Reviews

Flesh & Bone: The Complete Trilogy by Joel Abernathy

ellelainey's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Flesh & Bone Trilogy 

by Joel Abernathy 

★★★★★ 

746 Pages 

1st person, single character POV
Themes: virgin MC, first time, Melungeon heritage, miner, trans minor MC, ABO, closeted MC, hate-sex, marriage of convenience, power struggle, mild kink, knotting, fated mates, slow burn

~ 

Book 1: Exhale 

★★★★★ 

Triggers: deadnaming, deadnaming by parent, death/grief, death of a parent, terminal illness, racist undercurrents in a small town, mentions of off-page cheating 

I've loved Joel Abernathy's work ever since I read Pendulum (Kingdom of Night 1) in 2016, and everything has been an absolutely fantastic joyride of emotions. This book was no exception. When it comes to their books – either the Joel or L.C. work – I no longer bother reading the blurb. I just know that I'm in for a hell of a ride whenever I pick a book up and I enjoy being surprised. 

I was pleasantly surprised to finish this within 1 day and that it was a complete storyline with no cliffhanger ending. I'd been expecting an HFN or cliffhanger just due to it being the first in a trilogy, but it was a seriously well rounded and well constructed standalone novel that took my breath away. 

Abernathy managed to pack a whole lot of world building and a serious amount of tropes/themes into this one book, but it never felt overwhelming or forced. It felt like everything fitted perfectly into the storyline and the characters lives and personalities. 

Jack was such an amazing MC to have the solo POV. He was thoughtful, kind, considerate and yet he was struggling through the most tormenting and brutal part of his life. He was sick, suddenly a single father, and the only one that wanted to know who murdered his wife seven months ago. He was such a good father to Ellie – his daughter, who was mid-transition with hormone blockers – even fighting his wife to make sure she was respected for who she truly was. To see the repercussions of Franny's behaviour and refusal to accept Ellie as who she truly was, and how Jack fought for Ellie until the very end, even when Franny deadnamed her, was incredible. He was so strong and fierce at times, with a sarcastic nature. I loved him instantly. 

Nicolae may be an alpha, but he was a badass for a thousand other reasons. A Romanian, sexy mofo with a penchant for being quiet, thoughtful and brooding. He was the perfect counterpart to Jack. I loved his ferocity, the fact he was sex on legs and knew it, and how he treated Jack. I loved that he could go from fiercely paternal to 'call me daddy' in an instant. 

Together, they were oil and water, but so perfect for each other it hurt. I couldn't have loved them more. 

I loved the world-building, which was so well paced, so clever and intriguing at all times, with no predictable moments. The villains were truly evil, there were twists and turns, red herrings and some quiet moments, some seriously romantic moments, even more hot moments. I loved the main characters, the secondary characters, even the off-page characters had depth and interest. I cried, I laughed, I snorted at the banter, and slow-burn romance. This is definitely one of my Best of the Year and it's only July. 

Favourite Quote 

“As soon as Nicolae touched me, I felt like I'd come home. Like I'd never belonged to anyone else, including myself, and he was just finally reclaiming what had been his all along. It made the truth that he would never actually want me that much sharper.” 

~ 

Book 2: Bleed 

★★★★★ 

Triggers: consensual knife play and blood play, implied off-page sexual assault, memories of past abuse, scenes of torture, misgendering of a non-POV character, kidnapping, graphic violence, emotions surrounding physical disability, depression and PTSD, branding, brainwashing 

I honestly didn't think Book 2 could be better than the first, but it was! I knew I wanted to read Vasil's story, but I didn't know how badly I needed Mason's! 

There is so much to their story it will take me a minute to unpack it all, so just let me briefly summarise: 

As a teenager, Vasil got caught during a mission in Luxembourg. He and multiple members of his family were captured, tortured and he was made to watch the others die. He was only left alive to suffer months of physical (and implied sexual) torture at the hands of Dominic. Ever since, all he lives for is the thought of finding Dominic, getting revenge, and avenging his family. 

Five years have passed since Jack joined the pack. Mason always knew he was an outlier but now he truly feels pushed out of the family dynamics. While Vasil has been promoted, Mason isn't kept informed of important family matters, to the point he considers leaving. 

Then events transpire to reveal deeply buried secrets and the events of the past return to haunt them. 

I won't say anymore because - again - I never saw most of the twists coming. The plot was exceptionally well paced and delivered, with engaging and complex characters. Their struggles were visceral and relatable. 

I loved Mason right from the start of this book, even though he'd only been a whining little shit in Book 1. Here, he got the chance to show us who he really is: a child born only to hold the title of heir for whenever it suited Nicolae. He's always pushed aside without a second thought, ignored and treated more like staff than family, always on the peripheral. 

Vasil was someone I loved in Book 1 and that didn't change except that I learned to love him more. He's seriously damaged by what he went through with Dominic, and the loss of his family. Worse, he lives knowing that he'll eventually find Dominic again to get his revenge. And it's unlikely he'll survive. 

What Vasil and Mason give us is a beautiful journey from friends to lovers, two people who think they're in unrequited love, and a whole lot of slow burn, UST and mutual pining. The chemistry is off the charts, between these two! 

As for secondary characters, I was blown away by teenage Andrei. I'm glad that Ellie grew up a bit. Both of them had such interesting roles to play. As did Jack, who was as awesome as ever! 

This is the first book to give a dual pov and that is so important! We really need to see both sides to get the full emotional gut punch this story delivers. 

Needless to say, I loved every minute, even the parts that made me cry. 

Favourite Quote: 

"he was both the electricity in the air before a storm and the peaceful lull that comes after it. 

I wanted him. I needed him. I hated him and I loved him." 

~ 

Book 3: Shift 

★★★★★ 

Themes: vampires, enemies-to-lovers, bloodlust 

Triggers: Memories of past abuse, scenes of torture, misgendering of a non-POV character, deaths of young characters, kidnapping, graphic violence and gore, emotions surrounding physical disability, cannibalism. 

I always knew Andrei's story would be good, but this was full of so many twists and turns, explosive revelations, that it far exceeded my expectations. After the 5 year time jump between books 1 and 2, I thought we might jump ahead a few years to when Andrei was a man, but this story actually takes place just months-to-a-year later. 

Andrei is a teenager, then months and years pass throughout his story but for good reason. 

I've always loved Andrei, but I wasn't prepared for the love-hate relationship I'd have with Mihail. He was the epitome of everything we've learned to hate - a hunter - yet also utterly perfect for Andrei. I wanted Mihail to see redemption because Andrei loved him so much. 

This was actually the most bittersweet book in the trilogy, because there was so much pain and darkness keeping these two apart. It sometimes felt like the only possible ending was one killing the other or both of them dying. For so long, it felt like there could be no happy ending. 

Favourite Quote 

"Of all the sins and betrayals I'd accumulated over years, by far the greatest was how much I longed to take it. The control he begged me to accept. The leash around his neck he offered so freely." 

"Who were we, if not the pain we'd torn from each other's souls?" 

udita_001's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.25