Meet the Author:

Full-time author, freelance writer and workshop facilitator, Julie Rowe’s debut novel, Icebound, was released by Carina Press on Nov 14, 2011. Ten novels and eight anthologies have followed. Her most recent titles are the MEN OF ACTION boxed set and VIRAL JUSTICE book #3 of the Biological Response Team series. Julie’s articles and short stories have appeared in numerous magazines, such as Romantic Times Magazine, Today's Parent magazine and Canadian Living. Julie facilitates business writing and communication workshops at Keyano College in her home city, and has presented writing workshops at conferences in the United States and Canada. She’s also a strong supporter of life long learning and moderates a free announcement loop for the promotion of online classes, workshops and webinars.

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Excerpt:

She took in a deep breath. “We need to talk.”

“About…?”

“Your role with the CDC, and whatever it was you were doing in Afghanistan after...”

She wanted him gone. He could tell by the closed off expression on her face and the slightly lifted set of her chin. She expected him to fight her. Was waiting for it. Braced for it. 

It set off an emotional bomb deep in his chest and woke the pissed off protector inside him. The one who wanted to grab hold of her, kiss her until she looked at him with the world in her eyes again. He would not let anyone hurt her, not even himself.

Some of it must have shown on his face, because she backed up a couple of steps.

If she got any whiter, she was going to faint.

He slid closer to her and said with all the softness he could muster, “You look like you just took a gut-shot. So, I’m going to ask this again. What happened?”

“Two men from the Justice Department met me at the airport last night. They wanted me to go with them to give them a statement about the incident in Afghanistan.” She put air quotes around the word incident. “They were very unfriendly when I said no.”

“They’re supposed to be assholes, that’s part of what they do—put the fear of God into people.” He sidled another step closer, within reaching distance. “A lot of sh…stuff happened that day.” 

They’d survived more than one attempt to kill them that day.

He’d fallen in love with her that day.

And the next day…she’d run from him.

The memory combined with the ache of healing bones in his chest, creating a caustic mix of concrete plugging up his lungs.

The struggle to breathe made him stop and think past the pain, past the panic. 

Wait a second… It had been nine years. They’d given all the reports, statements, and evidence right after the incident. Why the fuck would anyone need anything from either of them now? 

Something about what she said sank in.

“They wanted you to go with them?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“Yes.” Her gaze was angry, confused, and…sad.

His stomach dropped in a sickening rush and the world spun in place for a long second.

“Why didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t. The Drill Sergeant was picking me up for an emergency meeting with the CDC director, who wanted a report on my briefings in Washington. DS told the two agents exactly how they could go fuck themselves. They tried to intimidate him physically, but, well, you can imagine how that went.”

“He raised his voice?”

“He ripped them apart so badly security came to see what all the fuss was about. The two men left after promising things would get tougher for me.”

The dizziness retreated.

He was going to kiss that old man when he saw him next.

“I need to make a call.” He grabbed his phone and punched in the numbers to a buddy of his in the Justice Department. A minute later, he had his answer.

“No one from the Justice Department was sent to interview you or bring you in.” He saw his own hand shaking. Someone had tried to take her. In a public place. In front of any number of witnesses.

Who the fuck could be that brazen?

“What?” she stared at him, her brows furrowed.

“Someone tried to take you.” There was a snarl in his voice he couldn’t suppress.

“Someone almost got you.”

When he caught up with that someone, he was going to rip the fucker’s guts out.

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Outbreak Task Force #4, I love this series! So far all the books can be read as a standalone this book picks up right after the events of book three and even though I have read it it took me part of chapter one to reacquaint myself with the characters and the situation but then again I saw this arc up for grabs and I grabbed it didn't read the blurb or anything it was book four I had to have it so I went into this completely blind as to who the main characters were going to be. There is an overall story arc that links all the books together but each book is independent from the others. There is quite a bit of mention of the events in the last books but I don't think enough to get the reader lost.

