Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver

Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: 8/1/10
How I got this book: Contest Win

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….
*Blurb from author’s website*

Sins of the Heart is the first book in a new trilogy by Eve Silver. The story revolves around the folklore of the underworld. Dagan is the son of one of the underworld gods, as well as a soul reaper. His job is to find those humans who have blackened their soul, rip it from their chests, harvest it, and take it back to the underworld to feed to his father.

We first meet Dagan as he is on the hunt. He comes across Roxy, who is being held captive by a serial rapist and murderer. When Dagan talks to Roxy for a bit, he finds that there is something about her that pulls at him, and he saves her life by killing and harvesting her captors.

Flash forward and we meet up with Roxy as she is now living her life as an Otherkin. She finds herself needing to drink blood to survive, has increased strength and endurance, and is fighting against the underworld topside. When one of Dagan’s brothers is brutally murdered, Roxy and Dagan meet up again to search for the clues to the mystery.

When their passion ignites, the two will realize that someone to call home is suddenly looking a lot more appealing than fighting for the right side.

I really enjoyed this book. It took me awhile to get into it, but once the story really got rolling, it went. The different lore of the underworlds really drew me in, and I can only imagine how much research and twisting Silver went through to create this amazing world.

Both Roxy and Dagan were great characters. I love that Roxy was the tortured soul, and lived with her fears as best she could. Having been alone her whole life, watching her come to grips with wanting to rely on someone else really drew me in. I love when strong female characters can really open themselves up to their man and become even strong in the process.

The mystery surrounding the death of Dagan’s brother is somewhat slow to unravel. Sure by the end of the first book we know who killed him, and who the inside traitor was, but the questions kept coming instead of being answered. Thankfully the rest of the trilogy comes out September 1 and October 1. If you are a reader who doesn’t like a lot of loose ends left in your book, you might want to wait until October, and the buy the trilogy as one, and read the whole way through!

For me, the romance felt somewhat rushed. Sure Roxy and Dagan have known each other for years, since their chance meeting while she was held captive. However, they haven’t seen each other since (unless you count the somewhat erotic dreams they both have about each other). When they do finally meet up again, the instant attraction pulls them both in over their head. Their first day together again is spent fighting, then Dagan nurses Roxy back to health after a near fatal injury. Almost right after that, it seems like they both decide to throw caution to the wind and be together. Great, but it did seem somewhat forced to me.

I really did enjoy this though, and can’t wait to read the next one and find out the answers to so many of the questions that were left open.

All in all, I give Sins of the Heart 3.5 out of 5 harvested souls!