As a BOTM pick, I know this book is popular right now, but I thought it was just okay. Samiah Brooks works in the Austin tech world. Daniel Collins is a new employee for her company but no one knows his real job is to find the source of a money laundering scheme. The first half of the book seemed to be Samiah and Daniel going over their individual reasons why they should not get together, even though the attraction was strong. There was also this ordeal about Samiah and two other girls catching a guy in a cheating scandal and all becoming YouTube sensations for calling him out. That drove the title of the story but it all seemed like fluff to me. Samiah is an awesome female protagonist, strong, smart, driven and I enjoyed the case Daniel was trying to solve. But the whole long winded internal dilemma of should they hook up or not just really wore me out. Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an early copy of this book!

The Boyfriend Project was a fun, fast, and flaming hot romance that had it all!

Smart and strong women with an emphasis on female friendships along with a romance? What more could you ask for?

Samiah and two other women find out they have been conned by the same man... a true friendship is formed quickly. Can I just say how much I loved London and Taylor?! I just love strong female friendships!! These ladies build a pact not to date men for 6 months.... but Samiah finds herself with a hot new sexy hire Daniel... this tends to put a bend in that pact.

This dual timeline shows Samiah trying to fight for her goals with her career while fighting off a strong romantic connection with Daniel. Can she do it? ;)

What a fun, sexy, sassy, and quick romance that I just devoured!! I'm definitely a fan of Farrah Rochon and highly recommend you checking this romance out.

4 stars!!

Thank you so much to Forever Pub for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: 6/9/20
Published to IG/GR: 5/17/20

I knew I wanted to read The Boyfriend Project when I found out that it featured three women who bond over a loser that catfished them all at the same time. I didn't even care if it had a romance or not because I'm that much of a sucker for books with strong female friendships!

Luckily for me, the female friendships in this book are what dreams are made of! Samiah, London, and Taylor were by far my favorite part of The Boyfriend Project. I loved how these ladies came together and became important support units in each others' lives. The three had such wonderfully distinct personalities that meshed well together. I had a ton of fun watching them interact and just generally be awesome around each other. Samiah's sister was also another character I really loved. She added a ton of humor to the story and I liked the sweet relationship the two shared.

I also really loved Samiah as a protagonist. She is just the kind of character that I love reading about - smart, hardworking, and a complete badass at her job. Her dedication towards wanting to make the tech world more diverse, in particular, was super admirable. She could be tough on herself occasionally, but it was easy to see where she was coming from and I would be lying if I said I didn't relate to her bullheadedness.

Daniel, Samiah's love interest, was also a complete sweetheart who was too charming for his own good. Daniel is undercover at her company and he obviously was not able to open up to Samiah about his reasons for being there. Despite it being a bad idea, he kept being drawn to her. I will admit that I am not a fan of the lie-of-omission trope, so I was initially conflicted by it in The Boyfriend Project. I do think the revelation should have come earlier and there should have been a more in-depth conversation between Daniel and Samiah once the truth came to light and lots more groveling on Daniel's part! I would also be lying though if I said that I wasn't a little bit charmed by how he asked for forgiveness. In the end, I was able to see past Daniel's lies because I did believe that he and Samiah worked well as a couple.

Ultimately, I read this book for the female friendships and it delivered on that front. I grew to really love Samiah, Taylor, and London and I can't wait to see the other two women find their own HEAs.

I'm going to preface this by saying, fundamentally, there was nothing wrong with this book, but it just did not pull me in like I thought it would. For being a dual POV story, I thought it was much too reliant on Samiah's POV than Daniel's (when Daniel ended up being the more likable character in my opinion), starting with the fact that with no chapter heading clueing into whose POV a chapter is in, I got to the first Daniel chapter 4 or 5 chapters in and it took me two whole pages to realize it wasn't Samiah's POV. Talk about confusing.

