Great story, good narration

Leaning Into Touch is the story of the Californian and the Irishman, thirty-two-year-old Joshua Sheehan and thirty-five-year-old Finn Gallagher, respectively. Their paths originally crossed in Leaning Into the Fall, and it was a meeting that led to a six-month-long affair between the two. They go their separate ways, only to meet once again a year later. The attraction hasn't waned, but Josh is wary and insists that they keep things platonic. However, even with his own hesitation and the constant reminder from his friends to not pursue anything with the wily Finn, Josh can't seem to help himself. However, both Josh and Finn are dealing with particular complications in their respective lives, and now isn't the time for either of them to fall in love...with each other.

I enjoyed the book when I read it in October of last year, and I enjoyed it again while listening to it six months later. Josh and Finn are multi-layered main characters whose romance is both sexy and sweet, giving it that perfect combination that makes it swoon-worthy, something which the author has proven to be more than adept at throughout five series. As far as the narration goes, Nick J. Russo did a fantastic job giving voice to the story in general and to Josh in particular. In terms of Finn and his Irish accent, however, I confess that I was a wee bit iffy, mainly because, more often than not, Finn sounded more British with a Scouse accent. I went back and forth when it came time to rate the Leaning Into Touch audiobook, but in the end, I'm going with 4.5 stars. ♥

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Another great installment in this series!

I have come to love this little group of friends.... Josh, Grant, Nick, Eric, and Zane. I was really looking forward to this story because Finn intrigued me. I wanted to know more about the sexy Irishman that Nick and Eric thought was up to no good.

I loved Josh and his big heart. I loved that he was patient with Finn and all his demons. And Josh's dad was a hoot! Would love to know more about him and Lars. I will definitely continue on with this series, especially in audiobook. Nick Russo knocked it out of the park with this one. I've never heard him do an Irish accent before, but it was swoonworthy. <3 <3 <3

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Loved this book!

Story: 4.5 Stars!
Narration: 5 Stars!
Overall: 4.75 Stars!!!

Leaning into Touch is book 4 in the Leaning Into series by Lane Hayes and it can be read as a standalone, but the series is really good, so you don't want to miss out on the previous books. I suggest reading at least book 2, since Finn is introduced there and we get to see the start of the relationship between him and Josh.

I loved Josh, he was such a fun, easygoing character. He was as passive-aggressive as his mother, trying not to let things bring him down or affect him. Still, it was obvious he felt things deeply, like the situation with his father that threw him off-kilter and his conflicting feelings for Finn, since he couldn't stop being attracted to him even if things didn't look all that great for them.

This book starts 6 months after Josh stops seeing Finn and I was a bit confused at first, I think we might have benefitted from a flashback or a prologue to show how and when things went wrong back then. Other than that, I wish we could've gotten to know Finn a bit earlier, he was all secretive and because he wasn't all that forthcoming with the information and we didn't get his POV, it took me a while to warm up to him. However, even if Finn made me want to strangle him with some of his actions and how he treated Josh, I warmed up to him and my heart broke for him when he finally shared his story with Josh. He carried a lot of guilt and while it didn't excuse him, at least it provided some answers for his behavior.

The chemistry between Josh and Finn was out of this world and the sex scenes were scorching (really, the scene at Finn's office nearly made me and my Kindle self-combust *fans self*)

As always, it was awesome that the rest of the gang is such an integral part of the story. They're the kind of friends that are there for each other and I just love them all.

While there were some things that didn't quite work for me, Ms. Hayes didn't disappoint with Josh and Finn's story, it was engaging, well-written and kept my interest. I just couldn't put it down until I was done listening to it, wanting to find out how it would play out.

Nick J. Russo did an outstanding job with the book's narration. Combining US and Irish accents in one book can't be an easy task and I think he captured Finn's accent perfectly. His tone of voice is very pleasant and smooth, giving different 'voices' to the different characters so they could be easily distinguishable. And above all, he managed to imprint the emotions that the book required and make it as awesome as the book.

Highly recommendable!

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Sweet hotness with an accent.

Finn and Josh are just delicious, and are prime examples of the one who got away, mixed signals, and just pure stubbornness. This was a sweet story of two beautiful men trying to figure life out and what their place was in it. Watching them fall was fun and got me right in the heart. As with the ones before it, this could be read alone, but you’d enjoy it more knowing about the other characters. Finn and Josh met each other in the previous book, so it would definitely enhance your reading experience if you at least read/listened to that one first. The narrator does a great job with the audiobook. I highly recommend this book.

