Sins of the Soul by Eve Silver

Title: Sins of the Soul
Author: Eve Silver
Series: The Otherkins (book #2)
Previous in series: Sins of the Heart
Next in series: Sins of the Flesh

My rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis: Alastor Krayl is obsessed with finding his brother's killer and Naphre Kurata may be the key to discovering what happened to him. Each of these strong willed individuals is desperate to keep their secrets but this need is at war with their growing attraction. Can they learn to trust before it is too late and they lose everything they never knew they always wanted?

Review: Continues from the point where Sins of the Heart left off and is a strong addition to the series. It must be noted that the books should be read in order or the complex plot becomes virtually incomprehensible.

Alastor and Naphre are exciting characters and their backgrounds and motivation are detailed and intriguing. Their romance, however, is not as prominent or as developed as Dagan and Roxy’s. Alastor is very controlled and does not allow his emotions to influence his decisions until Naphre comes along and he cannot understand why she affects him so deeply. Naphre is very similar to Roxy – sexy, smart and spunky. I particularly enjoyed her professional ethics as an underworld assassin.

The story begins with Alastor’s attempt to gain more information concerning the mystery surrounding his brother Lokan’s murder. However, as the tale progresses the focus shifts away from this aspect of the plot and readers are no closer to discovering who is behind the horrendous bloodletting. Instead, the storyline moves toward Naphre’s true identity and the revelation of which underworld god has prior claim to the sins of her soul.

The mythology is well-researched and fascinating. It is refreshing to read about mythologies other than the Greeks and the Romans, and the focus in this installment is on the Japanese goddess of death. Silver’s writing is unique and her attention to detail is excellent. One thing that stands out is her use of accent and dialogue. For example, Alastor grew up in regency England and his vocabulary and style of speech reflect his origins. Silver has also succeeded in overcoming some of the writing issues that plagued the first book. Nevertheless, there are still certain repetitious phrases and some wording is identical to book one but this is not as distracting as before.

The book does end somewhat abruptly and, unlike the first installment, does not have an epilogue or cliffhanger leading the reader back into the main mystery. I anxiously await the next book to find out more about the third brother, Mal, and another Daughter of Aset, Calliope.