Outstanding! This story was amazing. Truly Five star book. I laughed. I cried. I sighed. I may have snorted and set the book down so I could stop crying from laughing. But I couldn't set it down for long. These humors characters were real, flawed, likable, and amazing. This story is truly amazing.

I received an advanced copy of this book, but all opinions are my own. And if I could give this book more stars and a better rating I would. But since I can't, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

I absolutely loved this book! It was basically contemporary romance perfection in my book. This heartwarming story was sprinkled with humor and had a plot that kept me invested while being completely entertaining. The characters were great and were easy to love! Excellent first read for me by this author!!! I’m so excited to have another romance author to add to my list! This one is gong. To be one of my favorites of the year!

This was REALLY great. I received this as a complimentary copy from Netgalley. I really enjoyed reading this! The plot was awesome and interesting and I really enjoyed it. Cassie was great, Jett was great. I am really pleased that they ended up together. I love the blended family. I appreciate that Cassie wasn't pregnant at the end after having fertility struggles - most other books would have gotten her pregnant at the end but I am really pleased that she didn't.
As a sidenote: I do wish that there was more of a dive into Bree's pronouncement about the kids have lived trauma and how to deal with the trauma of terminating parental rights and the trauma of adoption. That would have been a great avenue to dig deep on.

I am always on the lookout for a book that will make me laugh and this one did! Over and over again! I had so much fun, I could not put it down. Serious issues were dealt with in agonizing truth at times, so it was not all fluff, it had some wonderful hard-hitting themes actually. I would say this was more like life charades than dating charades and more about comedic life than romance. It held my interest and I flew through this book and missed some sleep because of it. The characters were individual and interesting, flawed and so lovable. Christian fiction needs more books that make you laugh and this one is the perfect addition to your to-be-read lost and reading shelf! I loved The Dating Charade and can’t wait for more by this author!

Easy-reading and fun, The Dating Charade is exacty how the blurb made it sound. Cassie is a skeptical single woman with bad dating history, all too ready to pull the plug on a first date in the best way possible. Jett is all too ready to dodge her rejection and charm his way into a second date. Both admitting they don't want children on their first date, the plot quickly becomes hilarious as both have to hide their three children from each other after taking over their care in unexpected circumstances. Jett becomes the unlikely guardian for his three nieces/nephews and Cassie become the unlikely guardian for three sisters she knows from her childcare work. Obviously, neither have parenting experience and all three kids seem a handful.

It reminded me of the film Life As We Know It. Would definitely recommend for a short and sweet chick-flick.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

So first off, I went into this book expecting romance, some comedy, and again a light hearted read. The cover not only re-enforced those feelings, but so did the descriptive blurb. It starts out just as I anticipated and right off the bat I'm sucked into the main character's, Cassie's, plight of dating gone wrong. I'm rooting for her to find her one and only. I'm also cheering for Jet to successfully convince her to date him, and how he comes about accomplishing it with the help of her best friend. 

Not to mention Melissa Ferguson can write darn skippy well!

From here though the story takes a turn, the romance and light feelings take the back seat to a depth of realness I wasn't prepared for. DCS. Foster care. Abandoment feelings. Not like I can't handle a novel with these kind of heavy hitting subjects, I was simply surprised at the direction that happened. It played with my heart, and the bits of comedy that were there, I found hard to laugh given the situation of why they were even occurring.

These emotions, though, didn't dissuade me from continuing on. In fact, I was attached to wanting to know what happened, to see how the HEA happened in the end. 

Was I upset it wasn't as romantic or light/rom com I believed it to be at first?
Honestly, yes and no. I love a good rom com/light novels, but the reality is not every romance is funny without the hardships that occur. Whether its one or two or three or in this case, six little angels. That's life. Melissa Ferguson gave us that and I respect her for taking the risks of diving into such hardcore subjects. There's a risk in presenting a novel like she did, and mad love for it.

I rated THE DATING CHARADE 3.5, not because of the author (its a gorgeous debut), or the story line, but more because I went in with the mindset this was a clean romance with comedy infused. I just wished the blurb hinted more at the of depth the situations awaiting to prepare myself for it. 

Would I read another novel by Melissa Ferguson?
Abso-freaking-lutely. Her writing, voice, plotting, and characterization are impeccable. 

