Strain by Amelia C. Gormley

 In a world with little hope and no rules, the only thing they have to lose is themselves.

Rhys Cooper is a dead man. Cut off from the world since childhood, he’s finally exposed to the lethal virus that wiped out most of the human race. Now his only hope for survival is infection by another strain that might confer immunity. But it’s sexually transmitted, and the degradation he feels at submitting to the entire squad of soldiers that rescued him eclipses any potential for pleasure—except with Darius, the squadron’s respected, capable leader.

Sergeant Darius Murrell has seen too much death and too little humanity. He’s spent a decade putting plague victims out of their misery and escorting survivors to a safe haven he can never enjoy. He’d rather help Rhys live than put him down, so when Rhys can’t reconcile himself to doing what’s necessary to survive, Darius is forced to save Rhys in spite of himself.

But with each passing day, it looks less and less likely that Rhys can be saved. Which means that soon Darius might have to put a bullet in the head of the one person in years who reminds him of what it means to be human.

I completely LOVED this book when I started it, and in the middle of it, but when I came to the end of it? I was left completely disappointed. While the twist that the author threw in at the end of the book was really great and smart on one hand, it disappointed me personally!

I am usually not a fan of the “virus” type books, but this one caught my eye, so of course I started reading it. I thought that the “treatment” for the virus was completely off the wall, and I loved how different it was than any of the other virus stories out there.

There were a bunch of characters that were introduced into this book, and at times it was very confusing. But I can say that each of the characters had a certain purpose and role in the book, so they weren’t just thrown in there with any real reason.

I did like Rhys’s character, well maybe not like, but I felt horrible for him throughout the whole story. Until he was able to come into his own that is. Once he realized what he wanted, and learned that he was safe in what he wanted, it was great to watch as he embraced his feelings for Darius.

Now with Darius, I still don’t know what I think about him. On one hand, I did like his character; he was very straightforward and was doing what he had to do to keep Rhys alive. But on the other hand, I think that he was very jerkish towards Rhys as well! I did enjoy how Darius realized what feelings he had towards Rhys, and was finally willing to act on them.

Overall, I am still disappointed in the ending of the book, but I did still enjoy it overall.