The main characters of this one, head of the Outbreak Task Force Dr. Carmen Rodriguez and the Homeland Security liaison John Dozer. The benefit of reading the previous books is that you can tell there is something between the two of them but it never lets on to what it is, the way the acted in situations you could tell they cared about each other. Carmen was a wunderkind she finished medical school at 19 after that is when she first met John Dozer in Afghanistan. For Dozer it was instantaneous; the attraction, the respect he knew without a doubt this brilliant beautiful woman was for him but after their life and death situation she just walked away and he didn't see her again until the formation of the Outbreak Task Force.   


Due the the events of the last book Dozer is on medical leave but due to an outbreak of the measles in Florida that the terrorist group FAFO is behind he's not leaving Carmen without protection, especially since the FAFO has targeted them specifically. The FAFO is now doing more than just infecting people they have attempted to bomb one of the hospitals and and airplane causing even more widespread panic it's scary enough that this weaponized strain of the measles is spreading quickly across the US. Carmen and Dozer have a lot on their plates with the outbreak, a mole, and dodging would-be-assassins but they also manage to deal with their past and what went wrong and fall in love all over again.

Overall, this was intense. Reading this series always makes me want to rewatch Outbreak. I love the narration and the characters, intense action and drama, hot romance, seriously I love everything about this book. I can't wait until the next book because the overall story arc was left open ended for more books (fist pump) and I really hope it's Henry's book next. 

Ashley and Solomon have been best friends since they were little, but ever since the accident when Ash fell out of Solomon's treehouse when they were 12 there's been something wrong. Her memory of that day is gone and Solomon has retreated to a world in his head.

Ash has concerned parents and a healthy network of friends at school. She has a mentor, a retired photography editor, and doesn't feel the need to "fit in" at school to be happy. Her goal of creating a project worthy of getting her into her favorite art school seems within reach. Her one worry is that Solomon is losing control of the line between reality and imagination and might not be able to function in the real world for much longer. They're not children anymore.

In Solomon's world, the people are divided and fight corrupt authority with spells and dinosaurs. There he is chosen for great things, and with the help of his camera can maybe bring the city back together. His best friend Ash is a princess in a near-catatonic state.

Things get weird when Ash sees through the lens of her camera some dinosaurs or shit and realizes she has to figure out what's going on with Solomon or end up like him, too.

Do I need to go on? Sam J. Miller has written about mental illness and magical powers as metaphors for each other before. I didn't read 'The Art of Starving', but I hope its a good deal more subtle than this.

Solomon's withdrawal makes perfect sense with what the reader discovers about him, but his fantasy world is a selfish wish-fulfillment scheme and it doesn't make sense that Ash is drawn into it. Like, at all. I mean, couldn't his power over there have to do with music since that was the talent Ash admired in him? Why did he have to take her thing (photography) AND make her a passive object for most of the book?

There is a whole other plot-line in the real world where Ash seeks out a group of people who are vandalizing the town in seriously expensive ways, and doing serious emotional damage while they're at it. That gets wrapped up in a silly way that doesn't seem fair to the victims at all.

This book tries to be too many things. Any realism that Miller injects into it, such as reaction to trauma and the realities of mental illness, explodes the narrative and leaves the reader with....not a whole lot.

Seek and Destroy (TREX Book 5) - Allie K...

Seek And Destroy by Allie K. Adams is a fantastic read.  Ms Adams has delivered a book that is well-written and suspenseful.  The characters in this book are amazing and a perfect fit for the story.  Charis and David's tale is loaded with drama, suspense, bits of humor and smokin' hot sexy bits.  I totally enjoyed Seek And Destroy and look forward to reading more from Allie K. Adams in the future.  Seek And Destroy is book 4 in the TREX Series and book 2 in the Nassd Counter-Terrorist Agency Series but can easily be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I read a print copy of this book.