Member Reviews

I was SUCH a fan of The Boyfriend Project - Samiah's story was smart, she was badass, and I loved her love story with Daniel. Definitely five stars for this - Forever Pub has my heart for sure. Their romance books are always right up my alley.

Samiah is caught between a rock and a hard place when she finds out the guy she was seeing is a con man. Samiah and the two other girls he was dating at the same time form a pact to focus on themselves and their hobbies, and not on boys.

But even more importantly, simultaneously, Daniel comes to work at Samiah's job at a popular tech company to investigate fraud that is occurring inside the company.

The book has female friendships, romance, work problems, family, race and class issues, and more! Loved loved! Looking forward to Farrah's next book!

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unfortunately for me, this is not my favourite read and i did not like it 90% of the time simply because the writing felt very outdated. it felt like the author was trying too hard to make it fun and flirty but saying "nipples tingling" really turned me off from the romance. watch my review here: https://youtu.be/cFYROqhsWyY

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I got this as a Netgalley e-ARC. I've stopped running a blog since about 2016, so I stopped requesting books, but this just...caught my eye. I HAD to have it.

And this was the perfect book for the moment. I love Black romance. I loved our leads Samiah and Daniel, I spent the whole book rooting for them to get together and stay together. I also enjoyed the friendship between London, Samiah and Taylor, even though I didn't love their meetcute because I thought there would a lot more emotional fallout or followup media attention from their viral video, but it seemed like Samiah was uninterested in it, so the story moved on. I hope with the other books might explore it a bit more.

It was a great because I felt the stakes felt relatively equal between their work even though the scale was different with Samiah wanting to be promoted, and our friend Daniel trying to take down an international money laundering scheme. So you know different things.

I also came to conclusion although I like an office romance, the office part is mostly wallpaper. I found Samiah's app and the tech company interesting but I would have traded some of the details for more romance! But I pick so much of my reading based on mood, so this was great for me.

Overall if you're looking for some fluff and heat, some stakes, some misunderstandings and some
secrets, but overall it worked.

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Samiah Brooks has gone viral and not in a good way. She discovers the Guy she is dating is dating not one, but two other ladies. One unexpected thing that happens is she gains two new girlfriends. The three ladies form an unlikely friendship.

Daniel Collins has just started at Trendsetters where Samiah works as well. Samiah and Daniel meet when they literally run into each other. They both notice a connection right away. Daniel is really empathetic. He asks if she is ok, when everyone else in the office has been making jokes about Samiah’s dating situation (or lack thereof). There’s nothing wrong with co-workers having lunch, unless there is such a strong attraction like these two share.

Ms. Rochon provides plenty of background details for the reader to set the stage and get to know this couple as individuals. I like how she writes about the thoughts in Samiah and Daniel’s mind. The thoughts in Daniels mind are definitely not agreeing with what his mouth is saying. Samiah refers to Daniel’s features as “scrumptious” at some point. Her feelings are not really in line with her new friends and their “boyfriend project”. They give in to their feelings at some point.

There is a touch of suspense, along with the romantic comedy aspect. Overall, Ms. Rochon writes a couple that is really likeable. Samiah’s new friends, Taylor and London are a hoot. The stage is set for this story to continue. This is my first read by Ms. Rochon and it won’t be my last.

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I adored this book. Samiah is smart, sassy, and stands her ground in the tech field dominated by men. She goes viral for telling off a guy who is two-timing her. This lands her new friends who together from the Boyfriend Project. When she meets new-hire Daniel Sparks fly, but Samiah does her best to keep him at arm's length. She's had enough of getting hurt. But as they keep getting thrown together at work, Samiah may it be able to keep her heart safe.

This book is so good! I read it practically in one sitting.

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What a gem! This books was fun and seems ripe to be made into a film or tv series. I really enjoyed the friendships between the characters.

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**REVIEW** The Boyfriend Project
What is your first impression of the title and what this book is all about? When I read the title, I was under the impression that a female was putting together her criteria on what she was looking for in a man. Well there's more to the story.

(1) You have Samiah, London and Taylor who's friendship was formed by one man in one night. Will it last?

(2) There's an office romance that wasn't supposed to happen for multiple reasons. Will it last?

Well you will have to read this romance novel to find out.

No matter how prepare you are in planning your life, situations will come along that you are not prepared for whether it's good or bad. You will have to take on the situation and work through it to determine how to move forward.

