3 STARS
⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Boyfriend Project was a pretty good read, but I did have a few things I wasn't in love with.

What I liked:
I really loved our main character Samiah. She was such a cool badass female working in the Tech industry. I loved how we got to see who she was and the experiences that she has had that made her who she was today. I also really loved her two friends. The way that the book was set up in the first chapter was so awesome and really pulled me into the story. It was hilarious and a great start to this awesome female friendship that the three of them have.

What I didn't like:
I had such a hard time about halfway through this book. The story centers around their work at this Tech company, and that's great, except that it really starts to get bogged down by details of the work itself, and not so much about the romance anymore. I also felt that there was no climax to the story. It was building and building and it fell flat for me. I also had an issue with the sex scene. It read super awkward and it really felt like it was written by someone who had never had sex before lol Maybe it was meant to feel awkward coming off the page, but I don't know about you, but if this couple is falling in love, the sex shouldn't feel awkward.

Overall though, I did enjoy this one. The own voices aspect was really great, and I loved the characters and female empowerment vibes. I just felt that it fell a bit flat.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Forever, and Farrah Rochon for the advanced eARC and in exchange only for my honest thoughts and review.**

Thanks to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for my review copy! I LOVED the Hashtag Squad Goals group. The group consisted of Samiah, Taylor, and London. All three quickly become friends after being lied to by the same guy. One thing that automatically makes me really enjoy a book is when a book had strong female friendships.
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Samiah works in the tech world and she’s one badass independent woman. The book touches on how she has had to prove herself even more not only because she’s a woman but because of the color of her skin. I also really enjoyed the romance part especially because Daniel was a great guy given the circumstances in the book. However, what really made this book special to me was the friendships and the women supporting one another. I really need to know about the rest of the women in the book! This book is out now and definitely recommend giving it a read!

Loved the premise of the book. A+ friendship. Nice relationship development. Can't wait for the next in the series!

This well-crafted workplace romance doesn’t surprise as much as I had hoped. However, the female friendships and focus on self-care makes up for that in spades.

Enjoyable characters, snappy dialogue, and a heroine who truly knows her worth made THE BOYFRIEND PROJECT an enjoyable read.

The Boyfriend Project is engaging and interesting, but the romantic relationship is a little lacking in depth. The setup is solid: three women who've been burned by the same guy form a bond and vow to help each other focus on their life goals and forget about men for a while. It sounds good, but then one of the ladies promptly meets her seemingly ideal man, only he has his own secrets and lies. I liked the MC and the love interest, but they don't spend a whole lot of time together on the page, and their big conflict, apart from the vow, is grounded in a deception that lasts too long and goes too far.

The Boyfriend Project chronicles an unlikely friendship formed between 3 women who discover they’re all dating the same horrible man. The books centers on Samiah, a savvy, STEM goddess with a heart of gold, who has worked her ass off to land a great job in a a tech company. Sparks fly when Samiah meets Daniel, a new hire, who’s hiding secrets galore. Samiah’s got a lot going on in her life, plus very good reasons to have trust issues with men, what’ll happen if she and Daniel surrender to their attraction?

I’m an Austinite, so I was pleasantly surprised by all the city-specific streets, parks and restaurants that Rochon weaves into the Boyfriend Project. I also loved Samiah’s drive, intelligence and heart for community. I was a little less interested in the details of Daniel’s job, and sort of just wanted the pacing to hurry up a bit. I’d recommend the Boyfriend Project to fans is Alisha Rai and Mia Sosa!

I received this book from Netgalley exchanged for an honest review. So I loved this book. This is my first time reading an adult romance and I'm hooked. Daniel is my favorite character and is the perfect dream guy. The story follows Samiah Brooks. She is black, a boss, and working in the tech industry which is a rarity so I loved that.
She swears off men after an embarrassing incident with her ex. Until Daniel starts working at her job and all bets are off. The romance is beautiful, the writing is excellent and the plot is intriguing.

This book totally read like a RomCom movie, with all the elements to make it a blockbuster. Rochon knows how to mix in elements of steamy romance, suspense, and self discovery that made me want to keep reading.
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I love the fact that we get perspective into both main characters as the story processes, giving the reader the chance to build a solid connection from character actions and internal struggles. Rochon also seamlessly blends in, and raises awareness, for people of color in the work place 
(especially in the tech industry); stressing how much more work is needed, to go as far as some one of privilege (cough - cishet white men - cough).
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There’s friendship building, showing that sometimes the best things can come from an embarrassing moment, and sometimes love comes when you are least expecting it, yes, maybe cliche, but it’s done really well here. A strong independent woman is not one to be reckoned with, when she’s full of passion and determined to come out on top.

I read this ARC in June to read more books by Black authors. This is my first book written by Farrah Rochon. I loved this a lot and both the main characters brought something new something to the table. I was suprised by Daniel's story line as I thought that it was just going to be a workplace romance but it was so much more! I loved the focus on the tech industry as I feel like there isn't a lot of focus on it in books and coding is so interesting. It is crazy what a sequence of numbers and letters can do. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Daniel and Samiah. There is also some amazing female friendships that happened because they were all being cheated on by the same guy and they became an online when they confronted him in a sushi restaurant. It was great!

*Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy for an honest review*

3.5-4 Stars. I will admit that the trope where the protagonist is keeping a secret from the love interest (and therefore lying their butts off the entire book) is not exactly my favourite trope. I just never see it ending well- it always gets ugly, someone always feels betrayed and it’s to me often just really not necessary! This book is that trope. And the plot is very much around this secret and I found myself yelling at the hero several times and even though I can’t say I loved it because this trope is not for me, I enjoy a book that is written so evocatively that it has me yelling, upset and in my feelings just reading it.

The premise of this is that undercover FinCen agent, Daniel, has been sent to a tech agency to uncover a money laundering ring. There, he meets and falls for Samiah, a super talented, computer programmer, in an innovative tech firm who is just recovering from going viral after being betrayed by a scammer boyfriend. Clearly Samiah has issues with trust and Daniel’s job means that he’s keeping secrets and will have to leverage whatever is necessary to stop an international crime ring, so does this mean that the chemistry between them is doomed?

I think this book did a lot of things brilliantly. I loved the representation of women in tech especially black women in tech and how black women are systemically discourages and dissuaded from math and science as well as the experience of black women in tech fields. I think the author did a great job showing and exemplifying that rather than just telling. I loved the conversations between Samiah and Daniel around race and gender and the pressure of expectation when you’re a pioneer or underrepresented in a field. I loved Daniel’s perspective as a biracial (black and Korean) hero who also had a unique perspective of of his experience of race in the tech field. I also really liked the female friendship that developed between Samiah, London and Taylor in the beginning as a result of their shared viral experience. I am excited to read Taylor and London’s books as well and cared about all 3 women. Any book that celebrates female friendships, I’m a huge fan of.

This was very well-written and well-balanced overall. I thought the plot and the pacing were interesting enough. I wouldn’t say this is a huge compelling page turner but it’s entertaining and enjoyable. I think a lot of the tension and stress in the book is on the later end about 70-75% into the book. Prior to that it’s a little slow- not at all boring, just not exactly fast-paced. I had a few issues with the speed of the resolution of this and the level of understanding the heroine exhibited. There is groveling but maybe I’m just petty and wanted more. I was a little annoyed by the ending (it’s a satisfactory ending- this IS DEFINITELY A ROMANCE) and just how easily I felt it came around. But it had me yelling at the book and engaged so I’m not complaining. I loved this book because I love reading heroines that are super competent and yet real and yet dealing with some of the issues of finding that life as you imagined as a young or new adult, isn’t quite how life is when you’re a mid-upper level career professional. I related to a lot in this book and I enjoyed reading it. I recommend it especially if the hero/heroine having a secret identity is a trope you enjoy.

I received a copy of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

For fans of Jasmine Guillory and Christina Lauren. I absolutely loved this debut book from Farrah Rochon! The perfect mix of "I'm a strong, independent woman" meets unexpected love. I love how this book is a good mix of thought-provoking points on race and the patriarchy, but most definitely a romance. This would have been a higher recommendation for me, but Daniel's betrayal wasn't my favourite trope. 4.25/5 stars

I was a little apprehensive while going into this book but now that I've read it, I can say for sure that it was as great as the synopsis sounded!

The book progressed at a pace that I found very comfortable as Samiah finds out that her boyfriend is cheating, confronts him and befriends London and Taylor. I absolutely adore their friendship and how the author has focused on it.. Platonic friendship is very important and is not always given the due it deserves but Farrah Rochan has definitely aid it enough attention.

As their bond grows stronger and they tempt to overcome this disastrous situation, Damian grows and develops as a character. We can see her getting stronger, making new resolves and working to complete them.

