while she's attracted to the viking-lumberjack LEO, she's also hesitant to get involved with Otto because she knows sooner or later she'll have to disappear again to stay ahead of her brother and pseudo fiance. But Sarah and Otto cannot ignore the heavy attraction building between them and finally decide to make the most of it while things are calm and before Sarah has to leave for parts unknown.
When war comes to Monroe, the ties that bind are tested and lives will be lost. What does the future hold for Sarah and Otto?
Survive the Night was my first approval on Edelweiss and I'm so very glad I was approved for it. I actually finished reading it back in January and was so reluctant to write this review because I didn't want to say 'goodbye' to it. I mean, I kept coming up with excuse after excuse not to finish writing it. I reorganised my books six different times in four weeks, I decided to learn Korean, I bingewatched Dollhouse and some Korean shows on Hulu and Netflix, I made pancakes, pretty much anything I could do to prolong my relationship with Survive the Night. That's why I'm going to warn y'all right now before we go any further. You will get emotionally invested.
From the very beginning readers will become attached to Alice as she endures her abusive life with her older brother, the head of a small crime family. When Alice is manhandled by the twisted creep that her brother chose as her betrothed as a means to attaching himself to a much larger criminal family, I wanted to raze the entire fictional country to the ground. I actually got a bit loud celebrating the explosive entrance her rescuer has at her bedroom window one night and I cheered Alice on as she climbed the roof then rappelled down the other side of the house, and holding my breath and biting a hole in my lip as she passed her brother's office. I chewed my thumbnail down to the quick as Alice struggled up the ravine with her 'bodyguard' and thoughts of what her brother would do if said 'bodyguard' caught her pushing her onward. When Alice, now called Sarah, meets Otto, the awkwardly adorable meeting made me feel embarrassed. With every awkward interaction between Otto and Alice, I was overwhelmed by their adorkable factor. And as the story progressed, I started morphing into one of those really wild ship fangirls that you see on tumblr. 

Alice and Otto are both well-developed characters, adding their love story to the series and reintroducing couples from earlier in the series that will worm their way into your hearts and make you want to read their stories as well. You will fall in love with the mischievous twins, Ty and Tio, and want to fight Sam's demons for him. You will cheer Alice/Sarah as she becomes more and more sure of herself. But you'll also find yourself hoping she'll leave Monroe so you can have Otto all to yourself. My favourite part was how detailed Ms Ruggle was in her research for how to care for orphaned puppies. It reminded me of the days when I was bottlefeeding Manatee and Ozymandias' litter, an event that actually saved my life nearly 9 years ago. Here's a photo of the litter a day old with their bio mum, also named Maggie! No, Maggie did not own a dog named Maggie, let's just say that Otto was made for me.

Survive the Night is an emotional read all-around. I laughed at the kids' antics, I cried at sad animal moments (no animals were harmed or killed so don't worry), I nearly died laughing during the bull elk scene. The buildup of the final act had me looking like a strange cross between a caterpillar (a woolly bear, if you must imagine it) and a blanket burrito gone horribly awry. I'm avoiding telling you the entire plot even though I want to gush and gush and gush, but I won't. You'll need to grab a copy of your own to find out what happens to Alice and Otto.
I cannot properly express how intense the emotions were that I felt reading Survive the Night. Ms Ruggle truly knows how to keep a reader wrapped up in their blanket burrito waiting with bated breath with every turn of the page.
In the end, I'm giving Survive the Night by Katie Ruggle 2 flames for the sexy times and 5 out of 5 stars. That's right. FIVE STARS. I devoured this book in a few hours one night. After I had finished it, I immediately went to the kindle store and bought the first two books of the series and the first book of her other series because I needed more!

A fan of the old adage “write what you know”, Katie Ruggle lived in an off-grid, solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains until her family lured her back to Minnesota. When she’s not writing, Katie rides horses, shoots guns (not while riding, although that would be awesome), cross-country skis (badly) and travels to warm places where she can scuba dive. A graduate of the Police Academy, Katie received her ice-rescue certification and can attest that the reservoirs in the Colorado mountains really are that cold. A fan of anything that makes her feel like a bad-ass, she has trained in Krav Maga, boxing and gymnastics.

You can connect with Katie on her website, her Goodreads, her Facebook, or on her Twitter.

Let me know your thoughts on Survive the Night. Like this post, share it, comment, donate to the ASPCA, whatever. Until next time, my darling readers, have a happily ever after!