Review : Facade by Nyrae Dawn

Summary (from Goodreads)
 
Title : Facade (Games #2)
Author : Nyrae Dawn
Publication Date : July 2nd 2013
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
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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?

Personal Thoughts

I thought I was done with NA books dealing with characters that have broken pasts before I came across Facade, which came highly recommended from Nereyda at Mostly YA Obsessed Books, by go-to girl for NA suggestions. Facade was a heart-breaking book that took me on an emotional roller-coaster ride and I enjoyed every single minute of it.

An accident caused by Delaney's father ruined not only the victim's family's life, but also her and her brother's life. Delaney lived with the guilt of the accident with which she had nothing to do. Plus, her relationship with her worthless excuse of a mother was also strained to the point that it didn't seem it could be fixed. Delaney was a sweet main character, who I grew a fondness for throughout the book. She was the sort of girl who wanted to fix broken people. She figured that the only way she could move on with her own life was if she asked for forgiveness from the victim's family. That is when Delaney meets Adrian, yet another broken character, who had to endure way too much for someone his age. Adrian was quite possibly my favorite character in Facade. He had gone through hell and the sorrow and grief surrounding him were so palpable, I just wanted the guy to be able to move on from the accident. Plus, Adrian was not the sort of character who shared his struggles with anyone. He would much rather bottle his feelings up than share them with anyone, including his best friend. This made him an even sadder character and letting go of his heartache and guilt was too difficult of a task for him. Because of how vulnerable Adrian was, it was so easy to fall for him. There is something so beautiful about a fragile character. Adrian made me want to fix him and I wanted nothing more than for him to let go of his past.

When Delaney and Adrian meet, there were sparks flying all over the place, but there was also this nagging doubt about how they could actually become a couple in the long run because of how emotionally fragmented they both were. Over the course of the book, the reader gets to watch both Adrian and Delaney growing closer to each other and helping each other overcome their difficulties. Of course, their path to their HEA was not without obstacles, but not once did I think that the hurdles they both faced were unrealistic or over-dramatic. The secondary characters in Facade were also an interesting bunch who were well-fleshed out and developed. I was mostly intrigued by Maddox, Delaney's older brother, who it seemed was fighting his own demons. I was thrilled to find out that the next book would be his story! His relationship with Delaney was so heartfelt. I'm such a huge fan of siblings relationships and when they are displayed in a positive light as in Facade just makes me really happy. This book, in particular, also showed how romantic relationships aren't the only relationships required for a person's growth as an individual and friendships also play a huge part. Nyrae Dawn's writing was fantastic and her books totally deserved to be bought by a big publisher. Not only do we have emotional and poignant scenes throughout the book, but we are also treated to dual POVs that actually work perfectly well together. This is only my 3rd book by her, but I will undoubtedly be reading her other works.

Facade was so much more than just a hot romance. It was the story of two people learning to overcome their obstacles with the support and strength of each other. Beautiful, poignant and all sorts of amazing, Facade was one of my favorite New Adult reads this year.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Character : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of Facade.