When Samiah Brooks discovers the man she has been dating has also been dating two other women, rather than compete, the three team up and start a friendship. One of the goals of this friendship, is that they focus on their own goals rather than throw themselves back into the dating pool. For Samiah, this means she will finally finish the app she’s been dreaming of, but when a charming, new employee is hired at her tech job, Samiah has a hard time keeping her focus. Daniel knows he’s should get entangled with a coworker but he can’t talk himself out of coffee breaks with Samiah. And while he seems to seamlessly fit into his new job and Samiah’s life, there is more to him than he’s letting on.

I enjoyed this book, quite a bit. Samiah and Daniel were complicate people with a lot going on in their world beyond their interest in each other, and that is always important to me for world building. I look forward to getting to know the other women in the boyfriend project, and I am thrilled to have another author of color to highlight to patrons. For fans of The Right Swipe, this is another ensemble romance series I will be watching!

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*.
I have been looking forward to reading a book by this author. I enjoyed how the book started. Three women make a connection when they discover they are all dating the same man. Someone videos it and posts it online. Instant celebrity. These new friendships were awesome! However, this is the best part of the book.
For me, the romance fell flat. So much if it takes place off the page. I find that extremely irritating. I want to see the initial parts of a couple falling for one another. I don’t want to be told about weekly meetings at a coffee shop. I need to see the build up to buy into the couple.
I enjoyed the writing but telling not showing is a real no no for me.

I really enjoyed this book! I love how it jumped right into Samiah confronting her boyfriend, who turns out to be a catfisher! You knew right away, you were getting a badass heroine! And not only that, she made friends with the other ladies who had been catfished as well! The friendship that develops between Samiah, London, and Taylor is amazing! And felt completely realistic as they each were adults with jobs, and couldn’t hang out and call each other at work regularly! They caught up with each other on Friday nights. The three decide that they are going to take time for themselves to be single and focus on their careers and goals and help hold each other accountable.

Of course, things never go as planned when a new hire, Daniel Collins, starts working with Samiah. Daniel and Samiah have an instant attraction to each other. The relationship was natural and flirty and I really enjoyed seeing the two grow close. However, considering Daniel’s secret, I was nervous as to how that was going to play out. To not spoil Daniel’s plot, I won’t say what the secret is, but I was happy with the end result. It was both satisfying and refreshing that there wasn’t any unnecessary drama that lingered. Daniel and Samiah communicated with each other - which was refreshing!

(3.75/5) The Boyfriend Project was a book that grabbed my attention since I learned about it (and, let’s be honest, that cover has a lot to do with that. It’s GORGEOUS). The premise sounded great and I LOVE a good office romance from time to time. However, the book left me feeling underwhelmed and was missing a certain spark for me to completely love it.

On one hand, there are a lot of things I liked in this book. I really enjoyed the friendship born between Samirah, London and Taylor. It felt authentic and sweet, and they connected their differences in a way that made them bond and be there for each other as support. The way they helped each other made me feel happy that I got to see such strong female friendship in a book. The writing style is also fantastic, it grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until I finished the book. When I wasn’t reading, I found myself thinking about the book. I also loved the steamy scenes. Farrah Rochon came through with giving us sexy yet sweet scenes in the book and I WAS HERE FOR IT.

On the other hand, the romance fell flat to me. It felt a little rushed and I didn’t feel much chemistry between Samirah and Daniel. It felt like the story jumped from point A of the relationship to point B then to point C without connecting much between them.

Although The Boyfriend Project left me wanting more, I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. Her writing style is great and I can’t wait to see what she comes with for the next stories in this series.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. In an era of catfishing and on-line dating this novel has a very timely plot. Samiah Brooks finds out on Twitter that the man who had just canceled their date was on a date with someone else. She decides to go to the restaurant and confront him. Little did she know that the confrontation would go viral and she would become best friends with the other women, yes-other women that were all cheated on by the same man! Samiah, Taylor and London form a pact to take a break from dating and focus on being the best people/friends they can be. This was actually my favorite story line of the book!! But, as in life, whenever you decide you don't want to date anyone, you can meet the man of your dreams. For Samiah it is Daniel-a new coworker that she ends up working with on many projects. Trust is a huge issue for Samiah, and when suspicious things begin to happen at work can she rely on Daniel or will she regret giving him her heart? This was a great story with diverse, driven female characters and a fun romance tied into it. There have to be follow up stories for Taylor and London!

