Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Vengeance.
My purpose, carved deeper into my soul than their names carved in my flesh.
Dominic.
The man who took everything from me, my own personal devil in shifting flesh.
Ursache.
My pack. The high-born family of wolves I’ve sworn my life to protect, even if my dying breath is pledged to another.
Mason…
My everything. Friend, confidant, enemy, lover. Most dangerous of all, he would become the reason I lived if I let him. He is the one thing I won’t allow Dominic to take from me. Love is not a luxury I can afford, but the sweetness of revenge has nothing on the taste of him… 


This is the second book in the Flesh and Bone series. It is an MM shifter romance with no MPREG. Readers 18+ only. Note, this is a full-length book and will be roughly 70k words or more.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2018

250 people are currently reading
733 people want to read

About the author

Joel Abernathy

47 books1,279 followers
Joel Abernathy, also writing as L.C. Davis, is a trans author of MM romance. He enjoys writing dark and emotional romance about men loving men in all genres.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
659 (34%)
4 stars
744 (38%)
3 stars
401 (20%)
2 stars
87 (4%)
1 star
23 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
Profile Image for Bev .
2,227 reviews481 followers
June 12, 2018
I struggled with this one, I found myself plodging through the first 40% where not much happened at all apart from a lot of inner monologue, which made for boring reading. Because of the IM overload I struggled to connect with the characters, apart from Nicholae who I ended up detesting, though that mellowed to severe dislike towards the end of the book.

I really liked the second half of the book, so it's a shame the first half let it down so badly. I had great expectations for Mason's book after meeting him in Exhale.

Less IM and more dialogue would've definitely made for a better read.
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,408 reviews95 followers
June 17, 2018
An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Nicolae
Jack
Mason
Vasil

This book surpassed my expectations. After reading Exhale, I knew I was going to be a fan of this series, and that I would never want to say goodbye. Jack and Nicolae set the stage, and gave much needed background to Vasil's story. This is not a standalone novel and you need to read Exhale first, to fully get the backstory to Vasil and Mason.

The writing was excellent, but I am NOT surprised. Joel Abernathy, aka LC Davis, is one super talented writer and I can't wait to see what is coming up next for this series. Vasil is a deep and dark man, whose past haunts him. Mason is the black sheep, never feeling loved or even wanted by his father, and he caries a lot of respect but also resentment towards his father. From Exhale we get a lot more of their background and I felt Mason was a very well developed character from book 1 to book 2. He loves he father desperately and only wants his love and approval, but he feels like the best he gets is tolerance, and sometimes not even that. What Mason doesn't realize is how very much his father loves him, he just has a hard time showing it. I completely get that because some people aren't built that way for whatever reason. Nicolae is a very reserved man, and he never thought he could show emotion because that could mean weakness, and he can NOT afford to show weakness to his enemies.

It's due to the strain in Mason's relationship with his father that things play out in the plot the way they do. Nothing ever felt forced and I followed the story right from the start and believed everything that happened could be possible - if shifters were real, of course. ;)

What I really loved was seeing Mason and Vasil sharing intimate moments, and not for the sexy times. It was because they let down their guard and showed the other the under belly. These two very strong men, with big egos and the strength and brains behind it, were willing to let in the other and show a softer side. Not that they had tickle fights and had bubble baths together. It's just those moments only lovers share that really clicked for me in bringing these guys together.

I loved every minute of this and didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend and give this 5 stars.

Small plot summary, may contain spoilers.

Vasil's family was murdered by a hunter when he was a kid, and he was held captive by this hunter for months, enduring physical and mental torture. Nicolae rescues him and pretty much adopts him, and that's how he and Mason become such close friends. They grew up together, attended the same pack military training and had each other's backs.

When the hunter comes back after being absent for almost 30 years, Vasil can't turn his back on finally getting revenge, and he leaves behind the only family he has left. Everybody knew that Vasil's existence as part of the Ursache was temporary, that once the hunter returned, Vasil was going to kill him, or die trying.

