[Emily’s Review]: Clean Finish (Goliath’s of Wrestling #2) by Lily Mayne

Clean Finish
by Lily Mayne
Pages: 461
Published by Amazon
Release Date: August 6, 2024
Genres: Adult, LGBTQ+, Monster Romance
Source: Author
Format Read: ARC, eBook
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Larkin
Look, here’s the thing.

I’m young, carefree, and my job as the assistant to Holt, manager and owner of the Goliaths of Wrestling, means I’m surrounded by half-naked beefcake wrestlers all day. Of course I’m going to be interested in… getting to know them all better. It would be, like, illegal for me to not lust after them all, right?

There’s just one hurdle I have to get over first before I can… get to know the wrestlers in the way I want. And that hurdle makes me really, really freaking nervous.

So I come up with an amazing idea. Holt’s bodyguard Seb, a werewolf, is the quiet, dependable, calm presence in the office. He’s safe. He’s not as intimidating as the wrestlers, and we’re kind of buddies, so I decide to ask him for help with my little… predicament.

Just for some practice. Before I move onto the big leagues. That’s all it is. Practice.

Seb
I’m the foolish old wolf who’s pined after Larkin since the moment he started working here. I’ve had to watch him flirt with all the wrestlers, listen to him talk about how much he wants them, act like I didn’t care, and it’s never gotten easier.

At least no one knows. And I can never tell him. He’s too young for me, too carefree and irresponsible, and he’s never shown even a hint of being interested in me that way. Mentally, I’ve accepted it. My heart, however, is a different matter.

And then he comes to me with a ridiculous proposition. Something I never thought I’d get to experience, something I should absolutely turn down, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough to deny myself. And I want to help Larkin in any way I can.

It’s just practice for him. I have to keep reminding myself of that, every time I get to touch him—every time he’s pressed against me, every time he falls asleep on my chest. He doesn’t want me. He just wants… lessons. Practice.

That’s all it is. Practice.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This entire series is wonderful and ridiculous and fun and low angst.
Which I can deeply appreciate, because most monster romance novels are some sort of dystopian-tragic backstory-etc etc etc

Lily Mayne is really a master at monsters.
She creates human and non human characters that are complex and interesting. She can humanize even the most monstrous monster, and make any human character endearing and lovable. Even the characters in her more dystopian-tragic backstory-etc etc etc novels.

Clean finish picks up towards the ends of where Impromptu Match ends. I wouldn’t say it is completely necessary to read the first book in the Goliath’s of Wrestling series- but it would definitely enhance your reading experience for Clean Finish.

Larkin, Holt’s assistant is known for his posturing at work- and he gets himself in way over his head. Seb is calm and steady, Larkin has been on his radar since the fae’s first day on the job. So when Larkin asks Seb for a favor, Seb can’t say no. Even though he definitely, definitely should.
Larkin is just in it for the fun experience, and Seb is slowly dying inside the entire time.

Larkin is one of the most chaotic and insecure and squishy, character’s I’ve read in a very long while. Larkin was definitely the comedic relief in this novel. His family was a sweet backstory/side character as a whole and it really added to his appeal. However he was immature, so immature. I loved him! Larkin was a great character and I enjoyed him on his own. But I really never could understand what Seb was interested in as Seb’s personality was such a direct contrast to Larkin’s.

Seb was a typical stoic, steady, mate-ready werewolf character. He was sexy and a man of few words. He took life very seriously but Larkin was able to break his walls down, it was fun to see Seb loosen up. He was actually a fun and sexy character once he let go a little bit.
And my goodness gracious, the amount of pining this man did was unheard of. He wanted Larkin so, so badly. It was sweet that he didn’t want Larkin purely for the ~sex~ stuff. He truly loved Larkin- it was very insta-love, werewolf mate stuff. We got a knot, I wish we would have gotten a bite too, but Seb would literally never do that with Lark being so young.

Their relationship still felt a little daddy-son to me. Which I am not a personal fan of, so I think that’s why this book didn’t resonate quite as much for me as it’s predecessor. I didn’t love the character’s any less though for sure.

Let me let you in on a big secret. This book, and these characters pine. Goddamn do they pine so hard for each other. They are so angsty that it is palpable.

There were also a lot of cameos from book one, however, it was nice that the focus was on Seb and Larkin. Lark and Seb had a very different vibe than Taylor and Holt- It would have been distracting from their budding romance, had their two friends been featured more often.

I think that the next installments in the series are going to be a blast to read and I really can’t wait for Dullahan Dan’s novel which is next in the series.

I think over all, this was a fun book to read. I liked the characters, I love the world Lily created for this series too. Somehow, Lily managed to make some seriously big feelings fun. This was a low angst, high heat, easy romance, with a lot of heart.