Sins of the Heart, Otherkin Trilogy, Book 1 by Eve Silver

Publisher:  HQN, Harlequin Enterprises
Pages:  384

(Release Date:  8-01-10)

From the Cover:

Half-human, half-god, Dagan Krayl is the Underworld’s most powerful soul reaper. When one of his brothers is murdered, Dagan must use every ounce of his power to hunt down those responsible for his brutal death. But he must move swiftly—and carefully—if he’s to have any chance of resurrecting his brother.

Yet that resurrection could wreak havoc on the mortal world. As an Otherkin, Roxy Tam has sworn to protect the human race and it’s her mission to stop Dagan. But when she sees him face to face, she realizes that she has seen him once before—a meeting that changed her life forever.

Neither Dagan nor Roxy expect to join forces for the sake of mankind. Or have their loyalties tested as they struggle against the potent desire that threatens to consume them both….

*****may contain spoilers*****

Legend says that Sutekh in a bid to have the Goddess Aset and her power for himself, killed her husband/brother, Osiris, dismembering his body and scattering the pieces across the lands. Legend also says that Sutekh is the brother of Aset and Osiris, very convoluted. Aset who deeply loved Osiris, found all his parts, save one, his penis which she fashioned from gold, and reanimated the body for one night in which a son was produced, Horus. Now, Aset and Osiris are the enemies of Sutekh with each residing and reigning over their own region of the Underworld, along with the other demigods and gods, including Hades and the lesser demons. And this is where our story begins....


Sutekh, Seth, the Lord of Chaos, one of  the Gods of the Underworld, had four sons by three mortal women. Why? To allow him to have personal emissaries, soul reapers, able to travel between the Topworld and Underworld, as long as they don't partake in the food of the dead. Sons which he created to be loyal to only him, trained to follow his every command. While each is loyal to and in a way loves their father, they are loyal to each other first and foremost.  Dagan, the eldest son and most rebellious, is sent to reap some very deserving souls, murders and rapist.  Sutekh likes to eat the most delectable of the filthiest souls.  When Dagan arrives, he discovers they have a captive, Roxy Tam, and one of the oddest things happens... he doesn't want to kill her and reap her soul... he wants to save, protect her, and insure she has a long happy life.


Roxy Tam is street smart, capable, and unfortunately, willing to try to help her friend Marcia, but Marcia isn't what she appears to be and leads Roxy into a trap for the amusement and need of her sick boyfriend. Together they plan to rape and murder Roxy... that is until Dagan appears on the scene. He reaps their souls for his father to feast upon and sets Roxy free. But in doing so, Roxy accidentally imbibes some of Dagan's blood, binding them together. As the years pass, Roxy has waking and sleeping dreams of the reaper, either ending in love making or soul reaping and it's driving her mad. Dagan warns her off the Daughters of Aset, he can see them in her future, which leads to Roxy running to their arms, hoping for answers, hoping for a place to call home.


When Roxy is sent on a mission to retrieve a kidnapped child, it eventually brings her face to face with the man of her dreams, Dagan Krayl, after eleven long years of separation and with the knowledge that he felt her to fend for herself and with a new gift, the desire for blood. She either wants to kill him or sleep with him... but what will happen when a Daughter of Aset and a Son of Sutekh come together?  Sworn enemies or life long lovers?


Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver is excellent paranormal romance/urban fantasy with elements of mythology, mysticism, and magic. Our story starts where the mythology ends and a new world begins telling the continuing story of Sutekh, Aset, and Osiris. Sutekh has four son, Dagan, Alastor, Mal, and Lokan. All do their father's biding, but Dagan is the most rebellious and the eldest. He feels it's his duty to protect his younger brothers and when he fails, he attempts to go to any lengths to right the injustice.  Roxy Tam has been alone since the age of five and her life would have ended at nineteen if Dagan hadn't intervened. But, he changes her into something else, something otherworldly, Otherkin. He warns her off the Daughters of Aset, the one of the Otherkin, but he leaves her with this burning need, and she runs to the Daughters of Aset to try to understand what is happening to her. Only, they provide even less answers. Roxy struggles through life becoming what she can make of herself, she's proud, feisty, and beautiful. Dagan dreams only of Roxy, the young dark beauty he had to abandon if she was going to survive, but that doesn't keep her from invading his dreams, and soul reapers don't dream. What's the matter with him? He avoids her for eleven long years until the death of one of his brothers brings him face to face with his only weakness and worst nightmare, all rolled up in a tidy little package, Roxy Tam. The question is can he live with her or without her?


Sins of the Heart is a quick little read that hooked me from the beginning with Dagan Krayl torn between duty and beauty. I love stories that contain elements of mythology and mysticism, and since I had prior knowledge of the mythology involved (mythology freak that I am), it made the story that much better for me. [If you go back to my previous post about the Goddess Aset (also know as Isis), you'll understand what I mean.., lol] This one story contains intrigue, denial, double crosses, and gods and goddesses behaving badly. There's a mystery as to what exactly happened to Dagan's youngest brother.... did he sacrifice himself.... is there a way back for him.... will he partake in the food of the dead and remain truly dead, unable to return to Topworld? I waiting to start the next book in the series, requesting it and ready to watch the story unfold. Eve Silver is another new author for me, I've discovered so many in the last year and a half that I've been blogging, and Eve Silver's Otherkin Series is another keeper for me.  I love the simplistic cover art with the strong full bodied hero, it describes the mythology within the story perfectly as well as the kick-ass heroine found within the pages and for which Eve Silver is known. I'll be looking into Ms. Silver's backlist, this is an author I'll be watching. I highly recommend this read to lovers of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and mythology

I received this ebook for review from Harlequin Enterprises and Net Galley.  All opinions I expressed are my own.