Then we have Daniel, who is seemingly perfect - he's kind, caring, tender and loveable, but he is hiding a secret from Samiah and everyone at trendsetters that is most definitely a deal breaker.

The attraction and intensity between them is described very well and pulls you in as well as you read it. Throughout the whole book, there is a sort of anticipation building up to the moment when they finally get together and the scene does not disappoint.

Overall, this book is a mix of a lot of emotions that are excellently portrayed by Farrah Rochan, which makes you fall in love with her characters a page at a time.

The setup for this story is what drew it to my attention and I'm happy to say that it lived up to my hopes and expectations! It's a strong contender for my top ten list this year.

The story/series premise is a modern and believable one - three women catfished by the same man who end up meeting each other and vowing to work on their own dreams and aspirations before diving into the dating pool again. Samiah, Taylor and London form a strong bond that surprises them as they are quite different in character and their friendship (which includes heart to hearts and witty banter) is a delight as it strengthens over the course of the story.

Samiah's work in the IT field has seen its professional ups and downs - the impact of systemic racism on Black women especially in a STEM field is not overlooked. Samiah has the resilience born of years of having to stand up for herself. One of her long put aside dreams is developing a friendship app and she's determined to make that her goal during their 'boyfriend project' (getting themselves on track before dating again) time.

Of course that's when her new colleague Daniel shows up. Samiah tries to ignore him but he's charming and funny and sincerely interested in her. What she doesn't know is what we, the reader find out early on, an intriguing aspect to his position at her company that ratchets up the tension behind the scenes for him, and for us as we know that his secret won't stay a secret for long. No spoilers, but I loved Daniel's character and the situation he's in made for a very interesting plot.

I think the combination of romance, sex, work, friendship and that intrigue made for a really unique and enjoyable story. The happy ending comes with some expected bumps but I'm on team Daniel here so I'm glad Samiah was able to look past his mistakes and understand his point of view (sorry to be cryptic!). I'm really looking forward to Taylor and London getting their own stories and will be on the lookout for them!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read The Boyfriend Project!
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nisha-sharma
Review posted on BookBub.

Cute fluffy read set in Austin, Texas! Makes me happy when a book is set where I live. Plus the main character is from Houston which is my hometown. Samarian works at a tech company and has no friends. She finds out the guys she was dating has been cheating in her thru Twitter. She goes to the restaurant to confront him and ends up in a friendship with London and Taylor. They make a pact to hold off dating for six months to work on squad goals. The next week there is a new employee at samarian’s job and he very attractive. He also seems to notice her. They both try to keep it business only but they have an undeniable chemistry. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s sexy and funny.

The Boyfriend Project has one of the best female protagonists that I’ve ever read. Samiah is smart, strong, and so focused on her career. When she finds out the guy she’s dating (Craig) is seeing other women, thanks to an epic twitter thread, her and the other women call him out in public. This leads to a viral video and creates a rare friendship bond between the 3 women.

Daniel is a cinnamon roll and while neither him or Samiah are really looking for a relationship, they click right away. He’s an undercover agent looking into suspected money laundering crimes at the company Samiah with for. So while many romance novels don’t give us the conflict until the end, this one presents that problem right up front. Daniel has to lie about himself because no one can find out he’s undercover, but this is a problem as him and Samiah start to fall for each other.

The only comfort was knowing this is romance and we would get an HEA, but I really worried about how things would go once he had to reveal himself to her. I really liked this book and think it’s set up a great world. I can’t wait until we get Taylor and London’s books too. This book also has a few very steamy scenes, which I have no complaints about.

This was a cute and quick romance read. The plot pulled me in right away.

I loved the friendship that formed between the three "girlfriends". I think this book handled something going viral very well and accurately. I like that this was more than just a romance. Having a powerful woman stay powerful is inspiring and we need more narratives like this one.

