5 STARS ✮ELLA FRANK ✮ FINLEY

Finley

Sunset Cove #1

by

Ella Frank

Ella Frank's Temptation series is hard to top. Logan and Tate will remain my favorite MM couple for the forseeable future (closely followed by Jamie and Wes from Sarina Bowen's and Elle Kennedy's HIM series). Nonetheless Finn and Brantley have captured my heart and I credit this to Ms. Frank's enormous talent for writing delightful, charming and likeable characters.

We met Daniel Finley the first time in the Temptation series as a secondary character. I didn't really have the hots for him then but if you read his story you'll understand why he was that way. 

It's time to come home, Finn.

These words sent to him in a letter will turn his world upside down. When his professor Brantley Hayes sent him away seven years ago, Finn's heart was broken. How could the man who claimed to love him just do this to them, even if he had his best interest at heart. Despite the hurt that is still present and as strong as when he left Daniel Finley feels an irresistable desire to go home and face the man who caused it. 

Their past and present collided spectacularly, and as they collapsed onto the rug in a tangle of arms and legs, he wondered if they would ever be able to disentangle themselves long enough to find a new place to begin.

Seven years ago Brantley Hayes set himself up for a world full of hurt when he sent the love of his life away because he saw so much more in Finn. His talented young student had so much potential so what right did he have to keep him tied up in Sunset Cove when he could study at the most prestigious universities? Ever since he hasn't been the same. After seven years he thinks it's time for Finn to come home and figure out where they stand. When he meets Finn again he realizes that the person standing in front of him is not the same favorite student he used to love. Daniel is a changed man and he won't go easy on Brantley.

After steaming and thinking about Finn's and Brantley's story I upgraded the rating from 4.5 to full 5 stars because, honestly, they are a class of their own. No they aren't Logan and Tate but they aren't required to be. Their story is heartwarming and pushes all my buttons. Their past is told in flashbacks and you get a direct comparision between the easygoing Finn and the career focused lawyer from Chicago who is not willing to give his favorite professor more than two weeks.

"I want you. And I'm selfish enough to keep you for as long as you let me."

The sexual tension Ella Frank is building from the start is sizzling. Despite Finn's resentment you can feel the incredibly deep connection these two have and the farther you reach into their story the deeper their bond becomes. I loved how Ms. Frank manages to unite the hardass lawyer and the easygoing beach boy of Finn's youth and turn him into an utterly adorable person. 

Brantley is mild  mannered and understanding from the start and he has the patience of a saint. There couldn't be a better match for Finn. These two are a match made in heaven. I loved the chemistry of the cheeky Finn and his respectable professor as much as I loved it when he returned to his hometown. 

No matter how much he guarded his heart, he would never be able to stop himself from loving this man again. And the reason for that was simple. He had never stopped in the first place."

Ella Frank delivers top notch writing and brings her characters to life. Not many books have the ability to make me cry these days but our two heros set the waterworks in motion. I loved Finn and Brantley hard.

Now I'm right back where I was before I left."
"And where's that?"
"Tangled up in you," he whispered against his ear, "It's always been you."