I received an ARC of THE DATING CHARADE in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of the review.

Let’s be honest here. If it was great or sucked I have no problem writing it out.Want to read the Cover Critique of THE DATING CHARADE? Then check out my blog on www.jenarcollins.com AKA The Mother Cover Lover

Cute and quirky read.
I was attracted by the cover but the book didn’t disappoint.
A perfectly pleasant read.

The Dating Charade is the story of Cassie and Jett - both single people who have not had any luck in their romantic lives. After their first date, both feel like it is meant to be. However, when both are faced with taking care of three children each, the possibility of making a new relationship work seems difficult.
This book is definitely marketed as a lighthearted romantic comedy, and while it had funny elements in it, it had a lot of struggles and hardships as well. I felt like they were not explored as much as I would have liked to connect with the characters. This book deals with foster care, addiction, abandonment, to name a few issues. While I really liked the characters, we were not able to delve into them and their problems a much. The transitions from one chapter to another were a bit rough, I felt like we didn't get to read about a lot of what went on.
Don't get me wrong, I do think it is an emotional and great debut for Melissa Ferguson, but it lacks a bit of depth and development. I would love it more if it was 150 pages longer.

I have to admit that I'm a bit torn as to how to rate this book. I was expecting a lighthearted laugh-filled rom-com based on the title, cover, and marketing and this did not fit that mold (even the description didn't do it justice in describing how heavy some of the topics would be). Melissa Ferguson tackled some difficult themes in her debut novel; abandonment, addiction, fostering, infertility, singleness. And I would say she handled them quite well. The romance in this book took a back seat through the majority of the book though (I think the couple was at 3 and a tenth dates by the end if I remember correctly). I think what was supposed to be humorous wound up falling flat for me because of the heaviness of the topics being covered. While many will laugh at the antics of the twins, I felt at times it was over the top. Now, I'm not a mother to toddler twins and Ferguson is so I've no doubt she would know better than I do when it comes to how much mischief they can get into. I thought Ferguson could have delved deeper into the feelings of the MCs. When Cassie has her three foster children taken from her care, we don't really get to experience the loss through her feelings and the book even skips ahead a couple of months. I didn't feel that I really knew Cassie by the end of the book as a result. There was also one rather large unanswered question that wasn't explained in the end... which left me feeling a bit gypped with that storyline. Overall, I think this is a solid debut. It held my attention and kept me reading and tugged at my heartstrings (I can certainly understand why Ferguson decided to go into fostering). I will definitely be giving her next book a read (although I'm curious to see if it truly is a rom-com). I think if you go into this book without expecting a fun rom-com, you'll have an entirely different experience with the book.

3.5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow! I loved this story!!! I cannot believe that this is Melissa Ferguson’s debut! I am definitely going to be watching out for more of her books! I hope she’s a fast writer! This book was full of everything I love in a romance - humor, heart, wonderful main characters, great secondary characters, and, of course, a happily ever after with a few bumps along the way!

Jett and Cassie are both such wonderful and giving characters. There were some serious and sad parts to this story, which really brought out just how giving they both were. And the humor? I laughed out loud so many times while reading this story! Cassie’s sure way out of a date was so funny. And Jett and the toddlers at church was hilarious! I think I laughed nonstop that entire scene! My only one tiny issue with this story was that I wished Jett and Cassie had more page time together.

I’m really hoping we get Bree’s story next. But, if not, I’ll be reading whatever Melissa Ferguson writes next! Wonderful debut! 4.5 stars!

I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC.

This title was advertised in the Romance section of NetGalley which is why I chose the title. However, I would have categorized this as general Christian Fiction. Yes, there is a dating couple, Jett and Cassie, but this story centers more on each main characters interactions with young people, and how they each step up to take care of children that need help.

This is a light, clean, wholesome read, but I was expecting a romance novel.

What a surprise this book was! When I read the back cover copy I didn’t understand exactly how the conflict would play out. But when I realized this tackled the issue of foster care I was on board especially since I’m a foster parent. Not only is every line and analogy filled with humor, Melissa handles the realities of foster care with expertise and a side of humor. I definitely endorse this book as a foster parent. As a wannabe writer I endorse the fantastic writing and as a romance lover this is one of the best romances I’ve read this year!