Quick snyopsis: Daniel is hired at an innovative tech company, Trendsetters, where Samiah works in Austin. Daniel isn't your average employee through-- he's on an undercover assignment through the US Treasury Department, as someone at Trendsetters is likely laundering millions of dollars overseas. Despite the huge conflict of interest, Daniel can't resist Samiah, who is going through some struggles of her own when she's the subject of a viral video, and a relationship blossoms.
Overall: Fans of The Wedding Date series will especially enjoy this as there were some similar elements: strong female friendships, kickass smart women, and dating in today's world of social media and going viral. I loved Samiah as the super smart female lead (in STEM!) and the strong female friendships protrayed. This also made me add Austin to my travel list!

The Boyfriend Project was a book that I was excited to read because based on the premise, an office romance, I thought I would really enjoy it. While there were definitely things I did enjoy, there were other aspects that just didn't quite hit home for me.

Samiah Brooks was in a new relationship and things were going well at work until she discovers that her new boyfriend is cheating on her with not one, but two other women. After outing him in a restaurant with the video going viral, what ends up happening next was pretty cool. Samiah forms a bond with the other two women, Taylor and London, and they decide that for the next six months they are going to focus on themselves and not on romantic relationships. In theory that sounds great until a new guy starts at Samiah's work.

Daniel Collins has just landed a job at the tech firm where Samiah works and he's ready to get to get down to business. What he doesn't anticipate is being taken by the gorgeous, accomplished woman. While he has sworn off relationships himself, he finds any reason to be around Samiah. Will he really be able to resist starting something up with her even if there could be other consequences?

I enjoyed the friendship between Samiah, Taylor and London. It was everything your relationships with your girlfriends should be. There were several things I struggled with throughout the book, but I think the biggest thing is that it lacked romance and then when it was there it felt very rushed. There were a couple of times that I felt like I had whiplash because we went from point A to point B so quickly. I wanted to love this book, but while it was enjoyable, it missed the mark for me.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

We are living in the golden age of romance novels, and I am so here for it.
Incredible storytelling. Diverse and well-developed characters that resemble the people I know in my life versus stale caricatures. Beautifully paced plots that keep my full attention - even when my kid is yelling “Mommy-mommy-mommy-mommy-MOMMY!” And the best of them weave a serious issue into the story seamlessly, and I feel so incredibly happy and smarter and have a better understanding of how to be an ally after reading them.
Farrah Rochon’s The Boyfriend Project has joined the list of security blanket reads. It’s EXCELLENT.
Samiah is a protagonist that I sympathize with deeply and have also learned a lot from. Daniel is from Philadelphia and proudly rocks our team’s merch while being empathetic and kind and the type of man we need more of in real life. And even though he’s got his own secret, I love the instant connection between these two. The chemistry jumps right off the page and left me smiling and flipping through the book furiously all day long.
@bookofthemonth literally delivered this early release, so it’s a good time to join if you haven’t already!
My mild disappointment of not knowing about Farrah sooner was quickly replaced by the glee to read all her previously published books.

Thank you to the author/publisher for an advance copy of this novel! Opinions here are my own.

