The Dating Charade

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover Melissa Ferguson, but now I have, I'm hooked! I really enjoyed this novel that made me both laugh and cry, and left me with a big smile on my face. The upbeat comedy and sweet romance remind me of the 'good' rom-coms from the '90s and '00s: the story feels reminiscent of movies like Raising Helen and No Reservations. The novel is not explicitly Christian - the main characters appear to be Christians because they go to church on Sundays, and make the odd reference to prayer and Church, but that's it. I would prefer it included a more solid Christian theme, but I do recognize that there is huge need for good, clean, mainstream fiction, and I'm glad that Christian authors are attempting to meet this need.

I loved everything about this book except for the complete lack of anything Christian (going to church so you can put your kids in creche and have a moment to yourself doesn't count). There was plenty of funny moments, some quirky characters, and some deep and meaningful scenes dealing with fractured families and foster care, but how much richer it all could have been if the characters had drawn on prayer for their strength, turned to God in their time of need or sorrow, or sort direction from God in their plans. I thought Koorong only sold Christian books!

This book was both fun and frustrating at times as I just wanted the two main characters to talk to each other! (Although I guess I could understand why they didn't. ) An eye-opening glimpse into the world of foster care, broken families, the people who step up to help them and the way God uses ordinary people to extraordinarily change lives. Some of the scenes seem a bit far-fetched and it was almost more focused on the family/kids than the romance but all in all, a fun read.

I wanted to read The Dating Charade as soon as I heard about it: a couple meet through an online dating service, both having said they're not interested in children. Within a day of their first date, both find themselves the unexpected guardians of three children. \\n\\nI expected the story to get straight into the first date and the accidental acquisition of children. It didn't, which means I did find the beginning slow. However, I was invested enough in the premise to keep going in the hope of the eventual payoff, and I was rewarded. But it took a while, and I may have succumbed to the temptation to skim. \\n\\nThe characters were excellent. Cassie can't have children, but manages an after-school programme for at-risk children and teens, which is how she ends up with three accidental children. Jett is a firefighter whose upbringing left him certain he doesn't want children. But then his addict sister shows up with her three pre-schoolers . . . and leaves without them. \\n\\nThe Dating Charade is a romantic comedy, so has the obligatory bizarre situations (like Cassie's go-to plan for abandoning an undesirable first date). But it also deals with some tough real-life issues in a sensitive way-drug addiction, alcoholism, abandonment, interracial fostering, infertility. \\n\\nYes, there are times when it verges on ridiculous, but I find the comic relief is necessary when dealing with such tough subjects. \\n\\nThanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for…