STEM, Programming, and Catfishing – Oh My!

Rochon’s first book in a new series, The Boyfriend Project immediately grabbed my attention when it was put on pre-order and I knew I had to review. I preface this review with the fact that this is my first Rochon book, I officially popped that cherry and I am glad I did.

Rehash of our plot – Samiah Brooks, finds herself in a disaster viral moment when her would be boyfriend is dating two other women. She confronts this king cat fisher and befriends his other dates. I loved how these women bonded and found each other during a crisis. This mess leads all three women vowing to put off finding a boyfriend for six months to focus on themselves (a great idea). Cue the entrance of one Daniel Collins, ex-marine and new employee at Samiah’s workplace. The attraction is immediate and the coming together is the slowest burn of 2020. Daniel has a secret though and keeping it could ruin the tentative trust he’s found with Samiah.

First, let’s talk about real in romance. A lot of folks don’t like it, and nothing against wanting to fully embrace the fantasy. For me, I find that while I enjoy stepping away from reality, I also find something fulfilling in contemporary romance that draws from the real-world issues and actionable items taking place and shows me and other readers something new. Rochon tackles the challenges faced by women of color in STEM fields through our main heroine Samiah. All her internal and external goals come from past wounds around discrimination and sheer determination to succeed not only for herself but for the ones who come after. Her wounds make her vulnerable to insecurities that people will think she’s not enough and in pursuit of perfectionism which was easy to relate to.

These real-world elements coupled with the grown-up way in which Samiah and Daniel handle their relationship is what made this book good. Daniel’s ability to listen and be empathetic, to not mansplain, and to defend Samiah in a few key moments without stealing her thunder also endeared me to the hero. For all his secrets, Daniel is a super good guy. The best, outside of the lying and hiding things, and he shows it with his smarts, his caring nature and his ability to think for others, not just himself.

What didn’t work for me? The fact the hero and heroine had barely spent more than five minutes together by chapter seven. It jarred me out of the story multiple times with me wondering when these two would finally have some forced proximity. The other thing is the slow, slow, slow burn. Some people love it. I found with this story I didn’t. But, after many hours of soul searching, I realize the reality of the slow burn fit these characters and their situations, they never broke character to fit a cookie cutter type of storytelling. This book breaks out of a mold, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Overall, this is a great summer romance that touches on timely matters and infuses them with romance and how things should happen. A hero who doesn’t mansplain, but listens. A heroine who finds her own empowerment to take risks and chances on dreams. Rochon is leading the way to a new type of romance, one that informs as much as it inspires. I’ll be waiting for the next book in this series with eagerness.

~ Landra

What a fun book this was! There were so many things to love about it- the themes of privilege and discrimination in the workplace, women (Black women in particular) in STEM, a mixed race male lead. I loved the friendship between the three girls and loved that that was a focus of the book. Samiah was such a great heroine - I want to be her best friend! - and Daniel was pretty perfect. I really loved how they were both so unapologetically ambitious in their careers. The only part of this book I didn’t love was the romance. I just didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between them, even though I loved them as individual characters. The story also dragged a little for me towards the end. But overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it! I’m looking forward to reading more by this author (and hoping for a sequel with Taylor and London)!

Thank you to Libro.fm, Forever Publishing / Hachette for gifting me a review audio copy of The Boyfriend Project. You're gonna wanna grab yourself a copy!

Not only is this a sexy, feel-good read but it also talks about racial prejudices, friendship, and self-worth.

After a live-tweeted date debacle, our leading lady Samiah meets and befriends two other women, Taylor and London, and the three of them form a #squadgoals pact to put their own dreams first and not let men or dating interfere.

Of course, it’s not going to be all smooth sailing. Samiah meets the oh-so-hot Daniel Collins at work and their chemistry is pretty undeniable.

I won’t ruin all the twists and turns, and subterfuge that you’re going to want to read for yourself, but I will say this book was an absolute joy. The characters were wonderful, the dialogue was witty and often hilarious, and there are some strong supporting characters too, in Taylor and London (who I believe are going to get their own books...insert squeal of delight here).

