I feel like I’ve read this story a hundred times before. Brooding, ex-military alpha male who say one to two word sentences. And an intelligent, independent woman who all of the sudden needs a savior. And of course some really weird times for romance (when I'm running from my life and hiding, I am not thinking of getting hot and heavy with my fellow runner; I am thinking of survival).

I didn’t feel like these characters were fleshed out at all. They were very cookie cutter to the genre and tropes which they came from. And they suffer from a heavy case of insta-love. Three days before declarations of love. I think the same story could have been told over a few weeks or months and would have worked just as well and had the love be more believable.

I did enjoy the subplot of a virus outbreak and how it was intertwine with so much throughout the plot. Rowe seems to have done her research on the virus itself and that was nice to see.

I really enjoyed this second book of the series. Exciting, scary, sexy, and fun romantic suspense! 4.5 Stars.

Kini Kerek is a CDC Public Health Nurse. She's in rural Utah researching the population for antibodies for the Hantavirus, in the hopes of proving the need for the development of a vaccine. But, some terrible rumors have preceded her in this small town, and she has been met with suspicion, threats, and even violence. She's not sure what her next move will be, when there is an outbreak of the very virus she's been sent to investigate. She needs help, and quickly. Luckily, a local man, fresh out of the Army, has taken on the task of helping, and protecting, her. If only she wasn't so drawn to him personally.

Lyle Smoke was just discharged from the Army, Special Forces. His good friend River, the hero from book 1, has offered him a job with the CDC, and he was strongly considering it. But, when he meets Kini, in a MOST interesting way, and wants to help her, he agrees to the job even quicker than expected. Smoke has some damage in his past, and not just from the military. But, he feels drawn to Kini, and feels an urgent need to protect her. So, he uses all the skills his Native American upbringing taught him, and the additional skills the Army honed in him, to help her figure out the mystery, and keep them both alive.

Smoke and Kini's chemistry was crazy strong from minute one. Their meeting was quite unconventional and unique, and I loved their banter and ease with each other from the start. She also felt comfortable and at home with his family, and I loved that too, especially since she had no family of her own. Smoke has had some dark things happen to him in his life, not to mention, the local sheriff's deputy hates his guts, so he's got some major issues to contend with. They both had deep and traumatic emotional scars that they had to figure out how to deal with before they had any hope of being together. I liked that they were both willing to acknowledge those issues, and work on them, in order to make things work.

Smoke's family were all great side characters, as were a few other people on the CDC task force. There were also great villains in this story. Ones that I wanted to reach through the book and smack around in fury, as well as ones where you weren't sure what their motivations really were. It was a great suspense plot, and there were so many potential bad guys, and it kept me guessing who all was bad, and what those bad people might do. I loved that feeling in the pit of my stomach as the plot continued on, and it's exactly what I look for in my romantic suspense.

My only issues here were with a couple loose ends I didn't feel were tied up, at least not on the page. One had to do with Smoke's cousin. And another with one of the villains, and their motivations, which seemed a little unclear to me and left me feeling a little unsatisfied. I don't want to say any more that might lead to spoilers.

I really loved the story, and I fell totally in love with Smoke, and with Kini. They were an awesome couple, and they made an amazing team. I'm very much looking forward to more in this series. There are at least 2 other characters I have my eyes on as having the next book, and I'd be thrilled to read about either one!

This is an awkward rating for me, because while this book rates 3 stars, I didn't enjoy it enough to really recommend it to readers. It's really a personal preference thing, as I think Julie Rowe writes amazing characters and does great action adventures within her romances. However, there was just too much going on in the story. Every time I turned a page, something was happening to Kini. She was like a whipping boy for everyone in the town, and it felt like overkill for the story. It would have been nice to have one chapter where she wasn't bruised, bleeding, and/or having violence attempted on her person. Also, the sex scenes - the least sexy sex scene is when you have a character who is seriously injured (Kini) and the other character (Smoke) jumps their bones anyway. This happened multiple times in the book, and it just didn't turn me on at all. I didn't see the romance in it.

Romantic fiction that brings biological warfare to the forefront is rare and Julie Rowe’s suspense series about soldiers, invisible but scary threats and doctors/nurses fighting to stop an outbreak always stood out because of their unique subject matter. Well, that and how the first few chapters of her recent books actually have the ability to tip the reader straight into a mystery waiting to be solved and a thrilling ride that pulls together conspiracy theory, medical science and law enforcement.

From the very start when Smoke first glided into the series as a mysterious, near-silent soldier, I knew I wanted his story. Yet Smoke barely lost his enigmatic cover and with a tragic past that was only briefly mentioned, ’Smoke and Mirrors’ started out as a straight up terse, tension-filled ride as Smoke and Kini rushed to uncover how widespread an infection had become in a claustrophobic and hostile small town. Still, a potent, deadly mix of hysteria and confusion that eventually turned into bloodlust made for engrossing reading, and like Kini and Smoke, the confusion and apparent connections between the seemingly unrelated incidents in town didn’t come together for me until the very end when the true monsters emerge. While I liked the action however, it seemed inconceivable that the crazy, superstitious town people leaped to any kind of conclusion (inexplicably ending up with fingers pointed at Smoke) like medieval folk to the point where it almost didn’t make logical sense.

