This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Fine Print on my blog, here.
I was apprehensive going into this second installment - The Fine Print was not my favorite read, but when I realized that Terms and Conditions was an actual marriage of convenience book, it spiked my interest. And with a marriage contract that accidentally gets printed on print paper because Mr. Billionaire heir does not know how to reload the printer? I could not have been happier.
Declan Kane is up to inherit billions and the CEO position of Dreamland, on one condition - marry and have a child. When his bride-to-be ditches him at the last minute, his younger assistant takes her place, and his sanity along with it. He sees the wife and child as collateral damage in the path to becoming CEO, and for some reason is set on low-key being an absentee father? I understand he is doing this in order to secure his inheritance, but man, it is a literal child, not a toy you put away after getting tired of playing with it after a few years.
Iris unironically needs to be an actress - she is so hilarious and is always fooling everyone around her, especially Declan. She makes up rumors at work so people get things done faster, and Declan is so shocked that she is able to do it without anyone catching on. The way she is able to get people to do what she wants without them realizing it made me really enjoy her character, and the friendship she has with Cal was so refreshing to see. It was an added plus that Declan was obviously jealous of the relationship she has with Cal, because he wanted her to be that open with him from the start.
The way that Iris and Declan clearly are interested in each other before anything even truly starts with their contract had me dying - the perspective changes gave a great view of what they each thought of each other. Declan's inner thoughts are high-key hilarious - at one point, he sees Iris apologizing to her plants because she had to move them, and immediately thinks she is insane. I knew he would be obsessed with her immediately after that. Their banter is pretty funny when they are actually agreeing with each other, and Iris jokingly saying "Are you sure you're a virgin?" to Declan had me audibly snorting, she is so unserious when her guard is down.
Declan is 36-years-old and needs to learn to act like an adult - there were a number of times that he consistently puts his needs and wants above everyone else's, and then acts shocked that Iris is upset with him. And Iris... she is 23-years-old... she should be at the club!! Not working twelve hour days and sacrificing her relationships to please Declan.
I was a little off-put by the way Declan did not seem to help Iris with nearly anything in this book - she was always the one making plans, setting up dinners, fixing proposals, and so many other things. I did not love the way he was putting work above her, especially during important moments - it made him really feel like a villain, when he was the one who needed her, not the other way around. His groveling texts to Iris made him feel like a major boomer who does not know how to act like an adult and hold himself accountable for the way he acted and the things that he said to her in anger.
There is not a ton of spice in this book, and it really does not even start to pop up until over two-thirds of the way into the story. It is definitely tame, but I do wish it showed up a little more in this story - more often than not, it would be in dreams that Declan or Iris had of each other.
I enjoyed this much more compared to The Fine Print - Declan was much more interesting than Rowan, and sure, he may have made some not so great choices throughout this book, but I still have him ranked above Rowan. Rowan and Zara's scattered appearances in this book only had me interested in Iris and Zara's potential friendship - considering Iris does not really have anyone outside of her mother, Nana, and Cal, I really wanted her to gain some female friends. Declan's father plays such a large role as an antagonist in Declan's life, and we see it overtake the plot when I wish it could have focused more on Iris and Declan's relationship.
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