The narration of the audiobook is also fantastic, thanks to Je Nie Fleming.

I am a sucker for a strong STEM heroine, great friendships, and a hottie cinnamon roll hero, and guess what?? The Boyfriend Project has all of those! Along with a little mystery! I enjoyed this story so so much!

Oh man, the first chapter is SO GOOD! Samiah meets her soon to be friends by discovering they’re all dating the same catfishing jerk. This scene was such a great way to introduce all three of their characters and the book just gets better from there.

Samiah is a really devoted computer programmer and an app developer. I loved that Samiah discusses how hard it is to not only be a woman in tech, but a Black woman in tech. Even though Daniel is biracial, there’s a scene with the two of them discussing what it was like for Samiah to grow up wanting to be a computer programmer and the discrimination she faced. I loved that scene, it was one of the many moments in the book where Daniel really listened to her as she shared her experiences.

Daniel is a really great character too, there’s a bit of a twist with his role in the story but I loved it! It created a bit of mystery to the plot that made the story even more engaging. But the scenes with Daniel and Samiah together were total catnip! Their chemistry was great and I loved watching their relationship evolve from co-workers to more. Everyone knows I love some steamy scenes, but I would call this book low-steam. I loved the story so much I didn’t mind the lack of steam!

I adored London and Taylor and cannot wait for each of their books! This is such a great start to this series! The Boyfriend Project was a five star read for me. Highly recommend!

I thought this was cute. I absolutely loved the opening where Samiah meets London and Taylor. That scene was perfect so full of feminine angst. Loved it. I really enjoyed both Samiah and Daniel as characters. This is a light hearted, quick romance. Flirty and sweet. Add in a dash of undercover money laundering investigation and some STEM work and you’ve got a pretty unique romance. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the audio book because I was not a fan of the narrator. But the story was cute and had that cheesy “you lied to me, how will I know you really loved me” aspect to it.

This book is absolutely delightful. Samiah and Daniel are amazing main characters. They have fantastic back stories, they're well-developed, interesting, and fun. I loved following their story and seeing how they handled everything, both together and how they worked through their growth on their own. These are the main characters we need more of!

I loved this book from the very start. I don't know how you couldn't with such a fantastic opening. And getting to meet London and Taylor so early on is perfect, it really sets everything up for Samiah and her progression throughout the book, since these two characters give her so much support and encouragement along the way. They really are squad goals.

I completely recommend picking this up ASAP. You are for sure going to want to know what all the hype is about - and you'll be happy to see for yourself that this completely lives up to the hype!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 “I want more than friendship. I shouldn’t. It goes against all the ground rules I set for myself when I moved here. But I can’t help but want more of you.”
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If you enjoy:
💻Office romance
✔️Romantic comedy
💻Strong heroines
✔️Female friendships
💻Dual POV-Third person
Then this may be the book for you!
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Three women become fast friends when a disastrous first date live tweeting makes them realize they have all been duped by the same man. They vow to spend the next 6 months taking care of themselves. No men. But when Samiah meets Daniel at the office she decides he just may be worth the risk. Or is he too good to be true?
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If this book had a playlist- chapter one would be Beyoncé- Who Run The World. And I am here for it. Woman supporting woman... Absolutely! Loved how these women presented a united front despite being complete strangers. The friendship that transpired was honestly my favourite part of this book.
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I adored how strong Samiah was. Working twice as hard for everything she had achieved. The way in which the author wrote the very real inequality woman of color face in the workplace made it that much more powerful. I admired her work ethnic and enjoyed reading the following through of her dreams.
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The relationship between Daniel and Samiah was more of a slow burn. But certainly had some steam eventually. I would have liked to see more romance. A little more dialogue. But overall an enjoyable read with minimal drama. Look forward to reading more by this author.
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I received an ARC for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this one. The premise is so fun: 3 women come together when they find out they all have been dating the same jerk. They decide to focus on themselves for the next 6 months rather than on men. I really wish this book had built upon those friendships more rather than again be distracted by a male romance. It had a lot going for it, but I really wish there was more character building on all sides. ⁣⁣
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It's also possible that I've been reading too many romances and am on romance burn-out. This one had similar themes as other books I've been reading recently where the male character gives the female reasons to doubt him and his commitment. ⁣⁣

The Boyfriend Project is a great read! The book opens with Samiah discovering her "boyfriend" has actually been lying all along and seeing other women. She and two of the other women confront him and become the unintentional stars of a viral video. This book has several of my catnips: women who have each other's backs, a secret identity, and a slow burn.

