Book Review: The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
***May contain spoilers***
***Scroll to the end for my rating***
This is an old review that has been in my drafts for two years, reflecting my thoughts when I completed the book in 2023.
The overarching concept of the series follows the three Kane brothers — Rowan, Declan, and Calahan — as they attempt to fulfill the last will and testament of their grandfather to receive their inheritance. However, each grandson was left with individual circumstances to receive their third of the shares. Not quite as easy as one, two, three.
I was hooked by the dedication.
“To the girls who dream of meeting a prince but end up falling for the misunderstood villain.” - Lauren Asher
In The Fine Print, you follow Rowan and Zahra. Rowan, in my eyes, is hardly a villain, just a man with a gruff exterior, daddy issues, and a fear of letting his walls down. Zahra, on the other hand, is a fun, bubbly, and energetic woman with a surprising amount of courage to speak her mind.
Instead of being fired after submitting a drunken proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, Zahra intrigues the creators at Dreamland (a fictional equivalent to Disney), especially Rowan, securing her dream position as a creator. The only catch is that she has to work for Rowan, seemingly one of the most challenging bosses ever.
Captivated by her candor and openness to speak her mind, Rowan quickly becomes obsessed with his newest prodigy, sure that she can bring him closer to achieving his objectives at Dreamland, thereby getting him one step closer to receiving his portion of the inheritance.
Little does he know that his grandfather, whose will he is trying to uphold to gain his share of his inheritance, already claimed her as his. Wanting to see her succeed, Rowan provides Zahra with pointers for her project and offers secret artistic help in an effort to improve her drawings, using every opportunity to talk to her.
Not wanting to divulge his secrets, Rowan remains mysterious, dark, and asshole-ish, except around Annie, Zahra’s autistic sister, where he lets his entire facade disappear.
When Zahra attempts a trial run for one of her project ideas, and Rowan steals all the copies of her phone number out of jealousy, he is quick to turn up to the event when he realizes her excitement for people being interested in her program, the nature of it, and seeing the devotion she has.
Discovering her connection to those with disabilities and her desire for them to have a larger role at Dreamland warms his heart. Solidifying his belief that Zahra is too good for him, yet he can’t help but want her.
With steamy makeout sessions interspersed and even steamier scenes toward the end, it is no surprise that Zahra feels hurt and tormented later.
When Rowan’s secrets come to light and the realization that Zahra was a lot closer to them than he thought, it seems like all is lost, or is it?
The Fine Print was great, I can see what all the hype is about on social media, and agree it is worth the read.
I especially enjoyed that this book wasn’t centered around the spice and had a plot that would have held up without it. Although predictable in most areas, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the characters grow and develop. Similarly, I loved Asher’s inclusion of Annie and the discussion of Autism as it can often be overlooked in fiction, especially romance. By making Annie a key tertiary character and not sidestepping her differences, while also highlighting the importance of inclusion, it really made me love this story more.
Overall, I was entertained and thoroughly enjoyed The Fine Print. I finished reading it in two days and couldn’t wait to begin the next in the series.
I am rating The Fine Print, 4 out of 5 stars***
As always, thanks for reading! 💜
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
***This review was in my drafts from 2 years ago, so this rating is reflective of when I was rating on a 5-star scale
