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