Finley

Sunset Cove, Book 1

By: Ella Frank

Narrated by: Charlie David

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

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 30th 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.

©2016 Ella Frank (P)2016 Ella Frank

Loved the story and Crisden terrific as always!

I'm a little worried about how this becomes the Finn that I remember from the Temptation Series, though.

Great story. Excellent narration.

Melodrama, stubborn men, steamy scenes. What more could you ask for? Oh. Yeah. Pretty boys on the beach...

I loved this CRAZY! Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read

I had this on my wish list for a while and let me tell you! This was just as hot and sexy as any other story from Ella Frank. This second chance M/M romance was just what I needed and what we all love from Ella Frank! Enjoy!

Loved it!

If you could sum up Finley in three words, what would they be?

Hot Steamy Hot

What was one of the most memorable moments of Finley?

The strong connection between Finley and Brantley was obvious. Wasn't sure how the story would play out. Most memorable was when Finley quick his job and found Brantley waiting for him at his apartment.

Which character – as performed by Charlie David – was your favorite?

He did an awesome job with all the characters. He brought them all to life.

If you could take any character from Finley out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would say Derek, he seemed the most fun.

Any additional comments?

Loved that Logan and Tate showed up from themTrmptation series. My only complaint was I was sometimes confused by the flashbacks.

Charlie David's Sexy Voice brings FINLEY Alive!

What did you love best about Finley?

I loved that the characters in this story were so beautifully developed,
and paired with the Sexy, Smooth Voice (LIKE BUTTA!) of Charlie David
really helped bring the story to life!
I also loved that this had a student/teacher aspect to it,
that is one of my favorite relationships to read about.

What other book might you compare Finley to and why?

I'm not in the habit of comparing books, they are all different and unique stories.
Ella Frank is hands down my favorite M/M author, so her stories are all ones that I know I will thoroughly enjoy. The writing just flows so well.

What does Charlie David bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I read this book before listening to it on Audible. I loved reading it, but Charlie David's performance of the characters really gave me a much deeper connection to each of them. He was perfect at bringing out each of these distinct personalities that made these characters so lovable. It didn't matter if it was an emotional scene, or a lighthearted one, Charlie David was able to perfectly portray the characters during the entire story!
For me, he was the perfect narrator for Finley!

Who was the most memorable character of Finley and why?

This is a very hard question. There really wasn't a character that wasn't memorable. The connection between Fin and Brantley, and the way the narrator brought out their intense chemistry made me love them both!

Any additional comments?

For any M/M Audiobook lovers out there, I highly recommend Finley.
Ella Frank writes so brilliantly, it's effortless to read or listen!
Daniel Finley was first seen in her Temptation Series briefly,
and I was wondering if he'd get his own story.
I was so happy to see Charlie David was going to be the narrator, I've listened to him before, and he is so good at what he does! One of my favorites =D
I've heard that he is going to also narrate book #2 in the Sunset Cover Series, Devil's Kiss!
I can't wait to listen to him bring Jordan and Derek to life!!! That will be FUN!

Great Story

Where does Finley rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Loved the actual story and enjoyed the characters immensely. Charlie David does a great job narrating the story but some of the character's voice are not very clear making it hard to follow sometime who is talking.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Findley was a jerk in the Temptations Series Book 3, Trust but he turned out to be the ultimate sweetheart in this story. You really end up caring about him and what happens in the story.

Have you listened to any of Charlie David’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Book 2 of the Sunset Cove Series is done much better since Charlie David excels with the voices of Jordan and Derrick. For this book it was difficult to discern which was Findley and which was Brantley.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes if I had the time to do it but I had to listen during my commute to/from work. Of course the last six chapters were so awesome I had to make time to finish since I couldn't wait for the next days commute.

Any additional comments?

The story is great and love the characters introduced throughout. Looking forward to completing Book 2 as well and hope there will be a Book 3.

Age Gap

I wish the summary had mentioned that the plot involved a large age gap and a professor student relationship. Both of these things are a turn off for me. But if that floats your boat then hey, you're gonna love it.

To much back and forth

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I had trouble figuring out whether I was listening to present day or flashbacks. Could have been a great story, but I kept losing interest.

I felt my guts wrenching to butterflies.

This was just fantastic work. Getting into this I totally did not at all expect the route this ended up taking.

The writing was at first is confusing as there was no audio signal to tell me when there was a flash back scene so I really had to make frequent use of context clues. Once I got the hang of this format though, ugh, I just fell in love even more with this writing.

The frequent flashbacks and overlaying into the present was so creative. It absolutely sold the history these two had together and understanding where they were coming from. It also was just incredibly romantic and sexy to compare and contrast the differences between past and current. It felt totally like walking in memory lane and reminding us and these characters why they initially fell in love.

I absolutely got such a overwhelming amount of butterflies in my chest over the characters and the plot going on. I could totally feel all the crazy amount of emotions going on and worries they had with falling back in love again. It felt very believable, relatable and well written with what was going on in these guys heads, honestly if you've ever been in love and had a rocky start, you'd totally be able to relate to this, I did, I totally been there and the delivery here was just incredible at telling this kind of story.

The spicy moments were incredibly rewarding too, although, I did get incredibly frustrated when they 'faded to black' for certain scenes. It doesn't do that all the time and I think that was done for pacing reasons so the book isn't an erotica. The scenes that do get fully detailed out though were just fire and they were still frequent enough. I was definetly feeling the passions and fun dynamic these two had. Bossy younger romantic interest was just very well written.

One thing that I also really really loved was the dialog going on. The way these two were talking felt incredibly grown up. Like how real mature adults should talk and communicate. It's playful at times and knows when to reel in the emotions and think logically. Sometimes. And I say sometimes because being in love does cause some lapses in judgment but those lapses felt still based in reality.

This book seriously makes me want to go back and buy ever single book by this author now.

Good but not Great

Its a good concept and a pretty good story, however the narration is not doing it justice. There is not enough distinction between the two characters in the narrators voice to tell the difference between the two men. That makes it very difficult to follow. There are moments when you aren't quite sure who is talking. Also the narrators accent comes out and is very distracting. The book is set in Florida, with at least one character born and raised in the area, however the narrator is obviously from Canada or close to it. It makes it very difficult to get into the story when the narrator says things in ways that someone from the south wouldn't say it.
As far as the story it self goes, I didn't mind the flashbacks, however I agree with some of the other reviews. There could have been a bit more of a lead in so the reader knows for sure that they are hearing the flashback and not current time. Otherwise I enjoyed the story. It is a May/December story, however that is not a major part of it. Overall, not bad, but will be wary of this narrator in the future.