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A review by cassidyserhienko
Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher
3.0
3-3.5/5
DECLAN. KANE.
Oh my god this was fun. After finishing The Fine Print I was so excited to read Terms and Conditions, and so naturally I did not read it for months because I am, in fact, the problem. Terms and Conditions follows Rowan’s (main guy from book one) older brother. Just like Rowan, Declan has a weird inheritance clause courtesy of his eccentric and meddling late grandfather. In order to claim his billions and take over as CEO, Declan has to get married and have a baby so that he can finally move past his crippling daddy issues and hopefully stop being so ruthlessly unpleasant to any and all who cross his path. Enter Iris: his plant-lovin’ assistant, the only person Declan can stand and his new fake wife. There’s no possible way those pesky feelings are going to be a problem
Spoiler alert: they are. A lot of readers seem to like Terms and Conditions over book one, but I’m not really sure how I feel. I found the first one funnier, but this still had a great sense of humour. The BANTER, oh my god. There’s so many running jokes and cute moments between this couple that really just keep the book going. I personally prefer romance novels that have another part to the story and the character arcs outside of the romance. That’s why I really love Tessa Bailey and Emily Henry, and why their books stand out so much in the romance genre. The romances are obviously the main plot, but the personal growth of the characters is just as vital to the story. I think The Fine Print did this better than Terms and Conditions. Declan’s inheritance was about his romantic status, and so his relationship with Iris was really the only plot. They had a whole business deal thing, but it was really just there to create conflict for their romantic progress. In The Fine Print, Rowan’s inheritance clause led him to connect with Zahra but they each had an external goal to better the park and find creative pursuits. There was just more to the story in book one, whereas the heaps of emotional baggage that Iris and Declan toted around for this entire novel weren’t really explored.
Something else that I thought was kind of odd was that multiple plotlines were introduced and then just never really finished. For example, a huge part of the book is Iris wanting an identity and life outside of being Declan’s assistant. It isn’t a very major spoiler to say that she begins pursuing this, but even though there’s an extended epilogue we never actually find out what she starts doing. There’s even a whole moment where she explores the horticulture department at Dreamland and tells Declan about what plants and gardening means to her, but then she DOESN’T start working in that department. I thought it was trés weird.
This book is definitely entertaining and it scratched a certain itch in my brain, so I think if you’re in the mood for a romance it’s a great option. Iris and Declan are an interesting and fun couple and I loved getting representation for Black women and dyslexic people in the workplace through Iris. I think her dyslexia in particular was handled really well, because she realized that she had unique needs in a professional context and even though she could (understably) be defensive about this she always sought creative solutions. I especially loved how Declan handled it as her boss. Because of his own experiences he recognized that Iris was dyslexic without her telling him (which may be unrealistic, but still), and instead of coming out and telling her that he knew which he knew would likely make her feel uncomfortable and question her own job performance, he researched things that he could do to make her life easier. Obviously this is so sweet as her love interest, but it’s also just great behaviour as her supervisor. These interactions, the snarky back and forth, and the deep fondness that these two have for each other makes this book feel unputdownable even if I would’ve liked a more developed external plot.
DECLAN. KANE.
Oh my god this was fun. After finishing The Fine Print I was so excited to read Terms and Conditions, and so naturally I did not read it for months because I am, in fact, the problem. Terms and Conditions follows Rowan’s (main guy from book one) older brother. Just like Rowan, Declan has a weird inheritance clause courtesy of his eccentric and meddling late grandfather. In order to claim his billions and take over as CEO, Declan has to get married and have a baby so that he can finally move past his crippling daddy issues and hopefully stop being so ruthlessly unpleasant to any and all who cross his path. Enter Iris: his plant-lovin’ assistant, the only person Declan can stand and his new fake wife. There’s no possible way those pesky feelings are going to be a problem
Spoiler alert: they are. A lot of readers seem to like Terms and Conditions over book one, but I’m not really sure how I feel. I found the first one funnier, but this still had a great sense of humour. The BANTER, oh my god. There’s so many running jokes and cute moments between this couple that really just keep the book going. I personally prefer romance novels that have another part to the story and the character arcs outside of the romance. That’s why I really love Tessa Bailey and Emily Henry, and why their books stand out so much in the romance genre. The romances are obviously the main plot, but the personal growth of the characters is just as vital to the story. I think The Fine Print did this better than Terms and Conditions. Declan’s inheritance was about his romantic status, and so his relationship with Iris was really the only plot. They had a whole business deal thing, but it was really just there to create conflict for their romantic progress. In The Fine Print, Rowan’s inheritance clause led him to connect with Zahra but they each had an external goal to better the park and find creative pursuits. There was just more to the story in book one, whereas the heaps of emotional baggage that Iris and Declan toted around for this entire novel weren’t really explored.
Something else that I thought was kind of odd was that multiple plotlines were introduced and then just never really finished. For example, a huge part of the book is Iris wanting an identity and life outside of being Declan’s assistant. It isn’t a very major spoiler to say that she begins pursuing this, but even though there’s an extended epilogue we never actually find out what she starts doing. There’s even a whole moment where she explores the horticulture department at Dreamland and tells Declan about what plants and gardening means to her, but then she DOESN’T start working in that department. I thought it was trés weird.
This book is definitely entertaining and it scratched a certain itch in my brain, so I think if you’re in the mood for a romance it’s a great option. Iris and Declan are an interesting and fun couple and I loved getting representation for Black women and dyslexic people in the workplace through Iris. I think her dyslexia in particular was handled really well, because she realized that she had unique needs in a professional context and even though she could (understably) be defensive about this she always sought creative solutions. I especially loved how Declan handled it as her boss. Because of his own experiences he recognized that Iris was dyslexic without her telling him (which may be unrealistic, but still), and instead of coming out and telling her that he knew which he knew would likely make her feel uncomfortable and question her own job performance, he researched things that he could do to make her life easier. Obviously this is so sweet as her love interest, but it’s also just great behaviour as her supervisor. These interactions, the snarky back and forth, and the deep fondness that these two have for each other makes this book feel unputdownable even if I would’ve liked a more developed external plot.