Working for a wealthy family, what could go wrong?

Synopsis

An awkward girl’s account of inexperience, sexual mishaps, and too much tequila…

Needing a change, Rayne Meyers—a.k.a. Calamity Rayne—sets out to be a personal assistant for one of the wealthiest families in the world. What could possibly go wrong? Inexperienced with sophisticated settings, she does her best not to screw things up too severely, except there’s one complication she didn’t foresee—her boss’s devastatingly charming son, Hale Davenport.

Hale is everything Rayne is not–experienced, mature, and methodical. But when he meets his father’s new assistant, a woman nothing like the calculating females he’s used to, he is captivated and prepared to throw caution to the wind. 

Let the awkwardness begin in this highly relatable, bestselling series from Lydia Michaels!

My review

Rayne Meyers is a young woman that needs a change. Her nickname Calamity Rayne hasn’t been stolen, so it is clear that whatever she does, whether on a personal level or a professional one, it always ends in disaster somehow. She never expected though to get the job as a personal assistant of Remington Davenport, patriarch of one the wealthiest families in the world. As she enters a world that she doesn’t know, Rayne is doing her best to not screw things up, and show that she is capable for the tasks she has been hired to do, even if she is not so sophisticated as the family that hired her. But what Rayne didn’t take in account at all, is the attraction that simmers between her and Remmington’s son, Hale. Rayne and Hale couldn’t be more different from each other, but Hale finds himself captivated by Rayne. And while sparks are flying around, and their differences are refreshing, could it also be that those differences will drift them apart, especially as it is known that wealthy families are masters at keeping secrets and that rules don’t always apply to them like to us mere mortals…

For us, ‘normal’ people, it is strange to see how wealthy people are living, full of luxury, rules that apply only to them, or not to them at all. So when a Rayne, who is just like us, gets a job as a personal assistant for one of the wealthiest families of the world, I was both eager to see how those differences of status would appear on paper, and also (and perhaps specifically), and curious how Calamity Rayne would honour her nickname 😊.

It was a bit strange how Rayne is able to secure an interview, with people she hasn’t have a connection with, but she is best friends with someone who has a connection. Yes, that happens in the real world, but let’s also be honest, what are the chances to not only go to the interview, but also actually get the job, especially without any experience at all.

Now, it is also typical Rayne the way she gets the job. She is (brutally) honest, she isn’t impressed (or at least doesn’t show it) by all the wealth the Davenports flaunt. After seeing her ‘competition’ for the job, she doesn’t believe she has a chance, so she has nothing to lose.

And that honesty, even that speaking out loud before actually thinking, is something that is typical Rayne. She is who she is, outspoken, direct and yes clumsy too. But she is also insecure, has a lot of self – doubt and she has a fear of commitment, on every level, romantically too.

In a way, it feels on all those levels of insecurities that they are being caused by her lack of experience on all those aspects. And that makes her sometimes also act or react in the wrong way, because in fact, she just doesn’t know what to do in whatever situation she finds herself in.

The contrast with Hale couldn’t be any bigger, as not only is Hale very reserved, he is mature and he knows how the world works, especially for the wealthy. And while initially he acts very indifferent towards Rayne, and there are moments that he acts strangely, we also see that in fact he is a generous person, a caring man, and he is a man that wants to do the right thing. Further along in the story we even see how much he is prepared to do…

So on paper Hale and Rayne should definitely not work, yet on these pages, somehow they do. Opposites attract indeed, and Hale and Rayne just find it impossible to not give in to the attraction that simmers between them.

I need to add, while perhaps the pace between Rayne and Hal is rather fast, I could also understand it, as they are on a luxury yacht, with not many other people around. So feelings and emotions grow more quickly than anywhere else.

What I loved reading of the relationship, or rather situationship, between Hale and Rayne, is how Hale shows patience and understanding the moments where Rayne shows her vulnerability and insecurities. They don’t think alike about everything, but there is from both sides the will and wish to understand and to help out. And that is the beauty of the story, how no matter that you come from different worlds, that the desire and hope to make things work prevails over just being, well, stubborn at moments.

We see how Rayne is truly growing in the story, the more she spend time with the Davenports, not only does she understand them, but she also knows how to address them, to make them see sense in a way. And she becomes also more confident about herself, and even learns to stand up towards the Davenports when needed.

Obviously there is some spice in this book too, I would be disappointed if the author would skip those bits 😊. And this is also an aspect where Rayne ‘lacks’ the experience, but here also we see her grow more confident. And I liked it, seeing how not every woman is already a goddess between the sheets, but also there needs to grow into a confident woman.

Now, when I started reading this book, I knew that it was the first book of a series, and that somehow, I would still have some unanswered questions at the end. And I thought I was okay with it. Until I reached that ending of course… Because, without giving any spoilers of course, *just* when things may start to fall in perfect place, something happens that mix up everything once again. And that last bit, the way the main characters left us readers, well, now I just have to get the next book of the series!

Because a book where I connected easily with the main character, where I enjoyed the growth everyone went through, and the author just got me reading page after page, how can I survive without knowing what happens next???