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A review by treadsbooks
The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
2.0
Tropes featured: grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance, billionaire MMC, possessive MMC, age-gap, boss/employee, insta-lust
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Where do I even start with this book??? I had such high hopes, and don’t get me wrong – there is a lot of potential here, but it feels overwhelmingly subpar. The relationship between Zahra and Rowan was rushed, manipulative, and toxic at times. This book is a blatant spin off of Disney’s theme park, complete with all the cliches surrounding the brand. I often felt myself cringing at the word choice and phrasing present in the way that Zahra and Rowan talk to and think about each other. Like “You weren’t supposed to work your way under my skin like venom with no kind of antidote” – really?? Who would actually say this??? It felt like most of the book was just filler and it could probably be cut to ⅓ and still not lose any key moments.
Now that I have highlighted some of the more obvious things I did not like about this book – there are a few things I did enjoy. I loved the relationship between Rowan and Ani. I know he only went to the first mentor meeting to be closer to Zahra, but his connection and the fact that he actually cared about her was evident and honestly so cute. (Sidenote- I thought it was SO messed up to remove all of the information for Zahra’s mentor group without even acknowledging the premise - it was a good cause and so douchey of him to take that opportunity away from others). I liked the idea of Brady making them work for their shares - and although Rowan's presentation was extremely predictable, I was still happy with how it turned out. There were a couple cute moments in their relationship- Rowan watching 17 versions of Pride & Prejudice because it’s Zahra’s favorite and organizing the book signing in NY- but that’s only because I lowered my standards after the first few chapters.
Overall, this book is average. I liked the idea enough that I will probably read the rest of the series eventually, but the unfulfilled potential has moved the rest of the trilogy to the bottom of my tbr.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Where do I even start with this book??? I had such high hopes, and don’t get me wrong – there is a lot of potential here, but it feels overwhelmingly subpar. The relationship between Zahra and Rowan was rushed, manipulative, and toxic at times. This book is a blatant spin off of Disney’s theme park, complete with all the cliches surrounding the brand. I often felt myself cringing at the word choice and phrasing present in the way that Zahra and Rowan talk to and think about each other. Like “You weren’t supposed to work your way under my skin like venom with no kind of antidote” – really?? Who would actually say this??? It felt like most of the book was just filler and it could probably be cut to ⅓ and still not lose any key moments.
Spoiler
On top of the lackluster writing, there were soooo many contradictions throughout the book - like Rowan basically declaring he loves her, but then saying he wants to keep it casual. Organizing a book signing by her favorite author and taking her on a spontaneous vacation to New York, just to then tell her he was just using her to pass the time and getting close to her was a mistake while she’s in the hospital? Please. To me, Rowan messed up way too many times, gave half-hearted apologies, and Zahra forgave him way too quickly for the severity of his indiscretions.Now that I have highlighted some of the more obvious things I did not like about this book – there are a few things I did enjoy. I loved the relationship between Rowan and Ani. I know he only went to the first mentor meeting to be closer to Zahra, but his connection and the fact that he actually cared about her was evident and honestly so cute. (Sidenote- I thought it was SO messed up to remove all of the information for Zahra’s mentor group without even acknowledging the premise - it was a good cause and so douchey of him to take that opportunity away from others). I liked the idea of Brady making them work for their shares - and although Rowan's presentation was extremely predictable, I was still happy with how it turned out. There were a couple cute moments in their relationship- Rowan watching 17 versions of Pride & Prejudice because it’s Zahra’s favorite and organizing the book signing in NY- but that’s only because I lowered my standards after the first few chapters.
Overall, this book is average. I liked the idea enough that I will probably read the rest of the series eventually, but the unfulfilled potential has moved the rest of the trilogy to the bottom of my tbr.