HIDDEN

Author: Eve Kenin ISBN: 9780505527615 7/2008 FUTURISTIC/ACTION Publisher: DORCHESTER

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 badass 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.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

HIDDEN is a competent, futuristic action-adventure novel. It reminded me a little of the TV show Dark Angel, with its heroine of extraordinary abilities. Tatiana is the sister of Wizard, the hero of DRIVEN. HIDDEN may have been richer if I'd read DRIVEN first, but unfortunately I didn't. The series is set in a future world where all current countries have fallen and reformed into four corrupt regimes. This bleak story is set in the Northern Waste and is post a couple of new world wars and terrible plagues.

Tatiana and her two siblings were held in a laboratory for many years and eventually escaped. She has been free for six months and believes her siblings to be dead. She's taking odd jobs and trying to find information about a mysterious scientist. On one of these trips she meets a settler with beautiful eyes and ultimately ends up trapped underground with him.

Both are more than they seem and need to find the humanity in each other as they fall in love. They are damaged people who've done bad things and lived harsh lives. I found the story intriguing and entertaining, if not too memorable.

Heather Hiestand