Sins of the Soul, Book Two, The Otherkin Series by Eve Silver

Publisher:  HQN, Harlequin Enterprises
Pages:  368

(Release Date:  9/01/10)

From the Cover:

Sworn to duty. Bound by desire.

 

Alastor Krayl’s world shattered when he learned that his father was the Underworld god of chaos and evil.  All that saved him from self-destruction were his newfound brothers and the bond they shared as soul reapers.  So when one of his brothers is murdered, vengeance becomes Alastor’s obsession. And the enigmatic Naphré Kurata, a witness—or is she the killer?—has the answers he seeks.

A reluctant Underworld enforcer, Naphré trusts no one, especially not a seductive soul reaper who makes her burn with lust. Torn between duty and desire, she fights to keep her secrets safe from Alastor, even as she longs to surrender.

“Sleek, dark and utterly seductive! Eve Silver’s talent always shines.”—New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian

Alastor Krayl didn't know who he really was, until he was ripped from the family who raised him, Mother, Father, and sisters... all a lie.  Sutekh, Seth, the Lord of Chaos, one of  the Gods of the Underworld fathered four sons, Dagan, Alastor, Malthus, and Lokan.  This is Alastor's story, second son of the God of Chaos.


As with all Seth's sons, Alastor has no real patience for the father he never knew, although, after centuries of residing in his company, he has developed a grudging tolerance.  For too many years, he was kept at Seth's side, and when he returned to his human family, they were all gone, even the nieces and nephews he would have doted upon, all lost of the passage of time.  Now, there's no one but the brothers he has come to know, love, trust.  When Lokan is impossibly murdered, all the brothers come together to find the fiend responsible.  What they find is that Lokan led a different life, one none knew of.


When Dagan and Alastor find information of Lokan's last location, they go to investigate.....  Alastor would like nothing better than to bring Lokan's murderer to his own brand of justice.


Naphré Kurata is an underworld enforcer, a deal made with a demon to save her father's life.  Little does she know, her father was dying anyway and she's left without him and in service to a demon.  She's come to be quite good at her job, as distasteful as it is, and before she takes a life even if it's demanded of her, it has to be morally right.  

When Alastor sees Naphré, he knows she either had a hand in Lokan's death or a witness to the deed.  The only way he'll know is to use some detective skills, only in doing so, he finds that she has links to the Daughters of Aset as well as finding that someone else is watching her, and that someone may be the one responsible for Lokan's gruesome death.  Soon, he discovers she's a killer with a conscious, but, maybe she can led him to the murderer responsible... if he can keep her alive long enough.


Naphré has seen all kinds in her line of work, but the son of Seth, soul reaper, is certainly not what she's expecting.  So far, he's been kind, helpful, and damn dangerous.... to her heart.  She refuses to lose herself to another underworld being, even if he's trying to help. 



Sins of the Soul by Eve Silver is the second book in Otherkin Series, and an excellent addition to the unfolding tale.  While Naphré is warying of every living thing, she's also drawn to the one creature who could send her permanently into the Underworld, her soul already belongs to a demon, but what she doesn't know is that another Goddess has prior claim, sold by those closest to her.  When Alastor finds Naphré's name among those souls to be collect in Seth's book, he can't let it happen, he won't let Seth feast upon her soul.  But there are things in the Underworld that not even the son of the God of Chaos knows or can protect her from, and when he attempts to find the murderer of Lokan, Naphré's name keeps coming back to him.  He's forced to bring her to the Underworld, but he doesn't want to lose her, she's his only link to Lokan.  But, he soon discovers that he needs her for another reason, and if he's going to keep them both alive, he'll have to show the love he holds in his heart for the enemy, a Daughter of Aset, Naphré.

Sins of the Soul continues the story started in "Sins of the Heart" where we discovered Dagan's story and Lokan's murder unfolded.  Alastor and Dagan are Seth's two oldest sons, and share the same human mother, though Dagan was never allowed to know humanity, and Alastor is ripped from his humanity at Seth's will.  But Seth's sons share even more, their attraction to the Daughters of Aset, and that fondness is one that could get them killed.  Alastor is plunged into mystery and intrigue through his association with, his need to protect, his budding friendship and love for Naphré, Underworld enforcer for some unknown, and unlikely, demon.  When he finds out the demon isn't really a demon, and that there's a prior claim upon Naphré's soul, he has no choice but to bring she into the Underworld, because if he takes her, maybe he can save her, staking his own claim to her soul as he finds that he no longer cares for anything else.  Naphré is not one to trust easily, the one person she thought she had a grudging trust for, her mentor, attempted to take her life, and now a soul reaper wants to help her, she's heard it all.  But, she's drawn to the reaper, and soon, if she wants to stay alive, she may have no other to choice than to trust what she has always thought of as the enemy.  I recommend this book to all lovers of Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Mythology, and Magic, it's excellent and a very quick read.  I can't wait to try the next in the series.

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