But it wasn't Vasil the hunter was after, it was those Vasil loved the most, and this put Mason into grave danger, and held captive by the hunter. Mason suffered the same kind of torture Vasil had all those years ago, and it really damaged Mason, physically and otherwise;

But all ends well with this family, and there are even some really nice and surprising surprises, but I don't want to give them away because they are best experienced naturally. :)
Profile Image for Ro {semi-hiatus}.
275 reviews19 followers
January 8, 2024
i just wanna say i hated basically everybody in this book, including Nicolae and especially Ellie. it wasn't even their fault but i was so hot on Mason's behalf fr. baby been done wrong his whole life and Jack and Ellie's presence really amplified it to the point where i almost regretted ever liking Nicolae or Jack in the first place. i mean be so for real, how can you let your husband be such a fucking tool to his own son while he's affectionate and patient with what are essentially his stepchildren? the unmitigated audacity had me seething so much. i know most of it was in Mason's head because he is so much like Nicolae, but goddamn did my blood pressure take a hit.

Ellie is still on my last damn nerve cos she was already on thin fucking ice in the first book, but there's something about an arrogant ass teenager who thinks they know better than everyone around them that provokes my side eye to bombastic proportions. again, not really her fault even if the whole side plot thing with Leonie was so irritating. i guess i'll chalk it up to Joel conveying Mason's personality so flawlessly that i sympathized with him to the point it isolated me from characters i thought fondly of literally one day ago. one day!!!

anyway. i've said it before and ill say it again: Vasil/Vasily/Basil? fav name for an mmc. i don't know wtf it is about it but if an author ruins it for me i will make a review that is so scathing ok??? so it was w much joy that Joel delivered a character worth his name. now i must admit... while Vasil and Mason have believable chemistry and history, so much of that was told to us and not shown. it's fine given the page count, but i was once again wishing for something longer to truly flesh the relationship out the way it deserved. it was much better done in this one than in Exhale, but i'm not sure if it's because i'm just partial to friends-to-lovers when it comes to MM.

Vasil has a long reaching vendetta against the hunter who murdered his family when he was a child. Mason's pack is not his original pack and Nicolae was the one who rescued him as a boy. but his need for vengeance has persisted through every stage of his healing and while he is a beloved member of the Ursache pack, the only person he is even close to being his true self with is Mason.

most of the conflict on page in the first half is simply Vasil and Mason being two alphas; one being a well-trusted footsoldier, and the other a pack prince who sees himself as little more than an outsider or a spare. their duties to the pack do not allow for them to align themselves in a relationship in the first place, but despite Mason's closeted feelings and sexuality, it's Vasil's deep seated need for revenge that makes the real obstacle. when the past comes back to haunt him, it's Mason who suffers the brunt of the pain.

after Mason is rescued, i was soooo pissed at every damn body. the fact that it took him being tortured and bled for FOUR FUCKING MONTHS to make his own family treat him with respect and kindness had me howling at the moon!!! cos of course he believes it's from pity!!! how can that be remotely healing when up until that moment, Nicolae was too busy treating him as a failure, Ellie was too up her own ass to give a shit about her advantageous position and the toll it took on Mason, Vasil was too consumed with his burning need for revenge to bother reciprocating his love, and Jack was too busy being Jack: an omega who is somehow completely ineffective at getting his husband in line to be a good father to his own child before it was too late... ugh. if you can't tell i had FEELINGS and all of them were bad!

luckily Mason is exactly as strong as Vasil knew he was, even when Mason didn't. and while he didn't grovel per se, although he wanted to but Mase is stubborn af, it was nice to see Nicolae get humbled by his own failings as a father. sorry, i'm still salty. i forgave them all i guess but also i wouldn't have been mad if the ending allowed Mason his Carrie moment and rained blood on everyone in his pack.