The Boyfriend Project is just a super cute effing novel. The end.
I'm just playing, but it IS really cute. Absolutely loved the main thread of romance through the novel-- Daniel, who's licking his wounds after the end of a long relationship and Samiah, whose last breakup was so public and horrific that it went viral. Both have every reason to avoid each other... and I just love when two characters are so drawn to each other that they throw all of those reasons to the wind and come together.
The external drivers in this story are as powerful as the romantic plot-- I love a book that is about more than the hero and the heroine wanting to do the horizontal mambo. I need more than characters staring out the window and talking to their own reflections-- though there is plenty of surmising and psychology that makes sense.
I love the stakes-- the status of Daniel's job and what he needs to do to call his mission complete; Samiah's need and desire to prove herself at work and get ahead, not to mention her personal passion (and needed to be the best, not "good enough"); and her friendship with the ladies she met as her last relationship was imploding that led to the formation of the Boyfriend Project.
At one point, I thought all the stories were getting hard to manage... but by now, I've read Rochon enough to know that she is skilled at weaving storylines together so they dovetail with perfection.
All that analysis aside.... this was a cute story! It'll definitely put a smile on your face.

Samiah Brooks works at a tech company and is currently dating a guy she met on a dating website. While getting ready to go on their date, she realizes via Twitter that he is on another date with another woman! Samiah decides to head down to the restaurant and confront him. This is where Samiah meets London and Taylor. The two other women who were also dating the same man!

I loved this relationship meet cute between Taylor, Samiah and London. Their interactions and weekly dates were so much fun. I could definitely see myself meeting with my girlfriends just like this!

I also really enjoyed that all three friends were very independent and successful in their own professions. I absolutely love it when strong females are written in romances and Samiah, Taylor and London embody that.

While swearing off men for the time being along with her new girlfriends, Samiah happens to meet Daniel at work. He's a new co-worker at Samiah's tech company and they casually start seeing each other.

What lacked for me was the romance equation of The Boyfriend Project. The romance really took a back seat. Samiah's relationship with her girlfriends and her ability to write a new app were a big part of The Boyfriend Project as well as the reason Daniel was at the company. I enjoyed the suspense surrounding Daniel's profession, but the reveal and ending tied up a bit too neatly for me. I enjoyed the relationship between Samiah and her girlfriends, but I wish I was more invested in the romance.

After learning via a Twitter rant that the guy she was seeing was also seeing not one, but TWO other women, Samiah finds Internet fame when her epic takedown goes viral. With each refresh the views multiply. While gaining two besties out of the ordeal was a huge perk, as a Black woman at the top of her game in the tech world, Samiah does not need her newfound fame following her to the office.

Unfortunately, by the time Monday rolls around, everyone has already seen it. Multiple times. Including the jaw-droppingly gorgeous new guy, Daniel. Although there’s an instant attraction – mutual, if Daniel’s gazes and not-so-subtle trips to the coffee machine are anything to go by – Samiah is most definitely not looking for another relationship. For starters, hooking up with a coworker, especially a new coworker, is a big no-no. Secondly, Samiah and the other duped ladies, London and Taylor, have decided on a six-month period of no guys, just focusing on themselves and living their best lives with not a thought on dating.

Easier said than done, right?

With quarantine life making it near impossible for me to focus on anything for more than five minutes, I desperately needed something light and fluffy. And what could be fluffier than a rom-com? I dove right into The Boyfriend Project fully expecting to come out with a Top Read of 2020. And while I did enjoy it, I’m sad to say it was just okay. Just decent. One I doubt I’ll ever reread and I’m not sure how interested I am in the sequel.

The book started out great and I was 100% on board. Things opened with Samiah getting ready for a date while her pregnant sister scrolls through her Twitter feed. When she notices some poor woman on a horrific date, she begins reading the tweets aloud. Eventually Samiah realizes the guy on the date is the guy she’s dating – ironically, Craig pushed back his date with her to go on his current one – and marches right down to the restaurant to confront him. Not long after, the third jilted girlfriend shows up and Craig is kicked to the curb.

After those initial chapters, things slowly went downhill. Not to where the book was bad or that I was forcing myself to read, but it didn’t have the momentum of its opening. Throughout the novel, Samiah keeps saying these woman are her closest friends, but I never felt that connection come through on the page. Same with the romance. I was told they were attracted to each other, but never felt that chemistry.

