The Dating Charade – Melissa Ferguson – Thomas Nelson – Published 3 December 2019
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Synopsis
Cassie Everson is an expert at escaping bad first dates. And, after years of meeting, greeting, and running from the men 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 thing: hide the kids from each other while sorting it all out. What could go wrong?
My thoughts
The Dating Charade is a delightful surprise of a novel. It’s quirky, funny and delivers a whole heap of enjoyment. It is both light hearted and yet touches on some serious topics, from child neglect to the importance of families. My only criticism is that I wanted more of Cassie and Jett. I wouldn’t mind a whole extra book to fill in the time between the last chapter and the epilogue, just because it’s so lovely to hang out with them and their families. If you love humorous romance novels, The Dating Charade is for you.
Cassie has almost given up on love and her dream of a family. She’s an expert at escaping from terrible dates. When firefighter Jett Bentley sees Cassie’s online profile, he is intrigued. She seems different from the girl he knew—and crushed on—in high school. No one is more surprised than Cassie when the date goes well. But when one of the girls from Cassie’s work at Girls Haven, a refuge for young girls, needs a safe place to stay, Cassie doesn’t hesitate to take in the teenager and her two younger sisters. And when Jett’s sister arrives and unceremoniously leaves him with her three small children, he knows he must do the right thing and look after them, even if he has no idea what to do with babies and toddlers. Uncertain of their future, Jett and Cassie hide their new young charges from each other, while trying to learn to balance, work, life, and dating with a new family.
I really enjoyed The Dating Charade. Far more than I expected, actually. The deception isn’t quite as bad as what is hinted at in the official summary. When Jett and Cassie first meet and start dating, neither has a family. Yet just a few dates in, through various circumstances, both must become the carers of three children. It’s totally understandable that neither feels comfortable disclosing their uncertain futures with the other and they don’t deliberately hide them from each other (until Cassie has an incident with a cat, a Christmas tree and a certain young lady calling the fire department.)
Jett and Cassie both have different reasons for taking in their children and different reactions. Cassie doesn’t hesitate and fights to keep Star and her sisters. Jett would rather get his sister the help she needs and just visit his niece and nephews. But they grow on him, and as Cassie and Jett weave the children into their lives, it’s hard for them to imagine a future without them.
The writing style in The Dating Charade is fresh and funny. It’s a clean romance and a Christian novel, though while Jett and Cassie attend church and believe in God, their faith isn’t really a focus of the story. I look forward to reading future novels by Melissa Ferguson and highly recommend this delightful book.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
More information
Category: Adult fiction
Genre: Christian – contemporary.
Themes: Dating, family, children, neglect, abandonment, romance, love, firefighters, humour.
Published: 3 December 2019 by Thomas Nelson.
Format: Paperback, ebook, audiobook. 336 pages.
ISBN: 9780785231004
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