A review by kienn_reads
Flesh and Bone by Arden Powell

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

far out in the canadian wild west. two cowboys. marshall and everett. frequently and secretly fond of each other. except everett is being eaten alive by the hunger inside him.

also a monster is chasing them. some hungry devil.

this novella is short but it sure is a ride.

if you're looking for queer horror, yearning, corruption, and monsters, this is it.
follow everett as he's consumed by the guilt of doing something he shouldn't have with marshall.

the prose and body horror is raw and grotesque. makes the words spin before you until you see red. stomach churning and mind numbing. you will feel just as feverish as everett is.

this is horror. they are cowboys fighting to survive. the romance isn't soft or fluffy, it's gritty, painful, gut wrenching. teeth clenched. guts and gore. queer horror and guilt and internalized homophobia. sickness, grief, terror. the only time they have to breathe is when they have blood in their lungs. they can't get close to each other, and that's the point. the moments they share are poignant. yearning. the softness hides under a layer of grime and guilt. it's built upon the subdued affection and tension of everett's slow corruption. marshall can only watch the horrifying tragedy as it unfolds. ease the pain a little. come to terms with it all.

the ending was shattering. it all melts away.

loved it.

excerpt, pg 14/58
"You think we got the devil after us because of what we did?"

Marshall shook his head and kept cleaning the wound. His hands were shaking; Everett could feel that much. They hadn't been shaking when he'd been working them down the front of Everett's jeans. "This thing's flesh and bone, same as any other animal. This one's just sick or something. It's got a fever in its blood hot enough to boil its brain and drive it crazy, that's all."
Everett swallowed. It tasted grimy, like copper and iron. He brought the flask to his mouth again, hoping to taste Marshall's lips on it. He didn't. "Whatever it's got, you think it's catching?"
"You're already crazy."



if you're not convinced:


watching the man you've fallen for, the man whose skin you're afraid to touch, gnaw off his own arm?

hearing him choke on his own blood, begging you to help him.

shooting the breeze when you know he's gonna meet a fate worse than death. that he might take you down with him, bones and flesh and all.

and the way he looks at you.

cannibalistic desire. queer yearning and the need to consume you. turning him into a monster.

the horror is in his corruption and the hand you have in it. because as he slips away into something animalistic you might have to put him down.


Content warnings:
warnings for graphic descriptions of gore and violence, loss of limb, self-harm and self-mutilation including cannibalism, suicide ideation, animal harm to livestock, homophobia including slurs.


( Received an advanced reader copy for review. Flesh and Bone, Arden Powell, 3 26 2025. queer mm horror-romance novella, western, canadian wild west )

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