Otherkin (Otherkin #1) by Nina Berry-a review

OTHERKIN (Otherkin Series 1) by Nina Berry

OTHERKIN is the first novel and July 31, 2012 new release in Nina Berry’s debut YA series appropriately titled OTHERKIN. Desdemona Grey is your average teenage girl hoping for her first boyfriend and her first kiss. But standing almost 6 feet tall and wearing a body brace to correct curvature of her spine doesn’t scream sexy. Abandoned as a child in the wilds of Siberia, Dez was adopted and brought to America by her new parents Richard and Caroline Grey. Nothing out of the ordinary had ever followed Dez until the day she found she had shifted into a full grown Siberian Tiger, facing 3 armed assailants all dressed in white and a dead man lying in her mother’s house-killed by the jaws of a tiger. Desdemona Grey was an Otherkin Shifter and life was about to get scary.

Caleb Elazar was a Caller and an enemy of the Otherkin. But Caleb was also trapped in a silver-lined prison along with a frightened Dez. Escaping the Tribunal compound was no easy feat, but Caleb knew more than he was willing to share. Offering his assistance to Dez, Caleb endeavored to explain the existence of Otherkin and their connection to the Shadows of the Othersphere. Taking Dez to a ‘school’ for the Otherkin, Caleb knew he would be risking both of their lives if they were refused entry. The Shifter Council would not only judge Dez and her right to live, but would also be the only ones able to teach Dez what is means to be a shifter in a world of humans. And Caleb was hiding a secret or two as well. While the young couple struggled to find help, they were also struggling with their growing feelings.

The Tribunal were hunting Otherkin. Comparing the shifters to demons, the Tribunal had their own Callers known as Objurers who would send the shifter Shadows back to the Othersphere. And Dez was the only known Tiger Shifter left in the world. The Tribunal’s determination to capture Dez and the other young shifters was brought full circle, with the realization that the capture of one of the young shifters would reveal that trust must be earned and betrayal quite possibly was in the hands of someone close.

Once again Caleb was hiding a secret. Falling in love with Dez had never been in his plans, but neither was deceiving the one person he had hoped to gain her trust. And his powers and abilities were needed when it came down to rescuing the Shifters from a potentially fatal attack by the Tribunal. But Caleb had not been honest and Morfael had been aware of Caleb’s true identity, even when the others did not. But the price of betrayal is high whether from a family member or a friend and Caleb will have to make a decision that could tear everyone apart including himself.

Shifters have long sought their solitude. The Tribe’s no longer trusted one another and were refusing to band together in solidarity, but it would take a lone Tiger Shifter to show everyone how working together, would solve many of their problems and quite possibly save their own lives.

OTHERKIN is a fantastic and eye-opening first novel by Nina Berry. The introduction of extended family and the long volatile history between the Tribunal and the Otherkin will make for some rather interesting stories to tell. The novel is fast paced, well-written,and kept the reader’s interest at all time. The relationship between the young Shifters has grown from mistrust to friendship and in some cases love. Just like in real-life, sometimes it takes a young child to point out the differences are only skin deep, and pulling together as one, will ensure everyone survives what is coming. I am looking forward to OTHERMOON-book #2 in Nina Berry’s new Otherkin series.

NOTE:  Barb and I first found this book and author via the cover. The cover is beautiful and represents the storyline and its’ heroine.

LINKS TO PURCHASE:
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Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy