"The Dating Playbook" is a cute, sexy, and chemistry full read! I love the strong (female) friendships, I love the representation that is rich throughout the book (i.e. Black community / identity, grief, adult learning disability), and so much more. This is a great book for busy people or a beach read because it was so good!
Trigger warnings include the death of a friend, grief, injury, hospital scenes, car accident, and anxiety.

Thank you so much, Net Galley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I'm not sure why but I'm a sucker for the "fake-dating" romance novel ploy, and we get that here with Taylor Powell, owner of Taylor'd Conditioning, starts training Jamar Dixon, former NFL golden boy, injured in the middle of his first pro season, and they lie that they're dating to cover up their professional relationship. I enjoyed reading this - the players definitely had a spark, though it was missing the extra wow factor that makes a book devourable.

Admittedly, I didn't read the first book in this series, though the first chapters give you the gist of it - London, Samiah, and Taylor all found out they were dating the same guy, and went viral after confronting him in public about it. Each developed a project or a goal out of it, and in this book, Taylor tackles (pun intended) hers.

I appreciated that Taylor grapples with her history of difficulties in school and eventually learns she has a learning disorder and ADHD that fuel her anxiety. I like that this provides a voice to those out there who make it into their 20s and 30s before finding these diagnoses and dealing with the big feelings they carry up until that point.

Overall, I enjoyed this, and I'll definitely be picking up the other books in the triology!

This is the companion novel to The Boyfriend Project. In The Boyfriend Project we meet Samiah, London and Taylor while going viral for confronting a man they found out they were all seeing. In The Boyfriend Project we followed Samiah. In The Dating Playbook we follow Taylor. Taylor is a fitness trainer that hasn’t had too many clients lately. She’s been really struggling with money and how to grow her business without a college degree. Then we meet Jamar. A football player that suffered a knee injury and was told he would never play the game again. Jamar signs up to be one of Taylor’s clients. Which appears to solve both of their problems. Taylor needs the money and Jamar wants to prove everyone wrong. To keep Jamar’s training a secret, our pair ends up pretending to date. But maybe neither of them are really pretending…

When I read The Boyfriend Project last year I really enjoyed it. So I was hoping this one would be just as good. Unfortunately I didn’t like it quite as much. It was still a good, solid book. But I didn’t swoon over Taylor and Jamar quite like I did with Samiah and Daniel. They were still cute and I was rooting for them, but I was somehow missing something. Taylor’s character occasionally got on my nerves. She was sometimes just really annoying. I love the fake dating trope, but I don’t think it lasted quite long enough. Our pair were instantly infatuated with each other. So the dating wasn’t really fake for long. But my biggest problem with this book was that with every conflict our couple had Jamar always ended up being at fault. He was always the one who apologized. Even though Taylor always stepped out of line too. Regardless, if you read The Boyfriend Project I would still recommend checking this one out. It was nice learning a bit more about Taylor. I can’t wait for the next book, which I assume will be about London.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Q: what kind of motivational style do you prefer, gentle or “tough love”?

Farrah Rochon’s The Dating Playbook gives me some of those same soft feelings I get from watching athlete human interest segments on tv.

Featuring admirable characters w/ enough determination to win over a stadium, some steam, & a couple dynamic powered by heat but also friendship & compatibility, this romance is sweet.

The world thinks former NFL star Jamar Dixon can’t play football anymore. Widely praised & then injured, Jamar’s now itching for a spot back on a team if he can only convince them that his body can handle it.

So he contacts Taylor Powell, whom we met in book 1 of this series, a personal trainer who draws from her military dad as inspiration for her lessons. She agrees to help him, mostly because she needs the business & the funds to counteract some business-related debt she’s in.

When Jamar panics at the thought of a reporter uncovering that he’s trying to get back into the NHL, Taylor pretends they’re dating. That makes everything more complicated when they realize they both want to work out & kiss.

The Dating Playbook tackles a lot of big topics w/ aplomb: Taylor’s business concerns, Jamar’s guilt, her insecurities about a lack of college degree & a learning disorder, & more.

Watching them both work through the things holding them back is emotionally fruitful & I really enjoyed the portrayal of Taylor, who is impulsive & regularly runs from problems & confrontation with Jamar but doesn’t hesitate with most people.

Kudos also to Jamar, who’s a sensitive stud. He’s coolheaded but admires how Taylor claps back at offensive people & I love that dynamic.
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This book feels “real” to me—people who are trying the best they can & ultimately coming from a place of passion & love—& I really enjoyed it.

4 ⭐️ . Release date: 08/17.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the plot and characters were well written. I would recommend this book to others.

Taylor Powell is a talented personal trainer who is going through some rough financial times. Jamar Dixon is a former NFL player who wants to train his way back into the NFL and wants Taylor to be his new trainer. However, he wants to keep things a secret, and they soon get accidentally outed as a couple.

I absolutely love love LOVED the friendship between Taylor, London, and Samiah. Sometimes solid friendships are formed super quickly, and I appreciate both the wacky circumstance in which the three of them met and the way that they decided not to let that get in between them and formed a strong friendship that way. Seeing how they reacted to Taylor's confession of her financial situation despite only having known each other for three months tells me how much of that ride-or-die kind of friendship is here, and I love seeing that. I love learning about each of the three girls and their pursuits of milestones in their very different careers, and the way they uplift each other and hold each other accountable. I'm interested to see London's story in the next book.

