Just when you think you’ve met your match . . . the charade begins. 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. … 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?
Melissa Ferguson’s hilarious and warmhearted debut reminds us that love can come in very small packages–and that sometimes our best-laid plans aren’t nearly as rewarding and fun as the surprises that come our way.
“A heartwarming charmer.” –Sheila Roberts, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Moonlight Harbor series
“The Dating Charade will keep you smiling the entire read. Ferguson not only delights us with new love, with all its attendant mishaps and misunderstandings, but she takes us deeper in the hearts and minds of vulnerable children as Cassie and Jett work out their families–then their dating lives. An absolute treat!” –Katherine Reay, bestselling author of The Printed Letter Bookshop
“The Dating Charade is hilarious and heartwarming with characters you truly care about, super fun plot twists and turns, snappy prose, and a sweet romance you’re rooting for.” –Rachel Linden, bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees
“Melissa Ferguson is a sparkling new voice in contemporary rom-com. Though her novel tackles meaningful struggles–social work, child abandonment, adoption–it’s also fresh, flirty, and laugh-out-loud funny. Ferguson is going to win fans with this one!” –Lauren Denton, bestselling author of The Hideaway and Glory Road
“A jolt of energy featuring one of the most unique romantic hooks I have ever read. Personality and zest shine through Ferguson’s evident enjoyment at crafting high jinks and misadventures as two people slowly make way for love in the midst of major life upheaval. A marvelous treaty on unexpected grace and its life-changing chaos, Cassie and Jett find beautiful vulnerability in redefining what it means to live happily-ever-after.” –Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration and the Three Quarter Time series
“Ferguson delivers a stellar debut. The Dating Charade is a fun, romantic albeit challenging look at just what it takes to fall in love and be a family. You’ll think of these characters long after the final page.” –Rachel Hauck, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress
- A sweet romantic comedy that can be read as a standalone.
- Book length: 76,000 words.
- Includes discussion questions for reading groups.
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I love romance, it is my favorite genre. But I am getting tired of the whole there is something we are not telling each other that causes us to break up then to only realize we are miserable without each other. That being said, this was an adorable book and I finished it in about two days. Although most of the time I was telling the main characters to get over themselves and rolling my eyes a lot.
**This review will contain minor spoilers**
This is a tough review to write because I really wanted to love this book. I think one of the reasons I didn’t is because my idea of rom-com is apparently not the same as the Christian publishing world — I might give up on that genre entirely (but I did not let that impact my rating).
For starters, this is not a Christian book. I’m okay with that — I read a lot of general market books and love them. This, however, was MARKETED as a Christian book. It should not have been. I don’t care if the book has subtle or overtly Christian content, IMO to be considered Christian it must follow biblical principles and maintain Christian standards. This book does not. (Again, I’m not letting that impact my rating; I’m just putting it out there for anyone who picks this up expecting biblical themes.)
I really wanted to love this book, but it’s hard when the guy and girl both start the relationship with lies and continue to lie throughout the story. I openly admit that I only read the first 150 pages carefully; after that, I skimmed the rest just to find out what happens because I just didn’t want to keep reading about their deception anymore. Sadly, after lying for so many pages, the story ends with them finally caught in/admitting their lies but not actually apologizing for them. There’s no repentance and there are no consequences for their actions. Just a lot of luck that they both happened to be lying about the same thing.
Personally, I don’t find lying to be romantic. It was hard to root for the characters because I don’t think relationships should start or build on lies. Maybe they eventually confess; I might have skimmed over it. From a purely clean-read, contemporary romance perspective, this was a decent story. I wish I had connected more with the characters though.
Rated PG.
The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson is fantastic!!! I had tears multiple times and it was so heart warming! I work with teens and they are my heart… so this book gave me all the feels. Cassie has this dating thing figured out and a perfect escape plan that you wonder how many times she used. Jett is so sweet and caring. I enjoyed watching the ups and downs thru the book and cheering when amazing things happened out of tough situations.
