HIDDEN
Eve Kenin
Shomi/Love Spell/Dorchester
ISBN: 978-0-505-52761-5
July 2008
Science Fiction Romance

HIDDEN is the much anticipated (at least by this reader) sequel to DRIVEN. In a new apocalyptic world that Eve Kenin creates, one is never quite sure what is going to happen. Different diseases and plagues have decimated much of the Earth. Wars have changed the face of what we know of the world today. Might makes right in this new world order and the more ruthless you are, the higher up on the power chain you advance.

Tatiana was brought up in an underground facility by a computer. Once freed from the labs with her brother and sister, they were brought under the wing of a powerful and ruthless man. Wizard destroys Duncan Bane in DRIVEN and has been looking for Tatiana ever since. She's been held by a mad scientist Ward. He is obsessive in his objective of bringing about a new pure race. Nazi scientists from 150 years prior have nothing on Ward. He's held Tatiana for years using her DNA to create a plague unlike any that the world has seen to date.

Tristan happens across Tatiana in the Wastelands of the North. After their first meeting, he has a difficult time forgetting the unique female. Tatiana is after Ward and his hidden lab to find and destroy this plague made from her DNA. Nothing, not even the enigmatic and gorgeous stranger, will deter her from her course.

I really enjoyed reading the world that Ms. Kenin has created. It can be brutal but that makes finding love all that much more rewarding. I liked our two main characters, but I wish so much was not held so close to their chests the whole time. The book IS called HIDDEN and for good reason. Unfortunately, too much is kept hidden and we do not really get to know our characters well. Also, the action of the story seems to be all packed into the end. There is a lot more description in the beginning of the story and the end seems rushed with all of the fighting and movement of the plot. I liked what I read, I just wish it were a bit more evenly paced. Just one last warning, there is a lot of technical jargon going on in this book. The two lead characters are smart and scientific and they talk in detailed terms, and while I found it interesting, I am not sure everyone else will.

Reviewed by Sarah Silversmith
Rating: 4