The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.

The rules are very simple: spotlight a book written by an author whose first or last name begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.

This week’s letter is: K

This week pick: Kenin, Eve — Driven

Driven (Eve Kenin)

From my review: It was suppose to be simple. Be the first to reach Gladow Station with a load of grain and receive a fat bonus. All Raina needed was a special license that would allow her to drive the transcontinental highway, and that was going to be supplied by a guy named Wizard. The problem? He was late for their meeting, and when he finally shows up, he incurs the wrath of a trucker gang. Thanks to this encounter, Wizard is without transportation, and Raina grudgingly allows him to tag along. With the license now useless, she is forced to take a more dangerous route through pirate territory if she wants to stay in the race. But the race is not what it seems, as she learns, and an enemy from her past has decided that the time is right to hunt her down. There are secrets about her family she doesn’t know about, and she finds herself falling for a man with secrets of his own. (Go here to read the rest)

Comment: Some weeks, I know which author/book I want to feature in this meme. This week, I had almost resigned myself to featuring a book I hadn’t read, when I stumbled across Ms. Kenin’s name in my database. I really liked the post-apocalyptic stories she wrote for the Shomi imprint. I chose Driven over Hidden because I liked it more.

Note: The link below is to Fantastic Fiction, which has a variety of purchase options (including on-line secondary markets) for the US and UK.

Driven by Eve Kenin at Fantastic Fiction.

Hidden

Title: Hidden
Author: Eve Kenin
Copyright: 2008 (Shomi); 309 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-505-52761-5
Series: sequel
Sensuality: Warm

Who: Tatiana and Tristan

From the back: Tatiana has honed her genetic gifts to perfection. She can withstand the subzero temperatures of the Northern Waste, read somebody’s mind with the briefest touch, and slice through bone with her bare hands. Which makes her one bad-ass chick, all right. Nothing gets to her. Until she meets Tristan. Villain or ally, she can’t be sure. But one thing she does know: he has gifts too — including the ability to ramp up her heart rate to dangerous levels. But before they can start some chemistry of their own, they have to survive being trapped in an underground lab, hunted by a madman, and exposed to a plague that could destroy mankind.

Comments: I chose this book because I liked Eve Kenin’s previous book, Driven. Hidden is set in the same world and features new characters. The book picks up shortly after the events in Driven, and though it is not necessary, I would strongly recommend reading that book first to get a better understanding of Tatiana and the world Ms. Kenin created.

Genetically engineered, born in a lab, and raised by computers along with her two siblings, Tatiana isn’t very good with human interactions. She’s a mixture of a cool competent woman and a confused, uncertain one. The only people she’s ever cared for are dead — or so she thinks. Since she’s escaped Dr. Ward, her encounters with people in general have been awkward and her experimentation in the arena of intimacy has left her feeling that she wasn’t really bred for those type of interactions. Until she sees Tristan. She can’t take her eyes off him and she’s attracted him right from the first. It something she’s never experienced before and it’s both exhilarating and alarming.

Tristan is trying to find redemption for his past by righting a major wrong. He’s intrigued with Tatiana from the moment he first sees her in the general store. Women on the Waste fall into one of two categories: wife or whore. She’s neither, and her obvious military training — unheard of in a woman — makes her all the more interesting to him. He admires and respects her ability to take care of herself, even when his own instincts and training tell him to be the protector.

Tatiana and Tristan are both on a mission to stop Dr. Gavin Ward and his mutating plague. Neither realize this the first time they meet. Tatiana has been hired to find a stolen object and thinks Tristan is just a settler, looking for supplies. However, Tristan is a also trying to track down stolen goods. It’s ironic that both of them are looking for the same truckers. When their paths cross again, they are both surprised, never expecting to see each other again and neither has forgotten about the other. But now Tristan thinks Tatiana has been exposed to the plague and her only hope of survival, be believes, is with him. Fortunately, he knows she’s hunting for a man named Tolliver, and he can give her the answers she wants — if she’ll follow him into his underground lab.

