Title: The Facade
Author: Judy Corry
Publication: September 17, 2021
Publisher: Cherry Blossom Romance
Genre: Teens, YA Fiction, Romance
Pages: 378
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SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Everyone has three lives. A public life, a private life, and a secret life. I’m a junior in high school, and yet, I’ve never been on a date. Everybody says it’s because my overprotective brothers scare all the guys away, but I can’t help wondering if there’s something wrong with me. That is, until I hear a rumor that I’m secretly dating my brothers’ best friend. What? Sure, I used to think Mack was the most perfect guy in the universe, but I got over that crush years ago. And even though he teases my brothers about taking me to Make-Out Point, there’s no way he’d actually make good on that threat. I’ve only ever been the dorky girl next door to him. But when Mack’s sleepwalking episodes lead him to staying a few nights on the trundle bed in my room and we talk and share things we never tell anyone else, I start to wonder if a secret relationship is exactly what I want. My brothers have made it clear that Mack is never allowed near me. But what my brothers don’t know can’t hurt them, right?
REVIEW:
After just finishing the first book in the Eden Falls Academy series by Judy Corry, I had to continue! This second book, The Facade, follows the same group of friends, but the spotlight is on Mack and the little sister of his two best friends.
I enjoyed the first book, The Charade, in this series and The Facade did not disappoint. I actually felt that Corry dug a little deeper and gave us some more emotional content. Mack is dealing with a lot with his mom dying of cancer and trying to balance that with newly realized feelings for the little sister of his two best friends. While it’s a lot of back and forth whether they realize they like each other or not, you could feel the attraction brewing. Corry writes easy-to-read, feel-good ya fiction, but adds in some hard-hitting topics as well. We touched on eating disorders in this one and body image. Grief and loss were also major players.
The only thing keeping this book from a full five stars is that the meat of the story wasn’t as deep as I usually like. I loved the love story between these two and how the friends all played a part. I loved the familial relationships that grew as well and expanded from the first book. I think there was room for more substance and more diving into those harder-hitting topics.
Even with that said, this series is a fun one to read and I fully intend to finish it out. Judy Corry writes with an easy flow and keeps you interested to see how the teen drama is going to play out. Stay tuned for the next review in the series.
Check out our review of The Charade, the first book in the Eden Falls Academy series HERE.