I will admit, I had a little trouble getting into the story. At this point in 2020, whether or not I can pay enough attention to read something is very hit or miss. Once I hit around the 1/3 mark in the book, I was completely sucked in. I don't blame my difficulty reading it on the book, more on the insanity going on in the world right now.

4.5 Stars - Will definitely recommend

So far so cute I am loving this story!! Thank you to @netgalley and @readforeverpub
For my e-galley! This novel is so cute and it happens to be the 1st of a Trilogy!!! I have been meaning to read more romance lately and this is just perfect! What really like about this books is that it's not just about the romance but also about female friendships as well!! Definitely worth picking up!!

This was a super fun read. I mean the way Samiah, Taylor, and London meet was so entertaining! I was laughing out loud from when Samiah was with her sister, to how she handled everything at the restaurant. It was fun to see these women develop friendships. I just feel like this was very female driven and you wanted to root for all of the main characters! When Daniel appears, you just know he's going to be exactly what he needs to be. It was just nice to see two smart and kind people develop a relationship! I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you so much to Forever Pub for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Farrah Rochon, and Grand Central Publishing for providing a review copy!

This book is about Samiah who discovered that she was being cat-fished by her boyfriend Craig, along with two other women Taylor and London. Samiah found out about it through Twitter because Taylor was posting the details of her date with Craig. When all the 3 ladies confronted Craig at the restaurant, another person has recorded the whole thing and uploaded it on YouTube for the world to see, and it became viral.

I honestly love the story line of this book and how the 3 women were very much empowered. I adore Samiah for being such a strong and fierce woman who was not afraid of the world. I enjoyed the bond that she, along with Taylor and London, had formed because of what they all have been through. This is the kind of bond that women all over the world should practice because it supports fellow women and encourages them to do things that will make them feel better and happy in life.

However, I deducted one star from my rating because I am a huge fan of romance and this book somehow lack of it. I would have given this 5 stars if the office romance was much more narrated because who doesn’t love that, right? The details of Samiah’s work was a little too boring for the story and I felt like it dragged on a bit, but other than that, I enjoyed this book.

I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to read this! Happy reading, bookworms!

The Boyfriend Project brings a fierce female friendship trio that I am LOVING! 3 women who find friendship after unwittingly dating the same man brought such a great girl squad vibe. Also, all 3 are smart, professional success stories. Other than dating a moronic idiot, these ladies are mind blowingly winning at life!

Samiah works for a hot tech company in Austin and she is killing it professionally. I loved the portrayal of a woman who is intelligent, professional, and yet still accessible.  Knowing that she has one area of her life where she isn't perfect (dating) made her relatable. And I know I mentioned it already, but seeing her, London, and Taylor develop and grow a great friendship was empowering. Also, we see Samiah struggle with racism in the workplace. I think this is such an important topic and Rochon shows how it occurs in even simple, daily interactions.

Daniel is undercover at Samiah's office, which added an interesting layer. While he and Samiah are obviously attracted to one another, she has decided to take a sabbatical from dating and he can't get involved with anyone when he won't be sticking around. The chemistry was solid and I enjoyed their interactions. He does screw up though and I wanted to shake him. Samiah is hurt and angry, but he grovels good and she is smart-she understands the logic and necessity in his decision, even if she wished it could have been different.

So, I actually had 3 copies of the Boyfriend Project-an e-ARC, an audio copy thanks to Libro.FM, and a hardback from Book of the Month! So, let me say the audio is GREAT! I loved the narrator, Je Nie Fleming. She did a wonderful job giving each character their own voice. It was easy to get caught up in the story and block out everything else.

