Review: Charade (Games #1) by Nyrae Dawn

 

Series: Games

Pages: 254

Genre: New Adult

Publisher: Self

Amazon: Charade

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne tries to portray the perfect life to mask the memories of her past. Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection.

Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too.

Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.

Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

I am really loving the New Adult genre at the moment and Nyrae Dawn has written an emotional page-turner with Charade, the first book in the Games series which follows the stories of Cheyenne and Colt.

Nineteen-year-old Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her cheating ex and Twenty-one-year-old Colt needs money to help care for his dying mother, so they come to an agreement that will help them both out but what starts off as a game quickly turns into something both of them never expected.

Charade was an emotional tale of love and loss; seeing these two characters come together and fight their personal demons side by side was like being on an emotional roller-coaster but it was also wonderful to watch it all unfold.

Both Cheyenne and Colt have heart-breaking back stories that will leave you emotionally wrecked but also hoping that something good was going to come from their pain and the support they were able to offer one another, they couldn’t have been more different yet so perfect together. I really liked that the romance moved at a believable pace, no declarations of love at first sight which I really appreciated.

The secondary characters were each written well, I am intrigued by Adrian and I adored the interactions between Colt and his mother, it was the sweetest bond but also heart-wrenching to see how her illness was affecting him.

I really like Nyrae Dawn’s style of writing; she never fails to hold my interest. Her characters are so believable and likeable, the dialogue is fun and witty and the story captivating.

The only reason for not rating this book 5 stars was because I felt there was drama overload; everything came together in the end but there was so many obstacles this couple was having to endure that I felt it was at times too much.

Book 2 in the Games series, Façade has an anticipated 2013 release date.

Mature content: language, drug references and sexual situations.