Review: Bent Arrow, by Posy Roberts (Rating: 4.5/5)

Bent Arrow, by Posy Roberts
Publisher: Labyrinth Bound Press (September 3, 2015)
Page Count: 82 pages
Genre: Bisexual (M/M) Romance; Novella

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

* I received an advanced copy of this book from Pride Promotions in exchange for a fair and honest review. *

Luther Almond’s life working the Bakken oil field is perfect—short-lived jobs, temporary housing, and easy hookups. That’s one reason he won’t move home when he inherits the lake house. When Erik Heat bends over to fix Luther’s pipes, his tattoos hint he might be up for more than working on the drain. The last thing Luther expects is to want more from this guy than one night.

Every time they’re together, Luther is more grounded and Erik more confident. When the lake house demands attention, Luther asks for Erik’s help. There he imagines a more permanent life, one where he stops running. But he wants Erik by his side. Can he find the courage—and the words—to ask?

This was a really excellent novella with two fantastic characters. Posy writes what she calls “realistic struggles of men looking for love”, and I think she does a great job every time. I really liked her novel Silver Scars as well, so it was a treat to get a chance to read and review this short story!

First off, this novel gets a huge thumbs up from me for having a bisexual character. Bi characters are extremely rare in the m/m genre, so I love that Posy included that little tidbit. In fact, Erik’s bisexuality plays a big role in his character, and explains the gorgeous tattoo he has wrapping around his hip.

Erik took a deep breath as though he was ready to tell a long story. “The arrow is bent wood because I don’t fit anywhere: not in the straight world and not in the gay world. It was just my way of acknowledging that and celebrating the beauty of it at the same time.” (PDF page 35)

The major theme of this novella, though, is being true to yourself. Luther is in the closet from everyone, especially his co-workers and his family. Erik is openly bisexual, but has faced some incredibly harsh repercussions from being so; still, he refuses to hide who he is, and he isn’t willing to enter a relationship with Luther until the other man accepts who he is as well.

Bent Arrow is a super quick read that packs a big emotional punch. Posy creates two simple, real, down-to-earth men who need each other more than they realize, and the relationship between them is really fantastic. Like with a lot of novellas, the pacing does suffer a tiny bit (it’s hard to establish a serious romance in such a short space), and I would have liked to see more of Luther and Erik’s relationship forming, but I still really enjoyed this read!