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In Flesh and Stone

by Hal Bodner (Goodreads Author)

3.31 of 5 stars 3.31 · rating details · 16 ratings · 6 reviews

World renowned painter Alex Restin seems to have everything a man could want: wealth, youth, a beautiful face and an amazing body. But his lover, Tony, is dying of a mysterious illness and the doctors are baffled. And Alex cannot seem to free himself from the feelings that haunt him. In desperation, he turns to the zodiac men -- twelve statues of spectacular naked men deco...more

Published (first published 2009)

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Sep 09, 2010 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lisa by: http://michelenjeff-reviews.blogspot.com/

Shelves: m-m-romance, fantasy, drama, horror, erotica-romantica

In Flesh and Stone is a book that crosses several genres: erotica, romance, fantasy, horror, and drama, and it succeeds to the greater extent.

Alex Restin is a successful artist, and the sale of his portraits has netted him a small fortune. Countering Alex’s artistic success, however, is the fact that his husband, Tony, lays in the hospital in a medically induced coma after having fallen victim to a sudden and mysterious paralysis. Having left the condo that he had shared with Tony, Alex moves in...more In Flesh and Stone is a book that crosses several genres: erotica, romance, fantasy, horror, and drama, and it succeeds to the greater extent.

Alex Restin is a successful artist, and the sale of his portraits has netted him a small fortune. Countering Alex’s artistic success, however, is the fact that his husband, Tony, lays in the hospital in a medically induced coma after having fallen victim to a sudden and mysterious paralysis. Having left the condo that he had shared with Tony, Alex moves into a new space that had once been a library. Along with the new home, Alex acquires a set of 12 statues, each representing the signs of the Zodiac. Each genetically gifted statue is an erotic personification of the intimacy that has been absent from Alex’s life since Tony fell ill. In an effort to cope with the burden of his grief, Alex seeks comfort in the arms of his friend and sometimes lover, Corey, but when his guilt proves to be too overwhelming, Alex’s thoughts turn from reality to fantasy, and the story spirals into a psychological exploration that places the reader in perfect harmony with Alex, leaving both unable to reconcile between what is reality and what is illusion.

As Alex’s imagination blends with his reality, the reader is left to follow a dreamscape in which Hal Bodner uses the gift of an author’s mastery of language to paint with words in the same way Alex paints with his oils, creating a verbal portrait that is fertile in its imagery. As his fantasies of the statues impose themselves on his psyche, Alex’s art takes on a bold and dramatic vibrancy that contrasts the neutral hues of his own existence. I was left to ponder over whether it was Alex’s artistic vision that had begun to animate the statues in his fantasies, or if it was the statues that were animating Alex’s artistic vision in his reality.

When it seems that Alex is spiraling deeper into a state of madness, and the shame over the sexual fantasies he’s been using to cope begin to transform them from comfort to torment, Alex plunges into a state of oblivion which sends him on an ethereal reunion with his husband; a final vision that will bring balance to the culmination of his journey and will unite Tony and Alex for eternity. The ending left me exploring the concept of whether Alex had truly been spiraling toward madness, or had he been ascending on a spiritual odyssey, propelling him toward a loftier plain of existence to reconnect with the other half of his soul? I think the answer to that question for each individual will rest in whether the reader is a realist or a romantic; either way, it was a fascinating idea to explore from a personal standpoint.

Incorporated in Alex’s story are a handful of characters who each added their own nuances to the scenery. Nadine, Alex’s friend, agent and gallery owner, was an imposing presence, and I appreciated the depth to her character. Corey’s emotional development throughout the tale pays tribute to the bond between Alex and Tony, while Charles and Joey each paid their own sentimental homage in honor of their friends.

