I have this weird habit where I will put off something if it is the end of something I really love. I haven’t watched Avengers End Game, or the last episode of WandaVision yet. And in that same vein, I won’t read the final books in a series I love because I don’t want it to be over. That is how I ended up waiting almost a year before picking up Final Offer by Lauren Asher, the conclusion to her Dreamland Billionaires series. When I reached the end, I literally with no exaggeration, cried. Let’s discuss!
When I read the first book in the Dreamland Billionaires series, I thought wow, I love Rowan. Can’t believe this series has peaked in its first book. Then, I picked up Terms and Conditions and thought wow, I love Declan. He is truly the best of the brothers. Nothing will compare. I should have known better because starting Final Offer, within a few pages I was in LOVE with Callahan Kane. HE is the best boy. Ultimate favorite brother. Where the first two books in the series has the Kane brothers learning to trust others and letting themselves be ‘less serious,’ Final Offer gives us Cal, burdened with the challenge of learning to love himself, trust himself.
Cal has just had everyone in his life that is supposed to love him, look down on him. They treat him like a loser, and he lives down to their expectations. Riddled with anxiety, depression, self-loathing, and ADHD to boot, Cal copes the only way he can, the way his family expects him to – with alcohol. We sit with Cal as he struggles through his addiction and emotions. The way he wants to stay sober and can’t; the desperate way he doesn’t want to be like his father, and so despite struggling with alcoholism, decides to give so much of himself to everyone, including Lana.
Lana is Cal’s childhood best friend and true love. She’s also all grown up with a daughter to boot and major trust issues. Probably the only person that truly knows Cal and what his heart holds, his potential, Lana is so angry at him. Angry because he can’t see what she does. Because he gave up on himself when she didn’t. I know some readers had difficulties with Lana, but I loved her. She wasn’t cookie cutter because this wasn’t some problem that had an easy solution. It wasn’t something as simple as learning to express your joy and passion through art. It wasn’t something as simple as learning to let people in and feel again. This was hard. This was the struggle of loving someone who couldn’t love themself. Loving Cal was easy, but trusting him was the hard part. Yes, she would say biting things to him but he also made promises and she couldn’t see him keep them. She was a mother and had to look out for her daughter above all.
Despite feeling like every step forward led to two steps backward, the story progressed really well and was realistic to the struggles of both Cal and Lana. It isn’t easy to trust and love again when you’ve been burned in the past. It isn’t easy to give up your crutch and believe in yourself when you’ve been told you are worthless. So having the story make progress only to suffer setbacks immediately afterward made sense to me. Made it realistic.
There was one MINOR flaw that had me laughing a bit toward the end. It obviously wasn’t enough to lessen from the five star rating, but it is something I just kept thinking about. View Spoiler »
The Dreamland Billionaires series is one of my absolute favorites series and Final Offer by Lauren Asher is its crowning jewel. This is the best in the series and, even if you don’t read book 1 or 2, this is the best standalone romance I’ve read. PLEASE pick this up if you enjoy romance.