THE DATING CHARADE by Melissa Ferguson is the delightful, part time humorous – part time heart tugging story of Cassie Everson. After years of disastrous first dates and learning she’s unable to have children, she’s about to give up on the marriage, family, happily ever after scenario and decide to be happy with her life as it is. After all, she has a loving family and loves her job at Girls Haven considering all those that walk through the doors her girls – her children. That is until her ‘girls’ talk her into trying on-line dating one more time. Little did she know that a boy back from her school years would be the one that would pop up asking her for a date!
Jett Bentley, a fire fighter, although dumped two years ago and not seriously dated since, is content with his life. That is until he figures out that most of his interaction with the opposite sex is when he’s called out regularly to two elderly woman’s house on some false pretense of needing assistance. As others around him are experiencing family life and having kids, he’s beginning to wonder if he might be missing out of something. On a fluke, he decides to check out an on-line dating service. On his first search, who does he spy but Cassie Everson, a girl from high school who he had a big crush for. Is this is opportunity to fulfill some of his daydreams from years ago?
Their first meeting was a total disaster because, unawares to Cassie, her friend pretended she was Cassie and set up the meeting. However, sparks soon start to fly with friendly banter and flirting after Jett sent a Santa via a firetruck to bring gifts to all the girls and an envelope containing a background check on himself to Cassie warming her up to a possible date.
Lack of communications and misconceptions start to break down this budding romance when Cassie becomes guardian and possible adoptee of three girls – one being a teenager, and Jett becomes guardian for this sister’s three small children. Each is unaware of the others situation. Can they work through their differences to see what really is in the other’s heart? What will become of the children? Will they find their happily ever after as well?
THE DATING CHARADE is wonderful story whose pages touches on many important issues (like drug abuse, abandonment and child abuse) showing how many lives are affected by other’s choices. Melissa Ferguson manages the perfect mixture of romance, emotions, road blocks and humor to keep you turning pages in hopes of true love finding a way to bring not only two hearts together but homes and love to six glorious and deserving children. I found THE DATING CHARADE entertaining and a sheer delight to read. I would definitely recommend it!
The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson is definitely not the book that I expected it to be. Judging by the title, I was expecting a light romcom and that is not at all what this is. There are so many heavy subjects and at times it is most definitely a tearjerker. It reminded me a little bit of The Happy Ever After Playlist except with a whole lot more going on. I also didn’t realize this was a Christian fiction book, but I didn’t really think it read like one. Even though it has heavy subjects, it is still laugh-out-loud funny and there are so many moments that I loved.
I did the audio and I literally finished it in one day. It was a really quick listen so I would imagine it would be a quick read as well. The audio had something I love which is a different person for each viewpoint. Kevin Kilpatrick voices Jett while Liz Stanislawski voices Cassie, and I couldn’t have asked for a better pair. I was also surprised to learn that this is a debut. I really enjoyed Ferguson’s writing style and I am excited to get to her next book – The Cul-de-Sac War. The Dating Charade is charming, hopeful, and a whole lot of fun, but it was also much deeper than I expected, and I loved that. Audio was the way to go for me, but I recommend this one to people who are looking for more than a romcom and more than a simple story.
After reading Melissa Ferguson’s newest book, Cul-de-sac Wars, I reserved this book as an audiobook and listened to it straight through! I simply can’t get enough of her stories! I absolutely love these books! Ferguson puts her characters in real-life situations and struggles while filling her stories with heart, humor and Southern charm.
I enjoyed Ferguson’s hilarious and creative narrative, laughing out loud several times at both the witty conversation between characters and the amusing (albeit, realistic) situations they find themselves in. Both Jett and Cassie were relatable and multi-layered making them the perfect couple! Their romance was sweet, cute and their struggles were so real and profound (again, real life, folks!).
As a licensed foster parent and adoptive parent, I also loved the story within a story that Ferguson developed. I found myself crying very emotional tears near the end as these characters made choices and faced some very real, very heart-rending circumstances.
Overall, this romantic comedy is heartwarming, fulfilling and hilarious to boot!
A lovely, sweet escape that made me laugh out loud.
I was expecting a light rom-com. What I got was a lot of funny (like seriously laugh-out-loud-funny) and quite a few tears. (As an adoptive mom, this topic is close to my heart.) Ferguson tastefully handles the difficult subject of fostering and adopting and the crazy experiences that come with an instant family.
