Finding Finn

Forever Love, Book 2

By: Charlie Novak

Narrated by: Dan Calley

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

What happens when a quiet boy with a secret falls for his best friend? 

Finn has always kept people at arm’s length. Being quiet and shy doesn’t get you many friends outside your family, and it’s even harder when you’re running a spicy, secret side project.

But Gem might be the exception to the rule. The game designer is clever, self-deprecating, and appreciates Finn’s affection for all things nerdy. He's the one man who can find the real Finn...if Finn lets him in.

When Gem asks for Finn's help opening a new board game store, it brings the two of them closer than ever before. Soon things become complicated as lines of friendship blur between them, and Finn begins to worry Gem will find out his secret.

But maybe that wouldn’t be as bad as it seems. Maybe Gem already knows the secret Finn's keeping. All he has to do is convince Finn to share....

Finding Finn is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring late-night shop shenanigans, far too many nosy siblings with no boundaries, two best friends, and some steamy audio fantasies. It contains no love triangle, no cheating, and no angst.

©2022 Charlie Novak (P)2022 Charlie Novak

So sweet

I loved loved thid adorable friends to lovers romance.

This was a cute contemporary listen.

The narration was enjoyable and I had so much fun with this one.

Definitely recommend!!

It's Always The Quiet Ones

I’ve been wanting Finn’s story since we first met him in Lewis’ book “Proficiency Bonus” and was not disappointed! Gem is also a known character, having popped up in the “Roll For Love” series as well. It was great to see them get their HEA while getting to visit the characters from that series again. I loved the “Roll For Love” series and am super happy we got to visit that world again. This is the second book in the “Forever Love” series, which followed the “Roll For Love” series. It can definitely be listened to as a standalone, but you’ll enjoy it even more if you’ve read those books first so you have more background for not only Finn and Gem but the side characters as well (especially Finn’s crazy family!)

Dan Calley was a fabulous narrator. His voices were just enough different you could tell the characters apart. I liked that he didn't give Gem an over-the-top Scottish accent. I would have liked a little more of a variance for Finn's "sexy narrator" voice, but to be fair, I had an unrealistic vision in my head for this so I'm not going to dock him stars for that. It was still quite sexy :)

The story itself is a well written, low angst, friends-to-lovers trope. Charlie Novak has built a fun world, both with Gem’s bookstore and gaming friends and with Finn’s crazy family. You’ll laugh along with getting the feels as Finn and Gem’s relationship deepens and Gem’s new dream of owning a game store becomes a reality. Finn and Gem are squishy loveable characters, but holy heck, the steam! Beware, your ear buds will melt by the end of the book. As is mentioned a few times throughout the book, it’s always the quiet ones.

Dan killed it!

Finding Finn immediately jumped to one of my top favorite Charlie Novak books when I first read it... The dynamic between Gem and Finn is magical and so so so hot. And then i listened and it was almost hotter! Love the voices and accents Dan gave our guys, Finn's recording voice is 🔥🔥🔥. Though I will say it's weird listening to different voices on characters from the Roll For Love stores that was recorded by Joel Leslie... Edward for instance sounds totally different. Not bad! Just I've never come across the same character voiced by two different narrators before. It was still incredibly enjoyable!

Wonderfully Sweet

So cute! Great low angst read. Finn and Gem are so good for each other, it's almost silly they don't realize it quicker. I love this series and this book was so sweet. I loved seeing all the Roll for Love guys! My only major complaint is the narrator (full disclosure: I listen at 2x speed so that may alter my perception). I don't hate him, it's just that Roll for Love series was Joel Leslie so hearing the Roll for Love guys with new voices is irksome. Dan Calley isn't bad, but he isn't my favorite and I have a tendency to zone out listening to his voice ☹️, like it's too soothing to focus to lol.

Out of 5
Steam factor: 🔥🔥🔥
Romance factor ♥️♥️♥️♥️

*I received a free audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great listen

I adored reading Finding Finn but hearing it was even better. Dan Calley did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. The voices were easy to distinguish and just gave more depth to Charlie’s characters!

Love this series

Dan Calley does such a fantastic job narrating this series. Highly recommend giving this a listen.

Always the Quite Ones

Reading this book on my kindle, I knew I needed to listen to it. If I had to pick, this is one that I recommend listening to before reading the ebook or paperback. The way the narrator brings Finn and Gem to life is outstanding. Absolutely one of my favorite best friends to lovers books of the year.

Great Book!!

OMG I absolutely loved Gem and Finn! They are perfect together! I love how they were friends first and then turned into more! They are both the sweetest! This book is full of steamy times!

The narrator made this book even more enjoyable!!

Absolutely perfect!

