The Dating Charade

GIVEAWAY

FERSUSON, MELISSA
THE DATING CHARADE

Just when you think you've met your match...the charade begins

Cassie Everson is an expert of escaping bad first dates. And, after years of meeting, greeting, and running from the man who try to woo her, Cassie is almost ready to retire her hopes for a husband -- and children -- altogether. But fate has other plans, and Cassie's online dating profile catches the eye of firefighter Jett Bentley. In Jett's memory, Cassie Everson is the unreachable girl-of-legend from their high school days. Nervously, he messages her, setting off a chain of events that forces a reluctant Cassie back into the dating game.

No one is more surprised than Cassie when her first date with Jett is a knockout. But when they both go home and find three children dropped in their laps -- each -- they independently decide to do the right and mature things: hide the kids from each other while sorting it all out. What could go wrong?

Melissa Ferguson's hilarious and warmhearted debut reminds us that love can come in very small packages -- and that sometimes our best-laid plans aren't nearly as rewarding as the surprises that come our way.

My Review:

Charming and funny with a surprising serious undertone.

I was expecting Rom/Com but I wouldn't technically categorize The Dating Charade as a romance. It has the beginnings and endings of one but the middle is something else entirely. Not quite women's fiction either. I think chic lit might suit this book best -- even though we get the hero's point of view and usually chic lit is all from the heroine's perspective.

Despite being difficult to classify, Cassie and Jett's story makes for a captivating read with plenty of ups and downs. The first few chapters are full of classic comedic flare fueled by miscommunication. Still grinning over some of those scenes. But when both the hero and heroine are faced with  the challenge of temporary parenthood things become more serious. Especially since they both decide to keep their unexpected charges a secret from each other which leads to even more communication problems and the story quickly slips into a heart-tugging drama centered around child abandonment, family dysfunction and addictions.

Through it all, Ferguson delivers a nice mix of humour and poignancy as she untangles the complicated lives of two characters who definitely deserve a chance at their very own happily ever after...even if it looks entirely different then they imagined!

The one thing I really missed in this story was an inspirational thread. This is another Thomas Nelson publication (a Christian Publisher who is becoming known for it's faith-free fiction.)

I enjoyed listening to the audible version of this book. Loved that there were two narrators -- one for each point of view. Kevin Kilpatrick and Liz Stanislawski made a great team, delivering an easy-to-listen-to style that held me captive right to the very end.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Dating Charade, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday February 22 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!