A Better Paige

The Dreamland Billionaires series by Lauren Asher is her second series and composed of three interconnected standalone novels that follow the Kane brothers. The brothers are the heirs to Dreamland (like your favorite place with mice and castles), and unbeknownst to them, their grandfather modified his will just before he passed away to make their ownership of Dreamland conditional. Each brother has a task that they have to complete in order to receive their shares of the company, leadership roles, and prevent their abusive father from having majority ownership. I know, the qualms of the rich and famous don’t seem too interesting, but these brothers will pull at your heartstrings and make you wish you had a billionaire in your life.

Overall, I loved this series! Billionaire boyfriend is one of my favorite tropes and I loved the female friendships that often took center stage. All three men are sweet and affectionate in their own way, and I thought Lauren did a great job at creating a universe that feels real and magical. I break down my thoughts by each book below.

Let me know – have you read this series? If so, which book and which boy was your favorite??

The Fine Print

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – review on GoodReads HERE

To the girls who dream of meeting a prince but end up falling for the misunderstood villain

Dedication in The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

This is Rowan’s story. He’s the baby brother and arguably the grumpiest. He is hands-on involved in the Dreamland parks. The task he received from his grandfather in order to receive his shares of the company is to become the director of the parks and lead a project outlined by his grandfather as follows:

…identify Dreamland’s weaknesses and develop a renovation plan worthy of my legacy.

An independent party will be contacted and asked to vote on your changes. If they are not approved, then your percentage of the company will be given to your father permanently. No second tries. No buying him out. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.

The Fine Print – Lauren Asher

It’s brought to our attention pretty quickly that the brothers have a difficult relationship with their father, but that they love their grandfather, and Dreamland, very much. Rowan takes his challenge head on – determined to be a respected leader and authority figure – only to be quickly humbled by a quirky employee during his first day. Zahra is vocal, critical, and yet somehow still sunshine personified. She drunkenly submits a proposal critiquing one of Dreamland’s rides and Rowan, already enraptured by her, hires her as a designer. Unsure of what to do with his emotions, and his professional desires too, he pretends to be a liason for Zahra with an artist. Lo and behold, he’s actually the artist. The two start texting, her not knowing that it’s him, and he helps bring her ideas to life with his art. Can they professionally succeed so that Rowan can get his shares of the company? Will they find a way to take the leap from boss/employee to lovers?

First and foremost – this man watched every single Pride & Prejudice adaptation for her because it’s her favorite movie and he wanted to be able to talk about it with her. Automatically fell in love with him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes, as Zahra said:

If the Devil looked half as good as Rowan, I’d eat the damn apple, too. Screw the consequences.

The Fine Print – Lauren Asher

I thought the first half of the book was slow – there’s a lot of “world building” and plot that has to happen in any first book of a series – but it picked up well and ended in the sweetest love story that made my heart just absolutely burst. The boss/employee relationship was done incredibly well and I loved the character development that both of the main characters had. We got to see the start of a lot of the fun side characters and relationships, and also how Zahra interacts with the other brothers!

The benefit of interconnected standalone series is that you can be one and done if you want to. If you’re looking for a grumpy/sunshine with two likable main characters and a quick read, this is a great option! I loved it and couldn’t wait to pick up book two.

Terms and Conditions

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – review on GoodReads HERE

If I ever get caught, it’s a good thing I have you to bail me out of jail.” “Who says I wouldn’t be in there with you?” My grin might make my cheeks hurt, but his small smile causes my whole chest to ache

Terms and Conditions – Lauren Asher

Terms and Conditions jumps over the middle child straight to Declan – the oldest brother, and the future CEO of Dreamland. All he has to do is get married and have a kid. Easy, right? You’d think so, until the bride that he contracted to fulfill his end of the deal that his grandfather set up for him backs out. Lucky for Declan, his assistant (who also is BFFs with Cal, the middle brother!), Iris, steps up and agrees to the terms and conditions (get it?) of the deal. The two get married and have a simple plan: get married, live together, have a baby, and don’t fall in love.

This is one of my favorite romance books of all time. It’s obviously a marriage of convenience, but it’s also a story of grief, family, and growth. Declan and Iris are both so multidimensional – I wish they were real so that I could be her friend and attend Declan’s Formula 1 watch parties. Declan has the authority part of being a CEO down, but he lacks the heart. His fear of vulnerability and messing up, his worry for his brothers, and his struggles with feeling good enough are all handled so beautifully in the story. He and Iris truly bring out the best in each other!

If I could only read one book from this series, it would be this one. Luckily, that’s not the case and we get to read them all, but there’s something about Declan and Iris that realllllly won me over!

Final Offer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – review on GoodReads HERE

You know what you feel like? You feel like home. Like I spent the last six years lost with no way of being able to return. As if I was stuck in an endless night with no light to help guide me back to you.

Final Offer – Lauren Asher

Callahan. Kane. Lauren has a playlist for each of her books, and Labyrinth by Taylor Swift was on this one… I can’t imagine any song more perfect for this book to be honest.

Cal’s story is the hardest to read. His mission from his grandfather is to return to Lake Wisteria, spend a summer there, then sell the family house. What he didn’t realize is that his grandfather left half of the house to Cal’s ex girlfriend and the daughter of the home keeper that worked for the Kane family, Alana. Also… surprise… Lana has a kid. The two haven’t spoken in years since Cal broke Lana’s heart and left the lake.

Cal struggles with addiction, in the present he’s an alcoholic and a recovered drug addict, but when Cal and Lana were dating the first time, he was also addicted to opioids. This alone is an incredibly hard subject matter that I thought Lauren handled well – but if mentions of struggling with addiction or drinking are difficult for you, I’d avoid this book.

I freaking LOVED getting to see all of the brothers and their partners interact with each other. The friendships that they have with one another are so sweet and tender, and honestly that’s often my favorite part of interconnected standalone series. This book was the most perfect conclusion to the Dreamland Billionaires series. I laughed, I cried, I was kicking my feet like a middle schooler and blushing – it was everything I could’ve wanted and more. The perfect fairy tale – just how Dreamland would like it.

Final Thoughts

Lauren Asher is a “must buy” author for me after this series! I’m so excited to read her Dirty Air series next. Don’t forget to let me know in the comments which book and which brother are your faves!

Favorite book – Terms and Conditions

Favorite brother – I wish I could have all three, but I’ll take Declan