There’s a secondary plot that’s almost a mystery if you squint. Daniel works for the Treasury Department with a special unit doing financial undercover work. His resume is a total lie, a backstory concocted to secure him a job at Samiah’s company. There’s some money laundering scheme going on and it’s up to Daniel to get to the bottom of it. I’ll be honest, if this was a different story by a different author where the sole plot was the corrupt group hatching a nefarious scam to rake in cash…I’d be all over that. But this is not a thriller and any time Daniel or his real job or his roommate came up, I was tempted to skip ahead. I went into this book looking for a fun romance, not some government agent schtik.

Because of Daniel’s job, his entire relationship with Samiah was built on lies. He can tell her bits and pieces (he comes from a military family, his ex wasn’t happy with his choice to turn down a high-paying job across the country), but the Daniel she knows doesn’t exist. He’s there to do a job, no matter what needs to happen…like stealing her badge when she’s one of the few employees with access to specific high-security areas of the building. His actions weren’t forgivable for me, and it looked as though Samiah felt the same. Unfortunately, things end with a nice, neat bow in true rom-com fashion.

The Boyfriend Project started off so strong, but that momentum began to wane a few chapters in. It’s a very easy-to-read novel that honestly flew by. I read this on my Kindle and I felt like every time I glanced down, the percentage was further and further. I rejoiced at Samiah being a Black woman in a STEM position and loved how she boosted other women around her…but was dismayed to see her contradict herself when it came to a female coworker. (Another scene that really rubbed me the wrong way was when Samiah went to the hospital to visit her sister right after her niece was born. Her sister just gave birth, and the first thought Samiah had upon seeing her sister is that she’s in desperate need of some eye cream and a hairbrush..) There was a tad bit too much showing, rather than telling (I never really bought the three ladies’ BFF connection nor the romance) and I could have done without Daniel’s super secret government job subplot. While this wasn’t a homerun for me, I did get through it very quickly and I know it’ll find plenty of fans this summer!

For me, the best part of this book has to be the friendship between Samiah, London, and Taylor. The circumstances that brought them together are unfortunate but amazing and I love the vibe they have. It's true camaraderie and I'm here for it.

The romance aspect was cute. I wouldn't say I'm a diehard Samiah/Daniel fan but they work well together. The complications in their relationship aren't like ones I've read about in the past so I enjoyed the twist. I also haven't read many books about women in STEM and I really enjoyed how passionate Samiah was about the topic and her POV as a woman of color in the field.

There were a lot of great qualities in this book, but nothing really stood out to me as amazing. I really liked the friendship between Samiah, London, and Taylor and can't wait to read more about them, but that's about all that I really loved. The rest was interesting but ultimately didn't make me fall head over heels.

A strong premise, but the characters were a let down. Ultimately, the romantic relationship and the steamy scenes were not for me.

I have to be honest, The Boyfriend Project just wasn’t for me. I picked up this book because I saw so many wonderful reviews and posts on bookstagram about it but I had a hard time finishing it. (It was actually almost a DNF.) Unpopular opinion, I know.⁣
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There were times in the book that instead of being shown with descriptive writing the emotion of the situation was, we were just told, which isn’t nearly as effective. The writing felt too simple in that way. It was predictable, ⁣
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I love stories with immediate attraction, but I felt a little uncomfortable at how quickly Daniel became almost obsessed with Samiah. The connection didn’t feel real, like all the important moments of love and their building relationship happened off the pages. ⁣
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I did, however, like the friendship between the strong women in the book. ⁣

Great diversity was showcased in “The Boyfriend Project” and a decent assembled group of characters, so kudos to the author! Minus that, everything else was <i>meh</i>. It was a pretty mediocre read and there wasn’t anything besides what was listed above that stood out. I just wish there was that something something to win me over but there is potential for sure so I look forward to seeing what else this author releases in the future.

I got a free ARC of this on Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

Samiah Brooks is getting ready for a date, while her pregnant sister reads her hilarious updates from another woman's disastrous first date on Twitter. Samiah is mortified to discover that not only is the man she's getting ready to meet at that very moment seeing another woman, but they're at the very restaurant he took Samiah on their first date. She storms over to confront the creep, and during the confrontation, a third scorned woman appears as well. The three women take turns telling their cheating companion what they think of him, then go off together with take-away sushi (paid for by the three-timing scum) to get drunk. The morning after, they nurse their hangovers, promise to keep in touch, and discover that their confrontation with the dude has gone viral in a major way.

