REVIEW: Charade by Nyrae Dawn

Charade by Nyrae Dawn (Games #1)
Publication Date: October 22, 2013
Format: Kindle ebook, 344 pages
Rating: 5/5 stars
Get it: Amazon / B&N

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.

My Review

I’m totally regretting not picking Charade up sooner because oh my sweet sugar, this book was hitting my heart with ALL THE FEELS. Nyrae Dawn is so good at smashing my heart into a million tiny pieces and patching it up all nicely with love and care at the very end. 

Cheyenne and Colt. Wow, they were not fooling me one bit. I knew these two were playing for real before they even realized they weren’t playing the game anymore. My heart twisted and reached out to these two so much. It was so painful to see how the abandonment of Chey’s mother affected her relationships with other people and how Colt thought he could never amount to anything while he watched his mother wither away. I have never wanted to grab a hold of two characters before and wished for their anguish to go away. In Cheyenne, I saw a girl broken down trying her hardest to not need anyone, but who was stronger and in control even when she didn’t believe it. And in Colt, I saw a boy who was devoted and loving son ,who would do anything for his mother no matter how hurt he was feeling. Both of them struggled to let people in and to open up. In their game of charades, it became real and scary, but damn, it was exactly what they needed. 

I have to say that this book was really hard to read because of what Cheyenne and Colt go through. I’m more like Cheyenne when it came to the mommy issues. The abandonment messes you up and I felt a connection with Chey on that standpoint. It’s hard to believe someone loves you when they leave you and that part of the story really resonated with me. With Colt, I wanted what he had with his mother. I thought his relationship with his mother was what truly brought tears to my eyes. I thought it was so unfair the situation he was in and I was angry and hurt at how cruel the world was to good people. What I do love most about what Nyrae brought in Charade was hope. She didn’t just give Chey and Colt hope, but she gave readers (like me) hope too. 

Like always, Nyrae’s writing is spot on. Chey and Colt’s voices were authentic and the situations they were put it were completely realistic and relatable in every sense. I truly loved the whole idea of how a game becomes the real deal. I thought it was a good way to bring these two characters together considering how they showed themselves to the world. And I also have to commend Nyrae on the awesome romance. I absolutely adored Chey and Colt’s bickering and banter. I love how their relationship developed over time, how they never wanted or expected to fall in love and how they embraced it in the end.

And while I’m still debating whether or not I need Nyrae to replace my achy breaky heart because of this one, I loved that she made my heart hurt, made me feel so utterly helpless for these characters, and how she totally upped the angst, but never made it feel over the top. 

All in all, Charade is a testament to Nyrae’s extraordinary talent at writing and story telling. She never ever disappoints!