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A review by beckymmoe
Hell & Back by Julie Rowe
4.0
Reviewed on my blog, Becky on Books, on 9/24/2020.
Though it's a teensy bit disconcerting reading an Outbreak Task Force book during a legitimate global pandemic (Wait...*that's* not the head of the CDC right now! Hang on, since when do I actually *know* the head of the CDC? What have I become???), this was still a whole lot of fun, once I managed to get my news-of-the-day saturated brain to be quiet and let me read. Henry and Ruby are wonderful characters, and work really well together both while actually working and while doing...other things. Their relationship moved quickly (love how this one ended!) but the fact that they'd been working together for a bit before the story begins makes the timeline feel more doable than is often the case in romantic suspense.
As for the story timeline, though--OMG, it moved at breakneck speed! The chapters were labeled not just with the date, but the time of day, helping to underscore both the urgency of their mission and the speed at which everything was moving. Truly, reading this is a case of sit down, open book, and hang on for your life...
This is the fifth book in the series, but would probably work okay as a standalone as well (confession time--I've only read this one and the first in the series--[b:Viable Threat|34626224|Viable Threat (Outbreak Task Force, #1)|Julie Rowe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490094476l/34626224._SY75_.jpg|55785454]--so far, and I had no problem following what happened here. I absolutely plan on reading the rest, since I really did enjoy the two I have read, justt maybe once everything IRL has calmed down a bit? Or maybe not...patience isn't my strong suit ;) ). Two major antagonists are unveiled by the book's end, which probably means this is where Ms Rowe leaves us with this series, though not all of the terrorist group has been captured, so maybe not...
Either way, whatever she comes up with next? I. Am. Here. For. It. :)
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Though it's a teensy bit disconcerting reading an Outbreak Task Force book during a legitimate global pandemic (Wait...*that's* not the head of the CDC right now! Hang on, since when do I actually *know* the head of the CDC? What have I become???), this was still a whole lot of fun, once I managed to get my news-of-the-day saturated brain to be quiet and let me read. Henry and Ruby are wonderful characters, and work really well together both while actually working and while doing...other things. Their relationship moved quickly (love how this one ended!) but the fact that they'd been working together for a bit before the story begins makes the timeline feel more doable than is often the case in romantic suspense.
As for the story timeline, though--OMG, it moved at breakneck speed! The chapters were labeled not just with the date, but the time of day, helping to underscore both the urgency of their mission and the speed at which everything was moving. Truly, reading this is a case of sit down, open book, and hang on for your life...
This is the fifth book in the series, but would probably work okay as a standalone as well (confession time--I've only read this one and the first in the series--[b:Viable Threat|34626224|Viable Threat (Outbreak Task Force, #1)|Julie Rowe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490094476l/34626224._SY75_.jpg|55785454]--so far, and I had no problem following what happened here. I absolutely plan on reading the rest, since I really did enjoy the two I have read, justt maybe once everything IRL has calmed down a bit? Or maybe not...patience isn't my strong suit ;) ). Two major antagonists are unveiled by the book's end, which probably means this is where Ms Rowe leaves us with this series, though not all of the terrorist group has been captured, so maybe not...
Either way, whatever she comes up with next? I. Am. Here. For. It. :)
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.