Soft Hands

The Sin Bin: West Coast, Book 2

De: E.M. Lindsey

Narrado por: John Solo

There are a few things Nolan Ouellet has come to accept about himself.

One: that his future with the NHL was irrevocably destroyed, thanks to his reckless actions as a teenager destroying his knee.

Two: that he will never fall in love because the very idea of it sends his skin crawling.

Three: he will bed as many NHL players as humanly possible before he retires his game.

And four: he will never apologize for who he is and what he wants.

Then two men come barreling into his life and turn everything he knows upside down.

He still won’t play for the NHL, and he still won’t change who he is because he’s fought too long and too hard to accept his identity. But suddenly, his future is starting to look a little different than he originally planned.

And that scares the absolute hell out of him.

When he met Marko Rudenko and Luka Wagner—two veterans of the Denver Huskies—they were supposed to be a game, just like everyone else. But now all he can think about is how to keep them around without compromising the person he’s become and ruining the love Marko and Luka have for each other.

Soft Hands is the second book in the Sin Bin: West Coast series which can be enjoyed on its own but is best listened to in order. Soft Hands features a goalie with a hard outer shell and soft marshmallow insides, a confused alternate captain who just wants to give up a little control, and a former NHL prospect who knows who he is, but maybe not what he needs. Soft Hands contains aromantic acceptance, no cheating, plenty of love and communication, and as always, a happily ever after.

©2022 E.M. Lindsey (P)2022 E.M. Lindsey

Was okay

This was my first book with an aro MC so I was interested in how he would integrate into a romantic relationship between the other 2 MCs. While I applaud EM Lindsey’s storytelling skills, I was left feeling unfulfilled by this story. There is hardly an intimate interaction between all 3 men, and Nolan doesn’t have an interaction with them in that way until 60% into the book. The friendship is there, and I enjoy the platonic scenes between all 3 but I wanted more once they’ve decided to deepen the relationship involving all of them. It doesn’t matter that Nolan is aro, he’s gone from just friends to more than but there’s so little full interaction. I wanted more of all 3, as well as seeing Nolan and Luka together as they have zero interactions without Marko there but Nolan and Marko do. I would have preferred either a longer story after things are settled between the 3 of them, or a story that only focuses on Marko and Luca. While I enjoy John Solo there are several mispronounced common words that kept pulling me from the story. I did enjoy his accents for Marko and Luca however. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook.

They were all a bit messy...

Quote from the book: "They were all a bit messy and a bit shattered and put back together slightly crooked." This describes this story and romance perfectly.

This is a perfectly imperfect story of three men each with their own struggles, battling their own demons. E.M. Lindsey has a way of writing such interesting characters, she never disappoints.

This is book 2 in EM Lindsey's series The Sin Bin: West Coast. John Solo did a wonderful job in the narration and the voices of these three men. I think I missed out on not reading the first book in the series and I'm old enough to know better... It's always better to start at the very beginning.

Unconventional polyamory, praise kink, cam boy, 1st person POV for all three of the characters

Excellent

Loved this new one from EM Lindsey! It was compelling, well written and definitely held my interest! This is a great addition to the series! John Solo did a nice job narrating this one.

This quite the unusual take on polyamory.

We are used to relationship where the all the partners involved are somehow equal and their connections are balanced. This is not really the case here, in that we have an aromantic character (Nolan) who, though caring deeply and being attracted to and connected to, Marko and Lukas, is incapable of forming a romantic attachment. Knowing this he is wary of entering anything with the two men, who, anyone, even Nolan can see, are deeply in love with each other. But the two men are nothing if not persistent and they do everything they can to show Nolan that they are willing to accept what he can give them without demanding what he can’t.
The book is super-hot and the steamy scenes are extremely satisfying! The characters are well-rounded and though flawed, each in its own way, they are great !
Another great performance by John Solo, who did a great job with the different accents: Ukrainian, German and French-Canadian.

Loved it!

The narration on this book really brought to life the story that was already amazing. I really loved John Solo's performance and the emotion and depth that he gave to each character.