The first thing that makes this book so endearing is its characters. Farrah Rochon really gave us some great insight and even the characters with smaller roles are multidimensional and well-personified.

Samiah’s character in particular is strong, ambitious, kind, and completely believable. I love her level of self-awareness and honesty with herself and others. She is a Black woman working in the male-dominated tech industry, and there is a lot of timely social commentary about how hard she’s had to work to make it to where she is in her career.

And Samiah isn’t only looking out for herself. She also talks about how important it is to exceed expectations in the office to help pave the way for other women of color in the industry.

This provides insight into discrimination in the workplace and the systematic racism that too often goes unnoticed by those who aren’t subject to it. Additionally, there is discussion that no matter how successful a woman is in her career, society still puts pressure on her to find a man.
Rochan manages to incorporate all these important social themes while still keeping the tone of the book fun and exciting.

Another thing in this book that stands out about The Boyfriend Project is female friendship in the book. It warmed my heart to see these women come together and build each other up. I love seeing books that show women supporting and uplifting each other and this girl group was absolute squad goals. The other two women in the group have stories just as interesting as Samiah’s.

This book provides a lot of insight into what’s going on in the character’s heads. While I loved much of what this exposed, I feel that on Daniel’s part, this was a bit overdone. I do understand why Rochon had to include this element. Because of Daniel’s deception, we readers need to believe that he had good intentions and feels bad about betraying Samiah. Unfortunately, at a point, it seemed like he was harping on himself. I feel that Rochon could have made this point without being so repetitive.

The steamy bits of this book are HOT! There was some real passion, and definitely more explicit than some romance novels out there. I did notice a few phrases that were repetitive here too. Still, overall very sexy and the chemistry between Daniel and Samiah is strong and believable.

At times the pacing of the story in The Boyfriend Project seemed a bit off, and I had to review the previous pages to see if I’d missed something because the previous scene ended abruptly.

Still, the book worked overall and I love the way the elements of the novel come together for a smart, sexy, and fun read.

If this review of The Boyfriend Project tells you anything, it’s that you should go order a copy right now!

I rated this book four stars, with only a few of the above things keeping me from giving it a full five stars. Still, it’s an enjoyable and smart read and discusses a number of relevant social issues.

This a fantastic romance full of witty dialogue, strong female friendships, and a steamy modern romance. After a disastrous date ends up with Samiah and her two new besties becoming viral sensations, the three women make a pact to focus on themselves. But like all things in life, plans don't always go the way we planned. While she should be focusing on her dream of creating an app for finding platonic friendships, the perfect man enters her life. Daniel may be intelligent, handsome, caring, and respectful, but Samiah has a career and new friendships that wants to focus on. But the chemistry between Samiah and Daniel is too strong to ignore and the two begin a beautiful romance. When secrets threaten their future, Samiah and Daniel have to decide how strong their relationship really is.
Samiah is an amazing character and I love how Rochon portrayed her strength and sense of self-worth. Samiah knows she is amazing and knows how hard she has to work for everyone to know she's amazing. The friendships between the three women couldn't be better and I would love a book just about their margarita dates.
Amazing book and I couldn't recommend it more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

This was cute but read more like women's fiction. I will say it was similar to The Right Swipe but better because this author is actually Black and respected her heroine enough to make her stand out.

I was so excited to read this book that I actually did a swap for it before I was approved on Netgalley. I'm glad I had both versions though so I could take this with me anywhere I went.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so much more than the name makes it seem. I enjoyed seeing a strong female character live her life with the sole purpose of doing something to better herself. Yes, she falls in love along the way, and that story line was great, but most of all she looks out for herself. We need more of that in books. I've already heard that we are getting 2 sequels and I couldn't be more excited.

