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A review by hannahslit
Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Reading this book felt like reading someone’s laundry list of tropes as they progressively ticked them off.
An asshole billionaire marries his loyal assistant because the terms of his inheritance say he won’t be able to become CEO single. Nothing wrong with this, but I felt tropes were prioritised over character. Declan was your typical alphahole, except he really had nothing redeeming and his behaviour switch wasn’t built up to. It literally was him being mean one page and deciding that he actually fancies his fake wife on the other.
Speaking of his fake wife, I felt nothing for Iris. Even though it was a dual POV, it felt oddly detached. Like as a reader you’re hearing their thoughts, but they’re not particularly interesting ones.
Something I liked about the book was its structure. I think how it was set up (short chapters, most pages ending with a sentence that had a full stop) made it incredibly easy to read, which I appreciated. It didn’t feel like almost five hundred pages, which is saying something. It was quite odd to me though that after almost five hundred pages, I was indifferent to the characters.
The epilogue(s) are saccharine sweet and it was nice to get a year’s epilogue and a five year epilogue too.
This was an easy before bedtime read that lacked depth but I think the shallow storyline was what I needed to read for that time. It’s a good example of tropes, not necessarily a good application of it, but I enjoyed it for what it was nonetheless.
An asshole billionaire marries his loyal assistant because the terms of his inheritance say he won’t be able to become CEO single. Nothing wrong with this, but I felt tropes were prioritised over character. Declan was your typical alphahole, except he really had nothing redeeming and his behaviour switch wasn’t built up to. It literally was him being mean one page and deciding that he actually fancies his fake wife on the other.
Speaking of his fake wife, I felt nothing for Iris. Even though it was a dual POV, it felt oddly detached. Like as a reader you’re hearing their thoughts, but they’re not particularly interesting ones.
Something I liked about the book was its structure. I think how it was set up (short chapters, most pages ending with a sentence that had a full stop) made it incredibly easy to read, which I appreciated. It didn’t feel like almost five hundred pages, which is saying something. It was quite odd to me though that after almost five hundred pages, I was indifferent to the characters.
The epilogue(s) are saccharine sweet and it was nice to get a year’s epilogue and a five year epilogue too.
This was an easy before bedtime read that lacked depth but I think the shallow storyline was what I needed to read for that time. It’s a good example of tropes, not necessarily a good application of it, but I enjoyed it for what it was nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse