What do you think?
Rate this book
Failure to Thrive #2
Under Any Conditions
From the author of Contractual Obligations comes the long-awaited sequel to Failure to Thrive!
What happens after the happily ever after?
Riley and Oliver are finally together. Things should be perfect, but Riley struggles with the ghosts of her past while Oliver finds himself trapped in a workplace legal battle, which puts him face-to-face with someone he’d rather forget.
While Riley wonders if she isn’t good enough, Oliver knows she’s the one for him, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to figure out how to merge their very different lives into one. Does love persevere under any conditions? Or will it crumble under the weight of someone’s past?
Under Any Conditions is a novella and the final part of Oliver and Riley’s story. It cannot be read as a standalone as it is a direct continuation of the first book. Expect heartwarming romance and exciting spice in line with the special edition of this series. HEA guaranteed!
What happens after the happily ever after?
Riley and Oliver are finally together. Things should be perfect, but Riley struggles with the ghosts of her past while Oliver finds himself trapped in a workplace legal battle, which puts him face-to-face with someone he’d rather forget.
While Riley wonders if she isn’t good enough, Oliver knows she’s the one for him, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to figure out how to merge their very different lives into one. Does love persevere under any conditions? Or will it crumble under the weight of someone’s past?
Under Any Conditions is a novella and the final part of Oliver and Riley’s story. It cannot be read as a standalone as it is a direct continuation of the first book. Expect heartwarming romance and exciting spice in line with the special edition of this series. HEA guaranteed!
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 29, 2023
367 people are currently reading
2,163 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
August 27, 2023
Not the follow-up focus on romance that I thought Riley and Oliver would get, but instead was just all the characters going to therapy and dealing with their issues, which was also very much needed 😂
February 17, 2025
I loved this
February 13, 2024
I HATED THE SISTER SOOO MUCH
January 13, 2024
made me tear up a lil bit icl. soo much better than the first. should have ask ben one book tho 🤷🏾♀� the internal monologues tho� just yappinnnnnnnnn and because it’s third person pov, it feels longer than necessary. skimmed like half the book 😭 u could see the legacy trope coming from a mile away and i didn’t love it but i didn’t hate it so
March 29, 2024
better than the first one. i still don’t like the third person, dual pov. or maybe i just don’t love her writing style. either way, i’m glad these characters all finally went to therapy and i can say i probably won’t read anything from this author again lol
March 7, 2024
a lot of miscommunication & grammatical errors
April 10, 2024
did this need a book 2? absolutely not. it could have just been an epilogue on the first book. i read it just cause i needed to know what happened and I’m still disappointed. i also hated every single character except maybe for the baby at the end only cause he’s a baby and he didn’t talk, but i had the absolute worst time reading these two books.
April 22, 2025
i think it would have been better if the events of this book and the first one were cut down somewhat and put into one book instead of this duology. furthermore the characters just didn’t grip me i fear, and the writing seemed wonky and choppy at times. it almost felt like a factual retelling in some parts, there seemed to be some heart and soul missing, which was disappointing as i loved ‘contractual obligations�
March 7, 2024
I would truly never recommend anyone to read this series; however. this second book was a LITTLE and I mean a LITTLE bit more bearable.
Stop adding unnecessary side characters that aren’t added. And I learned my lesson to not buy books on TikTok lol
Stop adding unnecessary side characters that aren’t added. And I learned my lesson to not buy books on TikTok lol
January 4, 2024
honestly I was expecting like domestic Riley and Oliver but ig therapy is good too…I should contact my therapist again.
February 28, 2024
One extra star because Riley finally sought out therapy. Writing was still lack-luster with very little character development and a very bland way of advancing the plot.
July 23, 2024
Cute, I really liked how they addressed that everything isn’t perfect just bc you get into a relationship while still having the romance/perfect bf element. Sometimes you have to work on being happy
July 25, 2024
This was a great conclusion to book 1. There was some sad moments and some struggle but overall happiness and it was a nice read
August 8, 2023
Perfectly written
Not sure if this is a spoiler but I loved how it ended and went in a full circle back to the first book with Oliver’s POV and Riley first looking after Zooey to now
Not sure if this is a spoiler but I loved how it ended and went in a full circle back to the first book with Oliver’s POV and Riley first looking after Zooey to now
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2023
It was ok.
