Review: Finley by Ella Frank
SYNOPSIS:
It’s time to come home, Finn.
It’s been seven years since Daniel Finley left his hometown in Florida for the hustle and bustle of Chicago’s city life.
Since then, he’s worked hard for his position at the prestigious law firm Leighton & Associates, even when it’s caused distance and isolation from his family and friends. But that’s all about to change.
On his thirtieth birthday, he receives the one thing he never dared hope for. Something that was promised to him years earlier—a note. One simple sentence from the man he’s never been able to forget.
Six words will forever change the course of their lives.
Brantley Hayes has it all. Or so he thinks. When he first made the decision to take a job down in Florida, his family thought he was crazy. But, after years of living in the quiet beach town, he finally feels a sense of community. He’s surrounded himself with friends who are like family, has a job he loves, and owns a spectacular beachfront property that is his sanctuary.
Yet he still feels unfulfilled, as if a piece of the puzzle is missing, and he knows exactly which piece it is. On an impulse, he follows through with a promise he made years earlier. A promise to call home the one he sent away.
Nothing is as simple as it seems.
After years of separation, the former lovers are reunited, but Brantley wasn’t expecting to encounter the high walls now guarding Daniel’s heart.
Daniel may not be the same person he was when he left, but he knows that the first step to healing is the note in his hand.
REVIEW:
Now, normally I am not a second-chance romance kinda girl but this story sucked me in so fast, I couldn’t put it down. Maybe it was because I have seen glimpses of Finn and Brantley in other Ella Frank and/or Brooke Blaine series. Or maybe it is just the fact that I am just captivated by these series and all the characters. Regardless, I loved these two!
Brantley and Finn start off as a forbidden romance, we have the professor and his student falling in love and we also have a delicious age gap. Things happen and throughout the story, we learn exactly what went down between these two as the novel is told in a mixture of present and past tense. But their reunion is anything less than endearing and epic. Their chemistry and passion is simmering beneath years of hurt and betrayal.
Their history is so complex but their romance was so sweet. It seemed like miscommunications were their greatest downfall the first time around and both characters weren’t going to let that happen again. They work through a lot of raw feelings and come out better and stronger on the other side. Honestly, these two had me sighing in contentment because they just fit. The story had enough history and yearning that things between Brantley and Finn didn’t feel rushed.
The relationship between these two flowed so smoothly and naturally it made me frustrated at times that these two missed out on 7 years together. The story is also sprinkled with delightful side characters from other Ella Frank books, such as Logan and Tate as well as Derek and Jordan…all of which had me giggling and excited to read on. At the end of the day, the story was adorable with plenty of steam, and a happily-ever-after, which I mean…what more could a girl want?!
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