I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this book, but it kept me interested throughout. Some of it was a little confusing, though the action was fun and I really grew to care for Sharp and Grace. The other A team members weren’t as ingrained till toward the end, so I kinda wish that there had been more interaction between all of them before the action began. Overall it was an interesting story and I’m curious to see how things are resolved in the next books.

Deadly Strain was my first introduction to Julie Rowe. Drawn to this by the title and description - deadly outbreak, tick! exciting combat setting, tick! strong female lead, tick! and I was not disappointed.

I loved the setting, the characters, the adventure style plot with the right amount of romance scattered in. Good chemistry between characters and I enjoyed the biohazard element - it wasn't just a run of the mill thriller.

It was action packed, well written and well paced with both the medical and war aspects were executed perfectly. Loved it.

Deadly Strain is my first read by this author and I'll definitely be reading more of her work. This book was suspenseful, emotional, action-packed, with lots of twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages. I work in healthcare and love when I find romances that incorporate medical/science content. I loved how the relationship between Grace and Sharp developed from being friends to soulmates - loved the banter between the two and the love scenes were the perfect amount of steamy! Can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Deadly Strain is my first read by this author and I'll definitely be reading more of her work. This book was suspenseful, emotional, action-packed, with lots of twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages. I work in healthcare and love when I find romances that incorporate medical/science content. I loved how the relationship between Grace and Sharp developed from being friends to soulmates - loved the banter between the two and the love scenes were the perfect amount of steamy! Can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Deadly Strain is my first read by this author and I'll definitely be reading more of her work. This book was suspenseful, emotional, action-packed, with lots of twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages. I work in healthcare and love when I find romances that incorporate medical/science content. I loved how the relationship between Grace and Sharp developed from being friends to soulmates - loved the banter between the two and the love scenes were the perfect amount of steamy! Can't wait to read the next book in this series!

So in a troubled region of the world. Afghanistan, army doctor Grace Samuel's is sent on a mission to find out what has happened to a small village community that has suddenly gone dark.

She discovers that all the inhabitants have died of new and virulent form of anthrax that can kill within hours. No mystery here, it is a designer bio weapon..

Straight away the clock begins to tick as the rush to get an antidote is paramount before a new and lethal pandemic is set loose on the world. Only it is not that simple. For Samuel's and her team seem to be encountering an inordinate amount of bad luck in getting the sample to a suitable lab, and heads are beginning to roll. On top of that, one of Samuel's immediate bosses turns out to have his own vendetta against her. Samuels and her colleagues, particularly Major 'Sharp' are on their own. More of their own perish in skirmishes and 'accidents' as time starts to run out on the front line. Someone, somewhere is out to sabotage their mission.

But this novel isn't primarily a war story, as strong feelings of attraction begin to develop between the good doctor and her seasoned gentleman partner in arms. This is a romance too., for those who enjoy a little steaminess to their bedside reading.

This admixture of romance and war thriller seemed to be an uneasy mix. Not that being close to death isn't known to be an aphrodisiac, but usually this comes about with a lot less sentiment.

Still, there is plenty of tension and twists to the narrative, which should definitely ease some readers who enjoy war thrillers.

This is a romance full of action in the middle of war, but has more of a focus on the biological aspect of war instead of just the front lines or a love deployed. From the start there is conflict between characters and a hook that keeps you wanting to know what happens to everyone. While the reality aspect of handling a weaponized agent would be much more complex and the chain of command isn’t ever up for debate, the story gives enough suspense to keep the reader interested and longing for more of the romance. I look forward to reading the other characters’ stories in future books.

This was just the right mix of plot and romance. Grace is investigating a bioweapon threat in Afghanistan after training for a year with a dedicated team of soldiers in biowarfare. Unfortunately she’s also now working alongside a base leader who knows her for reasons she wished she could forget. Luckily for her, Grace has a shadow named Sharp, a sharp shooter in the team she’s been training in and he has reason to not let any harm come to her. Hopefully they all survive this new bio threat…

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This book is action packed and reminded me a lot of Jack Ryan show with its intensity and world issues. If you enjoy action and thrillers this book would be for you.

An army base is threatened with anthrax and a team goes in to find the threat and treat those infected but their Helicopter goes down on the way and Grace and Sharp have to rely on each other to stay alive. Great chemistry between these two and loved the Team dynamic and a lot of the soldiers descriptions and characteristics.

I did see there is another book coming out soon in this series and will put it on my list for sure.