Each of the zodiacal lovers in In Flesh and Stone are brought to life in erotic detail. The description of each statue’s physique frequently crossed the line toward hyperbole, and there was some repetition throughout that perhaps should’ve been smoothed out in the editing process; however, my overall impression of the author’s accomplishment is one of satisfaction that I’ve experienced a unique, imaginative, and emotionally captivating adventure – one in which I’m glad to have participated.
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Aug 19, 2010 Top 2 Bottom Reviews Interviews and More added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In Flesh and Stone
by Hal Bodner
Ravenous Romance
Length: 272 Pages
POV: Third Person
Characters: Alex Restin and the 12 Signs of the Zodiac
Book Cover Rating: 4 Stars
4 KISSES

Review:

In Flesh and Stone is a book that crosses several genres: erotica, romance, fantasy, horror, and drama, and it succeeds to the greater extent.

Alex Restin is a successful artist, and the sale of his portraits has netted him a small fortune. Countering Alex’s artistic success, however, is the fact that his husband, Tony, lay...more

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May 18, 2012 Hal Bodner rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

DISCLAIMER:
This review is an experiment and I want to be absolutely up front. I wrote this book! I'm "reviewing" my own work because it recently occurred to me that, as authors, we have opinions about what we write. We feel some of our books are better than others. And I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts about my work in a sort of review format. It'll also be good practice for me to try and look at some of the things I've written objectively.
I'll try NOT to write about the "h...more DISCLAIMER:
This review is an experiment and I want to be absolutely up front. I wrote this book! I'm "reviewing" my own work because it recently occurred to me that, as authors, we have opinions about what we write. We feel some of our books are better than others. And I thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts about my work in a sort of review format. It'll also be good practice for me to try and look at some of the things I've written objectively.
I'll try NOT to write about the "how I wrote it" but, instead, I'll attempt to focus on whether or not I feel the book is successful.

IN FLESH AND STONE is an interesting book in that it's much more than merely a paranormal romance. I find that many books in this genre either use plot as a loose way of tying together a series of soft core (or even hard core!) scenes of explicit sex which borders on pornography. In this book, however, I think I managed to successfully integrate the sex scenes -- which are indeed quite graphic -- with the plot. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that, in most cases, the sex scenes are integral to the plot or, at the very least, either help move it forward or help to develop the characters.

Interestingly, I think the language (the prose itself) in IN FLESH AND STONE is some of the most beautiful I've ever written. There's almost a poetic quality to it that, fortunately, never struck me as being pretentious. I think it works because I chose to have my main character, who is a painter, experience the world around him through his sense of smell as opposed to his sense of sight. Not that there's not a LOT of visual description but I think the olfactory imagery works on a visceral and sensual level that heightens the eroticism in appropriate scenes in an interesting way.

I loved the characters in this book. I felt very deeply for Alec Reston, the protagonist and I very much shared in the pain of his journey. Similarly, I think I captured the May/December romance of the secondary couple in a way that is not only believable, but that also shows an arc of maturity in the Corey character.

There are a few parts of IN FLESH AND STONE that I think could have been improved. I always feared the character of Tony, who is the driving force behind the main plot, was absent. True, it's difficult to show the personality of someone in a coma but I sometimes wonder if I could have done more in the way of flashbacks. Had I done that, perhaps my readers would have gotten a better sense of who Tony was, rather than simply getting to know him through Alex's eyes. Then again, I sometimes think the point of NOT fleshing out Tony's character was for exactly that reason--Alex has idealized him to the point where, for the purposes of the story, it doesn't really matter whether Alex sees him accurately or, instead, through the proverbial rose-colored glasses.

Second, I had a problem with the "dungeon" scene. It wasn't the S&M aspects of it that bothered me so much; that was actually kind of fun to write. However, the reasons behind it and the self-hatred that the main character was trying to exorcise was disturbing. It's daunting for an author to have to try and connect with something so raw and, ultimately, destructive. In any case, though I think the scene was absolutely necessary, I sometimes wonder if a) I went a trifle too far with it an b) whether the "redemption" at the end of that scene, the self-forgiveness if you will, was a little too obvious or predictable.

And finally, I was never entirely sure if the Libra scene worked. I always worried that the theme of "balance" was also too literal. In addition, I've always had difficulty writing dream sequences where the rules of logic are violated. In the end, I like the scene but, in retrospect, I sometimes wonder what I actually intended with it and if I achieved my goals.

