diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index d95443c..a91e84e 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -8,9 +8,13 @@ import debug from "./lib/debug.js";
 import download from "./lib/download.js";
 import { checksumViaFile, checksumViaString } from "./lib/checksum.js";
 
-export default async (downloadUrl, options = {}) => {
+export default async (downloadUrl, options) => {
+  if (!options) {
+    throw new Error("Missing the options object. See README for details.");
+  }
   debug(`User-provided config: ${JSON.stringify(options)}`);
 
+  // figure out which method we're using to validate (via a checksum file or straight-up hash)
   let checksumMethod;
   let checksumKey;
   if (options.checksumUrl) {
@@ -22,9 +26,9 @@ export default async (downloadUrl, options = {}) => {
     checksumMethod = "string";
     checksumKey = options.checksumHash;
   } else {
-    throw new Error("must either provide checksumUrl or checksumHash.");
+    throw new Error("Must provide either checksumUrl or checksumHash.");
   }
-  debug(`Provided a ${checksumMethod} to validate against: ${checksumKey}`);
+  debug(`Provided a ${checksumMethod} to validate against: '${checksumKey}'`);
 
   // normalize options and set defaults
   options = {
@@ -61,22 +65,26 @@ export default async (downloadUrl, options = {}) => {
         download(checksumKey, path.join(tempDir, checksumFilename)),
       ]);
 
-      // validate the checksum
-      // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
-      if (await checksumViaFile(path.join(tempDir, options.filename), path.join(tempDir, checksumFilename), options.algorithm, options.encoding)) {
-        validated = true;
-      }
+      // finally do the calculations
+      validated = await checksumViaFile(
+        path.join(tempDir, options.filename),
+        path.join(tempDir, checksumFilename),
+        options.algorithm,
+        options.encoding,
+      );
     } else if (checksumMethod === "string") {
       debug("Using a provided hash to validate...");
 
       // get the desired file
       await download(downloadUrl, path.join(tempDir, options.filename));
 
-      // validate the checksum
-      // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
-      if (await checksumViaString(path.join(tempDir, options.filename), checksumKey, options.algorithm, options.encoding)) {
-        validated = true;
-      }
+      // finally do the calculations
+      validated = await checksumViaString(
+        path.join(tempDir, options.filename),
+        checksumKey,
+        options.algorithm,
+        options.encoding,
+      );
     }
 
     // stop here if the checksum wasn't validated by either method
diff --git a/lib/checksum.js b/lib/checksum.js
index 4c45754..e2900d0 100644
--- a/lib/checksum.js
+++ b/lib/checksum.js
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ const parseChecksumFile = async (checksumFile) => {
   const data = fs.readFileSync(checksumFile, { encoding: "utf8" });
 
   // https://regexr.com/67k7i
-  const lineRegex = /^([\da-fA-F]+) ([ *])(.+)$/;
+  const lineRegex = /^([\da-fA-F]+)[ \t]+[*]?(.+)$/;
 
   // extract each file and its hash into this object
   const checksums = {};
@@ -84,10 +84,8 @@ const parseChecksumFile = async (checksumFile) => {
     } else {
       parsedLine.shift();
 
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
-      const [hash, binary, file] = parsedLine;
-
       // save the current file & hash in the checksums object
+      const [hash, file] = parsedLine;
       checksums[file] = hash;
     }
   }