Early Review - Othermoon by Nina Berry (Otherkin # 2)

“Don't be afraid of the dark side.”

“Othermoon” is the second installment in the Otherkin series by Nina Berry. 17 year old Desdemona (Dez) Grey is a teenaged feline shapeshifter and our series heroine. After defeating the dreaded Tribunal in Otherkin, Dez and her friends London, November, Arnaldo, Siku, Amaris, and boyfriend Caleb all believed they were safer and able to get on with their lives and return to Morfael’s school for Otherkin outside of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, after a coordinated break-in at all their homes by the Tribunal and the abrupt arrival of Lazar on the scene, things take a giant leap into the unknown where nothing is as it seems.

Dez learns even more about herself when a mysterious entity takes over her mother’s body and calls her Sarangarel. Who is this mysterious entity, and why is it calling Dez daughter? Could this entity be from the Othersphere? What does it want with Dez? These are just a few questions that readers will ask themselves right from the start. In the end, the answers to those questions may or may not surprise you and leads us right into the third book in the series with eyes wide open.

As for the story itself, Dez is the kind of person who can’t stand by while others get hurt. Sometimes she makes the wrong choices and makes things worse for everyone around her. Dez also has an affinity for short circuiting all electronic gadgets around her. There are consequences for each and every action that Dez and crew takes in their attempts to thwart the hated Tribunal lead by Bishop Ximon. Ximon truly believes that Otherkin are the devil’s vices and therefore they need to be removed from the planet once and for-all. That includes his own children Caleb, Lazar and Amaris.

Although I enjoyed the almost nonstop action and suspense of Othermoon, I will say that I am absolutely disappointed in the way Berry took the romance angle between Caleb and Dez by adding Lazar to the mix. Caleb and Dez haven’t exactly had any time to explore their true feelings for each other because they're always on the run, or doing something else. Just when they are crossing into the land of sexual feelings for each other, Berry jumps right on top of them with the intrusion of Lazar and other circumstances like the fact that the Otherkin council doesn’t exactly trust Dez or the actions she takes without their approval.

This book, when it wasn’t dealing with Dez’s angst towards Caleb, is action packed and reveals Dez’s true identity and origins along with some new powers that grow as the book chugs along. We are also seeing just how much of a leader Dez can become once she fully trusts those around her and not by running away halfcocked and getting into situations where she can’t get out of.

I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series to see where Berry takes her characters and whether or not Dez and Caleb can reconcile their differences, or whether Berry decides that Lazar is the one for her.

ARC was kindly provided to me by Kensington Teen for the purposes of providing an honest and unbiased review. Thank you very much!

Author - Nina Berry
Title - Othermoon (Otherkin # 2)
Publisher - Kensington Teen
Release date - January 29, 2013
Genre - YA Paranormal