Thanks @netgalley, @farrahrochon and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this adorable book.

#TheBoyfriendProject
#NetGalley
#FarrahRochon

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Received an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

The Boyfriend Project was a solid 3.5 star read. It was fun, the characters were relatable and engaging, and the story was (mostly) compelling. Things fell apart for me a little at the end with a forced conflict that was easily avoidable and an insufficient grovel in proportion to how badly the hero messed up.

Samiah and her friends are a great little found family and I loved the time I spent with them, which felt real and lived in. Daniel felt a little underdeveloped at times and it gets hard to excuse his actions when he knows how much of a dick his lies make him (hence the insufficiency of the grovel).

I want more of these characters and this world, and would definitely recommend.

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“The whole point of this thing is finding joy,” Taylor said. “And when I look at your face right now all I see is joy.”
The Boyfriend Project was an incredibly enjoyable feel-good romance with a strong, fierce and compassionate main character. Samiah is a strong, smart, Black woman in STEM who holds herself to the highest standard as a spotlight is put on the inequalities that are placed on those who don’t fit the cookie cutter ‘cis white straight male’ mold. “You have to be twice as good to get half as far.” Samiah is always thinking of others as she embarks on any journey, about how it will reflect on those who are wanting to follow in her footsteps, those who she can help along the way, and how she can use her company’s resources to better help the community and engage with those who don’t generally get much engagement. Suffice to say, I’m a sucker for a character like this and I loved getting to know her as a character.

Daniel Collins is a smart, capable, kind Black and Korean man who sets a very high standard for any love interests in books that I’m going to be reading in the future. He has a job to do, but all of his ‘rules’ go out the window when he spots Samiah and he is instead dedicated to making her life better, doing things for her ‘just because’ and being an overall amazingly sweet LI. The steaminess is definitely there too, the flirtatious banter between the two characters comes across as so real and there were lots of times that I found myself grinning due to their back and forth dialogue.

The friendships that develop in this book between Samiah, London and Taylor are so genuine and they are so committed to helping each other better themselves that it is just so refreshing to see. No cattiness, no hate, just pure love. From being introduced to each other due to shitty circumstances, they definitely found the silver lining in it, which was each other.

This book has own-voices rep which I cannot comment on, however please search out reviews from own-voices reviewers.

*thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Samiah is a modern girl and TAKES NO S*** from anyone and I LOVE her. A girl after my own heart, she knows her strengths and worth and flaunts them with a confidence I envy. So few women get the reception she does for her skills and it warmed my heart to see it even as she faced the same petty putdowns and dismissals as a rookie. Watching her go through the process of not only owning her work at work, but chasing her dreams to reality at home was inspiring beyond words, and her mindfulness of those on the come up (both in terms of generosity of opportunity and responsibility to create those opportunities) humbled me. This book showed me what it meant to be a truly successful professional woman and I will take her with me as I grow.

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Samiah, London and Taylor, three women who know nothing about each other, until they meet after finding out on twitter that they all have been catfished by the same man, Craig. A friendship and bond is born afterward, and they are on a quest to start The Boyfriend Project, where they work on their selves and pursue their personal passions. Samiah meets Daniel at work, who is not what he appears to be. Daniel is hiding something and although they start to get close, they both have to decide what is most important.

This was a very enjoyable read with a great mix of romance, women's fiction and just a little of everything mixed in. A great story that also sheds a little light on dating in the digital age. It was also refreshing to see a woman soaring in the IT field. Very good job from the author.

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So good! I loved meeting these characters and watching their individual but strong personalities on display as they find friendship in a bad situation. And of course, just when you swear off men, what is gonna happen? Samiah has to see if following her heart means giving up on doing what’s right for her.

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I really enjoyed the mystery, intrigue, budding love story, and the #twitter beginning. The characters are well defined and developed, along with the right amount of substance. The family and friendships are well interwoven into the story. The reader has the opportunity to see the love grow and blossom. I have always loved stories by this author, and she doesn’t disappoint with this story. Well worth the time to enjoy the boyfriend project journey.

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I loved the opening of this story and how the three women caught the loser “boyfriend.” I thought it would be a man-bashing book, but Farrah uses that experience for the women of the story to empower themselves and to focus on being good people instead of tearing each other down. I loved it!

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I love this book!!!!

