A review by gretchenplz
Final Offer by Lauren Asher

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Listen. I love Lauren Asher, and I am SO proud of her growth as an author since Throttled. But this book was just not it for me.

I went into the book blind because I loved the first two books in the series and obviously needed to read the third. Unfortunately, this book is full of things that I just do not like. 

  • Not a fan of the single-parent trope. Just never does it for me.
  • Even less of a fan of second-chance romances. They really have to be done right in order for me to really like them. This book, at over 600 pages, should have been full of flashbacks, showing us Cal and Lana's love story, their chemistry, why they are SO crazy about each other. Why they would be celibate for TWO YEARS for each other. And there were three, very short, flashbacks with very little substance.
  • I am not a fan of the villainization of alcohol. Obviously, alcoholism is bad. But alcohol in moderation is not, and crafting a narrative that you are a bad person because you have a few glasses of wine is... weird. I didn't like that from Lana's character at all. 

My other issues are as follows:
  • Lana says she's not giving any second chances, then gives Cal at least ten more chances. Then the "third act breakup" comes because of an overheard convo that she accepts as 100% fact and refuses to listen to the full story? Nah. 
  • Maybe I'm just misremembering, but Cal wasn't like... not an alcoholic in the first two books? I get that Lauren was trying to be like, "I'm good at hiding it," at the beginning of the book, but I'm not buying it. I love that Lauren always has such good representation in her books and chooses to highlight important issues, but I'm not sure this needed this one. I think Lana and Cami were enough.
  • The plot was transparent. As soon as Cal was told to sell the house and they realized they were co-listed, I was like, "so sell Lana the house for $1 and be done." Technically? Sold. Also, when Lana got her payout for her recipe, she could have bought the house herself. Cal had to sell the house, not them both. 
  • Not enough character development. The baking thing seemed unnecessary. So did the streaming service thing. I'd rather all that be removed, and we do more flashbacks to tell us who Cal and Lana ARE TOGETHER. 
  • With the rehab angle, I worry about the message that Cal's final stint in rehab conveys. 30 days doesn't solve anything. I wish that Cal had gone to rehab after breaking the vase. Then we got to see him suffer with sobriety in the real world for longer. If this is the issue you want to present, really present it. Have him struggle to be at the birthday party and around other people drinking. Issues with being at dinner with alcohol around. The causal alcohol culture of the U.S. It would have been more substance and less... Dreamland?
  • The sister popped in for like 2 seconds and then *poof*??? Huh??? GIVE ME A FLASHBACK INSTEAD.

What I liked?
  • The pacing was really good! It moved at a good pace, even at 600+ pages long. There really wasn't anything that slowed the story down.
  • I loved getting the whole gang together, especially my grumpy Declan. 
  • The spice was really great. Lauren really has been perfecting her craft. Cal is definitely the sexiest in terms of spicy scenes out of the three. But I'll have to go back and re-read Terms and Conditions to be sure ;P

I'm bummed to write a mostly negative review. I really am. But It just didn't do it for me. 
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