And what confused me the most was the title - The Boyfriend Project. This wasn't about a Boyfriend Project, it was about a group of three women putting themselves first and not focusing on men. So the fact this book is literally CALLED The Boyfriend Project made no sense to me and felt like a random catchy title the publisher pulled for a rom-com to pull readers in.

Despite the above however, the premise and plot were well crafted - I liked the idea of the app Samiah was making being about making friends instead of dating, it was great to read about - the diversity in the leads and characters brought different perspectives that sometimes get hidden in romance, and the pacing was on point throughout. It was a fast read and, overall, I did like it. Not enough to re-read it once it's released, but I was grateful for the ARC.

The friendship (and set-up for that friendship) at the center of The Boyfriend Project was great. However, it felt more like women's fiction to me--the focus was on Samiah's job, her side-project (an app) and her character arc overall. I would have enjoyed that if it was only written in her POV, but we had a second POV for the hero, who I ended up totally uninvested in. Admittedly, I didn't finish the book, but I've very rarely been uninvested in a book at 30% and gone on to enjoy it.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Boyfriend Project starts out with Samiah finding out with two other girls about the man they are dating is a cheater and scammer. She chews out the guy and the video goes viral. The three girls become friends and create a boyfriend project of swearing men off for six months so they can work on themselves. However, what happens when a handsome man name Daniel starts working at Samiah’s work?
I really enjoyed The Boyfriend Project. It is told in the point of views of Samiah and Daniel. I loved the romance. But, I especially loved the friendship in the book of the three women. I highly recommend this for something cute, funny, and as a fast read.

The Boyfriend Project's premise drew me in right away, along with the cover of the book. The cuteness of the characters and the story blew me away. I was drawn in to continue consuming the story. I usually do not read this type of book, but I enjoy The Boyfriend Project thoroughly. As the author is a Black woman, herself, I loved that she could portray the struggles black woman go through in life. The representation of black women in computer sciences (and STEM in general) was refreshing. Samiah and the friendship that springs up with Taylor and London made me so happy! I love when strong women have reliable female friends to lean on; their friendship reminded me of mine with my own friends. The beginning of a book reminded me of the premise of John Tucker Must Die, and I found that funny because I had never fully watched the movie before. The romance was very predictable, BUT I still enjoyed where it brought me anyways. The ending was pretty abrupt, but if the book had gone on any longer, it would have been dragging the plot out for no reason.

2.75/5 Stars

This book was just an okay read for me. I usually enjoy office romances, but this one deals a lot with the main characters' actual work and even though I could see how passionate they are about it, it was also a bit too much and a bit boring at times. Also, I didn't expect Daniel to have that job (not saying what since I don't want to spoil anyone) and I must admit it was something I didn't particularly enjoy reading about.

I appreciated the friendship that Samiah, Taylor and London formed and also how they always tried to help and be there for each other, it was very nice to read. Moreover, I think it was great how they talked about the expectations that society and their respective families put on them and how it is all unfair. I found myself agreeing with them on multiple occasions.

This book wasn't bad, but I would have preferred to have less work talk and more romance.

Finally, we have a romance novel that 21st century women can really rally behind! "The Boyfriend Project" by Farrah Rochon features a contemporary storyline featuring main character, Samiah who is a STEM genius working at a tech company called Trendsetters. After she faces a public break up that goes viral, Samiah forges a pact with two new girlfriends that they will avoid guys at all costs and focus on their own goals. However, just after she starts to make progress on her goal, Samiah meets an irresistible new coworker. Will he complicate everything? Will she be able to achieve her dreams while working alongside the man that dominates them?

Author Farrah Rochon has created such a wonderful representation of what it means to be a woman in today's age. Samiah has an intellect that often times romance characters lack. Her banter with Daniel, the male lead character, is witty and seductive without being crass. The book stands out brightly among other romance novels, as the genre typically down plays a woman's intelligence or leaves the male character consistently in control of the story line.

The novel also brings up several issues that modern women will be able to identify with. Situations in the book touch on the topics of racial and gender based stereotyping. The inclusion of these hot button topics makes the book more than just an fun story! This is a must-read for those people searching for a romance novel that is both entertaining and insightful.