We start out in this story with the main character Samiah listening to her sister read about a disastrous first date on twitter. Samiah soon realizes that this is her boyfriend on another date at the same place he had just canceled theirs for, she then decides to go confront him and soon learns he was playing her and two other woman at the same time. The three woman soon form a friendship and decide to take some time off from men and pursue something for themselves. Immediately after this Samiah meets Daniel, the new guy at work and instantly there is an attraction between them. Samiah struggles with this attraction as she is also trying to focus on an app that she is creating. Overall, I was a little underwhelmed with this book, I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two main characters. The setting is also set in the tech industry and uses a lot of the terminology and I wasn't really into that. I do appreciate seeing a woman in a stem field as we don't get that all the time. The friendship between Samiah and the other two women was also nice to read, instead of blaming each other the banded together and helped support each other thru difficult times in the book. Daniel's story line was also a fun part to read in the story and I found that to be more interesting than the romance. I did enjoy the author's writing style and will definitly check out more books from her in the future. Over all the book was enjoyable and I loved the audio narration for it. If you are looking to read books with more women in stem I highly recommend this one. Thank you Netgalley, librofm and Forever Publishing for my early copies to review, my opinions are my own.

This book was EVERYTHING you want in a romcom! Fantastic characters... witty banter... sizzling chemistry... fabulous female friendships... swoony romance... Farrah Rochon you queen! This was fab! The book kicks off with Samiah finding out her boyfriend is cheating on her not only with one, but two other women. The upside to this is that Samiah and the other two women Taylor and London form a fast friendship. Bonding over Craig the sleaze. The girls decide to form a pact and call it the boyfriend project. For the next six months they are going to focus on themselves and this means absolutely NO MEN. Samiah is sure this will not be a problem because her life is pretty much all about her job, that is until she meets her new coworker Daniel. Daniel is pretty much every woman’s dream... Hot, smart, kind, thoughtful... did I mention Hut? SO what is Samiah to do?

This book completely grabbed my heart and attention. The audiobook was narrated by Je Nie Flemming Who did an exceptional job. She really gave the perfect voice to each character, did a great job with Daniel (always a bonus when a female does a good male voice). I just cannot say enough good things about this book! I’d love to hang out with Samiah, Taylor, and London. Daniel was quite delicious and perfect for Samiah, even though he was hiding something from her. Also Samiah had a pretty cool sister and brother-in-law as well. This is a can’t miss romcom and if you like audio I strongly recommend!

This book in emojis 🍷 🍣 📱 😍

*** Big thank you to Forever and libro.fm for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

2.5⭐️

I really wanted to like this one... but it’s just not good.

The story that I was promised in the synopsis is completely different than the one that is delivered within the pages of the book. I feel a bit duped to be honest. The premise makes it seem like it’s going to be this band of badass girlfriends taking on the world á la John Tucker Must Die. Instead, we are given a lukewarm want-to-be-contemporary-romance-with-a-dash-of-whodunnit. I mean, the title literally has nothing to do with the actual plot.

I think one of the main problems with this book is that it clearly an identity crisis. While reading it, I thought this was a debut novel. While the author has a bunch of romance novels to her name, it looks like The Boyfriend Project her first foray into more contemporary ‘chic lit’ territory. Yet it pulls all the cliche and over dramatic tropes that dominate the grocery store paperback romance genre.

As for the romance.... It is your run of the mill instalove/attraction. The relationship between Samiah and Daniel goes from 0 to 60 in the flip of a page. Literally, there was a time jump. They meet once and then BOOM they can’t stop thinking and obsessing over the other person. No connection, no tension, no build up. I mean they basically got together over granola bars. GRANOLA BARS! The sexy stuff was decidedly unsexy. Oof. I’m all for some hot and heavy moments but I’m not here for “powerful erections” and paragraphs about tongues down throats.

I liked Samiah as our leading lady. I loved having a Black female protagonist who is thriving in the tech field. My favorite parts in the book were where she was kicking ass and taking names at her job. I just didn’t like how her sense of self revolves around a checklist. Job? Check. Condo? Check. Man? NEED ONE TO BE FULFILLED.

As for Daniel, I’m sure some people would find him swoon worthy, however I found him overly suffocating and smothering. His commentary throughout the book really dragged it down for me, there is so much “woe is me” happening due to the conflict between his job and his feelings for Samiah. He didn’t really have a personality outside of being obsessed with Samiah.

I would have loved for more moments of female friendship to have been more central to the book. Especially considering that their bonding over being two-timed by the same skeevy man is advertised as being one of the main storylines in the book. I liked London and Taylor, so it was disappointing that they weren’t featured much in this and their new friendships are so underdeveloped.

There was no satisfaction in finishing this one because of how sloppily and abruptly it was wrapped up. It’s the first in a new series that will inevitably explore the romantic relationships of the other women, but the weird cliff-hanger-y ending to Samiah’s story left a bad taste in my mouth.

This one had a lot of potential, but unfortunately it was disappointing one to wade through.