Title: Finley
Author: Ella Frank
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 22nd, 2016
Book Description:
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.
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Excerpt:
BRANTLEY KEPT A discreet eye on the final
student to leave for the morning as Mr. Finley strode down the stairs to the
front of the classroom. They were three weeks into the semester and he was
ashamed to admit that, with every day that passed, his fascination with the young man grew.
At
first, he’d tried to convince
himself that it was purely academic. The kid was smart. He’d aced all the
weekly quizzes, and Brantley was more than aware of the way he watched him
lecture with keen, intelligent eyes that never strayed from him.
Oh, he was fascinated, all right, but he made sure
to tell himself at the end of every class that it had nothing to do with the
mischievous grin Daniel would flash at his friends or the easygoing laugh that
would bubble up out of him at any given moment. But he knew he was lying.
Daniel was quite possibly the happiest person he’d ever met, and his joy of
life lit up the room and everyone in it. Including him.
When
Daniel stopped in front of him and dropped his paper on the desk, Brantley
acknowledged him with a glance before returning his gaze back to the notes he
was going over.
“Any
big plans this weekend, Professor?”
The
question had been so unexpected that he didn’t think to catch himself before he
replied, “Nothing too big. Just going out with some friends. You?”
Daniel
smiled at him as he shoved his arms through the loops of his backpack, and
Brantley couldn’t help but look at his shirt as it stretched across his broad
chest.
“I’m
going to hit the beach. Such great waves right now.”
“Ahh,
you like to surf. That explains it.”
When
the side of Daniel’s mouth crooked up, the effect was charming as hell. The kid
was a knockout.
“Explains
what?”
Annoyed
that he’d made such a stupid slipup, he looked back at the papers in front of
him, hoping Daniel would get the
message and leave. No such luck.
“Explains
what?” he asked again.
Brantley
sighed and rested his arms on the desk as he studied Daniel’s inviting face.
“It explains your hair.”
“My—oh,”
he said, touching the ends of it. “Do you like it?”
Stunned
by the direct question, he sat back in his chair and fought the smile tugging
at the corners of his lips. “Do I like your hair?”
“Yeah.”
“Does
it matter?” Jesus,
fuck. Stop it. Stop flirting with him.
But
it was too late. Daniel put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, Brantley
toed the ground, shoving his chair back.
“It
could…”
“No. No, it couldn’t,” he said as he
got to his feet, shaking his head.
Daniel
straightened and tucked his thumbs into the straps of his backpack, no doubt to
taunt him. His eyes were too knowing for someone his age, and when they held
his longer than was acceptable, Brantley’s heart skipped a couple of beats.
“Was
there something else, Mr. Finley?”
“You
said you were going out with friends this weekend…”
Shit,
did I? “Yes, that’s right.”
As
Daniel ran his thumb down the left strap of his bag, he admonished himself for
noticing every little move he made. He needed to get a fucking hold of himself.
“Are
any of them more
than a friend?”
If
he hadn’t been watching Daniel quite so closely, he wouldn’t have believed the
words that had just come out of his mouth. But he had been. So he did.
“I
don’t believe that’s any of your business. You better hurry or you’ll miss your
next class.”
Satisfied
that he’d firmly dismissed Daniel, he sat down and made a show of focusing on
the books lining his desk and didn’t dare look and see if he had left this time
or not. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was still standing there.
He
reached up to adjust his tie, which suddenly felt a little too tight around his neck, and with
each passing second that he was consciously not checking to see if he was alone,
he swore that it was getting tighter.
“Professor
Hayes?”
His
head snapped up at his name, and when Daniel had his attention, he continued.
“Are
you gay?”
Brantley’s
eyes widened, and he wondered how his mouth hadn’t fallen open at the blunt
question. Instead, he went with, “Excuse me?”
“I
asked if you were—”
“I
heard what you said. But I don’t see how that is any business of yours, either. You should think
before you speak, Mr. Finley. I’m your teacher, and it’s time for you to leave.
This conversation is over.” He flipped open one of the books on his desk and
shook his head. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the kid—or the fact that he
was so damn forthright. As he sat there, grinding his teeth in an effort not to
look at his student—who was still standing in front of his desk—a bead of sweat ran down his
collar and he cursed the fact that his nerves were getting the better of him.
“I
only asked because, well, I am too. And I thought it would be nice to have
someone to talk to.”
Well, hell. He couldn’t fault him for
that. The only problem was…talking wasn’t what sprang to mind when he was
around Daniel Finley.
He
clasped his hands on the desk and stared into the anxious face peering down at
him. Daniel was worrying his lower lip with his teeth, and he suddenly looked
very much the young man he was.
“Are
you?” he asked again, and there was no way he could deny that hesitant
curiosity.
“Yes,
Daniel. I am.”
As
his words drifted between them, Daniel’s mouth slipped into a smile. “Oh.”
Brantley
laughed at that. He wasn’t sure what Daniel was thinking right then. He’d
thought for sure with the way he’d been looking at him earlier that, if he’d admitted this, he would be fending off—or at least putting up a good
show of fending off—an unwanted pass. But, instead, Daniel appeared thoughtful.
“Does
that bother you?”
Daniel
adamantly shook his head. “No.”
“Are
you sure?” he pressed, and the look that entered Daniel’s eyes then was so hot
that he thought he may overheat.
“Yes.
I'm very sure.”
