Driven: Northern Waste, #1

By Eve Silver

"Eve [Silver] expertly fuses nonstop action and adventure; a cutting-edge, exceptionally inventive setting; and a terrific, take-charge, no-nonsense heroine in Driven, a fresh, fabulously fun futuristic romance."—The Chicago Tribune

 

In the harsh Northern Waste where human life is worth little, ice trucker Raina Bowen has learned to keep her eyes open and her knife close at hand. She's spent her life on the run, one step ahead of the megalomaniac who hunts her. All she wants is to stay out of trouble and haul her load of grain to Gladow Station—but trouble finds her in the form of a sexy stranger called Wizard. He has the trucking pass she needs, and she has to drag him out of a brawl with the very people she's trying to hide from. She may have rescued him, but Raina's not foolish enough to see Wizard as anything close to helpless. He's hard and honed and full of secrets—secrets that may destroy them both.

 

As they race across the Waste, trying to outrun rival truckers, ice pirates, and the powerful man bent on their destruction, Raina's forced to admit that trouble's found her. And this time, there's nowhere left to run.

 

"Edgy, steamy, action packed, and plotted with nail-biting tension..."—Library Journal, Starred Review

 

"One of the best books I've read in ages."—Marjorie M. Liu, New York Times bestselling author

 

"Anyone looking for something different will find [Silver]'s steamy, sinewy universe great fun..."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

 

"...kind of Mad Max meets Red Dawn..."—dearauthor.com

 

"Ms. [Silver] has created an incredible world and Driven is one of the most entertaining books I've read all year."—All About Romance

 

"Take one tough heroine and a hero who is more than he seems; throw in gritty action and sizzling passion and you have the perfect recipe for success. Awesome!"—RT BOOKreviews

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eve Silver
• Release date: May 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9780986935732

Eve Silver

National bestselling author Eve Silver has been praised for her “edgy, steamy, action-packed” books, darkly sexy heroes and take-charge heroines. In 2015 she won the OLA Forest of Reading White Pine Award, and her work was shortlisted for the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy (2014), and was both an American Bookseller’s Association Best Book for Children and a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens (2013). She has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Quill and Quire, two RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Library Journal’s Best Genre Fiction Award, and she was nominated for the Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award. Eve lives with her husband, two sons, an energetic Airedale terrier and an exuberant border collie/shepherd. And a snake called Ragnar.

Reviews for Driven

[rabidgummibear-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 there was a lot of promise, but I was left feeling like too much Mary Sue in Raina. Overall the story idea was really solid just lacked character development.

[ogrezed · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story just never engaged me, although it was interesting enough. Up to a point. But the last 30% or so of the book got a bit repetitious for me. I found myself skimming a lot of pages.

[Stephanie Williams · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent post apocalyptic love story. The characters, while not exactly original, were well written and the pacing drove the plot line so that it was exciting but still believable. I read it in under 24 hours.

[cindy.warner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

DrivenEve SilverEve SilverMay 28, 20124 starsIn a bleak, dystopian world Raina Bowen is a loner and survivor. At twelve, she survived a brutal attack by Duncan Bane, the man who is running the world and the constant abuse inflicted on her by her father Sam. Now an ice trucker Raina has one goal on her mind…to win the delivery to Gladow contest so she can leave the frozen wasteland and make a home at the equator for her previously unknown sister and herself. All she needs is a pass…Wizard, the man who was to meet Raina and deliver the much needed pass to her is not only late for their meeting, he has run afoul of Bane’s men and the pass he has is stolen, rendering it useless. He insinuates himself into Raina’s life as a traveling companion and as they face the hazards of the road , they grow closer. But once she finds out about his betrayal, Raina has to determine if she can overcome it and build a future with Wizard. Oh and did I mention that Wizard reminds me of Mr. Spock?

[clairesbooks_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Driven is a Science Fiction Romance book written by Eve Kenin, which is set in a post apocalyptic world where there has been two nuclear wars. The world is run by a corrupt Government and a bad guy called Duncan Blane. Extreme temperatures exist with the Northern part of the Earth a frozen waste land. Nothing grows there and it is dark most of the day, the only way people can survive is by getting goods transported in by truckers. One of those truckers is a woman called Raina Bowen and she is in a race to Gladow Station where the first truck there will win 50 million interdollars. Raina is banking everything on winning that money so that she can have a better life for herself in the sun with the sister she has never met. Hopefully this will be a safer life away from Duncan Blane who is out for Raina’s blood and eventual death. To try and win the race Raina needs to travel the ICW which is illegally monopolized by Jansen trucks and in order to do this she needs a special license, and that’s how the book begins with Raina waiting at a truck stop for a guy called Wizard who will hopefully have a license for her.I absolutely loved this book it was amazing. If you have read any of my reviews before you will know that I have a lot of trouble with Paranormal Romance however I have no problems what so ever reading Science Fiction Romance weird huh? I think it is because from a very young age I have always watched and loved Sci Fi on tv. The characters are wonderful Raina is an extremely independent tough and lonely young woman. Wizard is a dangerous and good looking strange man who has no emotions at all. It was great to find out about the characters pasts, and boy did they have horrible pasts and I loved seeing their relationship develop and how they changed each other. There were lots of other great supporting characters too, such as the young orphan boy Ben and the evil Duncan Blane. There are twists in the story and deception and heartbreak. The science parts were easy to understand and the author portrayed a grim but vivid world. The mix between romance and the main story is well balanced and there are a couple of sex scenes. The pacing of the book is perfect and there is not one thing that I would like to change, well actually there is I would like more books about Raina and Wizard please. I really cannot stress how much I loved this book and would like to give it 5 stars even though I want to give it more.

[reneebooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The setting is a futuristic post-apocalyptic world (after a nuclear war) where a third of the world population has been decimated. This is a fabulous action/adventure well blended with a hot spicy romance.Raina is an independent trucker who hauls much needed supplies between the scattered outposts of the Northern Waste. She intends to compete in a contest with a group of truckers who are basically pirates who will kill other drivers and hijack their cargo. In the opening scene Raina shows us what a kick-ass heroine she is. She pairs up with Wizard and they get chased across the frozen icy wasteland in her completely self contained truck. Wizard is a robot like character with some strange abilities and very enigmatic until his background is slowly revealed. I really enjoyed this book. The action is non-stop and the sexual tension really heated things up. The character development and dialogue between Raina and Wizard were great and brought them to life. Eve Kenin is a going to be an author to watch.

[dkthain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It seemed kind of like a Mad Max movie only Max was a woman, it took place in the north instead of a dessert and there was a terrific love story to go along with it. The book takes place some time in the not-too-distant future after some kind of apocalyptic war. The northern hemisphere seems to be a frozen wasteland now and it it’s controlled by some Very Evil Dude named Bane. There is a truck race amongst independent truckers and a company owned by Bane. Raina Bowen is determined to win this race and for that she needs a special pass she has agreed to buy from Wizard, a mysterious stranger who is seemingly impervious to the cold or injury.Raina was some kick-ass tough heroine who could stand up for herself and I loved her, loved her, loved her. It’s fascinating watching this loner slowly allow a group of rebels into her heart.And Wizard - Mmm, mmm mmm, mmm, mmm!- what a terrific hero he makes! Earlier on this year I read Linnea Sinclair's Games of Command and loved her hero. Wizard is the same type of guy. Without saying too much, Wizard is a guy who is new to emotions - kind of like a hot and hunky Data from Star Trek. But at others he's not like Data At All.