Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 stars – Another great story by Ruthie Knox!
Flirting with Disaster is the third book in the Camelot series and follows the story of Katie and Sean. If you have read any of the other books in this series, you may recall that Katie is the younger sister of Caleb and Amber. She also is just getting back into her life in Camelot after her divorce and working for Caleb at his security company when Sean comes back into her life.
Sean Owens is something else…seriously. He isn’t perfect and that is what I loved about him. Yes, he is good looking, sexy, and has a successful computer security company in California but he also struggles with a stutter and is still dealing with some issues he had with his mother growing up. All of these things make him into the man he is today and the second he comes back to Camelot to pack up his dead mother’s house, everything comes rushing back. He can’t seem to pack up the house his mother lived in and what should have been a fairly quick trip turns into an event that he can’t seem to wrap up. He decides to take a leave of absence from his work/life in California but finds sitting around in Camelot isn’t something he wants to do.
An encounter with Caleb at a bar turns into a job and ultimately, the chance for him to work with Katie. Sean and Katie knew each other in high school only in that they sat near each other in math and would sometimes smile at each other in the hallway. The thing is, Sean always had a thing for Katie Carter and he knows that if he opens his mouth in front of her, he will stutter like crazy so he refuses to talk to her until they begin to work on a case together. Katie takes this as a sign of him not liking her and she can’t figure it out until they actually talk about it.
Underneath all the character stuff, the story that Knox creates revolves around Judah Pratt. He is a popular, sexy musician that is doing some random tours but has requested Katie to help him figure out a security issue he is having. Someone is threatening him via email and social media and he needs to find out if it is who he thinks it is. See, Judah has a big secret – despite his womanizing, he is gay and after years of pretending to be someone he really isn’t, he is ready to reveal the truth. The problem is that the emails are leading him to the one person he hopes isn’t responsible and he has a feeling that Katie will be the one to help him resolve his problem.
This becomes the job that brings Sean and Katie together. Katie is fairly open about being attracted to Sean but he knows he is leaving and doesn’t want to hurt Katie so he tries to fight it. Thankfully he changes his mind and eventually (really – in a car on the way back to Ohio during a blizzard) fulfills two of his fantasies.
I love the characters that Knox creates – they always have so many different layers. Katie is trying to figure out who she is and she has hit a point in her life where she is finally deciding to do what is right for her and what she wants. Sean is also trying to figure out who he is but also what he wants. For so long, he did what he did because of his mother and it was perfect to see him finally figure things out.
I really enjoyed this book and recommend the series. We get to see bits of the other characters from the series (Ellen, Henry, Caleb, Jamie, and Carly) and I love that even though their books are wrapped up, we still get to see how things are progressing with all of them. These are always quick reads (not due to the length but because I can’t put them down) and Knox writes some of the best stories and characters. Knox continues to be one of my favorite romance authors and I will be waiting patiently for the next one.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC.
I’m pretty much convinced at this point that Ruthie Knox can do no wrong.
She is absolutely one of my all-time favorite contemporary romance authors and for good reason.
In Flirting with Disaster, the third book in the Camelot series, we get Katie’s story. She’s just finalized a disaster of a marriage and is starting over again, working for her brother’s security company. Unsure what she wants to do in her life, she’s spent the majority of it taking care of others … from her ex Levi to her family and friends, she’s always giving giving giving.
Katie is determined to become the best her possible, and so when the opportunity arrives for her to take on her first assignment she jumps. Only she has to work with Sean Owens. He’s very much the strong silent type … at least with her. His refusal to talk to her irks her and she is convinced he hates her.
Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Going on this job with Katie was a mistake if you ask Sean. He can’t even get up the nerve to talk with her. Not because he’s shy… or because he’s had a crush on her since high school (which he has) but because he finds himself reverting back to the old Sean… the one who has a speech impediment and isn’t perfect.
He finds himself not only fighting back the memories that Camelot has brought back, but his rising feelings for this woman who has stampeded back into his life… all while trying to solve a mysterious case.
I loved loved loved these two. I wasn’t sure I would. I mean, I was frustrated with Sean in the beginning, but holy man did he reach in and grab hold of my heart. I think my new favorite hero might be the strong, silent, stuttering, geeky type.
And Katie was wonderful as well. You guys know me by now… it’s hard for me to 100% like a heroine, but I think Katie completely won me over. I loved her determination to make something of herself and to not completely fall apart when something went wrong.
The chemistry was wonderfully written, as always, and the story and plot had me turning pages. While romance definitely has a formula, Ruthie has a way of writing it in a fresh and wonderful way, making everything an interesting read.
Ruthie never disappoints and Flirting with Disaster is no exception to that statement. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out in June!
Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the advance copy for review.
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