overall, emotionally, this book succeeded in doing something the first one didn't accomplish. i didn't understand the leap for Nicolae to be in love with Jack, but i did understand the unraveling of Mason and Vasil's feelings for each other, especially after being left victims of the same man.

also Nicole brought to my attention that Joel is responsible for the Bro and the Beast series.. and when i read the first book for that i actually didn't realize it was supposed to be that dumb so i hated it. now i think i fumbled bad and have to revisit when i'm done with this trilogy. deep breaths. ok i think that's it. 4 stars and i hope the third book has Mason giving just a pinch of Katt Williams attitude so none those mfs forget how lucky they are to have him. fin
Profile Image for h o l l i s .
2,726 reviews2,307 followers
August 4, 2021
Strangely, at times, this felt like it was written by a whole different author than the first book. So much of this was stronger as far as writing was concerned but the part that became wishy washy, now that the writing wasn't distracting me, was the characterization of the characters -- particularly the MCs from book one -- felt inconsistent. As did many scene details (in the forest but then suddenly walking into the condo? just one example..) and transitions.

Also, we killed the big baddie way too easily after all that build-up. Which brings me to my next point : we went to some lengths to describe how good werewolf hearing/senses were in book one. Are you seriously telling me no one heard Mason get shot (twice) when he left the building? What the actual crap. There were a few moments like this that didn't make sense. Guess that's some selective supernatural powers.

That said, one of my issues RE timelines and backstories in book one did explained in this one, so that was nice. Also, seeing as this series does not stick to the same MCs throughout all three books, I can also see why things were rushed in book one. Due to the established connection in this one, it felt less rushed, and thus more believable.

Anyway. Complaints aside, this was much easier to get through, but considering how different this also felt from book one, I have no idea what to expect with book three.

2.5 stars?
Profile Image for Eugenia.
1,898 reviews319 followers
July 19, 2018
I don’t know what to say about this book. Not because it was bad, but because I’m tired as fuck!

All I’m gonna say now is that the story came to a head at 75% and then it just limped along tying up loose ends to get to an HEA. IT LIKE NEEDED A WALKER AT THE END. SERIOUSLY.

RTC or not......
Profile Image for fleurette.
1,534 reviews161 followers
September 22, 2019
Wow, I'm surprised how much I liked this book. Probably even more than the first part.

The first book is a bit strange. This one is better and more up to my alley for some reason. The relationship between Mason and Vasil is also a bit bizarre and definitely complicated. But I like their relationship more than Nicolae and Jack. There is a lot of anger and aggression in them but I also have no doubts about their loyalty to each other and deep friendship.

This is one of the most interesting relationships I've read about recently. There are definitely the best scenes of angry sex here, very hot, but at the same time I have no doubt that Mason and Vasil have feelings for each other.

Mason and Vasil are a very interesting couple but also very interesting heroes on their own. They are multidimensional and complex. They differ a lot from other heroes of mm romance (probably because of the amount of aggression in their relationship). I think they're more interesting than Jack and Nicolae. I read this story much more easily and with greater interest than the previous book. It was easier for me to get attached to the characters.

