Book Review: Facade

Façade by Nyrae Dawn
(Games #2)
July 2, 2013
304 pages
Genre: New Adult
(contains mature sexual scenes, language, alcohol, drugs)
Source: NetGalley for my honest review

Book Blurb:

Can love save them?

After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is all right. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she’s never been—and into the arms of Adrian Westfall.

To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies’ man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his façade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past.Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together—or tear them apart forever?

My Review:

I already enjoyed Charade by Nyrae Dawn (find my review here), so I had high hopes for Façade. Meeting Adrian in Charade did not prepare me for the emotional journey Nyrae was going to take me through in Façade. It was an incredibly heartfelt journey between two souls lost in their own worlds and brought together through tragedy.

The story starts with Delaney knowing who Adrian is, seeking him out for some sort of reconciliation for her father's crime, but instead being drawn to him in ways she had not expected. Now this premise could have gotten hokey and ridiculous really quickly. But Nyrae really drew upon great character building and development and a realistic timeline, allowing the reader to see through Delaney and Adrian's eyes what they were drawn toward in the other. I wouldn't call this love-at-first-sight, but more of intrigue-at-first-sight. But the progression of their relationship was slow and well paced. Nyrae develops this beautiful friendship and camaraderie between Delaney and Adrian, which builds into something more. But they each have their own hesitations and secrets, holding them back. I was already emotionally touched by their circumstances in the beginning. But as more and more things came out, I felt caught off guard and sucker-punched in the heart. It's an incredible story.

I loved the characters that Nyrae created. I loved getting to know Delaney and Adrian on a deeper level. Delaney knew she had a secret she should set straight, but I could understand her hesitation as time progressed. I felt her anguish and worry. And I genuinely liked her and liked who she was with Adrian. I also liked knowing more about Adrian and that he wasn't just the stoner ladies' man he fronted and hid behind to cover the depths of his pain and guilt. I loved his sensitive side and his protective side. I loved that through his growing relationship with Delaney he started to question his coping techniques and wanted to become better. Seeing them as a couple really worked for me. I believed it, even when the secrets were not out yet. And I rooted for them when their circumstances went haywire. But would love be enough?

Bottomline: I love the characters that Nyrae Dawn created in Charade and now in Façade. They are developed deeply and beautifully. Then to see their lives play out in these stories she's created is amazing. I laughed and cried with them. I cheered and hurt for them. I invested in them. Plus no cheating and no cliffhangers! My grabby hands are already anticipating Masquerade, the next book. I highly recommend this series.

5 STARS

Book Links:

AMAZON  *  GOODREADS