Bea Reviews On the Chase by Katie Ruggle

Series: Rocky Mountain K9 Unit #2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 5th, 2017 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository* | iBooks*
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Blurb from goodreads:

After witnessing a horrifying crime, Kaylee is forced to flee to a small Colorado mountain town and take on a new identity. There she becomes Grace, a dog kennel worker trying to avoid the dangerously attractive K-9 Officer Hugh Murdoch.

When an accident leaves Hugh and his K-9 partner, Lexi, on desk duty, both are anxious for Hugh to heal. Until then, the highlight of his day is teasing the beautiful but mysterious new kennel employee. Their simmering attraction fuels a passionate kiss—interrupted by a sniper’s bullet. With targets on both of their backs, Grace and Hugh will do whatever it takes to stay alive…not realizing the most dangerous threat of all is hiding right in front of their noses.

Rocky Mountain K9 Unit Series:
Run to Ground (Book 1)
On the Chase (Book 2) 

My Thoughts:

A woman on the run, a cop on the mend, a story that engaged but didn't grab me - "On the Chase" delivered all that and more.

We met Hugh in the first book, "Run to Ground", and he was stern, hard-assed, and not easy to talk to. In this book he's occasionally charming, occasionally funny, frequently rude, frequently grumpy, and sometimes a stalker. He's recovering from injuries sustained in the first book and he's bored, bored, bored. The arrival of Grace provides him with both entertainment and a puzzle. Who is she really and why is she in Monroe?

Grace is on the run from a man who wants her dead. She saw something she shouldn't have and can't trust the local police so she takes off and ends up staying with Jules and her siblings. She's spends a lot of time feeling sorry for herself and the turn her life has taken. That's understandable, she did give up everything to stay alive, but it got old in short order.

 I was disappointed that Grace gave Hugh a pass for his stalker behavior. She called him on it, but then turned it into a joke and let him get away with it. Now, if a guy picks the lock and enters my house uninvited, I'm not going to let him charm me out of reporting him. The fact that he's a cop makes his behavior worse, not better. Later he uses his lock-picking skills to break into a public restroom to talk to Grace. Again, she teases him about it and lets him get away with it. Hugh is also good at avoiding questions and deflecting which quickly became repetitive and annoying. Neither Grace nor Hugh are perfect but Hugh annoyed me more. His stalking behavior, his blase attitude about it, his refusal to take responsibility for his behavior all frustrated and bothered me. If he'd acknowledged his behavior, and been genuinely remorseful, I could have forgiven him. But as it was, I had trouble seeing him as the romantic hero. He was a hero in other respects, saving lives at risk to himself, and defending Grace when she was in danger. In most respects, he was a good guy. I just couldn't get past the stalking.

Grace, though she complained a lot, did suck it up and set about making a new life for herself. She becomes attached to Jules and the kids and makes friends with some of the local cops. She too was heroic, and reacted quickly in an emergency. She did have a habit of making assumptions, I wanted to smack her a time or two, but she was smart most of the time. She and Hugh generated a fair amount of heat but I had trouble buying the romance since I had issues with Hugh's behavior. I would have loved a good apology, maybe even a little grovel.

"On the Chase" had lots of action, poor Grace hardly had a chance to catch her breath. Both she and Hugh have targets on their backs and it's hard at first to know just who's responsible. One of the story lines seemed highly implausible though its intersection with the other story line was expected and a bit cliched. I liked the action, I held my breath several times, and the interactions with Jules and her siblings were enjoyable and believable. Theo's reaction to Grace was spot on and made me smile. I'm curious about the elusive Mr. Espina; I'd love to know more about him.

"On the Chase" had a disappointing hero, but had other engaging characters, was action-packed, and kept me reading. There were some twists and turns but for me the draw was the characters and their interactions. They were realistic, detailed, and stood by each other, no matter their feelings. I'm looking forward to the next book and hoping that out hero won't be a jerk.

Read an excerpt and enter a giveaway here.