So I am finally done with the Dreamland Billionaire’s series… but is it done with me? There is a good question. Now we all had to wait a bit for the 3rd book to come out. And I was excited to see that it was about 600 pages long. By now, you should know that I love a good slow burn. Would Cal usurp my favorite brother thus far. Would their father Seth get any better? Well… Let’s get to it. As always… Spoiler alert. I will be digging deep if you don’t want that… This isn’t the post for you.

This story follows the middle brother Callahan aka Cal Kane. I knew that Cal had issues with addiction when he appeared in Terms and Conditions (Declan’s book.) But in the second book, I think I was more focused on Declan’s jealousy of Cal. However, I wondered when we were going to learn what was in Cal’s letter. Brady Kane was pretty eccentric and this book proves it. Although to run an empire like Dreamland… one would have to be.

Cal, just like his brothers, has money but that doesn’t make the issues he has go away. Poor Cal can’t seem to get catch a break because it seems that no one, not even bothers to take him seriously. They each have to complete a task and yet it feels going into this that no one had high hopes for the Kane brothers screw up. We are shown earlier on what his grandfather had in store for him. Cal is tasked with spending the summer at his grandfather’s house in Lake Wisteria before selling it. Cal thinks this is going to be an open and shut case, however when Cal arrives in Lake Wisteria, he is shocked to discover that Alana, his ex, lives in his grandfather’s house with her young daughter, Cami. It would seem Grandpa Kane had a trick up his sleeve.

Cal has avoided Lake Wisteria and Alana for years. And yet with one letter from Brady Kane has thrust them back together. Rowan and Declan are counting on Cal to secure his inheritance and shares of the company so they can own more than their trash father, Seth. Cal’s chances of obtaining his inheritance are put in jeopardy when he discovers that Alana, who hates Cal for breaking her heart, co-owns the house and doesn’t plan on selling. Things get thick right away.

Now here is a thing about me… I am not really a fan of second chance romances. Mostly because I am not sure that returning to people who hurt you is beneficial. But this story put second chance romances in a good perspective for me. Final Offer is a new adult romance featuring the forced proximity, friends to lovers, and single parent tropes.

Cal’s addiction is the thorn that broke he and Alana up. He was a great hockey star and when an injury sidelined him, he has a hard time dealing with life after his dream comes to an end. That is something I know about first hand. Cal has a hard time separating who he is from what he does. In his time of need, instead of leaning on his family and learning to deal with conflict he turned to alcohol. Cal and Alana are childhood friends and lovers who break up after a relationship of one summer and Cal promises never to return to the Lake house. He kept his promise for six years.

Alana is raising her sister’s child who Cal believe’s is his child at first. Her sister, Antonella, is also an addict and had to leave Cami to her sister. Alana has a chip on her shoulder when it comes to addicts. She loves with her whole heart but both Cal and Antonella leave her with a broken heart. She has issues with forgiving herself for loving people who keep hurting her. She has no interest in selling her house… no matter how much money Cal tries to throw at the situation. It seems like it is in her best interest… she has dreams and wants…. but she is too scared. She wants to own a bakery and creating sweet delights but can’t afford it. Cami got accepted into a prestigious school that she really can’t afford on a teacher’s salary… But for some reason she is willing to fight with Cal about it. One some level, I get that her mother lived there with her and she wants to keep those memories. But there is no way I would balk at 2 million.

One thing I also hate about a small town romance is that everyone seems to have these opinions based on nothing. I get being angry that your friend is hurt but the town just being rude to him because he decided to end the relationship is a bit much. I was waiting to hear that he cheated on her or something but they were annoyed that he ended the relationship and left Alana. He was young and had some real issues to work through. I could see if he beat her but just constantly being rude to him is so odd and it made me hate them. Like all of them. He is there because he owns the house not because he is trying to get back with her initially.

Cal and Cami hit it off right away and it is hard not to love him and them. But I understand not wanting Cami to get involved with someone who is struggling like Cal… and may abandon them just like her sister did. I was really pulling for him but every time he had a sip of vodka I died a little.

What I did enjoy was the relationship between the brothers steadily improving in their emotional maturity. Seeing is though their father is trash… that is no small feat. Rowan has grown the most… and that is why he is my favorite. Rowan is the first to notice that Cal is not as airheaded as he pretends to be. Rowan refuses to take Cal’s idea’s about the streaming services to the team… and pushes for Cal to do it himself. Rowan also bridges the gap between his two older brothers. Declan is still not the best at expressing himself. It is Rowan that explains that Declan’s meddling as an older brother is just being worried about his younger siblings. It was cute. I enjoyed how they each overcame and outgrew their father… who I still have no words for. There is really this idea that because someone is your parent that they can treat you any kind of way. I really had a hard time believing that Seth was ever a person worthy of being married to.

The book kind of dragged along… mostly because there was a lot of backstory that had to be covered. But I was excited for Alana and Cami to head to Dreamland. Cal was finally feeling at ease and ready to be truthful about his addiction. I was less happy at the way the break up occurred. Overhearing the men talking outside about how they were getting their inheritance makes you stop talking to someone and storm out. I get that dealing with someone who hurt you puts on the defense. Even more so when you have children. But it just seems like Alana was looking for the first excuse and took it. I don’t think there was enough there to be upset and if she had questions, she could have just asked. And then it gives everyone in town another reason to hate Cal… except he didn’t do anything. Alana’s friends (like friends would do.) support her but she never actually tells them what she heard…. because she didn’t really hear anything. I really wanted to be on her side here… but there was nothing there.

Cal does his best to win her back and keep his promise to Cami. As with everything the Kane brothers do… he was over the top. He figures out a loophole in the guidelines for the inheritance. He throws an insane amount of money at the issue. It was cute but ridiculous. I enjoyed that Iris took it upon herself to come and talk to Lana… and talk her off the ledge. It was cute. I wish there was more Zahra but I get why there wasn’t. The grandfather gets the last laugh on the father Seth. It is a sweet comeuppance that I didn’t realize I needed. I really wanted everyone to come more well rounded. But some people do not get any better. And even in fiction somehow that I was hard for me to take.

I loved the epilogue and the fact that it included everyone. How everyone has progressed. That everyone wasn’t just magically better or different… that it takes work and that is how life really is. Children galore… and while some people hate that… I loved every moment of it. Even the adoption papers at the end. I swore that Seth would show back up or Alana’s sister but she never did. That would have been dramatic. In the end… I loved the book… I give it a 4 out of 5. I was annoyed about the misunderstanding but it was still pretty good. It was longer than it needed to be but still good. But my favorite brother is still Rowan. Even this book was not able to unseat Rowan. Oh well. Onto her other series. LOL.