Oh,
fuck. Okay. Where the hell did the
nervous guy disappear to? One minute, Daniel was endearingly awkward, and the
next, he was looking at him like he
wanted to strip him out of his clothes and—“Stop right there,” he said, and he
wasn’t sure if he was telling himself that or the contradiction eyeing him with
newfound knowledge. “Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it.”
“Why?”
Yep,
he was fucked. That wasn’t a word he generally used, but in this case, he was well
and truly fucked. He should’ve just stuck to the run-along-now speech.
“Because
I'm your teacher.”
“This
isn’t high school. I’m an adult.”
He
sighed. “That may be true. But I’m your professor and this conversation is
inappropriate.”
“How?
I just asked if you were gay and you said yes. I don't see what the problem
is.”
When
Daniel aimed a mischievous grin at him, Brantley knew he was very aware of what the
problem was.
“Out,”
he said, pointing to the door. “Time to leave, Mr. Finley.”
This
time, he made sure to watch Daniel
so he knew he was actually leaving. He walked to the door, but at the last minute, he turned
around to look back at him. Not willing to back down and show weakness,
Brantley kept his eyes on his student as Daniel ran his tongue along his lower
lip.
“You
should call me Finn. Everyone else does.”
Christ.
The kid was going to drive him to an early grave, but damn if he didn’t
laugh at his audacity.
“Out,”
he said again, and this time Daniel pushed out the door and disappeared into
the hall.
Copyright ©
2016 Ella Frank
Trailer:
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“I love my teacher.”
Ella Frank always delivers with her M/M and Finley was no
different. This was second chance love at its best with a dose of
professor/student and a little love/hate thrown in for good measure, a great
recipe for an unputdownable read. Plus…Logan and Tate make a teeny tiny cameo
appearance!!
Finley was a very successful Chicago lawyer and was up for
making partner, a current dream come true…a dream far removed from that of
seven years ago. Finley had left his heart when he headed to Chicago to
complete his studies and where he now ultimately found himself, living and
working…but he wasn’t really living…he was merely surviving. Finley harboured a
lot of ill feeling towards the one that got away, to the one that he would have
dropped everything just to be with, the one that was still etched on his heart and
soul and the same one that consumed all his thoughts despite the length of time
passed. He wanted to forget, to move on, but he couldn’t, at the end of the day
you never forget your first love and it seems Finley’s love for Brantley was
infinite.
“…not one of them would have ever
believed how scared he was that the one person he’d loved all along had never
really loved him to begin with…”
The hardest thing that Brantley has ever done was pushed
Finley away…but it was something he needed to do, he wanted Finley to have the
best chances to achieve what he had been so tirelessly studying for and he didn’t
want to be that bitter pill of resentment. Brantley only thought Finley would
be away for a couple of years while completing his studies, the last thing he
expected was for Finley to stay there. His plan had backfired in the most soul
destroying and heart breaking way.
“Even when you pushed me out that
door and out of your life, I stood outside, waiting for you to open it again. I
was so sure that you would…”
Brantley had been Finley’s professor and Ella Frank
perfectly captured that indecision in a great tug of morals and emotions.
Brantley wanted to do the right thing, but his heart and soul wanted to tell
his brain to take a running jump. Finley was a confident, extremely intelligent
and exceedingly handsome guy and he knew it. He played on it, but he had only
ever had eyes for Brantley and by hook or by crook he was going to get him and
so began a beautiful love affair till it wasn’t. I loved the way that Ella
Frank wove their beginning into this book as perfectly timed flashbacks, so not
only did you live the now but you were honoured to have a front row seat to
their beginning.
Now seven years later their paths reconnect after Finley
receives a note with six little words, six little words that shook him to the
core but six little words that set his heart beating once again.
“It’s time to come home, Finn.”
The Finn that comes home is very far removed from the Finn
that went away. Finn is consumed by anger, he is bitter and being drowned in
resentment. But Finn was no longer the boy that went away, he is now a man, a
man who has channelled that cockiness and arrogance to dominance and
confidence. Brantley had destroyed him and now it was time for him to put him
to rest, however, when intense feelings are resurfaced can Finn deny the
connection that these two have, will the happy memories replace the bad or will
Finn harbour that resentment forever?
“Touch him, fuck him, and then
forget him.”
This book had intense chemistry, loveable characters and for
Ella Frank was fairly light on the angst. I shed a few tears but mostly I
swooned and loved hard. Finn and Brantley’s connection is undeniable and
totally believable. Their chemistry is palpable and sets the pages on fire. Not
only is their connection between the sheets but their emotional connection was
perfection. Ella Frank totally immersed me in all things #Fintley and I didn’t
want their story to end, I always want more.
“I want you. And I’m selfish enough
to keep you for as long as you let me.”
Ella Frank not only delivers with her signature hot, intense
sex scenes but with Finley and Brantley you experience everything, the chase,
the emotions, the doubts of right and wrong, first love, the ups and downs,
reconnection and forgiveness. This book is the complete picture in all things
#Fintley and it was delivered with intense, emotive writing that will have you
championing these guys along. With some fantastic side characters that
definitely need their own story cough *Jordan* cough I am hoping that we can
reconnect with #Fintley once again…and soon. Some characters embed themselves
into your heart and Finn and Brantley are definitely there to stay.
About the Author:
Ella Frank is the author of the #1 Bestselling Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite erotic serial, A Desperate Man. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
A life-long fan of the romance genre, Ella writes contemporary and erotic fiction and lives with her husband in Portland, OR. You can reach her on the web at www.ellafrank.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ella.frank.author
Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.
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