The next book is about Andreii, it can also be fascinating. Although I'm not sure I want to read another book right now. I think it's better to read them with some breaks between.
Profile Image for Tammy.
1,245 reviews35 followers
November 11, 2018
I enjoyed this 2nd book in the series, loved that Nicolae, Jack and the pack were still a big part of this book as well. Mason was a difficult person to like but I felt he and Vasil were a good match even though it took awhile for them to figure it out!
Profile Image for Saimi Vasquez.
1,953 reviews93 followers
August 12, 2021
Vasil es el unico sobreviviente de su familia, rescatado por el Alfa Nicolae y regresado a su manada, sin embargo el vive para la venganza, venganza contra el hombre que torturo y asesino a su familia, Dominic, pero mientras llega el dia de volver a encontrarse se dedica a proteger a la manada en su nueva mision de guardaespaldas personal de la familia del Alfa. Este trabajo lo mantiene alejado de su mejor amigo Mason, quien es hijo del Alfa, el unico que realmente lo conoce y lo entiende.
Mason fue criado dentro de la manada para ser la mano ejecutura del Alfa, como su segundo al mando, es el encargado de ocupar el cargo de su padre cuando esta ausente, o hasta que su hermana tome las riendas de la manada. Cuando la politica quiere obligar a su hermana a casarse con una omega de otra manada, el ve la oportunidad de escapar de la presion de su padre y de sus sentimientos por Vasil del que se ha sentido atraido desde la adolesencia, y que sabe que nunca correspondera a sus sentimientos porque esta enfocado en la misio suicida de eliminar a Dominic.
Pero cuando Dominic reaparece y captura a Mason, le venganza de Vasil sera lo unico que lo mantenga con vida hasta que lo recupere, sobre todo despues de aceptar que ambos son "pareja-destinada".

Este libro esta mucho mejor definido en cuanto al universo, nos muestran una relacion muchas mas completa entre Vasil y Mason, las personalidades de ambos se describen muchisimo mejor, lo que nos permite entender y conectarnos realmente con los personajes.
Tambien vemos la evolucion de los personajes del libro anterior, y ampliamos nuestro conocimiento de la mitologia que rodea a estos hombres-lobo.
Claro, tambien vemos mucho de lo que la gente es capaz de hacer por fanatismo, y como puede el fanatismo arrastras a los mas inocentes y convertirlos a su ideologia. Pero tambien nos muestra mucha de la fuerza de voluntad necesaria para romper el ciclo, tanto fisica como psicologica.
En fin, es un libro bastante completo, entretenido y con una buena trama, me emociona terminar la trilogia y ver hasta donde llegamos en este universo.
Profile Image for JenMcJ.
2,608 reviews325 followers
June 8, 2018
Book 2 in the Flesh and Bone world with the new pseud, Joel Abernathy for LC Davis is a worthy follow up to the unexpected hit book that started the series.

That said, I was not quite as enthralled with this effort even though I really, really enjoyed the book. I found too many inconsistencies and personality changes that didn't quite gel and a plot hole or two as well that frustrated me. So, so frustrated me*.

That said, the book was still emotionally engaging and made me tear up a time or two and I'm glad that Mason and Vasil were able to pull their shit together enough to connect and acheive the various milestones that they reach toward. However, I also feel like both Mason and Vasil made personality/ character changes at least three times each in the book that were inconsistent with the characters they were set up to be.

In this book, Nicolai and Jack were not quite the characters that they were in the first book either.

The first chapter excerpt for Andrei's book seems like we get back to the psychopathy of the wolves in a way that after a strong start, seemed more glossed over a bit in this second book and I'm waiting impatiently for that book.

*Spoiler Frustration read at your own peril:
Profile Image for Amanda.
2,456 reviews103 followers
September 22, 2023
Reread 🥰

I loved Bleed as much as I did the first book in the series. It was definitely way more emotionally intense and much darker than the first but I thought it was perfect !

Favorite Quotes
Profile Image for Mimi.
2,450 reviews
June 10, 2018
Not what I expected???

3 stars

****Even though this is a paranormal shifter book please know there are triggers**** kidnapping and blood letting.

The first book in this series was well written but this one did nothing for me. I just didn't connect with the MCs and that is rare for me dealing with this author.
Profile Image for Kathleen.
1,440 reviews140 followers
dnf
June 12, 2018
June 12, 2019: I borrowed this book from a fabulous reading buddy but even after only 7% in, I know without a doubt this author and I aren't meant to be. Choppy, disjointed writing and confusing dialogue. Maybe just me. Moving on...
Profile Image for Chellabration.
163 reviews19 followers
January 28, 2021
See I know myself... I said I wasn't going to read this book but finding out that book 3 is about Andrei I figured it was a necessary evil.