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Entertaining read, enjoyable narrative

This is book 4 of the series and having not read the previous books, did struggle a little with tid-bits of information given at the start of the story as Josh and Finn had already met a year earlier, but a relationship it did not make and so their next meeting caused a little stir when Finn appears with a woman wearing an enormous engagement ring!

The narrator, Nick J Russo, is a favorite and I have listened to him narrate many books - but I did struggle a little with his "Irish" accent for Finn, it sounded more suited to the West-Country (and I'm talking Somerset, UK here) than the Emerald Isle! It did not conjure up visions of rolling green vistas with a Guinness and a leprechaun at my knee - more golden sunsets with a pint of crisp tart cider and chewing on a sheaf of corn.....but I digress....After a while, I had to let it go and just "listen" to the story - overall, it was an entertaining narrative.

After meeting Finn (again), Josh then seems to "bump" into him or becomes more aware of how Finn has close connections with Josh via friends. Apart from his resolve to not get involved with Finn again and his friends telling him to avoid Finn with a 10ft barge pole, it was inevitable that they were going to get together - if not for any other reason than Josh was told "not to"....yeah, who listens to common sense (and I'm sure Finn being extremely easy on the eye was also a contributing factor) ?? Ever the optimist, always looking on the brighter side of life, Josh quickly grew attached to Finn, wishing for a future with him and always trying to see good in Finn's sometimes dubious actions - Scarlet, being one of them.

As this is told from Josh's POV, you don't get to hear too much from Finn or his backstory. There are glimpses of Finn's insecurity and baggage from his past, especially around his family back home in Ireland, when he finally opens up to Josh. However, Finn still found it easier to "walk away" then to deal with his feelings - it was an arse move! I'm not sure I was overly happy with the "Scarlet" storyline, especially around her request, but was content that Josh dealt with it and supported Finn through the decision once the dust settled.

Overall, this was an enjoyable second chance story about putting your trust in someone, being honest with yourself and wrapping it up in your forever - the epilogue was sweet and fluffy and left me with a *contented* sigh. Alls good.

ARC received from author via Indigo Marketing And Design in exchange for an honest review.

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Honesty

This book is technically the 4th book in the series, though it is labeled as book #3 in the Leaning Into Stories series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. To avoid spoilers and have a greater understanding of the series, I recommend reading these books in order.

Josh is unsure what he wants to do with his future, now that his current job is complete. He is trying to work this out as he runs into an ex that he has never really gotten over. Can he trust his feelings to try again with Finn, even though he is a mess about the rest of his life?

Finn never wanted to say goodbye in the past to Josh. Running into him repeatedly lately feels like fate taking a hand. Can he convince the skittish man to give him another chance?

This story just stole my heart. These characters so obviously belong together. I loved the very real heartache they expressed. I also felt the heat with the sexy times. Really good read and addition to the series. The narrator did an amazing job on the different voices, where you can tell each character apart. Was a great experience, as the different accents, and inflections were very heartfelt. This audiobook was a great 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!



***This copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.

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4 solid stars for Leaning Into Touch!

I love second chance romance stories. There’s just something about having a chance at “the one that got away” that is just really appealing to me, and Leaning Into Touch is a great example of this trope.

I love the characters not just in this particular book, but in this series as a whole, and how they all fit together as a group. I did get a little frustrated with the others when they kept having a negative outlook towards Finn and his intentions with Josh, because just like Josh I wanted to believe in Finn too. Finn just checked off all sorts of boxes for me, including the hot Irish accent box ;-)

The additional plot point of Josh’s father’s new relationship adds a nice twist of tension to things, and I got a kick out of Josh’s mother’s baking issues. I really enjoyed getting to see Zane, Eric, Nick and Wes again…even if Josh kept getting warned off of Finn when the group was around.

Leaning Into Touch fits really well into the series, and while you don’t have to read the other books before starting this one, I personally would recommend that you do just to have the background on the other characters and get the taste of Josh and Finn that you’ll find in those books. This story was a very solid 4-star read for me…leaning towards a 4.5 (no pun intended). Fans of the series will be very happy with this book, and like the others it is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.

The narration: Nick J. Russo again does a great job with the narration, capturing the emotions of the characters quite well while delivering a perfectly paced story. My only issue is with Finn’s accent—as i mentioned in my review for one of the previous books in this series, it was inconsistent and didn’t come across as Irish to me. Since Finn was one of the main characters, that led me to knock off a star on the narration making it 4 stars.

