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readerorwateva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Bullying
milareads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
T/W: Age gap, alcoholism, mention of abuse / DV
Third Read (01/03/23)
okayyyy third time reading this book! After careful deliberation, I can confidently state that it is a 3.75 star book. When it’s good, it’s great and when it’s bad it’s cringy. I love that each time I read this book I fall in love with the characters (pretty much everyone but Declan lmao) and see how much the care for one another. Are there aspects that could be improved? Definitely. But for a billionaire romance this one definitely follows a unique trope and always acknowledges Declan’s problematic behavior.
Second read: 10/25/2022 (2.5 ⭐️/5)
Ok so this book was not that good :/. After I was done riding the booktok high I honestly say this book was meh at best. A lot of the scenes were designed to gain traction on social media and now that I see that it so CORNY. Declan is not endearing … AT ALL. Yes he does nice things at times but for the most part he’s a selfish controlling ass who cannot communicate his feelings. Also the way he attacks Irises ONE insecurity??? I have a very hard time supporting characters that hit below the belt. If I’m being completely honest the whole argument was so overblown and felt … inauthentic?
Overall the pacing in the book was a bit fast and could use some improvement. That being said this is definitely one of the better books in the franchise.
Initial read: 02/25/2022
THIS BOOK?!?? INCREDIBLE. AMAZING. WONDERFUL.
First of all let’s give it up for our black MC!!! Iris is funny, witty, confident, and takes no shit. She’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment. And Declan??? Ugh my grumpy king! Strong, Determined, a bit of an ass, and a fierce protector of those he loves.
Iris and Declan could not be any more different and that’s what makes them work so well. Iris is 24. Declan is 36. Iris is personable and friendly, Declan is brooding and anti-social. I have read a ton of books that have the grumpy sunshine trope but this is by far one of the best ones. I’m telling you as soon as I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down, it’s REALLY THAT good.
Terms and conditions is endearing, sweet, funny, frustrating at times, and has more butterfly inducing moments that one can possibly deem safe in one book, but most importantly it’s genuinely a love story. If you read Wattpad stories growing up I promise this books is everything you could want and more. I don’t believe in calling many books perfect but this one’s a close contender.
Tropes
Office romance - ✅
Grumpy/Sunshine- ✅
GUY FALLS FIRST- ✅✅✅✅
Enemies to lovers- ✅
HEALTY AND MATURE COMMUNICATION- ✅✅✅ (depends where you’re in the story tbh)
SLOW BURN- 100% ✅
There’s nothing else I can say except this book is genuinely so good. Take the dive and emerge yourself in Declan and Iris‘s story. I promise you won’t regret it. If you like Colleen Hoover then you’re gonna love Lauren Asher.
Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Grief
zc2's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
ka_ke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
hapalyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Physical abuse and Bullying
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content
culzean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
sami_leigh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer, Medical content, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Grief
things100's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Cursing, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Ableism, Death of parent, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
jadatrack's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Grief
Minor: Medical content
merlesstorys's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really liked Iris as a person, Declan not so much. He’s still an a-hole in my point of view. However, their story was as filled with tropes and clichés as other fake-marriage stories.
I also liked their word game, even when it left me curious to why some were chosen. The translations for them were amazing to have however. (But, just to clarify, Backpfeifengesicht means “a face badly in need of a slap” not fist. Word breakdown: Backpfeife = slap, Gesicht = Face.) That really made me laugh (both the word itself and the fact that it was not translated correctly.)
The plot weakened through that a bit. There were mostly motives that came through again and again (him wanting to work all day, Dreamland Tokyo,…) but not one storyline that was used throughout the whole book that created tension and the wish to continue reading. (The characters were used for that quite nicely though.)
The side characters were a pleasure, especially Cal who really came into the spotlight. Rowan and Zara were nice additions, and Seth Kane was an a-hole similar to Declan, but what a surprise lol.
All of this was influenced by the nice and fluent writing style of Lauren Asher. Her way to write left me hanging on, even when I was tired of this story and it’s faults.
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Death