Cute! This book totally reminded me of the movie Instant Family. The best parts were with Jett and the kids. As a mom who hasn’t been out of the toddler years for too long, I could soooo relate...and it makes me wonder just how much personal experience Melissa Ferguson pulled from her own kids. 😅

I really wanted to like this one more, but some of the scenarios seemed just a bit too farfetched for me. The characters were well developed and had some fun quirks that made it interesting to read. It was a cute story, one with a happy ending, of course, and a good summer 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.

What a pleasant surprise! I don’t trust debut novels at all, I’m sorry for saying that but this one really was cute and just a perfect weekend read.

Thanks Thomas Nelson for providing this through NetGalley—politeness wasn’t forced on me by the author or publisher and any thoughts I will express will be entirely spontaneous and true! Yay!

The Dating Charade was a charming novel about patience, love, family and sacrifice. It’s realistic, humorous and light despite highlight harsh realities. There are twists and turns in this book even though its supposed to be a happy and light novel, which made me like it even more!!! ♥️

I’ll be looking out for you, Melissa!

Well..first it’s not really a romance book. It’s listed under the Romance category on NetGalley but it’s just a tad and very secondary.
Second..it’s a clean Christian romance. I have no issue but it wasn’t listed as that on NetGalley.
I just couldn’t connect with everything..so much happened in the book. It was just too much.
It’s sweet and inspirational, I suppose.
Just not my cup of tea.
**ARC provided by NetGalley

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I should start by saying that this wasn’t as romantic as I was hoping it would be. It was filed under “romance” in both NetGalley and Goodreads and the romance was secondary to everything else. I know that Cassie and Jett have a lot to overcome to be together, but their romance wasn’t really what carried the story.

However, all that aside, I didn’t enjoy the book. And not just because of how sweet and soft it was, but because it felt like everything was happening and being crammed into a story as fast as possible. Meeting Cassie and Jett felt so rushed and it took me a long time to really understand what Jett did for a living - paramedic or firefighter? I love contemporary romances, as much as anybody else, but I didn’t expect it to be lacking even curse words. Maybe I misunderstood what I was requesting when I saw the title on NetGalley.

I definitely liked watching Cassie and Jett go through the motions of becoming parents on their own and the struggle was definitely what captivated me most about the book. I don’t know if I would ever recommend the book to anyone else, but there were bits that were really cute and bits that were funny, but for the most part, it was lacking the romance element. And I don’t even mean kissing and smut, I just mean the chemistry wasn’t there.

Whoever came up with the old cliche, 'never judge a book by it's cover' was CLEARLY talking about The Dating Charade. Looking at the fun cover image and even reading the back cover copy, I expected nothing more from this book than a light-hearted romantic comedy. While it certainly had that too, it was so much more than I expected...and I absolutely loved it.



The story drew me in laughing from the start as we meet Cassie and her fail proof date escape plan. I couldn't help but suppress the laughs. THIS was just what I had anticipated this story would be. Fun. But while the humor carries on throughout the story to the final pages, it also goes onto tackle some pretty weighty topics in the midst of that. Topics like the foster care system and addiction. Not topics you'd think to talk about in a romantic comedy, is it? Still, the author blended the humor so beautifully with these deeper issues to create a heartwarming story that I could not get enough of. You'll be laughing at those humorous scenarios... but you'll want to have a box of tissues ready too.

While this is a Christian romance, I could see it appealing to a wider audience as well. There are certainly elements of faith found throughout the story, but there is not a preachy tone in the slightest. The characters attend church, they talk about praying, etc so it really just falls very naturally into the characters lives, reading more like a clean women's fiction or contemporary romance with characters who happen to be Christians/believers.



This book was so well done that I was quite shocked to discover that it was Melissa Ferguson's debut novel.What a debut! I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

Cassie knows how to bolt because with dating or worse off online dating the person you meet may be totally different from what they displayed on their profile.
I loved Cassie's friend, Bree, and how she took the reins in pushing Cassie to give in to the possibility of commitment and love. Then there's Jett, he's kind, respectful and a hardworking firefighter but single-so single that the elderly ladies wouldn't mind being young just to date him. It's a great warm read.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.