REVIEW: FACADE BY NYRAE DAWN

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?

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I'm one lucky blogger in that I was able to read Charade and Facade back to back. I'm having a hard time deciding which story I like better...they both have appealing and tortured characters..a great reading combination.

Yep, yep. You're a lucky duckie on this one! For a long time, I was thinking how much better I appreciated Charade, until about the last 25% of this one...because it slayed me emotionally too. And while they both do that, the stories are so very different and touch your heart in such amazingly different ways!

Delaney is such a sweetheart. All she wants to do is try to heal the hurts of those around her. Her father left a swath of destruction a mile wide and she's trying her damnedest to clean up and repair those damaged by him. Unfortunately for Delaney the desire to help isn't always enough. Her mom is awful and refuses to take the love and kindness offered, her brother is so consumed by his own demons he can't allow her to heal him, and Adrian doesn't even know that she's there to do it...which is a problem. The longer she gets to know him and like him, the longer she withholds information, the worse she feels, and we all know that the train-wreck is going to be just awful because of her hesitancy to fill Adrian in on what she knows and why she's there.

YES! I was so very nervous, because we find out the big secret early. Early, early, early. And the longer she inserts herself into his life, mostly by accident, the more you know the eventual fall is going to hurt, hardcore. Delaney is really an old soul for her only eighteen years, but I thought her character was believable. She doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve, and holds her own against Adrian being a typical man with his typical come ons.

Adrian is a mess. Justifiably so. He's lived for 4 years not telling a soul about the gigantic loss he's suffered. He's cut himself off from the one person who could understand his pain and he's punished himself daily for the guilt he feels. Somehow Delaney is able to seep through the wall he's erected and he finds himself able to have fleeting moments of happiness or even a minute where he can forget the pain he's lived with for so long.

Obviously after Charade, we really didn't know Adrian, AT ALL! We get these bits and pieces of what is going on in his head as the story progresses, and that sort of guilt would have to be crushing. Add on top of that all the secrets he is holding even from Colt who is his true kindred spirit...and he feels like he has no one. Delaney slowing starts making him feel and do things he normallywouldn't do...and really made the last half of the book my favorite part of the journey.

Reading this story was like watching a movie behind your open hands...you keep waiting for the shit to hit the fan because you know when Adrian finds out the truth, it's going to be so ugly. The more you see into his damaged and tender soul, the more you are saddened by how upset he's going to be. Likewise, as we wait for Delaney to spill her secret, we totally understand her hesitancy to keep it to herself. Plus, she keeps trying to tell him and he won't let her. So Infuriating!!!!

I told you from the beginning I hoped there was going to be something else happen instead of what I thought was going to happen...And that didn't necessarily go the way I wanted it too, but by the end Nyrae won me over exactly as she has every other book I have read by her. The last 25%-ish was really, really emotional for me...and wild. Whoo. I dwelled on that for a little bit, but had to keep my aarrrgghhhhh and tears to myself since Shelley hadn't started it yet at the time! lol

It was a great addition to the series and I'm more curious than ever to know about Maddox and what his story will be. Masquerade was already on my TBR list, but is definitely moving it's way up the list quickly! Maddox is mysterious, and I can't wait to get in his head!

Shelley: 4 Stars
Courtney: 4 Stars

About the Author:

Writing has always been Nyrae Dawn’s passion. There have been times in her life where she wasn’t able to chase that dream the way she desired, but she always found her way back to telling stories.

One of her loves has always been writing about teens. There’s something so fresh and fun about the age that she loves exploring. Her husband says it’s because she doesn’t want to grow up. She doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing and luckily for her, he doesn’t either.

Nyrae gravitates toward character-driven stories. She loves going on emotional journeys with characters whether it be reading or writing. And yes, she’s a total romantic at heart and proud.

Nyrae resides in sunny Southern California with her husband (who still makes her swoon) and her two awesome kids.

When she’s not with her family, you can be pretty sure you’ll find her with a book in her hand or her laptop and an open document in front of her.

She writes for Entangled Publishing, Grand Central Publishing and is self-published.

Nyrae is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

Contact: Nyraedawn [at] yahoo [dot] com | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Nyrae Dawn also writes adult romance under the name Kelley Vitollo.