Dropping it after painfully letting it drag me to 49%

SPOILERS: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

okay get ready for some serious venting...!!!!

This book absolutely ruined Jack & Nicolae...
I had to double check this was by the same author and that it was the same series.

Nicolae is a shit father and basically the cause behind all of Mason's trauma (I'm sure until he gets f*cking tortured within an inch of his life by Dominic because why the f*ck not) I absolutely detested Nicolae here. Wish he'd piss off.

Jack sounds like a little b*tch to put it plainly. Mother hen one minute and a little punk the next. This is not the same man from book 1

Book 1: Omegas are rare and meant to be protected
Book 2: there are brothels full of omegas, there are omegas basically everywhere, so many that all of a sudden there can be many in a pack. Mason's mom is even an Omega and she has no mate all those years...

Me: which is it? TF

Here's an example and there's many more instances like this:

This time, it wasn’t a warning but a plea. My lips came down on his neck and I bit to bruise, because if I didn’t get the aggression out somehow, I was going to break his skin and ruin this new, forbidden thing. I reminded myself that fucking the Alpha’s son was forgivable, as long as we both kept our mouths shut about it. Catching feelings was not, and since those were already there in every complicated variety, I had to tread carefully. With his heart, at least. His body was fair game. “God, you taste good,” I muttered into the kiss.


Kiss??? What kiss?? Your mouth was biting his neck. WTF


In wolf form Mason refers to his paws as his hands. His fighting is written in such a weird way that although you know he's in wolf form it sounds as if he's in human form.

One second Mason & Vasil are in a glass elevator, the next it's suddenly a private elevator?

They're outside in the woods the next second they were near the condo as if the Forrest is in their backyard.

I thought the condo was in the middle of the city. How do they transition from woods to the condo as if they're teleporting??

Did the author forget the world building from the first book?
Did the same person even write this?

Vasil was biting his neck no transition in between but suddenly they'd been kissing?

Did the author even read what they wrote? Talk about whiplash.

I know Mason lives in the family condo where does Vasil live? Sounds like he lives there too but earlier we were told his house was a 3 floor jump down. Is it in the same condo? it's not made clear.

I thought they didn't take cars to hunts but sudenly Mason's car was conveniently right there?

Mason & Vasil's pov sounded exactly the same. The inner monologues were repetitive, long winded and draggy. I wasn't buying anything they tried to sell me..

Their sexual encounters were just weird and out of place. Do they even like each other?

They claim to be the only person the other trust and we're told they're friends but from page 1 they don't act like it.

Despite all this I was really going to push myself to finish it until... Jack tells Mason DURING HIS (Mason's) WEDDING the security guy wants to tell him something. Mason goes outside and conveniently didn't realize it was a HUMAN outside? What happened to wolf instincts? Is he even an alpha?

I told myself this wasn't even worth a review so I'll just stop there. Do I sound pissed? Ugh

But if you liked Jack and Nicolae I suggest you skip this one.
Profile Image for Jesslan Rose.
1,140 reviews50 followers
July 6, 2023
Bleed
By Joel Abernathy

I enjoyed this book as much as the first, but in a somewhat different way. This one had much more angst and emotion in it and you could feel it a lot more too. I cried here and there, but it wasn't a cryathon.

The book was in both Mason and Vasil's POV. I loved that Nicolae & Jack & Ellie were in this book as well. It was great seeing how they'd adjusted and become a family over the last 5 years. It was heartbreaking to see that Mason didn't feel a part of that family and felt he was constantly looking from the outside in though. Little Andrei is the happy highlight of the book.

The one thing I did not like about this book were the torture scenes. I wasn't expecting any so I wasn't prepared mentally/emotionally to deal with it. They were graphic and I actually had to take a couple breaks from the book during those sections. But it wasn't just the torture itself it was the attitudes of the torturers. Their attitudes when inflicting it was a total mindf*k. Don't get me wrong... It was a great book. I just wish I could have prepared my frame of mind ahead of time.