My main problem is that a lot of the “little” romantic moments happened off page. If I’m reading a romance, I want to see the full development of that relationship. Also the fact that Daniel lies to Samiah for most of the book was really annoying.

I did really enjoy the friendship that develops between Samiah and the other two women that were all dating the same guy at the beginning. It’s definitely the best part of the book IMO. Plus the own voices representation is very much appreciated.

Enjoyed this story by Farrah. it wasn't what I expected but I think its a good beginning to a series. Enjoyed reading about a black woman in tech, great friendships and standing up for whats right.

I am going to review this with the acknowledgement of the fact that I was not in the mood to read this kind of book at this time. I think this is the perfect summer read when everyone's bookish tendencies lean to the light and more fluffy beach reads. Farrah Rochon has a wonderful style of writing and felt that the book was easy to follow. I enjoyed the overall plot and appreciated that the book never really lingered in a space too long to where someone would get easily bored. I think this book is going to do extremely well and I will definitely pick this up again when I am more in the mood to read it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this book available to read.
Although this book is a romance, it's definitely about smart characters who have chemistry; as well as admiration for each other.
The professions of Samiah and Daniel are in the foreground of their story, obviously playing a big part in their lives, and somewhat hindering their initial feelings. I like that this gave them a chance to get to know each other without the pressure of falling into bed straight away.
Plot wise this book was entertaining, and the friendships that blossomed from the beginning of the book gave some hints as to what the author might do next.

Because of issues with my reading device I was unable to read this, and because of the current state of things in unable to replace it. I'm sorry I was unable to get to it but i do plan on purchasing this title in three future.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Omg. This was SO GOOD. Samiah and Daniel were excellent protagonists and their love story was excellent. I really enjoyed this. I wish I had a little more insight into the “bad guys” of the story but it was well done overall. I was interested, the mystery of the plot was really good and the setting was great. I will say that the beginning plot introducing Samiah, Taylor and London was not entirely necessary. It was a unique way to draw the characters together but I was kind of expecting something different based on the description.
Overall, this is super well done and I will keep an eye out for more from this author.

I loved this book!!!!!! Samiah and Daniel are now one my fave book OTP’s! I loved the WOC rep
And the strong female lead. The premise was hilarious and I just adored the writing style too!!! If there is one cute romance you read this year, make it this one!!!! 5 STAR

4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! I picked it up the other night and just flew through it. It was such an interesting read. I really liked Samiah and Daniel. I loved the setting for this book, The fact that they talked about real places within Austin. The strong independent girl. Samiah was absolutely well written. I loved how the author showed the plight of the main character as a woman of color in a mainly male dominated field. I was at first uncomfortable with Daniel and how he was the fact that he was very secretive. I understand that it was necessary it just kind of made me uncomfortable. All in all I liked the book and can't wait to read more from this author!

So much fun! I enjoyed this book. It was smart, funny and had the right amount of heat. Samiah and Daniel had great chemistry. I loved that the main character was a WOC in a predominately male dominated field. She wasn't intimidated or just a token. She was well developed characte.
I felt that Ms. Rochon laid the foundation for other books with some of the secondary characters.
I'm very curious to see what happens next.

I read a lot of romances/women's fiction books, and some of them are better than others. This book is one of the best ones I've read recently, I really liked it! It's the story of women who met accidentally because they were all seeing the same guy. They become close friends and swear off boyfriends for 6 months.
This is fine except that one of them, Samiah, meets s cute guy at work and really wants to date him, but she doesn't want to break her pact with her friends.

This is a great summer read, 4 1/2 stars.

Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in this as soon as I read the premise. It started well. And then I put it down and didn't get back to it for a week, read a little, and didn't get back to it for a few more days. I just didn't care. I thought it was probably me and the current state of the world, but I don't think so.

This just didn't work for me, which is a shame. The idea of the women's friendship and the representation issues are good. I just didn't care about the romance.