finnRating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novel

With a history of taking in strays, fantasy author Diego is unable to resist helping the naked man he spots on the rail of the Brooklyn Bridge. But even with his bleeding heart, Diego finds it difficult to believe the guy when he starts talking about dragons and poisoned air and water.  Finn, as the guy introduces himself, finally agrees to see a doctor, but flips out when the medical staff takes blood. Fleeing from the clinic, Diego goes in search of the strangely beautiful man to no avail. It’s when Finn appears on his fire escape that things get weird.

After supplying Finn with a bottled water bath, Diego walks away then back to find a black dog in his bathroom. He is even further shocked to watch the dog transform into Finn.  Diego listens as Finn explains that he is a pooka—a mythical fae. As Finn outlines his past and how he ended up in New York, Diego grudgingly accepts Finn’s explanation and begins plotting a way to get him back to nature. As it turns out, Finn is weakened by the city and needs forests and nature to recharge. In the midst of accepting the reality of who Finn is, Diego finds himself falling for the man, but isn’t certain if it’s because he wants to be with Finn or if it’s because he’s on the rebound from a recent and painful break up.

Borrowing his agent’s cabin, Diego gives Finn what he needs—open spaces, clean water, fresh air, and forests. But something hides in the forest, something dangerous, and it’s out for blood, specifically Diego’s blood.

Finn is the first book in Angel Martinez’s Endangered Fae series. It’s a new a different sort of urban fiction, which for the most part is refreshing. I like the creativity of this story. Faerie is common amongst us fantasy lovers, but pookas and wendigoes… well, they are less common and pretty great. The mixture of contemporary and new fantasy and old folklore is fun and exciting. I love reading something that surprises me and this definitely fit that mark.

This is the second story I’ve read from this author and I’ve got to say I really like her writing style. She has a way of drawing me into a world and keeping me locked in—a good story with a nice balance of tension and sweetness. I also liked the flow of this story—the slow start and distrust between Finn and Diego really works. I love how the fantasy world is incorporated into this story as if it’s something readers could accept as reality. It all feels very natural and easy.

This story is darker than I expected and a little scary. To be honest, I was a little freaked out. So I don’t want to give away too much, but the whole picking up body parts kind of freaked my stuff out. Finn is the dark side of urban fantasy and where it is refreshing to read something so different, it’s also terrifying. And that’s what’s so intriguing about this story.

One of the downfalls of this story is the history between the main characters. It’s strange how it all happens. I like that there is a link between them, but I feel like there wasn’t enough explanation to build a strong connection based on that bond. It almost felt like an afterthought. It’s sort of mentioned in passing in the first half of the story, then it’s suddenly a thing in the end. It was a bit rushed and awkward, but in the end, I do like the thought of an everlasting connection between Finn and Diego.

Overall, I liked this story. It was fun and freaky, but pretty entertaining. I look forward to what comes next for these guys. If you like new and different, and dark but fun, I think you might like this book.

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