Final Offer by Lauren Asher is an adult, contemporary fiction romance novel. The book is the third in the Dreamland Billionaires series by Asher, each following a Kane brother. Like the other two, Final Offer is in dual POV and follows the middle Kane brother, Cal, and his love interest, Alana. Alana and Cal were childhood best friends, growing up together in the small town where the book is set. They fell in love as teenagers and young adults, until Cal one day broke Alana’s heart and left town, never seeing her again. Until he returns, years later, to sell the house in which Alana lives in. The house was where he and Alana met and Cal lived with his grandfather and family, until Cal moved away, his grandfather left Alana the house, passed away recently, and told Cal that he would only get his inheritance (a share of billions of dollars) if he sold the house. Cal didn’t expect Alana to be living there, though, and Alana refuses to give up the house, especially for her adopted daughter. Cal and Alana are forced to have a confrontation and work past their past and present issues, especially regarding Cal’s alcoholism, but their underlying feelings still are just as strong as ever and may change everything between them.
I personally really enjoyed the book, but it was on the heavier side. It became extremely emotional as it discussed many difficult topics, especially regarding Cal’s alcoholism and both his and Alana’s struggles, with very few moments in between where it was truly funny. I personally preferred the second Dreamland Billionaires’ book to this one, but I thought it was better than the first. Lauren Asher does a good job handling the serious issues for the most part, but I thought Cal’s alcoholism issue was handled weirdly at the end, very abrupt and unrealistic, almost too easily resolved. Additionally, I didn’t love Cal and Alana’s chemistry nor their dynamic as much as I loved the other two couple’s, because it seemed just very difficult and maybe unnecessary at times, while also being too easy (or easily forgiven) at others. I hated the small town setting: while I am fine with small town settings, the entire town seemed too involved in Cal and Alana’s lives. Most of the secondary characters introduced in this book weren’t interesting, and I disliked almost all of them. I wish we would have seen Cal’s brothers and their partners more, and in general just saw his family more. They are much more interesting, and Final Offer seemed much more detached and different than the first two books. It is on the lengthier side, sometimes much longer than needed. All these negatives being said, I loved Cal and Alana’s daughter’s dynamic: it was one of the best parts of the book, as all their scenes were practically the only happy and sweet ones that really make the book worth reading for. I love Cal’s character as he’s my favorite brother, but Alana just seemed only okay to me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves adult romance, but keep in mind that it has sadder and more serious undertones. I’ve read all of Lauren Asher’s other books released before this one, and while Final Offer is definitely not my favorite out of all of them, it is still very good and showcases Asher in some of her best work, in my opinion. I rate this book four stars!