First of all, I was hooked from the set up. That first chapter got me!! Samiah meets Taylor and London when they all find out that the same guy was conning them and dating them all at the same time. They then form an unlikely friendship. I am obsessed with this friendship. I love how they encourage each other to pursue their goal! They become friendship goals for sure!!

I love Samiah! She's tough and she takes no prisoners. She is amazing at her job but she's always pushing hard and hustling. She also loves doing outreach and is super invested in giving back and helping the next generation coming up. She places this huge burden on herself, which is something I've never thought about but that I loved being shown in this book- she constantly talks about how she can't make mistakes, how she has to be amazing. She feels this pull to do this not just for herself but to open doors for the people coming after her. She talks about how her successes or her failures will determine the opportunities given to Black women coming up after her and that's a huge burden but also a truth that we need to talk about more. If we don't talk about it, if we don't see it, then we cannot make a change.

So... talking about Daniel can easily lead to spoilers so I'll keep my talk about him pretty vague. I'm obsessed with his job and the drama and mystery surrounding it. I was so invested in that storyline, even when I was really mad at that one choice he makes. Also, he's just completely dreamy as a male love interest. He loves and supports Samiah. He believes in her and sees how strong and driven she is. I loved that while she's working on her app he looks at her and basically tells her "I know you can do this on your own, and I'm here if you need anything." That's the kind of supporting SO we all need. Could he have taken over and used his knowledge to help? Sure, but he knew she could do it on her own and that it was important for her to do it. I just love him, I love him so much.

I love watching them at work and developing their feelings for each other in and out of the office. This book is cute and fun but also super important. I couldn't put it down!

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Thank you NetGalley,Grand Central Publishing and Farrah Rochon for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
This is the perfect poolside read. The main character, Samiah learned via Twitter that the man she’s been dating has also been dating two other women. Instead of blaming each other, the three women team up to get their revenge. Thus begins a friendship between them better than the relationship they ever would’ve had with their ex. They agree to meet every Friday for drinks and dinner and that they don’t need a man. Finding strength in each other, each woman admits her life is not where she wants it to be and that a man has done nothing but hold them back. They agree to six months man free, The Boyfriend Project.
This plan seems totally doable until Samiah meets Daniel Collins. I love a good office romance and this hit all the right marks. This one wasn’t all about the romance and the steam factor wasn’t off the charts. The friendships and growth of the woman and Samiah’s career are all great plot points that hold equal weight throughout!

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The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon follows Samiah Brooks, a high-powered, successful woman in the Tech industry. Unlucky in love, she and two friends decide that they will put off dating for six months to focus on advancing in other areas of their life. For Samiah, this means creating and developing an app, a long-time dream of hers. At around the same time, she meets Daniel, a man from work whom she instantly falls for. But, there is more than what meets the eye in this contemporary romance...

I really enjoyed this book! It stood apart from the other romance novels that I've read, as female friendships and comradery were important themes in this story. In addition, Rochon does a excellent job of telling a fun, lightheaded story, while still focusing on deeper subjects, like being a Black woman of colour in the tech industry. I found this story to be very relatable, heart-warming, and at times comical. Samiah is written as someone that I would love to be friends with. She truly shines brighter than anyone else in this book!

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This was such a fun romance. I loved the representation of women in STEM and the friendship between London, Taylor, and Samiah was so refreshing. The audiobook is OUTSTANDING and I can't recommend it enough because I burst out laughing so many times. Daniel was a dreamy love interest and the book had the perfect about of steam. I loved it!

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I loved the strong female friendships in this book and how it’s important to have a tribe of women that have your back.

Samiah works at a Tech company and this story touches on the challenges she faces as being the only Black woman in her position and the pressure that comes with in that role. Like the old saying goes we have to work twice as hard for less just to prove our worth.

The romance between Daniel and Samiah was nice but the theme of friendship and being Black in the workplace is what sealed the deal for me in this story. At times I did feel the pacing of the story was a little slow but I did enjoy the book overall. I’m hoping Taylor will be the next book!

3.5 stars

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Filled with humor, heart, social relevance, witty banter, a girl squad that forms in a most unlikely way, a heroine I admire, respect and want to be friends with, and a hero who makes my heart flutter in the most delicious way, THE BOYFRIEND PROJECT is an absolute delight and exactly what I needed to make my reader heart happy. I couldn't put it down. I enthusiastically recommend this new romantic comedy by Farrah Rochon for your summer reading list!

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

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