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A review by lauren_soderberg
Hell & Back by Julie Rowe
3.0
Julie Rowe’s Hell & Back is an action-filled dose of escapism, with a plot line that feels all too real during an actual pandemic.
Ex-Special Forces medic Henry Lee partners with microbiologist Ruby Toth to aid the CDC in cataloguing and securing the world’s most deadly diseases. When Ruby’s twin brother is kidnapped, she’s faced with a horrible choice: steal a vial of Smallpox or watch her brother die. Can she trust the inscrutable Henry with her secret?
This is the first time I’ve read a novel by Rowe, and it was definitely a “read in one sitting” type of book. The action is pretty fast-paced and doesn’t really let up until the end. There’s not a lot of depth to these characters, which is kind of a shame, because I think that exploring Henry’s injury and his trauma would have made the plot more layered and substantive. Peripherally addressing it felt like a missed opportunity. Also, you do have to employ a healthy amount of “suspend disbelief” to buy into certain plot points, and you do have to overlook the caricaturization of the majority of the villains in the story. That being said, if you’re already into this style of storytelling, you’re going to enjoy this book.
I received an ARC of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Entangled Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Ex-Special Forces medic Henry Lee partners with microbiologist Ruby Toth to aid the CDC in cataloguing and securing the world’s most deadly diseases. When Ruby’s twin brother is kidnapped, she’s faced with a horrible choice: steal a vial of Smallpox or watch her brother die. Can she trust the inscrutable Henry with her secret?
This is the first time I’ve read a novel by Rowe, and it was definitely a “read in one sitting” type of book. The action is pretty fast-paced and doesn’t really let up until the end. There’s not a lot of depth to these characters, which is kind of a shame, because I think that exploring Henry’s injury and his trauma would have made the plot more layered and substantive. Peripherally addressing it felt like a missed opportunity. Also, you do have to employ a healthy amount of “suspend disbelief” to buy into certain plot points, and you do have to overlook the caricaturization of the majority of the villains in the story. That being said, if you’re already into this style of storytelling, you’re going to enjoy this book.
I received an ARC of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Entangled Publishing in exchange for my honest review.