Samiah, London and Taylor decide that they are swearing off men and working on themselves for the next six months. Only then will they give the dating scene another chance. Samiah is finally going to develop the app she's been thinking about for years, and if it weren't for the new hire at her work, the handsome and charming Daniel Collins, her vows to stay single would be easy to uphold.

Daniel Collins is a federal agent, trying to figure out who at Samiah's tech company is funnelling funds for money launderers. He's working undercover as a computer programmer, and while he normally has no problems staying objective and focused on the task at hand, he's smitten with Samiah the first time he sees her. The more time he spends with her, the more blown away he is by her intelligence, her drive, her passion for helping other women of colour succeed in her field. It's always nice to see the protagonists of a romance fall for more than the other person's looks, and in this book, both leads are extremely good at their jobs and professional to the point that it might get in the way of the romance.

I thought the book was a bit slow to get started, and in the beginning, more focus is given to Samiah's new friendship with London and Taylor than in building her relationship with Daniel. However, neither of the women clearly have a big support network and so desperately need each other, and it was really encouraging to see three women who may have seen each other as rivals instead embrace their found sisterhood and support and build each other up, rather than tearing one another down. Support from other women is especially important to Samiah, as, in order to be seen as a good colleague and a valuable team player at work, she keeps having to keep her mouth shut about a scheming female co-worker repeatedly taking credit for her work (there is a very satisfying scene later in the book where Daniel steps up and defends Samiah during a presentation, and the other woman is called out most deservedly).

There is a strong element of competence porn to this book, both protagonists are career-minded and very good at what they do. There is an instant physical attraction between them, but they are both reluctant to act on it right away (Daniel because he knows his assignment is temporary and he'll have to keep lying to Samiah about his true identity, Samiah because she's sworn off dating and men for the next six months). So they spend time getting to know one another, starting with work lunches and the occasional hike, before eventually giving in and taking the relationship to the next level. For readers who want a lot of *insert funky bass line here*, be aware that it takes more than half the book before the couple gets to that point, the focus on this book isn't exactly on the physical.

I've previously mentioned in reviews that romances, where one or both of the protagonists are lying to or deceiving the other, makes it harder for me to like them. In this case, Daniel is working undercover, and it's part of his job not to reveal his true identity or motives to anyone at Samiah's company, and therefore it didn't bother me. He's not doing it out of self-serving reasons. The closer they get, the worse he feels about having to continue his deception and the steps he has to take to use Samiah to achieve his goals. He does some quality grovelling to make up for it, even though (unbeknownst to him), she's pretty much forgiven him already, as he was doing an important job and making sure some very bad people were brought to justice.

This is my first Farrah Rochon novel, and based on the epilogue, I'm assuming that Taylor is the next heroine we'll read about. I am absolutely going to check out the next two books in the series, and will also be looking into Rochon's back catalogue.

Strong and supportive female friendships for the win! The romance was delightful, but I love that this story found its legs on an unlikely group of girlfriends. I really appreciate the fact that this book and its characters are smart and have a lot of important things to say and learn. It warms my heart to know that a younger reader might be pulled in by the promise of romance and then end up on the other side feeling empowered about the value they bring to the table.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

I absolutely loved The Boyfriend Project. Samiah is a strong, capable, smart woman who gains two best friends after they all find themselves being played by the same guy. The novel follows Samiah through her professional life, her friendships, and when Daniel is hired at her company, her romantic life peaks. But what if Daniel is not exactly who he seems. Can Samiah forgive and move on, or should she write off men all together?

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel!

I absolutely love a good rom com book! I wanted to love this one, but I can't say that I fell in love with the characters. They both felt more surface level than I had wanted!

This was a really cute read! I enjoyed it all the way through, and am really glad I had a chance to read it! It wasn't super memorable, but it was good while I was reading.