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Another great book in this series!

I really liked the vocal performance. The Irish accent was decent...it was lost at times but I imagine it was hard to switch between the US and Irish so I didn't let it bother me too much. I loved the emotions...I could feel what the characters felt, especially the sadness and tears.

This is another great story in this series! It can definitely be read/listened to as a standalone but there’s no reason not to read/listen to the previous books in the series!

I LOVE JOSH! He seems so shy and awkward while he rambles on and makes bad jokes but I was proud of the way he stood strong against Finn. For a 32 year old man he’s very childlike which is really endearing. He can’t figure out what he wants to be when he grows up so he ends going through a bit of self-discovery. He also goes through a major life changing event…which he didn’t handle well.

It took me a while to warm up to Finn. Josh is such an open book so it’s hard to see him with someone so closed off and clearly hiding from something. When he strips away his armor he’s AMAZING with Josh. I would actually like to see a little more of his dominance with Josh. He suffered a tragedy in his younger years and is punishing himself because of it. He makes a crappy decision with Josh and I was happy Josh stood up to him.

While they end on a great note, I know we’ll see more of them as they aren’t done yet. This is definitely another must read by Ms. Hayes!

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5 stars = I freaking LOVED this audiobook!!!

I received a free copy of this audiobook to listen to and review for Wicked Reads.

I cannot recall the last time I was interrupted so many times while trying to listen to an audiobook – some people are very lucky I didn’t have weapons handy. In fact, it took me three days to listen to Leaning into Touch and none of that had to do with the story or the narration, but rather life intruding upon my time. Each time I was interrupted, I couldn’t get back to the audiobook soon enough because not only was I intrigued by Finn, the mysterious Irishman, but I was fascinated by just how open of a character Josh was.

Having re-listened to the previous audiobooks in the series prior to starting Leaning into Touch, I realized that Josh is quite possibly the most “what you see is what you get” guy in the tight-knit group of friends – with the exception of his relationship with Finn. Any layer of mystery to Josh is due to him not having figured out that part of his life yet, not because he’s hiding something. He’s a rather refreshing character because he’s so earnest in who he is with his family and friends. Were it not for Eric and Nick’s negative opinion of Finn, I suspect he would have shared his relationship highs and lows with his friends as he had little problem talking about it with his roommate, Grant. As for Finn, the man has been an enigma since his introduction to the series and his seemingly less-than-ethical business practices have merely added to his mysterious persona. Yet, I was woefully unprepared to learn about the ghosts who haunt him. I don’t make a habit of trying to figure out the wounded hero’s baggage while reading or listening to their story, but I would have never come close to guessing Finn’s – which made it so easy for me to understand Josh’s gut-punch reaction to Finn’s revelations. Between Finn’s guilt, Josh’s realization of his need to protect his heart and the steps he takes to do so, and the WHOA! drama that plays out with Josh’s parents, Leaning into Touch was an entertaining rollercoaster ride of a listen. But as expected, Lane provides the perfect happy ending for Josh and Finn that made it worth each heartbreaking moment.

Once again, Nick J. Russo provides a fabulous narrative performance. Having had different narrators for Eric’s story (Clayton) and Nick’s story (Russo), I wasn’t sure what to expect having Russo return to the mic for Josh and Finn’s story. However, having the consistency in Finn’s accent from Nick’s book to Leaning into Touch was perfect – especially as Josh and Finn met in Leaning into the Fall. Not only does Russo make Finn’s Irish accent sexy as can be, but he does a wonderful job at conveying Josh’s raw emotions and vulnerabilities when his world seems to come crashing down around him. There were moments when I wanted to cry for Josh because it was as if I could feel his heart actually breaking and I’m not talking about just his relationship with Finn. I won’t go into those particular scenes because they’re ones I believe each listener should experience for themselves, but Russo’s performance made Lane’s writing even more poignant. Leaning into Touch was an extremely enjoyable audiobook experience that has left me looking forward to the release of the next audiobook in the series as well as more of Lane’s writing and Russo’s narration.

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Finn's amazing Irish accent melted my heart!

For as many times I have read this book, listening to it brought the well of emotions this story always stirs to a whole new level!
Nick J Russo is an amazing narrator and made Josh and Finn come to life in such a beautiful way! Finn's sexy Irish brogue was heart-melting!

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