Not entirely what i was expecting. It focused a bit too much on Reilly questioning the relationship and then therapy. I thought we were going to get more of the relationship building and marriage. But the marriage and pregnancy were literally at the end and rushed.
I would have liked to see them merging their lives more and seeing Oliver deal with pregnancy hormone changes, cravings, and challenges, but we got none of that.
I found it hard to believe Reilly was not good at taking birth control correctly because in the first book , it always mentioned how she was so organised it just didn't make sense.. she could easily take it every morning since she had a routine with Zoe. They said she had issues because she couldn't hide it from Zoe.. she is a 5/6 year old, put it on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet.. huh???
The office issues were interesting but a bit random and again rushed to end it. There could have been more there.
I felt bad that Jack wasn't invited to the proposal, and I wanted to see more of Reilly merging with Oliver's life. She never interacted with Jack or anyone else.
Good, but I wanted more.
Not entirely what i was expecting. It focused a bit too much on Reilly questioning the relationship and then therapy. I thought we were going to get more of the relationship building and marriage. But the marriage and pregnancy were literally at the end and rushed.
I would have liked to see them merging their lives more and seeing Oliver deal with pregnancy hormone changes, cravings, and challenges, but we got none of that.
I found it hard to believe Reilly was not good at taking birth control correctly because in the first book , it always mentioned how she was so organised it just didn't make sense.. she could easily take it every morning since she had a routine with Zoe. They said she had issues because she couldn't hide it from Zoe.. she is a 5/6 year old, put it on the top shelf of the medicine cabinet.. huh???
The office issues were interesting but a bit random and again rushed to end it. There could have been more there.
I felt bad that Jack wasn't invited to the proposal, and I wanted to see more of Reilly merging with Oliver's life. She never interacted with Jack or anyone else.
Good, but I wanted more.
July 31, 2024
✰✰✰✰.5/5 -YES YES! I adore this book so much!
🌶🌶🌶/5
⋆˖⁺‧₊� Tropes ☾₊‧⁺˖�
☁︎Single Dad☁︎
☁︎Small Town☁︎
☁︎Billionaire Romance☁︎
☁︎Opposites Attract☁︎
‧͙⁺˚*･༓� Thoughts ☽༓�*˚⁺‧�
☁︎Okay, I enjoyed this little addition to their story! It helped tie everything together and honestly redeemed both MCs. I truly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who needs a little bit of a realistic, single dad, flawed MCs, with a sweet love story.
˖⁺‧₊˚☁️˚₊‧⁺˖Recommended for (ppl who)…˖⁺‧₊˚☁️˚₊‧⁺˖
☁︎Grumpy x sunshine enthusiats☁︎
☁︎Loves adorable kids☁︎
☁︎Need a palate cleanser☁︎
☁︎Wished they were in the right place at the right time☁︎
✩₊˚.⋆☾ Quote(s) ☾⋆⁺₊�
☁︎❝All pain is real-❞☁�
☁︎❝The timing of your divorce doesn't matter because I would have chosen her on a dark night with my eyes shut.❞☁�
☁︎❝No, because I broke out of it to be with you. And I'd do it all again just to see you smile.❞☁�
🌶🌶🌶/5
⋆˖⁺‧₊� Tropes ☾₊‧⁺˖�
☁︎Single Dad☁︎
☁︎Small Town☁︎
☁︎Billionaire Romance☁︎
☁︎Opposites Attract☁︎
‧͙⁺˚*･༓� Thoughts ☽༓�*˚⁺‧�
☁︎Okay, I enjoyed this little addition to their story! It helped tie everything together and honestly redeemed both MCs. I truly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who needs a little bit of a realistic, single dad, flawed MCs, with a sweet love story.
˖⁺‧₊˚☁️˚₊‧⁺˖Recommended for (ppl who)…˖⁺‧₊˚☁️˚₊‧⁺˖
☁︎Grumpy x sunshine enthusiats☁︎
☁︎Loves adorable kids☁︎
☁︎Need a palate cleanser☁︎
☁︎Wished they were in the right place at the right time☁︎
✩₊˚.⋆☾ Quote(s) ☾⋆⁺₊�
☁︎❝All pain is real-❞☁�
☁︎❝The timing of your divorce doesn't matter because I would have chosen her on a dark night with my eyes shut.❞☁�
☁︎❝No, because I broke out of it to be with you. And I'd do it all again just to see you smile.❞☁�
January 21, 2024
I just love the taste of nothing 😍
August 1, 2023
Under Any Conditions:
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶�.5 (starts at 50% on Kindle Pages)
Romance ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
This book was so good!
Side note: this book was received as an ARC but that in no way affects my review.
This is the long awaited sequel to Failure to Thrive, which was Elle River’s debut novel. She came out with a special edition recently and it was so good!
As soon as I read it, I was immediately in love with Riley and Oliver and Zoe. The first book is full of angst, and love in so many forms. It’s such a good read.
While I personally don’t think you need to read book 1 to read book 2, you will obviously get more from Under any Conditions if you read Failure to Thrive.
Anything from here down probably has spoilers, you’ve been warned 🤷🏼♀�
Riley and Oliver have been together almost a year when the story picks up, Zoe is starting school. And we’re seeing all of Riley’s past traumas catch up to her. Luckily she has an incredible friend who helps her get into a therapist.
I love the therapy subplot this book has. It shows there’s no shame in going to therapy and how much therapy can help. I was really proud of Riley for going. I know it’s hard to make those steps to agree to go.
Oliver is an amazing book boyfriend 😍😍 he’s so great with Riley and so patient. I don’t want to give away too much about the book but there’s so many things I truly loved and the book felt realistic to me.
I will read anything Elle Rivers puts out, her books continue to get better with every release and I find myself thinking about the couples months later.
The ending to Oliver and Riley’s story was absolute perfection and I’m still hoping for a spin-off showing Amanda’s growth 😉
Definitely check it out ☺️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶�.5 (starts at 50% on Kindle Pages)
Romance ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
This book was so good!
Side note: this book was received as an ARC but that in no way affects my review.
This is the long awaited sequel to Failure to Thrive, which was Elle River’s debut novel. She came out with a special edition recently and it was so good!
As soon as I read it, I was immediately in love with Riley and Oliver and Zoe. The first book is full of angst, and love in so many forms. It’s such a good read.
While I personally don’t think you need to read book 1 to read book 2, you will obviously get more from Under any Conditions if you read Failure to Thrive.
Anything from here down probably has spoilers, you’ve been warned 🤷🏼♀�
Riley and Oliver have been together almost a year when the story picks up, Zoe is starting school. And we’re seeing all of Riley’s past traumas catch up to her. Luckily she has an incredible friend who helps her get into a therapist.
I love the therapy subplot this book has. It shows there’s no shame in going to therapy and how much therapy can help. I was really proud of Riley for going. I know it’s hard to make those steps to agree to go.
Oliver is an amazing book boyfriend 😍😍 he’s so great with Riley and so patient. I don’t want to give away too much about the book but there’s so many things I truly loved and the book felt realistic to me.
I will read anything Elle Rivers puts out, her books continue to get better with every release and I find myself thinking about the couples months later.
The ending to Oliver and Riley’s story was absolute perfection and I’m still hoping for a spin-off showing Amanda’s growth 😉
Definitely check it out ☺️
November 24, 2023
The follow up to Riley and Oliver’s original story. This is where you get to see them choose love and fight for themselves. Riley starts therapy to help her over come real trauma she has been downplaying from her hurtful ex to her family’s disappoint.
Surprisingly through out the book her mother and sister end up seeking therapy as well to overcome their hurtful ways. I really didn’t like the sister for a bit.
Oliver is working hard but very open on communication with Riley and always trying to reassure her. He does everything in his power to protect her and provide for her even if she has a hard time letting him.
The stress of life and work and always worrying ends up making Riley very ill where she ends up in the hospital only to find out she is pregnant�. This isn’t something that Oliver really wanted so she is worried he will leave but instead he shows her he isn’t going anywhere. This ends with the epilogue of them getting married before the baby is born, no details given, and a cute quick birth of the beautiful little boy.
Surprisingly through out the book her mother and sister end up seeking therapy as well to overcome their hurtful ways. I really didn’t like the sister for a bit.
Oliver is working hard but very open on communication with Riley and always trying to reassure her. He does everything in his power to protect her and provide for her even if she has a hard time letting him.
The stress of life and work and always worrying ends up making Riley very ill where she ends up in the hospital only to find out she is pregnant�. This isn’t something that Oliver really wanted so she is worried he will leave but instead he shows her he isn’t going anywhere. This ends with the epilogue of them getting married before the baby is born, no details given, and a cute quick birth of the beautiful little boy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2024
Cute ending to this little duology! I did enjoy the first one best cuz it had a great storyline while this one was more fishing to continue the story even though it wasn’t fully necessary. Don’t get me wrong I’m so happy to keep reading Oliver and Riley’s love story and see their relationship grow, but I hated how in the first half of the story Riley’s character tree r development kinda went backwards and they made her out to be a panicked self-conscious girl which I feel like she isn’t at all. There were a lot of insecurities causing issues but then therapy and her family helped through it thank god and everyone ended up happy! Especially them with their new baby Xavier! I’m so happy they got married and had a baby! Zoe is gonna be a great big sister and I’m so happy for them! They deserve their happily ever after!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2024
The book was so good. The MMC is so good-hearted and lovely. The way he acted and was with her was just perfect. He knew that the FMC was traumatized by her ex, and he is so understanding.
However, the miscommunication between the FMC and MMC lasts too long. He wants to propose to her from the beginning but doesn't until the end. They both loved each other and were scared to talk about it until the end. She went to therapy and talked about everything, and she tells him a lot of things too, but not the important things because she was scared that he would leave her too.
The relationship between his daughter and the FMC is so perfect. She became her mother from the first book and did everything for her.
However, the miscommunication between the FMC and MMC lasts too long. He wants to propose to her from the beginning but doesn't until the end. They both loved each other and were scared to talk about it until the end. She went to therapy and talked about everything, and she tells him a lot of things too, but not the important things because she was scared that he would leave her too.
The relationship between his daughter and the FMC is so perfect. She became her mother from the first book and did everything for her.
March 13, 2024
Great storyline, just not made for me
Without spoilers, the main character had no self-esteem and always felt lesser than. I personally enjoy books with stronger heroine, so it was very annoying at first. There were multiple times I wanted to not finish it but I’m glad I did finish it ! The storyline was really good and then ending made me happy. Moral of the story ? I didn’t like the beginning but loved the end ! Wasn’t my cup of tea but I liked how it highlighted real things (such as self-esteem problems) in relationships. Just not my favorite thing to read about. It all depends what you’re into!
Without spoilers, the main character had no self-esteem and always felt lesser than. I personally enjoy books with stronger heroine, so it was very annoying at first. There were multiple times I wanted to not finish it but I’m glad I did finish it ! The storyline was really good and then ending made me happy. Moral of the story ? I didn’t like the beginning but loved the end ! Wasn’t my cup of tea but I liked how it highlighted real things (such as self-esteem problems) in relationships. Just not my favorite thing to read about. It all depends what you’re into!
May 15, 2024
i feel� unfulfilled. i think that this book really wasn’t necessary, and if you chopped out a lot of the miscommunication in the first book and replaced it with the healing and self-discovery in this book, it would make ONE really great story. but the two separate books really didn’t do it for me. the end felt super rushed my god.
i don’t even know if i have a favorite character because zoe wasn’t all that present in my opinion. i think riley and oliver are both way more enjoyable to read about in this book than the first, and i really loved the therapy plot. though some of the dialogue regarding riley going to therapy was odd, like oliver’s constant input on it?? idk it felt weird.
the biggest thing i have to point out is the conflict. like this book was so unnecessary, they had to add an unplanned pregnancy to add some sort of drama! i’m just glad there wasn’t an abundance of miscommunication like in the first book, but still.
cawpile score of 2.93 because while i liked this book better than the first, it wasn’t by much! i just felt like nothing substantial happened, once again feeling just underwhelmed and unfulfilled.
i don’t even know if i have a favorite character because zoe wasn’t all that present in my opinion. i think riley and oliver are both way more enjoyable to read about in this book than the first, and i really loved the therapy plot. though some of the dialogue regarding riley going to therapy was odd, like oliver’s constant input on it?? idk it felt weird.
the biggest thing i have to point out is the conflict. like this book was so unnecessary, they had to add an unplanned pregnancy to add some sort of drama! i’m just glad there wasn’t an abundance of miscommunication like in the first book, but still.
cawpile score of 2.93 because while i liked this book better than the first, it wasn’t by much! i just felt like nothing substantial happened, once again feeling just underwhelmed and unfulfilled.
August 12, 2024
Rating: 5⭐️
Spice: 🌶�
Tropes: single dad, opposites attract
Quote: “She looked at him like he was going to break her heart, and he couldn't wait until he proved that he never would.�
Riley and Oliver have been together almost a year when the story picks up, Zoe is starting school. And we're seeing all of Riley's past traumas catch up to her. Luckily she has an incredible friend who helps her get into a therapist.
Oliver is an amazing book boyfriend, he's so great with Riley and so patient.
I loved that Riley worked through everything and Oliver proved her wrong in every aspect.
I didn’t think I could hate Sophie more than I did in the first book, but I cant stand her. She truly got what she deserved.
This book was full of growth for all characters. I loved every page of it.
Spice: 🌶�
Tropes: single dad, opposites attract
Quote: “She looked at him like he was going to break her heart, and he couldn't wait until he proved that he never would.�
Riley and Oliver have been together almost a year when the story picks up, Zoe is starting school. And we're seeing all of Riley's past traumas catch up to her. Luckily she has an incredible friend who helps her get into a therapist.
Oliver is an amazing book boyfriend, he's so great with Riley and so patient.
I loved that Riley worked through everything and Oliver proved her wrong in every aspect.
I didn’t think I could hate Sophie more than I did in the first book, but I cant stand her. She truly got what she deserved.
This book was full of growth for all characters. I loved every page of it.
December 22, 2023
This book was completely unnecessary. It could have easily been condensed into one book. While this book was good and everyone went and got the therapy they so desperately needed, it was boring. There weren't any developments that couldn't have been done in book 1. I find that incredibly frustrating. I still love Zoe so much. And I love her relationship with Riley. I also loved the fact that her mom and sister got better in this one. Oliver is a dream in this. But again, all this could have been wrapped up in book 1.
December 31, 2023
I read this book, and its companion in one day! I was hooked instantly. You definitely need to read book 1, but by then I was so invested there wasn't a chance that I wasn't going to read this immediately.
While not my typical book, the characters are so authentic that I felt like I knew them personally. There were times when I had to put the book down (for food - nothing else!) and I ended up leaving myself on a cliff hanger.
Definitely recommend this book - but only if you have time to spare!
While not my typical book, the characters are so authentic that I felt like I knew them personally. There were times when I had to put the book down (for food - nothing else!) and I ended up leaving myself on a cliff hanger.
Definitely recommend this book - but only if you have time to spare!
March 15, 2024
It was a really cute ending to the first book and I really like how Riley developed even more. There were a few spelling errors that bothered me. It was very cheesy but cute. I liked that they communicated more after not doing so very well in the first book. I thought the ending was nice. Overall really good conclusion to the first but no real plot of its own. The accidental pregnancy was easy to guess in the first half but I thought it was nice how it was handled. I think it easily could have been one whole book, and parts condensed a bit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2024
This was a novella so it was a fast read. Hmm it wasnt as good as the previous book but i loved it. They talked about rileys self esteem and the hardships of dealing with them and getting a therapist. I loved that she slowly learned to get more confident with herself. Damn i thought in the previous book amanda has changed but no it was in this boom that amanda has a character development. Jules changed to be better which i loved it. When riley fainted i was like yeah theyre gonna know shes pregnant then. And omg oliver bought everything overnight so cute. I love zoe so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
This conclusion really touched me, the insecurity the heroine had because of family hurtful comparisons and her ex betrayal with a fake friend broke my heart with how real it was and the difficult she had in overcoming it. Loved the talk about therapy and that the hero was supportive of it and not preconceived, the way he dealt with her broken heart was refreshing and emotional, and it made their story have a even more beautiful and heartwarming end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.