Trigger: Physical Torture
Profile Image for Chris.
2,070 reviews
June 13, 2018
3.5 stars for this one. As gritty as I expected ....Mason and Vasil both with serious issues, closed books and filled with vengeance. They have s love for each other that they don’t really know how to express and carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. I focused on their dynamic in this book and didn’t pay as much attention to other elements which proved to be distracting and messy. The build up with Domenic was ongoing and the resolution was ridiculously quick ! The on and off wedding to that stupid Crow girl was also somewhat annoying. I look forward to the next one - let’s see what’s in store.
Profile Image for Annika.
1,374 reviews94 followers
March 11, 2019
Audiobook review

Expectations are a funny thing. I judged the first book, Exhale by its cover, thought it was going to be a bit twisted and dark. While listening to it I quickly realised that wasn't the case. So going into this book I expected more of what we got in the first book, some violence, a lot of pack politics and intrigue. Again I found myself being wrong. Bleed was darker than I expected, there was much more angst and hurt than I expected. It had all the elements I anticipated in the first book, but didn’t get, and I can’t do anything but laugh at that, at the irony of it all.

Vasil knows a couple of things. First his feelings and desires for his best friend and alpha, Mason, can never be known, barely even thought of, or he’d lose everything. But more than that he will get his revenge on the man that took everything from him; murdered his family and kept him prisoner and tortured him sixteen years ago. If it’s the last thing he ever does he will take Dominic down. He just hadn’t counted on what it would cost to do it. I won’t give too much of the plot away, you’ll need to experience it for yourselves, just know this isn’t a sweet or cuddly story. At times it’s brutal and raw, and you might just bleed a bit alongside the characters, but in the end it’s all worth it.

Kirt Graves is made for this series. He brings the books and characters to life. Most of the characters in this book speak with a heavy accent, and I'm impressed that Graves keeps it up throughout. I can only imagine how hard that must have been. I mean, it is one thing to narrate the occasional character with an accent, but a whole book - that's another story. This might be a reason why his voices for the characters sounded so similar and sometimes mixed together. But in the end I enjoyed listening to him all the same.

I've loved to spend time with the Ursache pack, and these men. I don't know if this book is the end of it or not. I can only say that if there will be more books in this series, I will happily stand first in line for a copy - the audio obviously - because that's the best way to enjoy them. But if this is the end, it has been a great journey to take.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Profile Image for Ronie Reads.
1,554 reviews29 followers
July 6, 2023
Didn't see any of that happening. Going from wife's sudden death. Moving to a new city. Daughter going missing. The guy asking around your home town about your whereabouts. That guy and you strategically capturing the flag. All that was in book one, now... Son gets kidnapped! Hurt feeling and crossed signals. Just full of unspoken words and heart filled glances.

Best choice for 9 hours of uninterrupted quality time in wellness! Cause I cried. Yelled and swooned. I think my roomie has second thoughts about bunking in a readers abode. 🤣🌹
Profile Image for Jessica Frances.
Author 29 books404 followers
June 14, 2018
I am honestly blown away by this dark and twisted love story. I couldn't pull myself away from the pages. It was raw, tragic, beautiful, and healing all at once. I love that we got to go back into this world and we still got large glimpses of Jack, Nicolae, and Ellie, and what is happening in their lives. My heart broke for both Vasil and Mason. They both had such hardships in their lives, but watching them come out the other side was so uplifting and wonderful. I loved their hardness and banter with each other, I loved that it wasn't perfect and sometimes it was messy and screwed up. I thought they fit perfectly with each other. I just love the way Joel writes, I love the world he has created here and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. This is a must read series for m/m shifter fans.
Profile Image for Jamie.
2,061 reviews93 followers
January 27, 2024
This one was pretty good for the most part. I did struggle initially because its been so long since I've read the first book, I kind of forgot the players. But once I finally caught on and remembered it worked.