I really liked the characters, which is a good thing as much of the book they are alone, with no one else to interact with. I didn’t think this book moved was as fast moving as others in the Shomi line, but the likable characters kept it from being boring. I don’t know if there was ever a plan for a third book featuring Yuriko (or anyone else for that matter). I really enjoyed this book.

The author also writes as Eve Silver.

Started: 2 July 2009
Finished: 9 July 2009

Rating:

Enjoyed it!

What Others Have Said:
Darque Reviews
Popin’s Lair
The Good, the Bad, the Unread – Caroline Linden’s
The Good, the Bad, the Unread – Shannon C.’s
Renee Reads Romance
All About Romance
Janicu
Dear Author
Tez Says

Books in the Series:

Driven

Addendum:
This is a re-post, due to technical difficulties. Comments, if any, were lost. I apologize for the inconvenience. (Aug 09)

By having that gap between finishing the book and when I actually sit down to put my thoughts on paper, I have a better take on which books stay with me.  Since I have to refresh my memory on some points, I usually have to do a little re-reading.  If I really love the book, I tend to keep reading after I found whatever it was that prompted me to refer to the book.  That’s a bit annoying, since I should be writing, not reading.  The harder it is for me to put aside the book, the more likely the book is going to be a 5-star book, flaws and all.

With that in mind, I’m going to go ahead and give ratings to the books I’ve already posted.  I’ll eventually update the individual review posts.  Reminder: anything I give a 3-Star or above is a guarantee that I will try other books from the author.

Five Stars:  LOVED!

• Dawnkeepers (Jessica Andersen)
• Bedded for Diamonds (a.k.a. Priceless) (Kelly Hunter)
• Ravenous (Sharon Ashwood)
• Dark Crusade (Lori Devoti)

Four Stars: Liked a lot!

• Driven (Eve Kenin)
• An Unladylike Offer (Christine Merrill)
• Ace is Wild (Penny McCall)

Three Stars: Enjoyable Read

• Slave to Sensation (Nalini Singh)
• Cousin Kate (Georgette Heyer)
• Shadow Game (Christine Feehan)

Driven

Author: Eve Kenin
Copyright: 2007 (Shomi)
ISBN: 978-0-505-52709-7
Series: NA
Sensuality: Hot

Who: Raina Bowen and Wizard
Where & When: Post-apocalyptic, frozen north

It was suppose to be simple. Be the first to reach Gladow Station with a load of grain and receive a fat bonus. All Raina needed was a special license that would allow her to drive the transcontinental highway, and that was going to be supplied by a guy named Wizard. The problem? He was late for their meeting, and when he finally shows up, he incurs the wrath of a trucker gang. Thanks to this encounter, Wizard is without transportation, and Raina grudgingly allows him to tag along. With the license now useless, she is forced to take a more dangerous route through pirate territory if she wants to stay in the race. But the race is not what it seems, as she learns, and an enemy from her past has decided that the time is right to hunt her down. There are secrets about her family she doesn’t know about, and she finds herself falling for a man with secrets of his own.

Raina has been taught to trust no one and she doesn’t let others get close to her. She doesn’t want to lose any more people she cares about, and tries hard not to fall in love with Wizard. Raina’s afraid to let her guard down and settle somewhere because Duncan Bane — her enemy — might find her. Though she doesn’t let people get close, she still cares what happens to others who are less fortunate and helps when she can.

As for Wizard, he’s not what he seems and he has his own agenda. He has the ability to compartmentalize feelings like sadness and guilt. But once he meets Raina, he begins to feel things he’s never felt before — fear, love — and he can’t compartmentalize or control what he feels for her. This is made all the worse by the fact that he will have to break the fragile trust between them in order to take down their common enemy.

This is the second Shomi book I’ve read and I liked it almost as much as Twist (Colby Hodge). Driven is set in an post-apocalyptic world and is action-packed. The world building isn’t elaborate, but that works for the story. I read this during some of the coldest days this month, so I was in the right frame of mind to read a book set in the frigid north — it felt like I was right there with them. I really liked the characters, especially Wizard. I have the sequel in my TBR, and hopefully I get to it this year.

Started: 4 February 2009
Finished: 7 February 2009

Rating:
TBA