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 … 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.
What happens when two people who loathe each other, have to live together and act as though they are madly in love?
Sparks.
That’s what happens.
Can the power of love really change a person?
Will they survive the contract?
What do you do when the one person you hate the most becomes the one person you can’t live without?
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Arrogant Richard had a cold, emotionless childhood which made him into a ruthless and cold boss and businessman. Katherine also had a very tough childhood but had a core of steel underneath her demure exterior that wasn’t obvious to the casual observer. When these two enter into “The Contract” for very different reasons, neither expect how much it will change their lives. Forever! Both will change, hearts and lives will change. Watching Richard grow into the man he never knew he could be, and he never knew he wanted to be, and realizing how much he wanted to be that man is an amazing thing to experience! This is a fantastic book by Melanie Moreland and every time you read one of her books you realize you just want to read one more!
4.5 Stars!
I loved this enemies to lovers romance! Richard is a brilliant and creative Ad Executive but also pompous and arrogant. He views his proficient assistant, Katherine, as delicate, timid and dowdy, being everything he hates in a woman. But she was great at her job and everyone in the office liked her more than him. When he gets passed over for a promised partnership, he begins to look for a new job. He wants to work for the competition out of spite. He devises a plan to find a temporary fiance to convince them that he is ideal for this family run business. Katherine is the perfect choice since she is smart, friendly and needs the extra money. What can go wrong with this charade when one picnic turns into more events. When two people who can’t stand each other, must pretend they are madly in love for months instead of days? Richard could be such a jerk but still had some sweet and redeeming qualities. Katherine surprised him by being beautiful, smart, strong and sassy. She challenged him like no other but softened him as well. They were opposites who helped each other find their true place in the world. I really enjoyed the pace of this story and the growth of both characters and their relationship. The secondary characters were all interesting and authentic as well, adding to this heartfelt and delightful story.
The contract was a great summer beach book. I enjoy this book can be read as a stand alone or grouped with any of Melanie’s books. It leaves you feeling good and has a very strong ending. It does not leave you guessing it does leave you wanting to know more and continue with the main characters.
you got to read this !!!
This book deserves 10 Stars
I have absolutely no idea how or why but I Floved this book so much. This is my first read by Melanie Moreland and boy has already got me book line and sinker….
I have to say I hated Richard, I loathed him. There where times I had to put my kindle down cos I couldn’t handle him. Yet I was so drawn to this story. Melanie’s writing is that brilliant, she has woven magic and had me so obsessed with this story.
Katherine, my heart hurt for her. I wanted to buy her when Richard was a monster to her and then I wanted to now down to her for the reasons she was putting up with Richard.b
This book was absolutely phenomenal. Loved every second of it….
Richard VanRyan is a relentless business man and a playboy. But he works hard for his boss. After being passed over for a promotion he decides to leave the company and his boss in the lurch. He wants to work for a competitor. But to do so, he has to be seen as a family oriented man, not the womanizer he really is. To do so, he has only one option. He has to ask for help from someone he despises.
Katharine Elliott is Richard’s PA. She’s a hard worker and very likeable… or so everyone else seems to think. Richard can’t see it himself. She’s too quiet, too plain… too thin. Katy doesn’t know how Richard feels but she can sense it. She shares his utter dislike, knowing him to be arrogant and mean; and a complete d***. She only puts up with him and does whatever he demands because she desperately needs her pay cheque.
When Richard asks Katy for help, she gets angry thinking he’s making a fool of her, but he convinces her he’s not. He wants her to pretend to be his fiance as it’s the only way he’ll have a chance getting his new position and getting one over on his old boss.
After a lot of thought and with no other options, Katy agrees to help Richard.
This was a fast read. Richard was certainly a man worth hating as he only thought of himself, not how the pretence would affect anyone else, least of all Katy.
But katy is stronger than he gives her credit for, and she won’t take his sh** now that she’s no longer his P.A.
I laughed and cried with the characters, I wanted to slap Richard and shake Katy more than once but when the ending came, I cried again because I wasn’t done reading about them.
I can’t recommend this book enough. And now it has a companion novella. Grab your copies today and immerse yourself in all things Richard and Katy.
It would not have surprised me if this became a crime novel, because it was a wonder that Richard VanRyan made it to the second half of the book he was that much of an a-hole! We’ve all worked with people we don’t like, but arrogant, self absorbed and blatantly rude, I’m amazed Katharine (Katy) wasn’t slipping arsenic in his morning coffee!
Katy is the mild mannered, kind, selfless, super efficient PA that everyone loves, except for Richard, he treats her abysmally on a daily basis, overly critical of everything she does. I suspect because he knows she is worthy of far more than he is.
I was frankly shocked that by the end he had endeared himself to me, the whole contract was heavily in his favour, Katy only agreeing to benefit the people she loved. A strong woman, she managed to change his outlook on life, love and how to behave around people. She was secretly feisty and stands up more for herself as things develop.
I really enjoyed reading this story, and watching Richard develop into a worthy partner, I would recommend to any lover of contemporary romance
One of my favorite reads this year. Very well written and even when you hated Richard for who he was you couldn’t wait to see the next twist. Loved Katheraine’s spunk.
OMG! Richard was such a Dick! I just can’t believe that author Melanie Moreland managed to make me like him, forgive him, and (though I hate to admit it) *swoon* fall in love with the big jerk!!!
“A voice spoke in my head, whispering maybe what she needed all along was someone to hold her up, rather than tear her down.”
An arranged marriage with the sweetest girl ever melts Richard VanRyan’s tough exterior but a life and career built on a foundation of lies is bound to crumble.
I love all of Melanie’s writing! I’ve been reading her work on FanFiction and loved watching her move to her own characters in novels. The Contract was a sweet love story. While not my favorite of her books (I liked Over the Fence better), I did enjoy it a lot. Can’t wait to see more from Melanie!
Katharine and Richard were a couple you’d never see coming together but when Richard wants to move jobs he needs an in and Katharine was it. She put up being his assistant for a year because the money was good and she had a personal reasons. A must read. Love seeing a hard angry man learn there’s more to life than just work.