Mason and Vasil were really good for each other. They've been best friends since they were kids. I really didn't understand the big difference with the alpha/alpha thing. I mean I got it to a point, but of course it seems like everything was a big ole miscommunication (which I hate by the way), lol.

The ending was pretty good. I am curious to see where the next book goes.
Profile Image for Yarie ☆.
326 reviews25 followers
October 20, 2020
18+- RTC- Very enjoyable

Rating: 3.5 Stars.
Steam: 6 out of 10.
Triggers:
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
HEA:
Profile Image for Nicole.
177 reviews
August 30, 2018
The second book in the flesh and bone series and we are seeing Mason and Vasil’s story.
Oh boy this book.

Mason and Vasil have been friends since they were young and they’ve trained together. They are both Alphas, so if they were to be in a relationship it would not be received well. They confide in each other about everything but things lately are not the same.

Mason feels like he doesn’t belong in the family. Now that his father Nikolae and Jack adopted Andrei, it feels like he is not wanted. The way Nikolae is treating him is also bad, like he doesn’t want him there, their family doesn’t share important things with him. So he considers leaving. But he also loves his family and wants to help them. I hated how Nikolae treated him but he had his reasons.

Vasil became the bodyguard of the family and usually he is after Andrei when he leaves in the middle of the night and making Jack worry about him. But Vasil has his own issues. Years ago he had been captured with his family by Dominic. Dominic killed his siblings and mom but kept him and tortured him. He was the only one that survived and he barely made it out alive. Now his only purpose in life is to find Dominic and kill him and he knows that he won’t come back alive. That is the reason he doesn’t get attached.

Until Mason gets kidnapped by Dominic. I hated that part. I am very soft when it comes to reading about people getting hurt, and seeing Mason hurt broke my heart.

When they get him back, Mason is not the same. But Vasil is not giving up on him.

For me, in the beginning, I got confused and I didn’t know if they really felt something towards each other. It was made pretty clear later but I didn’t feel their connection. Though at the end Vasil redeemed himself and I was glad about that. They both went through a lot.

It is a HEA and I am glad how things turn out in the end! More than happy! It may not have the mystery of the first book but it is good.

This turned out to be a good series. And I am so excited about the next one because I am pretty sure it is Andrei’s book!
Profile Image for Stellaria.
311 reviews25 followers
October 25, 2018
When you have big expectations about a book and especially a book in series often the outcome is quite not what you've wished for.

Since I absolutely loved Flesh and Bone #1 I was so looking forward to read the story about Mason and Vasil, because there was something very charming about Mason's alpha behavior and let's face it, he was an ass. In 'Bleed' he was not.

I liked both Vasil and Mason's characters, their background was solid and I'd made a connection with them. All of that was at the begining of the book. They both had big issues of their own which were explained very well by the author. The chemistry between them was good, not intense but still good. I was expecting there would be a slow build, something that would keep me waiting for the things between them to explode but no. There was no transition.

While I was reading about them having secret feelings and mutual attraction which was forbidden, in the next chapter bam! there was no struggle. Everything was resolved, even a 'love you' appeared which in my opinion should happen at the end of the book. So my connection with them was lost and the author kind of dissappointed me. Everything felt rushed.

Yes, there were a lot of things happening with both of the MCs, huge things that followed, but I felt needing that kind of anticipation when you're sitting at the edge of the seat waiting for the chemistry to explode. Nope, no explotion for me.

I liked reading about the characters in the first book though. Andrei started growing on me which was nice. If there is a book for him I would definitely read it.