I have come to adore the winning combination of Dan Calley and Charlie Novak. This series is on the top of my favorites list and Finding Finn was phenomenal. Dan gives an amazing performance- his ability to do multiple accents (including a fantastic Scot) is exceptional and has brought Finn and Gem to life. Loved it so much!

Amazing

It's always the quiet ones!! Dan Calley voiced such fantastic portrayal of Finn and Gem, he was quickly becoming one of my favourite voice actors.

We were introduced to Finn in Proficiency Bonus as Lewis's super quiet brother, and ohhhh did he surprise us all!! A voice narrater by day, saucy sexy voice pornstar by night.
Gem works alongside Jay (Natural Twenty) in The Lost World, (we have met him in a book before, I just can't think of which one it is, possibly PB but I might be wrong!) and he and Finn have swiftly become best friends, but best friends who are also keeping a big secret from each other. They are in love with one another.

When Gem is dumped by his awful ex-boyfriend, and turns up with a new beau in tow, Gem's ego takes a kicking, and goes to the one person who can brighten up his day instantly. Finn see's it as an opportunity, an opening to possibly see where this thing between them could go, and they both agree to a 'friends with benefits' arrangement, which soon heats up when Gem finds out that Finn isn't the quiet little mouse type everyone thinks he is. He is, in fact, a Dom, and Gem is his perfect lil' submissive.

I won't delve into more, as I genuinely loved reading the story play out, and Gem's reactions to Finn's secret project, not knowing that the man he's in love with is also the man behind the voice he's obsessed with... Scorching hot!
The story and characters had been hooked throughout, I didn't want to put it down and also didn't want it to end. Charlie has such an amazing writing style, she's one of my one-click authors and one that always guarantees make me feel good!

Changes Are Coming.

MM, Best friends to Lovers, Contemporary, Romance. The second book in the series but can be listened/read as a stand-alone with no loss of enjoyment or understanding. A sweet love story that I thoroughly enjoyed with great characters, lots of wit and humour and some heat. Guaranteed HEA.

Aww finn

The team that is Charlie and Dan have killed it again. I already loved Finn and Gem as this was a reread for me but Dan’s accents made me fall for them even more.

Finn is just the sweetest ball of fluff and Gem is clearly the ying to his yang. These two were made for each other but man did I want to bash their heads together at times. I can’t wait to read more about Finns crazy family.

Such a perfect match!

Sweet and surprising! There just something enrapturing with Charlie's writing that I am so invested in the characters from the first page.

This large, loud and boisterous family is fantastic and I love getting to know more about them and the next one to find love!

Finn is awesome and so sweet, caring and surprising! Finn's side project is so sexy and this book has so many sexy scenes, they're just so hot! I loved his dynamic personality and he fit so well with Gem. While this starts as a friend with benefits thing, of course feeling grow and I loved that they didn't dance around it. They didn't really approach it head on but it wasn't drawn out and painful like it can be.

These two felt like puzzle pieces fitting together and I loved it! I can't wait for more of these fantastic characters & family!!!

Sweet and steamy best friends to lovers!

Holy guacamole, but does, shy, reserved Finn has a lots of surprises up his sleeves! It’s always the quiet ones!!!
If you read Always Eli, you might remember Eli’s quiet brother, audiobook narrator Finn. He’s 28, hates to be the centre of attention in any kind of social gathering and is generally quite shy and not very assertive… until, that is, he gets near a bedroom, then all bets are off and he can quite transform into someone completely different!
Entering a friends-with-benefit arrangement with his best friend Gem, whom Finn’s been crushing on for months, and thinking that feelings would be left out of it is short-sighted from both men’s part, and of course, it does not work at all! Feelings DO get involved, big time!
The book is super steamy and lots of fun, with meddling family members and friends, that out of love, stick their noses into Gem and Finn’s business!

A pleasant friends to lovers story

Story: A sweet and low - angst friends to lovers story. I liked the MCs quite a lot, but must say that compared to Finn, Gem came off a bit bland. Some of the supporting characters had a lot more flavor to them.
The author made the transition from friends to lovers quite smooth for them and I must say I missed a bit more drama in the whole debacle. It's a pleasant entertaining read overall.
Narration: A good performance, but I'd like the MCs' voices to be a bit more differentiated. Got lost in a dialogue here and there to be honest.

4.5

I enjoyed Finding Finn just as much the second time around.
The performance of Gem in particular was a pleasant surprise. Usually when a character is Scottish, the typical Glasweigan accent is used, but the narrator went for something softer, with a telltale burr to certain words. It was perfect.
The friends to lovers story is a medium burn and so well done. Finn and Gem have such a solid friendship that even when there a problems, they are quickly sorted and you get the feeling that they aren't friendship ending