Review: Facade (Games #2) – Nyrae Dawn

Posted 20 February, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 7 Comments


Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: Facade (Games #2) – Nyrae DawnFacade by Nyrae Dawn
Series: Games #2
Published by Forever, Grand Central Publishing on 2 July 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 291
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

5 Stars

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 alright. 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, carefree 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?

*I received a free ARC of Facade from Forever Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Facade took a hold of my heart, ripped it out of my chest and shredded it to pieces! So much dark sadness, so many emotions, I fell in love with both the characters and the beautiful prose. The storyline depicts a harsh reality – for all of the characters, and the incredibly deep sadness they feel and try to get rid of in whichever way might work is an important part of their journey.

Laney and Adrian are both dealing with a lot of mis-placed guilt, and in order to function in the world, they both put up a facade they show the world. Masks of contentment not many people are able to see beyond. However, they are much more observant than most people, and when they meet, they know straight away that there is more to the other than what they show and say.

I was drawn into Facade from the first sentences, I loved the first person point of view, and the way readers followed both Adrian and Laney through their thoughts. And their voices are very different, it was always easy to know whose head I was in.  At first, Adrian seemed to be a total douche, but it quickly became obvious he was hurting so much he was hiding everything about himself behind several layers of masks, and partying was one of the ways he could keep his inner demons at least partly at bay.

Laney keeps her own kind of Facade, being the good girl, always trying to save everyone around her, and also completely consumed with guilt. Even if she truly has nothing to feel guilty for! When she first met Adrian, she had no idea who he was, apart from a smirking, self-assured guy who tried to pick her up. Soon, she realizes he’s the guy she’s looking for, and what had seemed so easy before she and her brother Maddox moved to find Adrian now became very difficult.

Forgiveness and redemption are very strong themes in Facade, and even if I have read several very emotional reads lately, the level of raw and harsh emotion I felt while reading about Laney and Adrian was like a hit to the gut and the heart at the same time. The writing is truly beautiful, sometimes a little poem from Adrian, or a strong thought from Laney, and even if I have never been in a situation similar to theirs, I could feel all of their feelings of despair, loss, guilt, hope and love.

Facade is my first venture into Nyrae Dawn’s books, but it will be far from the last. And as a second book in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone without any trouble at all, as I was swept into the story and never left – even after I closed the book after I finished reading.

Pain grabs hold of me, threatens to pull me under, and for the millionth time I wonder why I don’t let it. It would be so much easier than walking around in the masks I do now.

A cry climbs up my throat and I clamp my mouth closed, hoping it won’t be able to escape. Why aren’t we good enough to make her want to stay? I don’t understand her not wanting to be with me. With Maddox.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my brother.” The smile grows slightly. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?” “Because I didn’t feel like being hit on.” I try not to bite my lip. It feels good to have a guy try and pick me up. Any girl who doesn’t admit that is lying. Whether you want him or not, it’s a boast to the ego.

“Why Casper?” I ask. “Because you’re the girl with ghosts in her eyes.” That simply, Adrian turns away and walks down the hallway. I’m stumbling out the door, slamming it behind me. “Because you’re the girl with ghosts in her eyes…” I don’t know why that hits me so hard, but it does. And he’s right.

There’s something about him that I don’t want to deny. Something that speaks to me, me. When others feel like this foreign language I’m trying to work out, I sometimes understand Adrian. Not all of him.

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Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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7 responses to “Review: Facade (Games #2) – Nyrae Dawn

  1. What a beautiful review Lexxie!! I have read the third book, Masquerade, and absolutely loved it!! They are awesome books to read as a standalone and the author fills you in on the gaps, so i have a general idea of this story and I can’t imagine the heart break that occurs!!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace recently posted: Book Blitz/Giveaway ~ BOMB: A Day in the Life of Spencer Shrike by J.A. Huss
    • I know I will love the first and the third books as well, Naomi. Facade is so well written, and I really felt for the characters. Thanks for stopping by, Naomi 🙂

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