I am such a fan of E.M. Lindsey and the Sin Bin series in general, so I've been really excited about this book, and it didn't leave me wanting. Luca, Marko, and Nolan have such an interesting dynamic between them that I could hardly put the book down.

I actually haven't read many books with aromantic characters, so seeing this and the way that the characters navigated their relationship was honestly so interesting and appealing to me. Seeing multiple forms of representation popping up in books more frequently now makes me so happy, especially when I feel like the authors did a good job at what they were portraying.

I honestly found this to be a super fast read, and I really enjoyed all of the characters involved. My only complaint is that I wish I could have seen a little more of what happened/how things kept on, but I guess that's a complaint an author wants to get, since it means that I'd snap up another book with these characters in a heartbeat.

Overall, great story. Great characters. Another great book!

Cute poly hockey romance

I really enjoyed this story of the three guys trying to figure out how to make it all work. I didn't read the previous story and had no trouble following along. Marko and Luka already have some relationship going though it's mostly just a friends with benefits. However both guys want more and have a bit of trouble expressing that. Nolan, who's aromantic, is still lonely and isn't sure how to get what he wants without hurting others or himself. I especially loved how Marko took control in the bedroom and Luka loved being praised. I think it's also a fair representation of poly as Nolan is a part of it as much as he wants to be. It's not always 100% at all times and I liked that each man is very much getting what he needs from the relationship in very different ways. I do think there's a bit of miscommunication and overthinking to draw some of the tension out but not too much. John is a great narrator and I think his Marko was my favorite out of the three. Unfortunately for Nolan, John's British accent is not the strongest but I liked his regular speaking voice. John definitely delivers flair and emotions with his narration and made the story enjoyable!

These boys are on FIRE!!

This story starts with Luka and Marko already being an establish couple. Well maybe not so much a couple but they are lovers. After spending some time away after the end of the hockey season they know they want to make things more official and maybe add a third to the mix. Nolan is aromantic but has a thing for both Luka and Marko. There are some things that happen that I won't spoil for people but it ends up helping the 3 men get together. I love Marko. He's a take charge kind of guy and that's what Luka needs. Nolan is sweet and is a good balance for the other 2 guys. And Luka is lucky to have both men in his life.The sex scene are so hot!! I only wish the book had been longer. I wanted to see how their relationship played out in the long run. How Nolan dealt with being with these 2 men while staying true to himself. John Solo does an amazing job! His narration was perfect!

Love this series!

Soft Hands by E. M. Lindsey is the second book in The Sin Bin: West Coast series.
This is Luka, Marko and Nolan’s story.
Each are very different in personality but fit together perfectly.
Of course there are ups and downs as they try to figure out the dynamics of their relationships.
Each characters has their own unique personality and needs. Working together they create a bond that works for them.
I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.
John Solo does an amazing job of narrating this story.

Intricate Threesome!

Marko and Luka have been fooling around and when they meet Nolan, they are both attracted to him. This entire story starts off quite sexual! Luka has been in love with Marko but quite afraid to voice it. Marko just did not realize he loved Luka too! These two were literally a Hot Sexy Mess! Nolan is aromantic which I cannot remember ever reading about before, so it brought a new aspect to this relationship for me. All three guys have their own issues and sometimes they did not all communicate when they should, but they all genuinely fit together and somehow got what they needed in this threesome! John did a fantastic job narrating each of these very different guys and he was also fabulous with all the hot and steamy scenes!

I loved this book!

This book….I just can’t. There aren’t words for it. EM Lindsey, you have killed me dead. Your words have slain me and my heart is bleeding out on the floor. This book was GORGEOUS. Not that I am surprised. I loved the first one and was wondering how it could be topped. The representation of other types of characters in this author’s books has always been spot on and these guys were no exception. I absolutely fell in love with Luca, Marko, and Nolan. No two polyamorous relationships look the same. There is no such thing as one size fits all, no matter what kind of relationship you have. The key is communication..and these three have figured that out. Absolutely loved this one.

And can I say John Solo is absolutely on fire with these characters?! He is one of my favorite narrators.