Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher

14 reviews

madisongturner's review against another edition

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2.75

I read this book because my younger sister says Declan Kane is one of her favorite love interests. I gave it two and a quarter stars because I read it in one day, it was engaging, and there was enough plot for a romance to consider it interesting. However, there are two main points that I dislike about this book (if it weren't for these, it would be higher). First, the way that Lauren Asher portrays disabilities continues to be a bit icky (same as the first book). She calls dyslexia a "learning difference" which I understand is a totally personal choice, but is an uncommon description of a disability within the disability community. Second, and the most important reason I rated lower, Declan crosses the line too far in their last argument. I cannot understand why she stays with him after that. If it had simply been an argument and resolution without how far he went, it would've received more stars from me. While it was a good romance, with sufficient grumpy x sunshine trope for most people, I feel as though Declan was just a tad too grumpy for my taste. 
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green_mm's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I was disappointed in this novel. The story is way too derivative of the preceding book, The Fine Print. Recurring phrases, character quirks, storyline conflicts, and writing tropes mirrored the first installment too closely to make this book feel fresh. Most notably, the leading man of this novel, Declan, was unrelenting in his pursuit of Iris, his love interest. He repeatedly disparaged her in myriad ways, making me wish Iris would not have taken him back in the end. Further, even though I know Iris is not a real person, I felt bad for her as if she was. Although Asher had altruistic intent in writing a modern romance with a woman-of-color lead, the impact felt inappropriate and cringeworthy to me. Whether intentionally or not, Asher paints Iris in Black stereotypes: having a deadbeat bad, enjoying spicy chicken, possessing a hands-on-hips personality, being from a low socioeconomic status, etc. Perhaps you can write characters of a background different than yours, but you cannot incorporate tone deaf notions about said people in doing so. In total, the prevalence of unoriginal beats, predictable outcomes, and uncomfortable characterizations makes this book unlikable to me. 
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melissa_rueff's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is just fine? I didn’t hate or like the main characters. But I do hate this man trying to trap a woman with him through manipulative tactics and just weird power grabs? I understand that the main lady doesn’t care about it but even when you don’t feel like you’re being manipulated or like controlled by a romantic partner you are? I feel like, if you have like a controlling partner thing you might be into this, but for me, it was just a lot of red flags decorated in like acts of service and ways to show your love through like presents and things. So if you’re in any of that, I think you’d be into this book but for me, I got a bit of a ick but I wanted to finish.

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penandpaper's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall, it’s good but definitely has room for improvement. Once the characters started getting along, the story felt cheesy and the characters cliche. If it had kept the same nuance as the beginning, it probably would have been better. But for a simple kindle unlimited read, it was fine. Definitely not work all the Booktok hype though.
also the author kept her tendency of poorly executed trauma dumping without actually getting into any of the real trauma? Idk, it feels like she’s checking off a checklist for having traumatized characters instead of actually fleshing any of it out
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bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced
  • 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

2.0

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kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I don’t know how I feel.

This whole review contains spoilers.

Declan Kane is an even bigger jerk than Rowan Kane. Despite this fact, I still tried to root for him. It was extremely difficult for the first 200ish pages, then it was really easy for a while, but his fight with Iris was hard to come back from. Maybe it’s my PTSD 🙃

I am a sucker for happy endings like the one we got in this book, though, so my judgement is definitely cloudy.
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deluna's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • 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

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things100's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced
  • 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

Loved iris and Declan’s story. Lauren Asher did a great job of writting the POVs because sometimes when I was reading from iris I was really starting to hate Declan. Which was such an amazing and immersive experience. Loved iris and Carl’s friendship and can’t wait until Cal’s book
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hannibanani29's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • 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

4.0

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eddine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • 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

4.75⭐️

AAAAAH I LOVE THIS BOOK AND THIS SERIES
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