SYNOPSIS:
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?
REVIEW:
I loved Colt and Cheyenne from Charade. Façade is the 2nd book in The Game Series. Adrian Westfall and Delaney Cross are connected by a tragic event that has shattered both of their lives.
Delaney Cross and her brother, Maddox have always depended on each other. Their father is in jail and their mother has attempted to commit suicide of several occasions. Delaney and Maddox are both struggling with the life that they have been dealt. Both are carrying guilt for different reasons. Delaney is trying to find peace and some sort of closure to move past what her father has done, where Maddox just wants to protect Delaney and bury his feelings all together. Maddox loves his little sister and wants Delaney to move on and not allow others to hurt her any more. She has gone through too much for only being 18 years old. Delaney is trying to fix everyone around her, thinking that they can heal together from the tragic event that changed their lives. Delaney decides it is time to move to a new town and she has a plan. She has a specific reason for moving to this town, but I'm not going to tell ya. You're going to have to read Façade to find out why..
Adrian Westfall loves to party and is a total ladies man, but he has demons inside that he doesn't allow anyone to see. Adrian uses alcohol, weed, and women to numb the pain that he feels everyday from losing Ashton, his two-year old nephew, who died too young, when he was struck by a drunk driver while playing in the front yard. Adrian struggles with the guilt that he carries and blames himself for the death of Ashton. When things get rough, Adrian runs and isolates himself from the world. Adrian questions himself everyday, why couldn't he save Ashton? Why did he have to die?
By coincidence Delaney and Adrian meet while Delaney is unpacking boxes from her car to move into her new apartment that she and Maddox are living at. Adrian is immediately attracted to her and tries his smooth lines on her, but his flirtation is cut short when Maddox pulls up on his motorcycle and assumes he is Delaney's boyfriend.
Living in a small town, means that it is possible to run into people when you least expect it. That is exactly what happens, when Adrian heads to the diner to get something to eat. He never expected the brown hair, gray eyed girl that he was flirting with earlier to be standing in front on him ready to take to his order. She sees the façade slip into place when Adrian recognizes her. When Adrian introduces himself, Delaney is caught off guard. Delaney is aware of who Adrian is, but Adrian had no clue who is Delaney is. Delaney struggles to keep her ghosts from her past hidden, but Adrian can see the ghosts in her eyes. Adrian doesn't push Delaney to divulge her ghosts, because he has no plans on divulging his. Instead, he places his mask in place and puts on a great façade.
"I think I'll call you Casper," ~ Adrian
"Why Casper?" ~ Delaney
"Because you're the girl with the ghosts in her eyes." ~ Adrian
Delaney is struggling with the secret she knows. The secret that she needs to tell Adrian. But as they begin to spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for each other and Delaney can not find the "right" opportunity to tell Adrian her secret.
Both are struggling on how to move forward, can they move forward together? Can they overcome their past to have a future together?
"Why are we playing this back-and-forth game while I'm wearing this façade he knows nothing about?" ~ Delaney
Throughout the book, my heart broke for both, Delaney and Adrian. No one should have to go through what the two of them did at such a young age. Adrian kept all of his emotions and feelings bottled up in his head. He loved to write, but never showed anyone what he put down on paper. Those were his thoughts, thoughts that he would NEVER share. Adrian carried the weight of Ashton's death on his shoulder and it consumed his heart. He felt that he didn't deserve to be happy, or get to enjoy life, since Ashton was not alive to enjoy his. This particular scene between Adrian and Delaney crushed me. You can feel the pain that Adrian is feeling, and see how tormented he is.
"Do you want me to tell you a story?" ~ Adrian
"Once upon a time, there was a guy. not a real good guy. Some would probably call him the villain. he didn't care, though. he knew it was true. knew he used people and other shit to forget. he didn't plan on changing either. Knew he couldn't. That was who he was, so he might as well acknowledge it, right?"
"How did he know he couldn't change? ~ Delaney
'Because, real life isn't made of happily-ever-afters." ~ Adrian
Adrian is usually so good at keeping his true emotions and feelings locked away, but Delaney has managed to get inside his head, and possibly even his heart. When Delaney and Adrian are together, they both seem like they are a little less alone in this world. Adrian always tells Delaney that her eyes don't lie. That when she doesn't want to talk, her eyes do. Adrian is trying to figure out what could have happened to Delaney to make her this way. As time passes, Delaney is torn whether or not she should tell Adrian the truth behind her ghosts. Will her secret shatter what they have together. Will they be able to move past this? Will Adrian run, like he always does? Will Adrian ever trust Delaney again?
I absolutely LOVED this book!! I was drawn to the characters and you feel the pain that they are going through. The connection between Delaney and Adrian is breath taking. I loved how Adrian allowed Delaney into his head and his heart. He showed her a side of him that he hadn't show anyone in a VERY time. I also enjoyed having Colt and Cheyenne in this book, as well. There is an OMG moment in the book that I did not see coming, and it helped me understand why Adrian feels the way he did. I think this is a GREAT series and I excited to see what Nyrae has in store for us in Masquerade with Maddox.
I will end with this quote, but I won't I won't tell you who said it...
"You helped me stop bleeding. You made my heart beat when I thought it was gone. All those things you said I do for you? They're nothing compared to what you do for me."
I received an ARC in exchange for an HONEST review. This review was prepared by Heather.
BOOK 1 BOOK 2 PRE-ORDER
BOOK 3
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