This is a much better book than I expected it to be given the generic cover. The author actually knows quite a lot about infectious disease and, to a lesser extent, the military. While the romance is fine, the book honestly reads more like an exciting adventure about thwarting a biological attack. I'm not sure that I've ever read anything that I would consider part of the same genre. I'm actually kind of sorry about the bodice-ripper cover, because there are men I would happily recommend this book to. Given what I expected this to be versus what it was, I'm going to go ahead and give it a 5. And I really hope to see Julie Rowe on here with the next installment. It was one of the only teasers I've ever read and I was very sorry not to get to read more.

The first book I have read from Rowe, and can't say I'm dissapointed. The plot was intersting, and the book was nicely paced with a lot of action. It was the perfect balance of militariy and medical jargon without being too comlicated. Some of the early in field-romance were a little weird, and there were some typos and missing words. Neverthless, I enjoyed the main charcters, especially Grace. She was a real badass, though both on the outside and inside, and a snarky humor I loved. Sharp was the perfect man for her, and the author got me caring a lot about them.
Looking forward to book 2!

Friends to lovers
Military

Deadly Strain is the first book in the Biological Rapid Response Team Series by Julie Rowe. It is a story of incidents that can lead to a crippling guilt that must be worked though and then other newer serious anthrax outbreaks. It is also a “friends to more” relationship. Being in a place where rapid decision making must be made, it leads to one where the characters live fully in the moment because life turns on a dime there.

Easy to put you lace in the characters’ serious medical field without it being written too technical for a non-medical person to fully comprehend. The characters’ romantic actions at times seem odd, when the focus perhaps should have been on the danger of the situation. Still, it is eye-opening seeing the new dangers of war.

This is an action packed military medical thriller. This is my first book by this author and I know it won’t be the last. So much going on that you just can’t help but want more. I think this is gonna be a a new go to author.

Full throttle action from page one - super fast paced, and a great blend of suspense, action and romance.

Major Grace Samuels is in Afghanistan as a trauma surgeon. She is also an expert in diseases. Green Beret Jacob Sharp Foster is part of the team that works with her. Sharp helps Grace defeat her demons and is by her side the whole time. A soldier has it out for Grace and it seems like he is determined to take her down. They discover a new strand of anthrax that kills quickly and the regular antibiotics don’t work. Sharp and Grace become good friends and it’s a race against time to find the source of the anthrax. Will they find the terrorist using the anthrax before it kills them all?
I liked this story. It sort of scared me a little because it could happen here.
Action.
Steamy.
Friends to lovers.

High octane thriller, deadly virus, insurgents, personal vendetta, all in active war zone -fighting the enemies within as well as outside and battling personal demons. Non-stop action, and a bit of steam. Great for international military thrillers fans.

Deadly Strain is a fast-paced and exciting new series starter by Julie Rowe, and I'm already anxious for book 2. Set in Afghanistan, it follows military doctor Grace and her band of merry men, er, special forces soldiers as they race to stop a deadly new strain of anthrax created as a bio weapon. As they battle insurgents and terrorists, they also battle serious challenges within their own base. Hard to say much without spoilers, so I'll just suggest you not get too attached to secondary characters.

Protagonists (female or male) don't get stronger or braver than Grace; she's an uber badass and a brilliant doctor, all while managing to be approachable. It's no wonder Sharp is dazzled by her. For his part, he's fun and utterly capable, a perfect match for our doctor.

There were parts that didn't fully gel for me though. Mainly, I wasn't fully convinced by the reasons for Marshall's issues with Grace, and I really wanted to throat punch him for his over-the-top asshattery towards her. His character seemed overblown until it, well, wasn't.

That said, I really loved this book. It checked all my boxes, and then some.

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher and Netgalley. I'm writing this review voluntarily, and it reflects my honest opinion. Thanks!

'Deadly strain' isn't new to me; I first read it when Rowe had it out...well, quite a number of years ago. And it's still as good as I remember--not the finer details or the entire plot, but rather, how unusual this pairing is within this military suspense romance and how much I loved both Sharp and Grace.

Revisiting this book is always a treat, like a hark back to a time when the geopolitics had a more familiar face, and when chemical warfare was a possibility written about as an extrapolation of 'East versus West' (loosely putting it). I'm not sure if this newer, edited version is very much different from the one I first read but it still packs a solid punch. I would have loved to have more Sharp/Grace moments though, when they aren't too caught up in the non-stop action, and I also remember hoping to see more of them in the future books of this series.

Wowzah! I could not put down my Kindle while reading, Deadly Strain. Julie Rowe, writes such a believing story that at times I thought I must be reading a non fiction book.

Wow! What a great read, this was a can’t put it down until it’s finished book! Took me less than 24 hrs to read, it’s one I will reread in a few days it’s just that good! I love military romances with suspense and action and this had plenty. Grace is trauma surgeon/ infectious disease specialist with the military. She’s on a mission to teach special forces members how to protect themselves against a weaponized disease. You will need to read the rest!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review