Profile Image for Kavisha.
584 reviews10 followers
July 13, 2018
My opinion of this book pretty much aligned with some of the more negative reviews. I felt Nick and Jack from the previous book completely changed characters to the point where at some points I had to go back a few sentences and figure out who was talking or doing something

And I found Mason and Vasil too similar for this to be a book for the changing POV worked. If I took a break from the book and came back I had no idea who's chapter I was in. And I read the book within a day in between classes and errands

I really did not believe the characters were in love. I felt like I was "informed" of their sudden love for each other

Also there were some plot holes

Sadly I think I am done with the series
Profile Image for caroline wilson.
606 reviews5 followers
July 2, 2018
Loved it🐺💜

Once again this author has hit it out of the park in brilliance and I was more than eager for my grubby paws getting a hold of this book after I'd read exhale the first in this series and which centres on the Ursache family.
This gives us the tantalising glimpse into Mason, who we seen a little of in exhale. Mason who is the eldest son of Nicholae and has a heavy burden self imposed on himself to live up to his father's exacting standards and feeling like he always falls short. With his father marrying asdf and inheriting his alpha born daughter, the next in line to rule the pack and adopting andrei the feral pup that Jack took a mothering to he feels he's always on the outskirts looking in at the happy family. One of them but not.
Vasil has been battling his vengeful heart since he escaped the clutches of a sadistic human who'd sacrificed his brother's and mother and which he's bears there names carved into his back at his failure to save them. Although his heart is full of his darkness, mason has the spare unmarred part but secretly as he's never had the courage to say to Mason who is all about tradition and duty. When mason goes through a crisis of doubting his worth the rutting pheromones leads to a discovery that has both been buried deep within themselves. But masons a prickly bugger and will not come easy, entitle brat that he is.
But when things just seem to be coming together that's when Vasil past comes to haunt him and he must go. But evil is a tricky sod and knows best where to hit vasil where he knows it will do the most damage. Can they all come out on top or will evil bring them all down like a stack of cards.
I could gush about this book to the moon and back that once again were transported into a brutal world but where love does trump in the end. Two characters each with there inner demons can fight diversity to come together. I really felt for Masons predicament and I'm not ashamed it made me have an emotional lump in my throat, the writing was that good to have such emotive characters that I felt with them. Though the book is obviously a good versus evil battle and we do get that I feel this book is more emotionally charged and the actual battle is emotionally for these characters. The fight with the baddie was a bit short lived and I would of liked for it to have been a bit more harder to beat but the care of the aftermath more than made up for it. The book cover is an exact portrayal of what your going to feel as your heart certainly takes a battering with all the emotional turmoil and though it had darker themes, there were some funny little snippets that made me laugh.
“You know, it’s hard to take you seriously with that accent,” she taunted in a thick drawl of her own
“It just sounds like being screamed at by Dracula.”
“Screaming?” I asked stiffly, quelling my temper since my driver was looking through the mirror at me like he was prepared for me to shift and take us both off the road. “This isn’t screaming. You want screaming, you come home and I’ll scream plenty.”
“We have got to teach you some English threats, dude. Yours range from hilarious to creepy, and that one’s somewhere in between.”
This story nicely tied up the plots left hanging in exhale and I was happy with the outcome. A well written perfectly paced book with characters I absolutely loved and which we could see again with all of the 1st book characters playing a role in this one. I would absolutely recommend to any who enjoy a blinking good read.
And I'm definitely looking forward to andreis story what promises to be good.
Profile Image for Nohelia.
238 reviews74 followers
December 12, 2024
Este, a diferencia del libro anterior, es mucho más oscuro y pasan cosas más fuertes, aún así me gustó, porque si bien en el libro anterior había diversidad, aceptación y mucho amor, en este hay más profundidad, vulnerabilidad y resiliencia. Aquí vemos a dos personajes rotos que van contra corriente luchando por el otro, por sí mismos y por ser más fuertes que sus traumas. Se agradecen las advertencias al inicio del libro.

Me gustó conocer mucho más de Mason y entender de donde viene su apatía que nace como un escudo a sus inseguridades y carencias. Sin duda fue mi personaje favorito de este libro y creo que fue perfecto quien resulta ser su pareja, porque es como el dicho, siempre hay un roto para un descosido.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.