The Dating Charade

By: Melissa Ferguson

Narrated by: Kevin Kilpatrick, Liz Stanislawski

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. 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 best-selling 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, best-selling 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, best-selling author of The Enlightenment of Bees)

©2019 Melissa Ferguson (P)2019 Thomas Nelson

Overall, pretty good

The story was one that I have t encountered before. The romance took a long time and was a background player to some very serious topics in real life society. Both MC’s are strong, smart and focused people.
I liked the male narrator more than the female.

Good

If your a parent (bio parent or not) you can relate to the situations in this story. My kids are all grown but this story reminded me of good and sad memories. Worth the read.

I loved it!!!!

Like romance? This is for you! Have (or are close to) a kid? This is for you! I was doubled over at all the little day to day mishaps and mayhem these kids get into and watching two previously non-parents deal with it. As a young mom, I loved every minute. And in between laughing so hard that I worried my toddler, a sweet romance formed between the two main characters. I will definitely be coming back for more with this author!

Charming and fun

I fell in love with these characters and was rooting for them the entire time. This was a perfect first audio book of the year for me. Can’t wait to listen to more from this author.

Binge Listened 💯

So awesome 👏 I binge listened to the whole book within a twenty-hour hour time slot.

The narration is terrible!!

It ruined the story because it was so bad!! I’ll avoid these narrators( especially the male) going forward.

Brilliantly funny and poignant story

I first read and then listened to The Dating Charade on Audible. While traveling weekly I always have a book to listen to. I thoroughly enjoyed this book both ways, but I really loved the audio. While I don't want to spoil the story, it has so many great aspects to it; a love story, comedy (had me laughing out loud), and yet, deals with difficult issues that are prevalent in today's society. I found myself listening in parking lots after I arrived at my destination, not wanting to wait to see what happens next. This is not just a fluff romantic comedy. The author writes deeper than that, which makes this book worth reading even more!

Awesome story

The book itself was fantastic, loved the unpredictable, heart-capturing story line and believable characters.

Heartwarming and well-writen

Enjoyed this book on a road trip. It is well written. I loved the main character. I would like a sequel to it or even a prequel as I felt like I wanted to know more about everyone in the book.

Cute and sweet, but a bit lacking

(Contains some light spoilers)
The story was cute and sweet. If you’re looking for a hot-and-heavy romance, this isn’t it, but it is heartwarming. There were a few aspects to the story that weren’t included that I wish had been. Jett’s initial message to Cassie on the dating website is nowhere to be found. When the audio started in on his reading Cassie’s reply, I was confused and rewound to see if I had inadvertently missed something, but, no, I hadn’t. This seemed like a strange omission, and I would have liked to have been privy to how he had started out their correspondence. I was never quite clear on what Sarah did for work (prior to becoming a paramedic) that allowed her to watch Jett’s kids so often. Then towards the end, it is never explained how Trina has managed to be driving around with her kids when they had supposedly been with Sarah while Jett was at work. Nor are we told what happened with Star’s uncle that led to her and her sisters’ being returned to Cassie. Given the detailed struggles that Jett and Cassie had gone through with their respective kids, it seemed like these parts of the story were simply glossed over in the interest of wrapping it up quickly. As for the performances, Kevin Kilpatrick’s voice was a little too high when he was reading male dialogue, making him sound a bit whiny. Liz Stanislawski didn’t differentiate between male and female voices, so it was often confusing as to who was talking. Furthermore, she repeatedly mispronounced several very common words, like “vaguely” and “tulle.” All in all it was a fun listen, but I don’t think I will be seeking out other books written by this author or read by these narrators.