Free Hand

I enjoyed this but the pacing felt odd.

Slow burn, disability rep, tattoo MM romance.

Deaf representation was HUGE in this! Basil and Derek both had revelations about dating in general. Their chemistry was there but neither were into it. (Yet they had dates with other people before they went on a date with each other)

It was so slow to get them to a point of being a couple, and then it was really wuick to the I love you, then an epilogue. So just paced weirdly so I wanted more of them as a couple? Not sure.

Either way, had a good time reading

This was a good read, and I'm not giving it 5 stars only because the romance needed more work.

I don't fault the author for prioritizing the development of the characters over the romance, but I yearned a little more for the development of the relationship.

The formatting on the Kindle version was a little wonky when it came to the text messages, and at first I felt like there was a lot of exposition info dump, but it eased up a lot as the book went on. And you know, I think it made sense - Derek works at this tattoo parlor with his “found family” (including his identical twin brother), and they all clearly have very full lives and are involved in each others' lives, and that's lovely.

I don't have any tattoos currently. I really want one, have gone so far as to find artists I'd like to work with in the last two cities I've lived in, but have never been able to pull the trigger. There's something about the permanence that makes me uncomfortable and noncommittal. I finally realized what my problem is, when I was talking to my mom about the art I have on the walls of my home office - I am not super invested in art for art's sake, but when I see something I love, I know immediately and I buy it; whereas, when working with a tattoo artist, you have to build the trust that they will create art that you love, but you haven't seen yet, that will live on you forever. And how do you create trust when you've never worked with that person before!? It's a snake eating its tail situation.

Anyway, I was thinking about this level of trust because the h, Basil, allows Derek to tattoo him without knowing what the outcome will be - knowing that he loves Derek's work, and that Derek will know when the piece is “complete,” allowing it to be a moment of both healing and intimacy, even if they're not sure they will end up together. (Spoiler: this is a romance novel, duh.)

I don't really know what to say beyond this. It's a romance that deals with some heavy issues with, I think, great care. This series features a mostly queer cast, written by an agender author. Many of the characters have disabilities (hearing loss, PTSD, spinal cord injury/wheelchair user), and several push back about their bodies needing to conform to able-bodied norms in order to live normal lives. I really appreciated their stories and perspectives, and probably will get the next book in the series once I catch up on some book club reads.

TW: mentions of panic attacks, mentions of suicide, homophobia from off-page characters, child abuse (past), bullying, death of a romantic partner (past)

This was not as much of a slam dunk as Switch Hitter was for me but I still enjoyed it. Overall, the main issue I have with this book is that it's the first novel in a series and it feels like it's being weighed down by the other stories the author wants to tell. Derek and Basil are the couple for this novel but there is significant focus on what will become Sam and Niko's story in a future installment. We were also getting a bit too much of Sage's backstory in my opinion. Very slow burn romance between Derek and Basil with them not actually getting together until about 60% in. I rate is 3/5 stars and I don't know if I'll continue with the series at this time.

Wow, I don't know where to start with this one – and I do mean this in a good way. This book is a super slow burn as these two try out the friends route. They both feel like they are on the outside of society as Basil is Deaf and Derek has pretty severe PTSD.


I like how they came together though as it felt natural to me and being friends first feels like a good first step. This book really goes deep into the Deaf community, there is so much I didn't know, so I was fascinated, although perhaps at times it went too info heavy. This is a found family series though as most of the series will follow people around the tattoo shop who all have a disability of some kind, so we do get peeks into others lives in this first book. 

It is a great book, definitely a tear-jerker for me, but I will continue on with this series.


CW: Child abuse, homophobic slurs, betrayal by loved ones, ableism

3.25 stars. Introduces a lot of characters since it's the first one in the series, and as a result the romance suffers. In fact, the two MCs don't even interact after their first dramatic meeting until a third of the way through the novel, and they both (unsuccessfully) date other people before they admit how much they like each other. If you like found families and don't mind the romance frequently taking a backseat to the characters' various challenges you might appreciate this more than I did. I like Lindsey's writing though, and will try at least a few more installments in the series.