All in all, I think IN FLESH AND STONE is an extremely successful book. If it fails at all, I think it's because it may be TOO much of a "novel" for the genre. It's certainly NOT romantic fluff and it's definitely not all happy endings! I suspect that some readers of paranormal romance may not want to read something this emotionally intense. (less)

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Aug 26, 2010 Madelon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Never Say Never

Ravenous Romance publishes erotic horror - over-the-top erotica for every sexual preference. Their guidelines state “Every book must be a compelling romance, with a great love story and passionate, explicit sex.”

I don’t read romance novels, and I don’t read erotica. You’ve heard the expression ‘never say never?’ It applies here in spades. On the other hand, I am an avid reader, and I read everything and anything from fantasy to no-nonsense non-fiction.

A good writer is a good write...more Never Say Never

Ravenous Romance publishes erotic horror - over-the-top erotica for every sexual preference. Their guidelines state “Every book must be a compelling romance, with a great love story and passionate, explicit sex.”

I don’t read romance novels, and I don’t read erotica. You’ve heard the expression ‘never say never?’ It applies here in spades. On the other hand, I am an avid reader, and I read everything and anything from fantasy to no-nonsense non-fiction.

A good writer is a good writer no matter the genre in which he or she is writing. Hal Bodner is a good writer, and IN FLESH AND STONE is a good book. If you’re not into M/M erotic fiction, you just need to learn how to read it. When I started the book, I think I actually dreaded getting to the first steamy, hot scene. When I got there, I took a peek and fast forwarded through the worst of it while pausing to be sure I didn’t miss anything necessary to the plot. Fast forwarding is easy when you read on a Kindle, and as you flip the pages you can readily pick out words of import, read what’s around them, and stop on a dime. As I continued, I found myself less inclined to fast forward through sex scenes simply because they weren’t gratuitous inserts written to titillate, but rather an integral part of the story of love and loss unwinding before me.

The characters here drive the story. They have real personalities, complete with quirks and foibles. As you read, you know that the love is real and the anguish is real, and that puts flesh on the skeleton of words. It’s not just the main character, Alex Restin, but those around him that add life and truth to the tale. There is Corey, the irrepressible gamin, who gains a certain maturity by book’s end. Nadine Shermer is Alex’s agent and owner of the art gallery that shows his work. An older, more sophisticated gentleman, Charles Wannamaker, collects Alex’s art and provides some stability as events spin out of control. Tony, Alex’s love and lover, is both central and peripheral to the story. He is in a coma, hospitalized, and there isn’t much hope. IN FLESH AND STONE is all about dealing with day to day life, anticipating the future and what it may hold, and ultimately coming to grips with death.

I must confess that this is not a book I would have sought on my own. I needed a little push, a very little push. I had read Hal Bodner’s short story “Virtuoso,” in TRAPS, edited by Scott T. Goudsward, and I loved it. Then Hal posted, on Facebook, that he had a new book, FOR LOVE OF THE DEAD. I went looking for that book, and somewhere along the way, I read that it was, in some ways, a sequel to IN FLESH AND STONE. The bottom line, I bought them both, and I’m looking forward to reading FOR LOVE OF THE DEAD.

If you are reading this, and wondering if I would recommend this book to my mother, probably not. Come on, we’re talking my 83 year old mother here. But you, yes you! Put on your big girl panties and take a walk on the wild side. You won’t be sorry.
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Oct 04, 2009 Elisa Ramblings added it

Horror and romance with an healthy dose of eroticism is a not easy mix to deal with, and also a quite strange combination, that it would have made me wonder if I didn't read something on the author's bio that helped me to understand better the book. I think that, in a way, this book serves to the author to exorcise a sad past experience, and maybe to find in it an "odd" happily ever after that he didn't have in the real life.

