Series: The Contract
Release Date: May 24th, 2016
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.
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?
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Heroine had a traumatic experience in foster care until she met her guardian
• Heroine’s guardian has dementia and dies of old age
• Hero was neglected as a child… resulted in him being an Asshole
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
I seriously loved The Contract. To anyone who enjoys the clichéd fake marriage’ trope, this is a book for you. In the beginning, the hero, Richard, is such an asshole, and he’s an asshole for no reason too. The heroine, Katharine, in comparison, is everyone’s friend, loving and caring. She’s the type of person that remembers coworkers’ birth dates and more. So, you can already imagine the volatile interactions between the two main characters.
What I loved about The Contract, and what I found unique despite the cliché, is how Moreland seemed to focus on the emotional growth of Richard. At the start of the novel, Richard is seriously one of the worst heroes–he’s just being mean for the sake of it (I’m not kidding here). However, everything Richard finds lacking in Katharine (wearing sub-par clothes despite her generous salary, her unsafe apartment, etc.) is primarily due to her taking care of her ailing guardian. This woman raised and cared for her after her parents’ deaths. So, you can imagine the amount of guilt Richard will eventually feel for being such a shit.
Now, the premise of the plot is that Richard has been looked over for a promotion at his very Enron-esque marketing firm. Partly due to revenge and partially because he wants to be a partner, Richard plans to jump ship to his current firm’s competitor: a family-run firm that possesses strong family values. But alas! The only way he’ll be hired is if he has a reason for leaving his current firm that isn’t so Machiavellian–this new firm prefers team players. And so the fake relationship is created: Richard will provide and “care” for Katharine if, in return, she pretends to be his girlfriend/fiancée.
What follows is a really enjoyable story about two people who are so vastly different but seem to actually work together. I really enjoyed how Moreland went out of her way to allow the main characters to bond and form a friendship. But she didn’t hold back the bumps that come with any new relationship (no matter how fake it is). Also, the friendships in this book were also really sweet–especially since the main characters are so used to being alone.
I basically just loved the camaraderie and how Richard slowly–but surely–learns how amazing Katharine is and how badly he needs an attitude adjustment (ha!). There’s just so much growth, love, and acceptance in The Contract that you can’t help but love it!
Note: There’s a novella that’s basically an extended epilogue.
[…] is Grace’s story – she is the daughter of Katharine and Richard (you can read their book here); Grace is one of my favourite Heroines of Melanie Moreland. She’s strong and confident and […]
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