This book was just so funny! A fun and fabulous read!
This debut novel by Melissa Ferguson has romance and humor while also dealing with some tough subjects. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to discussing it at our book club. Great job, Melissa!
Loved the characters and the predicaments they find themselves in. Who doesn’t love relatable moments of singles with children. Made for laughter and tears. Can’t wait to read an other of hers!
The Dating Charade is a really enjoyable read. I hadn’t planned on reading it so quickly or so early into 2020 (I already have a burgeoning TBR pile), but then I saw the author was doing a signing twenty minutes from where we ski on Saturdays. I couldn’t go to the event, but called the store and they had a book set aside which Melissa graciously signed.
So obviously I was going to at least put my nose in, right? Well that’s the first thing about this book – if you make it past chapter one (and I can’t see why a person wouldn’t), then you’ll need to finish it quickly to see what happens.
The characters are well written and made me feel like I knew them right away. Then there are some very funny situations but some moving ones too. How could two people end up with six children between them and keep it a secret? Hilarious concept. There were some twists I didn’t see coming, and very satisfying epilogue.
I would have liked to see a little more of the romance and a little less of the life situations, but that’s just a personal preference, not a criticism of the writing in any way. Make no mistake, I’ll be eagerly anticipating Ferguson’s next release.
“Always love. Always try. But never, ever, raise your expectations.” I picked this new release up from my local library under the impression that it was going to be a light-hearted, foo-foo type love story and was I ever pleasantly surprised! This story is about two singles who start dating under the impression that neither of them wants kids, but then both (unbeknownst to the other) end up being temporary guardians to three children each. The chapters alternate between Cassie and Jett and not only is it a fun, witty and warm read, but it really has some emotion and depth to it as they each struggle, not only with their new relationship together, but also with their newly formed “families”. Such a nice surprise find and I’m excited to read more by this debut author @melissafergusonwrites! I would definitely recommend to a bookclub because there is so much to discuss and it is also a fast read!
The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson is her debut contemporary romance. I’m not a huge fan of contemporary romance because of the predictability and the unoriginal story ideas with a happily-ever-after ending. I like more action, and the characters running for their lives. But Ferguson’s novel isn’t your typical contemporary romance novel. It has a raw and realistic view of the foster care system thrown in with some budding romance. I really enjoyed how the novel was funny at times. I really liked the two old ladies in the novel. They were a great addition to the story. I loved when they made an appearance. The romance wasn’t over the top and not the main idea of the story. Cassie and Jett had to figure out how to work the romance they wanted in around their hectic lives. I do wish that Jett would have shown how he learned to calm the twins down. They were never told no and had more junk food than anyone I know and wondered why they were jumping around, destroying everything. It doesn’t take much parenting to realize this was the wrong way to handle things. Overall, The Dating Charade was a fun read with emphasis on foster parenting. I didn’t mind spending the couple of hours with this novel. If you enjoy Becky Wade or Melissa Tagg, then you might enjoy this novel too.
I received a complimentary copy of The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
Wonderful book filled with surprises, humor, sacrifice and love.
I never knew half of what goes on in fostering kids and the adoption process until I read this book so it was very educative for me.
The plot twists of the story was really wonderful and captivating.
I felt Cassie’s pain through the events that happened with the kids in her care and I rejoiced with her when everything straightened out.
Jett’s side of the story was humor filled most of the time especially with his constant trip to his two old friends.
I enjoyed reading how the both of them single people decided to take on what two people together struggle with. Their strength, sacrifice was so heartwarming. I admired how they stepped up to responsibilities even when they did not know what they were doing.
This story will warm your heart, open your heart to love more, educate you on the foster system and show you the boundlessness of love.
I received a copy of the book and this is my honest opinion
Not bad for a debut novel. I loved the beginning and the way a tough issue was broken up by light cheesy fun.
I would have liked to see more romance, though. I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent together for the couple to commit to deciding that against all odds, they would come together to form a family.
I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.
This book was provided to me by the publisher, but as always, my opinion is my own.
