Eve Silver: OTHERKIN Series

Author: Eve Silver

Series: OTHERKIN Series
Plot Type: SMR

Ratings: V-4; S-4; H-2

Publisher and Titles: Harlequin 
     Sins of the Heart (2010) 

     Sins of the Soul (2010) 

     Sins of the Flesh (2010) 

     Body of Sin (2011)

     This blog entry was revised and updated on 9/29/11 to include a review of the fourth book in the series: Body of Sin. That review follows this brief overview of the series so far:

     The plot line for this series is better developed and much more important than is usual for SMR series. The books follow the adventures and love lives of the four sons of the Egyptian god, Sutekh, Lord of Chaos: Dagan, Alastor, Malthus, and Lokan Krayl. They are all soul reapers, and their job includes arriving at the moment an evil person dies, pulling that person's heart from his or her chest, and reaping the darksoul (which serves as food for Sutekh).

     As Sins of the Heart begins, Lokan, the youngest son, has just been murdered, which sets up the focus for the series: finding the killer and identifying the powerful forces behind the crime. The action takes place both in the present-day mortal world (Topworld) and in the Underworld. Supporting characters include a variety of Underworld characters (gods, goddesses, and minions—both good and bad) as well as some misguided human religious fanatics. 

     In each book, the three brothers work to find a way to find and free Lokan, and in each book one of the brothers finds his Otherkin soul mate:           

    > Sins of the Heart: Dagan and Roxy Tam

    > Sins of the Soul: Alastor and Naphré Kurata

    > Sins of the Flesh: Malthus (Mal) and Calliope Kane

    > Body of Sin: Lokan and Brynja (Bryn) Carr

     In each book, the story line moves us closer and closer to the solution of Lokan's murder, with the case being finally resolved in the fourth book: Body of Sin. In the previous book, Lokan's brothers managed to reunite his soul and his body, so now all Lokan has to do is figure out a way to get back to Topworld—a task, he discovers, that is nearly impossible. In order to get back to the real world, Lokan must pass through the Twelve Gates of Osiris, but he doesn't know the magic passwords, so Osiris's giant snakes drive him back and nearly drown him. Then, he is rescued from a man from his past. In the meantime, Lokan's brothers are trying to recover their mates from imprisonment by the Daughters of Aset. Eventually all of the threads come together and the conflict that has been building since book one is resolved. This book fills in all the blanks that readers been wondering about since the first scene of the first book: Exactly what were the circumstances of Lokan's death? Why didn't Lokan tell anyone that he had a daughter (Dana)? What is the situation between Bryn (Dana's mother) and Lokan? What kind of Otherkin is Bryn? Does Dana have any supernatural powers? 

     I have enjoyed reading this series. It's a classic soul-mate romance series, with handsome alpha males and sassy independent females who work through their differences and fight shoulder to shoulder. Of course, there are many angst-filled scenes, but we'd be disappointed if there weren't. My guess is that future books will feature Bryn's bachelor brothers as the heroes. 

     These guys and gals spend their time involved in some really weird activities. Here is a quotation from  Sins of the Heart that describes a typical romantic moment between Roxy and Dagan: 

     “I love you, Roxy Tam.”

     She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and whispered, “I...love you, Dagan Krayl.”

     He thought that as far as moments went, this one was damned near perfect. Then he pulled the heart free and let the reaper’s body slide to the ground. Glancing down, he realized he had no pouch and the heart was still twitching in his hand. He needed to harvest the darksoul. Grabbing Roxy's wrist, he turned her hand palm up and dropped the heart into it.  

     “Here,” he said. “Hold this for me, would you?”