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A review by hiraeth_
The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Don't get me wrong on the 2.75 rating - it's giving everything what it has been advertised as, it just wasn't my cup of tea lol. We get an rich and bossy ✨emotionally unavailable man✨ and a quirky, loving sunshine woman that works for him. What more can I say?
I actually liked the grumpy x sunshine dynamic in the end even though it's obv very cliché. The characters grew on me even though Rowan is a possessive alphahole (to quote SJM) and Zhara felt a little too not-like-other-girls from time to time. I enjoyed their story even though it was very predictable and some of the struggles seemed unreasonable (the 2nd conflict was so unnecessary). You see? It was a nice, quick read which had me cringing more often than i hoped (some really strong wattpad vibes) but was also able to force a little silly smile out of me. If i had been able to fully immerse into the story the backstories might have made me more emotional, but half of the time i couldn't take Rowan and his daddy issues seriously (even though they are obv understandable, but it just felt very stereotypical).
I really like romance novels but i catch myself being hyper aware of red flags every time i pick a book like that up which leads to me not being able to fully enjoy it. I am a huge advocate for the whole "it's not the same! no, but it's not the same!" when it comes to enjoying (romance) books which display things that are questionable. But i need the story to be written very thoughtfully so i'm emotionally invested before cringe or my red-flags-alarm kick in. Often times I wished the author would've chosen to "show, don't tell".
So: A nice read for everyone who can shut their brain up when sth along the lines "i want to own you" or "you don't have a say in this" comes up. Or who can enjoy reading a billionaire romance without rolling their eyes at the amount of unchecked privilege and classism it displays/reproduces.
Otherwise this book got everything you want from christian-grey-like-flexing-with-wealth (v over the top dates which one can only dream of), a little bit of kind-of-forbidden romance over girl turns icy guy into a simp to tragic backstories.
I actually liked the grumpy x sunshine dynamic in the end even though it's obv very cliché. The characters grew on me even though Rowan is a possessive alphahole (to quote SJM) and Zhara felt a little too not-like-other-girls from time to time. I enjoyed their story even though it was very predictable and some of the struggles seemed unreasonable (the 2nd conflict was so unnecessary). You see? It was a nice, quick read which had me cringing more often than i hoped (some really strong wattpad vibes) but was also able to force a little silly smile out of me. If i had been able to fully immerse into the story the backstories might have made me more emotional, but half of the time i couldn't take Rowan and his daddy issues seriously (even though they are obv understandable, but it just felt very stereotypical).
I really like romance novels but i catch myself being hyper aware of red flags every time i pick a book like that up which leads to me not being able to fully enjoy it. I am a huge advocate for the whole "it's not the same! no, but it's not the same!" when it comes to enjoying (romance) books which display things that are questionable. But i need the story to be written very thoughtfully so i'm emotionally invested before cringe or my red-flags-alarm kick in. Often times I wished the author would've chosen to "show, don't tell".
So: A nice read for everyone who can shut their brain up when sth along the lines "i want to own you" or "you don't have a say in this" comes up. Or who can enjoy reading a billionaire romance without rolling their eyes at the amount of unchecked privilege and classism it displays/reproduces.
Otherwise this book got everything you want from christian-grey-like-flexing-with-wealth (v over the top dates which one can only dream of), a little bit of kind-of-forbidden romance over girl turns icy guy into a simp to tragic backstories.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism