Charade - Review

Charade (Games #1)

By: Nyrae Dawn

Published: October 22, 2012

213 pages

Source: Personal Kindle Library

(Goodreads / Amazon $.99 deal)

Summary:

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 needed a quick read to get over a slow reading slump and not only is Charade a quick read, it'll also tug at your heart strings. Cheyenne was orphaned by her mother at the age of 7 after her mom left and never came back, and grew up with her aunt (her mom's sister) and uncle. But after the life she led with her Mom, always being left here and there while her mom went to party, she grows up with a wall built around her heart because she feels like everyone will leave her at some point. Add to that a two year relationship ending after she walks in on her boyfriend with another girl and you've got a girl who feels lost and unworthy of someone who will treat her right, nightmares from her past and panic attacks.

Colton and Cheyenne meet at a coffee shop and after she witnesses Colt have a run in with her ex, Cheyenne sees him as the perfect guy to use to make her ex feel like the jerk he is. The problem is that Colt has his own problems and walls built up. He has a mother dying of cancer, had a drug dealer for a father and is not really what you call boyfriend material. He's rough, crude and has a mouth on him. But money talks and he needs it to care for his Mom. So their relationship begins as a game, a charade.

Now for a personal note: I recently lost my grandfather to a lung disease last year. What the reader sees Colt's mom go through as she is dying is eerily similar to what my family had to go through with my grandfather and boy did it reopen the flood gates in my eyes! Being able to relate to a fictional story because of your own experiences always makes the book come alive more to me.

The game between Cheyenne and Colt changes throughout the story - still a form of a game. They both have a lot to admit before they can really see how they feel for the other.

Grab your tissues! You'll need them.

*Warning: this book does have a lot of language and mature situations and is suitable for those over 18.

Favorite Quotes:
I'm not a real hand-holding-kind-of-guy, especially when I'm  not really hooking up with the girl. The kissing? That I can handle, but the rest of it is too frolicking-through-flowers for my taste.

His touch is black and white when nothing else in my life is, even when I believed it to be so.

"I might not be able to do much for you, but I'll hold your secrets."

This is a game. Our game. One that I asked for...

Final Rating - 4.5 stars.