Alex and Tony were a married and perfect couple; they were perfect sin...more Horror and romance with an healthy dose of eroticism is a not easy mix to deal with, and also a quite strange combination, that it would have made me wonder if I didn't read something on the author's bio that helped me to understand better the book. I think that, in a way, this book serves to the author to exorcise a sad past experience, and maybe to find in it an "odd" happily ever after that he didn't have in the real life.

Alex and Tony were a married and perfect couple; they were perfect since they weren't perfect, meaning that despite the love for each other, they were aware of the other faults, and willing to forgive for the joy to be together. Alex is an artist with a quite disorderly past, but in Tony he seemed to find a balance; sometime he still had some out-tracks, mostly with his friend with benefits Corey, but Tony knew and allowed it. This didn't mean that Tony didn't care, but only that he knew that, for having Alex in his life, he should have allowed him some freedom. And then it was not that Tony was not incline to a sporadic derailment here and there, only that, on the contrary of Alex, he was more inclined to a "stranger" body, someone who was there in the moment and soon forgotten. Both Alex, having sex with his best friend, that was almost a brotherly thing, then Tony, having sex with strangers who didn't mine his steady relationship, are faithful in their way to each other. As I said, they were a perfect couple.

But then a strange virus takes Tony, if not to death but almost near: Alex's husband is in coma and it's months already and no doctor seems to have an answer. To be near to his lover, and probably to lessen the burden of a full house, Alex rents an apartment in a building that was a former library. In Alex's main room 12 statues representing the Zodiac are personified by 13 naked men (2 for the Gemini), all beautiful even when half-beast. As soon as Alex sees them, he starts to fantasize about having sex with one or more of that Signs, and this is the moment the reader starts the voyager with him; so yes, it's not exactly a good start since, let be sincere, having sexual fantasies involving half-man half-beast characters while your husband is dying in an hospital? it doesn't put you in a good light. But strange to say, from the first scene where Alex describes in details the physical attributes of the statue (and even if it was strange for what I said before, I felt like Alex was betraying his lover, it was a well written scene), more Alex indulges in his sexual fantasies, and more I feel him being nearer to Tony.

The first scenes are tamed, not even full intercourse, and so the feeling of betrayal towards Tony is stronger: Alex is healthy and he is having fun, how he could possibly be really upset for his husband's condition? but then the sexual fantasies shift in nature, even if Alex still enjoys the sex, it's more and more a pain and pleasure game, and I feel like Alex is "forced" to enjoy it, two times it even felt to me almost like a rape. More the games become extreme, less they are healthier, and more Alex is near Tony. There is a balance they have to reach, or Alex has to loose his strength to be near Tony, or Tony has to gain renewed force to come out from the coma.

More Alex is having sex with stranger (and strange creatures) and more I feel him in love with Tony; if I think well, there are very few sex scene between Alex and Tony, most of them a remembrance, and almost never the two of them alone, but despite all of this, I could really feel the bond between them. Beforehand, I would haven't said that the two would have been my ideal couple, but I was wrong. All the theories I could have on the behavior of Alex (he is coping with the pain trying to affirm life through sex, he is trying to diffuse the pentup energy he is not able to dispel through those fantasies), all of them are presented and explained in the novel as possible reasons, the authors know them well and he is not trying to be obscure. More, he was able to write an horror romance that, till the end, is not clear to the reader if what Alex is living is actually a real experience, or only the projection of his pain.

I wouldn't say that this novel is light, even if there are some slightly funny moments, especially in Corey's character, or in the daisy chain of doctors who try to help Alex and Tony. Probably this is only a point more on Hal Bodner's skill to mix different elements in a particular but very interesting romance. Mind you though, it's not probably cup of the tea for the most traditional romance readers.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607778149/?...(less)

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Oct 18, 2009 Betryal rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this book Hal did an excellent job in writing Alex. Alex took me through heartache, lust, pain and emotions that at times I had to set the book aside and step away just to breathe before coming back to it. His confusion and the turmoil he goes through in trying to cope with Tony's failing health with no light to the end of a lonely tunnel was heart wrenching.

Should you read it? Absolutely!

OIYE! Now I need to break after reading this one. My emotions are all fawked up.

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