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A review by rebelbooks101
Final Offer by Lauren Asher
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Well I think I’m officially a second chance romance girlie. After being convinced I hated this trope for years, this and a few other books have proven me wrong.
This follows Cal who goes back to Lake Wisteria to sell his grandfather’s mansion only to find his ex girlfriend Alana living there.
Honestly this book surprised me right from the start as like I said prior, I didn’t think I liked second chance romances and if I did then they had to be dual timeline. While there were a few flashbacks in this book, it’s definitely not dual timeline. I also surprisingly think it worked well without it. While I would’ve loved to see more of what their relationship was like back in the day, it’s definitely a story focused on their relationship in the now.
I really liked the two characters, especially Cal. I thought his story about overcoming addiction was very well written and I liked how he developed throughout the story. While I did like Alana as well, I can’t say she necessarily developed as much. Maybe just cause her storyline wasn’t as big I didn’t really catch onto her growth or it just wasn’t there.
The romance between these two was messy and tension filled but that’s what I loved about it. You really had to see these two characters not only fight their growing attraction but also fight for one another on multiple occasions.
One of my few critiques about this book is the ending with Alana and Cal. One of the main things keeping these two apart is the fact that Alana doesn’t trust Cal after he broke her heart the first time and by the time we got to the end of the book I don’t think enough was done to show she trusted him again. More of it was Cal showing Alana that she could trust him more than evidence that she did.
I didn’t think I’d be a fan of a romance that is 500+ pages but I think had this book been like 300 or something, I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much. I feel like the length of the story really helped with the pacing. While it definitely dragged a little in the second half, I was really enjoying the book that the page length didn’t really bother me.
I liked seeing that Cal has ADHD because that’s not something I see often in books coming from someone who also has ADHD. While I do appreciate the representation, I do also think it was very baseline. Most of it was just the fact that he was fidgety, forgetful and on adderall. I don’t think this is bad representation by any means, but I do think more could’ve been done to write it into the story. For example, he has to clean out the attic in the book which would’ve been a good time to show him struggling to stay on task or getting bored and distracted while doing it. Instead he ends up completing the task fairly quickly with little to no issues.
I loved the ending of this book. The last page had my eyes watering a little which coming from someone who is not a book crier, that’s probably the most you’re going to get from me.
Overall I had a great time reading this book and I definitely recommend it! I need to get around to checking out the other books in this series!
This follows Cal who goes back to Lake Wisteria to sell his grandfather’s mansion only to find his ex girlfriend Alana living there.
Honestly this book surprised me right from the start as like I said prior, I didn’t think I liked second chance romances and if I did then they had to be dual timeline. While there were a few flashbacks in this book, it’s definitely not dual timeline. I also surprisingly think it worked well without it. While I would’ve loved to see more of what their relationship was like back in the day, it’s definitely a story focused on their relationship in the now.
I really liked the two characters, especially Cal. I thought his story about overcoming addiction was very well written and I liked how he developed throughout the story. While I did like Alana as well, I can’t say she necessarily developed as much. Maybe just cause her storyline wasn’t as big I didn’t really catch onto her growth or it just wasn’t there.
The romance between these two was messy and tension filled but that’s what I loved about it. You really had to see these two characters not only fight their growing attraction but also fight for one another on multiple occasions.
One of my few critiques about this book is the ending with Alana and Cal. One of the main things keeping these two apart is the fact that Alana doesn’t trust Cal after he broke her heart the first time and by the time we got to the end of the book I don’t think enough was done to show she trusted him again. More of it was Cal showing Alana that she could trust him more than evidence that she did.
I didn’t think I’d be a fan of a romance that is 500+ pages but I think had this book been like 300 or something, I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much. I feel like the length of the story really helped with the pacing. While it definitely dragged a little in the second half, I was really enjoying the book that the page length didn’t really bother me.
I liked seeing that Cal has ADHD because that’s not something I see often in books coming from someone who also has ADHD. While I do appreciate the representation, I do also think it was very baseline. Most of it was just the fact that he was fidgety, forgetful and on adderall. I don’t think this is bad representation by any means, but I do think more could’ve been done to write it into the story. For example, he has to clean out the attic in the book which would’ve been a good time to show him struggling to stay on task or getting bored and distracted while doing it. Instead he ends up completing the task fairly quickly with little to no issues.
I loved the ending of this book. The last page had my eyes watering a little which coming from someone who is not a book crier, that’s probably the most you’re going to get from me.
Overall I had a great time reading this book and I definitely recommend it! I need to get around to checking out the other books in this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism