The contrat by Melanie Moreland

 

Published on May 24th, 2016

346 pages

I read the paperback version

Back Cover

A tyrant by day, a playboy by night.

That is the reputation that precedes Richard VanRyan. He lives life the way he wants, no concern for the opinion of others. He cares for no one, is completely unrepentant, and he has no desire to change his ways.

Katharine Elliott works under Richard as his PA. She despises him and his questionable ethics, but endures all the garbage he sends her way, because she needs the job. Her end goal is far more important than the daily abuse and demands she tolerates from her nasty tyrant of a boss. Until the day, he asks her for something she never expected. A new role with a personal contract— fiancée instead of PA.

My review

I meet the author at Romancing the falls for the first time and her books caught my attention. I wasn’t able to get one back then, but I took a chance to get one of her most popular The contact at Ignite your soul. After reading it, I don’t regret my choice.

The plot is not super original. It’s not the first time that someone write a story about fake relationship, but I think the author turn it the right way. I was impressed by her writing and I enjoyed every chapter and I could not put the book down.

I liked the fact that Katharine did not open herself so easily at first and she took her time to give her trust at Richard who wasn’t nice at the beginning. The female protagonist is the one that surprise me the most. She is stronger than I though for staying at her job after everything she have been though and even though I did not really agree with her decision, I think she is a great person.

I think most of the reader won’t like Richard first, he was only thinking about himself and his career, but when we learned why, he became more likable. I would say his evolution is similar at what you probably read in the other books, but I keep a soft spot for him.

If you like contemporary romance, I recommend it. It helped me to escape from real life and I had a smile on my face most of the time while I was reading it,

Excerpts

" I told him your playboy days were behind you, and the way you conduct your business had evolved. I informed him you wanted a different sort of life. " (p.15)

I already lived in the cheapest place I could find. I cut my own hair, bought my clothes at second-hand stores, and my diet consisted of ramen noodles and a lot of cheap peanut butter and jam. I splurged on nothing, using every opportunity to safe a little. (p.34)

I hated my life. I hated being a PA. I especially hated being a PA for Mr. VanRyan. I had never known anyone so cruel. Nothing I did was ever enough-certainly not enough to warrant a thank you or a grudging smile. (p.36)

" I know. Don’t remind me. Let’s sign the papers and go face the music. " (p.142)

When our arrangement first started, the lines were clearly drawn. Bit by bit, they disappeared until they were non-existent. It all became as natural as breathing- me watching her cook, her chatting with me over the desk, sitting beside her while she watched TV, or even the quick kiss she would drop on my head over her way up to bed. It was simply a part of my daily life, just as making sure my door was open so she could hear me snore was something I did without thinking. (p.248)