This was my first read from Farrah Rochon and I must say she has a way with words. This book had me laughing within the first couple pages, and captured me right away. Farrah created characters that I couldn’t get enough of. Not only do we have romance, but three women who form a strong friendship.
Samiah was an awesome heroine. Driven, witty and intelligent. Her character was refreshing and motivating. Daniel is working undercover at Samiahs tech office, so no office romances wanted. But the attraction is strong.
📚🍷👯‍♀️
This book highlights strong independent women, women of color and female friendship. If you are looking for a contemporary romance/women’s fiction/ romcom, go and grab this one.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Not only is The Boyfriend Project a fun, charming novel with the perfect amount of steam; it also features a strong, intelligent, and admirable protagonist. I enjoyed reading about Samiah’s experience in the male-dominated tech world and her determination to be a true role model for young women of color in her field of work. I found her drive and dedication very inspiring. If you admired Liya in The Trouble With Hating You, then you will love Samiah just as much. I found a lot of similarities between both characters. The next time you’re in the mood for a romance with some depth and substance, be sure to pick this one up.

Samiah Brooks was blindsided when she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. What was maybe more unexpected for Samiah is the friendship she forms with the other TWO women - Taylor and London. Together they decide to help each other work on themselves, their goals and their dreams sans looking for a boyfriend - hence The Boyfriend Project is born.

Samiah is on board with this until she meets Daniel Collins - a new hire at Trendsetters, the tech company where Samiah works. Daniel and Samiah immediately click and he has her wanting to throw The Boyfriend Project out the window, except she can't put her previous boyfriend's betrayal behind her. It's not the only circumstance in Samiah's life that keeps her from openly trusting. Should she put aside her past experiences? Or is Daniel Collins really a little too good to be true?

The first words I would use to describe The Boyfriend Project are Fresh and Refreshing. For me, it upped the romance game big time.

I was really impressed with how Farrah Rochon was able to balance all the varying aspects of the story. When I sit down and think about it, there are quite a few, which is why I'm so impressed that the author was able to give every aspect its due. I didn't feel like there was anything skimmed over or quickly brushed aside.

I know that many will view this as a romance first. And to be fair it is. I truly loved the build up of Samiah and Daniel's feelings for one another. It was paced and teased just right. It also lends itself well to the overarching conflict within the story which I won't talk about too much in order to keep a few things a surprise! But I will say that the conflict is expertly built and integrated throughout the story and I felt like it was handled in a way that didn't feel too rushed.

But there were a couple things about the book that overshadowed the romance for me - in a good way. One being the female friendships. This is probably the thing in the story I could have done with more of. As it stands I love seeing women empower each other instead of used as competition. Taylor and London and Samiah provide that support system for each other and I think their relationship is more important to the story than the romance. It's the touchstone for all that Samiah does. When she's hesitant about starting a new business venture, she talks things out with London and Taylor and gains much needed perspective. The same when she confides in them her feelings for Daniel. Without setting up these women, the story would have been very different. I would love to see more interactions between them, but I'm pretty positive that in setting this up as a series, there'll be plenty of time for that when Taylor and London inevitably get their own books.

The second thing that I thought was completely on point is Samiah herself. Specifically, Samiah knowing her worth, knowing what she brings to the table in regards to her job and her capabilities and not being afraid to acknowledge this and not being afraid to demand her worth. I loved that Samiah works in technology. I am not a tech person so I'm may bumble through describing things in this part so bear with me. I loved seeing a character being successful in her job, loving her job, knowing she is the BOSS when it comes to her job. So often I feel like we don't get to see these aspects because they can be used as another way to convey conflict or tension in the story for our main character. So instead of seeing someone own their capabilities readers are coming in at a point where they're slipping. Not here. Here we see Samiah thriving in her work even when things personally seem to be going downhill.

It's also encouraging to see women in IT. I know that it's a burgeoning field and I think that Farrah Rochon does a great job in making sure that readers know that computers and technology can be a girl thing too. She takes it a step further by talking about Samiah being a woman of color in a male dominated field. How much harder she has to work to be taken seriously and to get to where she's at today, but making sure that we know she is there because of her capabilities. Adding layers, relevancy, and a voice, but not making it seem like boxes are being checked.

This is the first book I've read by Farrah Rochon, but it won't be the last as I'm pretty excited where she plans to take Taylor and London's stories.