This was a really difficult book to review. I gave it 4 stars because I really enjoyed the story. But I feel like readers have been completely misled into thinking that this is a fluffy rom-com romance. At the heart of it, there is a love story, but there’s so much more! There were some really funny interactions throughout the book, but it spent a lot of time delving into deeper waters such as drug addiction, abuse, neglect, abandonment, fostering, infertility…the list goes on. I love how Melissa Ferguson deals with each of these topics, but what I feel is missing is the romance. I wanted to see how Cassie & Jett dealt with each other’s messy. I wanted to see some sparks fly. I wanted to know more of what happened in the gaps instead of radio silence.
Trigger-shy Cassie is tricked into a date with unencumbered firefighter Jett, who spent his formative years adoring Cassie from afar. It seems like an unbeatable match until she steps in to foster 3 kids that were part of her after school program. Their budding romance is also impacted when Jett’s drug addicted sister walks out during a visit, leaving her twins and a newborn behind for Jett to pick up the pieces. The chaos that ensues as they try to adjust to their respective new normals & not scare each other off is hilarious, and it’s pretty beautiful when their villages step up to lend a hand as they each embrace instant parenthood. But their hearts get tangled up in trying to tiptoe around what’s really happening, assumptions are made, and then the unthinkable happens. The good news is, it’s a gorgeous saga with a happy ever after, and deserves to be treated as such. I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, and was under no obligation to post to review.
The Dating Charade
Cassie is trying to find someone to date but having a hard time finding a match. I love that she has a cat named Jeeves, love the name. Cassie discovers Jet through an dating site, he ends up to be someone that went to her school. Will she remember him?
I loved Jet, he is a firefighter. He Loved helping people and had a special elderly woman he helps out.
My favorite part of the book was the foster children. They both come to care for them a lot. The children has some fun and interesting scenes in the book.
I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher through Celebrate Lit. This book review is my own opinion.
Looking at the cover of the book, I was expecting a fun lighthearted romance. What I didn’t expect was the real life issues that children face everyday. The book is a look at two people trying to find their perfect mate. Cassie and Jett are both good characters but I found it funny that they didn’t seem to really fit as a match.
Cassie has her doubts about using an online dating service but her profile does catch someones attention. Their first date is fun but will there be another one? There are a few funny moments in the story that I liked. However for me, the real story is about the children. I know first hand what it is like to know that your parents don’t want you. For these children they go through such am emotional journey that my heart broke for them. It was hard to believe that Cassie and Jet find themselves with children at the same time. I couldn’t figure out why they felt the need to hide the children from each other.
Star picked up right away that Cassie acted like she was ashamed to be seen with her. As a teenager what do you think that will do for her self esteem or rejection issues? The story just didn’t flow well for me and it was difficult to connect with Jett and Cassie. I began the book with high hopes, but was quickly disappointed in the story because it was more about hiding children from each other than being honest with someone you wanted a relationship with. The ending was very predictable and the little conflict there was seemed to be skimmed over with an expected fix it solution. I didn’t find hardly any faith element in the which disappointed me. I will be looking for more books from this author with expectations of more quality characters and a story that holds my attention.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
3.5 stars
“A hilarious and warmhearted rom-com debut…” That’s the line that won me over and made me want to read this book because I do love a good rom-com. That said, this did not have that feel, not at all. Oh, it does have its funny moments, and I loved Jett’s adjustments to dealing with toddlers and a baby, but rom-com? Nope. There is entirely too much serious here for that lighthearted, romantic comedy feel. I also didn’t get much in the way of romance. This is a Christian romance, so I wasn’t looking for steam or any of that, and I don’t need that to enjoy a love story. After all, it’s about love, not lust, but Jett and Cassie are overshadowed by the children in this story, and there’s little room for romance. Which brings us to what I did like about this story. The kiddos. It’s hard not to let these kids tug at the heartstrings, and some pretty serious issues are addressed throughout this story. In fact, some of those issues brought out my momma bear side, and I really wanted a few minutes alone with some parents. So, what it all boils down to is this – Christian fiction? Absolutely. Family drama? Yes, that too. Romance? Not so much, and the conclusion was a little farfetched in my opinion. The story kind of felt like a balance needed to be found between the drama and the romance, so that the reader could get some of both. Regardless, the story did hold my interest, and I’ll be interested to see what this author does next.