There’s no doubt that Rowe handled the suspense superbly and the twists and turns in the narrative were sufficient hooks to keep the pages turning. The connection between Kini and Smoke however, was harder to get into (with some instalove going on as everything took place within a few days), despite the huge zing of attraction that Rowe wrote into the very bizarre first scene of them waking up together in bed. How believable is it for someone to climb into bed not noticing another person already in it? In any case, with a romance built on this weird foundation and growing too quickly in a short time—Kini and Smoke literally spent the whole time changing vehicles, zipping from place to place—the pairing looked like an incidental feature of the suspense, and the sex that happened down in the bare, hard dirt when Kini was badly injured and fatigued to the point of passing out felt more far-fetched than bedsheet-scorching (there weren’t even any).

That said, I did like both protagonists however; Kini was, quite literally, a ball-buster and Smoke was so cool and deadly—who catnaps in jail after being falsely convicted of murder?—that they could have been a solid pair if they’d been given more time for the burn between them to sizzle apart from the constant flurry of action that gave no one any time to literally breathe.

‘Smoke and Mirrors’, like the rest of Rowe’s books, is only loosely connected to the rest of the series, and functions perfectly as a standalone. I did miss seeing the other couples who’d found their HEA in previous books though, despite some familiar characters turning up, but there really little for me to stand on here, especially when Rowe always leaves me dazzled but chilled by the end of her story.

I really enjoyed this book, more than I had anticipated actually. I loved Smoke. He was the perfect mix of alpha warrior and vulnerability. The story was great also. Plenty of suspense and action, and it kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the very end. I will definitely look for,the next book in this new,series.

Smoke and Mirrors is non-stop adrenalin action from the very beginning and will keep you at the edge of your seat as you join Kini and Smoke while they try to figure out the cause of a hantavirus outbreak in Utah.
Ms Rowe is one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. Her stories are always action-packed and I've been a fan from the very first book I read. Now, I wait impatiently for new books to take me back into the world of strong, protective military men; smart, competent heroines, and deadly viruses and pathogens. Smoke and Mirrors is the second in the Outbreak Task Force series but can be read as a standalone.
Smoke has been a favorite of mine since I met him in the Biological Response Team series. He's skilled, competent and a man of very few words. I was wondering how Ms Rowe was going to have him communicate given that he's prone to one word answers but she did a great job with him. Of course, he said a lot more than one word but his responses were still utterly Smoke. Brief, precise and nuanced. His combination of expression, body language and a minimum of words conveyed a wealth of meaning and emotion. Communication aside, Smoke is a very damaged man. Years served in the Army has taken it's toll on his soul and psyche. It's made him a very accomplished soldier but it's also made him very aware of how dangerous he can be to those around him. And yet, he maintains a core of honor and integrity. A part of him wants to drag him down and sink into a mass of anger and depravity but another part of him, the part that is connected to the land, and the love and stability of his family, keeps him grounded in the present and makes him a man who is noble and keeps his promises. Even as he struggles with himself and fears what he can become, there are those around him who keep him anchored and who will bring him back from the abyss. And not once did he ever let Kini down.
Ms Rowe writes great heroines. Even the ones who are slightly damaged and afraid to trust like Kini. When faced with adversity and hostility, Kini pushes forward. She perseveres and continues to do her job, and do what's right. And she cares. For the people, for the sick, for the dying. It takes a lot for Kini to trust a man after someone near and dear to her betrayed that trust in the most awful way imaginable but she trusts Smoke. In fact, she's instantly attracted to Smoke when she meets him. It's not quite insta-love but they do fall for each other rather quickly in the midst of car bombs and ducking bullets. Love borne of danger can either be enduring or dissipate after the adrenalin wears off. I'm glad this is a romance and the love between Smoke and Kini endures to give me a happy ending.
I'm always sad when I come to the end of one of Ms Rowe's books. I'm going to miss the endless excitement until the next book comes out. So glad there will be more in the series.

Oh my goodness, I love this series. This time it's a coincidence that most areas of the USA are fighting a flu breakout. In my city alone we've had a couple of deaths due to it. So this book kind of freaked me out.
Kini is put through so much and still works hard to try and figure out what's going on. Everytime something bad happens Smoke seems to get blamed. It really slows them down. Smoke and Mirrors, is a page turner that is hard to put down.

LOVED!!! This book is romantic suspense at its best! Kini is a public health nurse for the CDC surveying the community for research when Smoke returns home fresh out of Special Ops in the military. Before long, he is trying to keep Kini safe as the local community takes an ever increasingly violent series of actions to drive her away. Then, when people start dying, the stress ramps up and they're fighting for their lives.

This novel is non-stop action that had me hooked from the first page and kept me hooked until the last page. This is part of a series, but is a stand alone novel, however, it's so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all. This one is a must read. The author is on my must read authors' list.