I enjoyed Taylor and Jamar's dynamic - cynical about love meets sunshine, with plenty of banter between the two. Combined with fake dating and huddling for warmth? Their romance was so much fun to read. I loved their grocery store "date" - whirlwind fantastical dates are always fun to read, but there's something charming about the domesticity in this scene. It very much feels like something you'd see these characters do as a well-established relationship far off in the future.

I also loved all the more serious themes that were discussed in the book. Taylor's anxiety, especially when compared to family members or her more successful friends, and the effects it might have on her relationships with those people in question were done really well. There was a great exploration of grief in various forms that it might take - loss of a loved one, loss of a dream, and how to grapple with these feelings and try to move forward, however that might look for different people. Seeing a character with a learning disability, especially one who is diagnosed as an adult, was also something that isn't represented very often, and I appreciate that it was shown here.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC.

I truly loved The Boyfriend Project, so I was eager to keep up with the girls. I can say that I enjoyed the story, but did not love it. It was very heavy on the nutrition and diet aspect of the book to the point that it would take me out of the story. The love story did not feel as natural as in the first book. Overall, it was still entertaining and I will of course be reading the next book in the series.

Taylor Powell is a fantastic personal trainer, but she is getting her butt kicked by debt after a failed business venture. She is starting to lose hope when she meets Jamar Dixon, a former NFL player who wants to play pro football again after an injury ended his career.

Jamar offers Taylor enough money to solve her financial crisis if she trains him in secret. After a slip of the tongue, Taylor and Jamar are accidentally outed as a couple. Dating isn’t part of Taylor’s playbook, but she can’t deny the chemistry she has with Jamar.

I absolutely loved The Dating Playbook. Any book that can make me swoon in one scene and cry in the next is a home run in my book.

I love the friendship that Samiah, London, and Taylor have formed. Their interactions were so fun and it was cool to see more of Samiah and Daniel’s relationship. I cannot wait to get London’s story in the next book! I have my suspicions about who she will end up with based on the trio’s conversations in this book. 😉

Taylor is my favorite character of the series so far. Her strength and tenacity are clear and my heart broke every time she questioned herself and struggled with anxiety.

This may be a romantic comedy but there was also a lot of depth, particularly when Rochon writes about Jamar’s grief and guilt.

Both books in this series have been pretty spicy and contain a fair amount of language, so if those things are not your cup of tea this series may not be for you!

If you haven’t read The Boyfriend Project, you’ll want to read that before reading The Dating Playbook!

This was one of my most anticipated summer reads! I fell in love with the friend trio of Samiah, Taylor, and London in The Boyfriend Project. In The Dating Playbook, we get Taylor’s story, as she struggles to forge a path for herself that lives up to her family’s sky-high expectations.

Taylor is:
-struggling to keep her fitness business afloat
-struggling with the decision to go back to school and get a degree
-struggling to prove her “worth” in her friend group
-struggling to keep things with her new client as professional as possible

This new client--Jamar--could be the solution to MOST of her problems. He’s given her a lucrative private training offer to help him reclaim an NFL spot he lost after a potentially career-ending injury. However, there are plenty of roadblocks--the chemistry between the pair, Jamar’s insistence that no one can know he’s a client, and a long-buried secret that’s been holding Taylor back educationally.

Bless her, through it all, Taylor tries her best to stay positive, but everyone has their breaking point, right? I love that Taylor was able to be vulnerable to Jamar, her friends, her family, and eventually, herself to try to achieve her dreams. By showing Jamar those raw and authentic parts of herself, she was able to form a deeper connection with him and really everyone she loves.

The Dating Playbook lived up to expectations and made me even more excited to read London's story next summer! Thanks to Forever for a digital review copy.

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Contemporary Romance and Adult Fiction
Warnings: Grief, death of a friend, learning disability
Steam: 2/5

Thank you to Netgalley, Forever and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Dating Playbook will be released on August 17th.

Things I loved: The Austin references where on point, my best friend used to live in Georgetown so I literally knew where things were. The grocery store + other date scenes were cute. I loved the strong female friendships. The attention brought to learning disabilities in adults.

Things I didn’t care for: The chemistry/relationship/steam between Taylor and Jamar didn't flow well for me. It was a lot of showing not telling (which I felt from the Boyfriend Project too). Disney and comic book loving is not a personality trait. It was also heavy on the pop culture references + workout/nutrition talk...I wanted more of them and not this. There was also a lot of build up to Taylor's relationship with her family and it was not resolved in the end.

Overall, I am very meh about this series...It dragged for me and I wasn't rushing to finish it/invested in the story.

I’m relatively new to the world of sports romance — Check, Please is the only other “sports romance” that comes to mind, actually, but I couldn’t help but find the description of The Dating Playbook to be incredibly intriguing!

The Dating Playbook is the second book in The Boyfriend Project series, although it stands completely on its own, and has some of the best rom com tropes! The Dating Playbook follows personal trainer, Taylor, who is struggling to get her business off the ground. When former footballer Jamar Dixon approaches Taylor to be his personal trainer, she figures it’s the perfect opportunity to make a deal: she’ll be his personal trainer for two months if he’ll endorse her company at the end. It’s a steadfast way to pay off her debt, and get herself back on her feet — Jamar’s only catch is that no one can know what he’s doing. And when they get spotted together in public, it’s only natural that their cover is that they’re dating.

There was so much to love about The Dating Playbook, but what I want to start with is how much I appreciate the way Taylor was written with so much care and compassion. Taylor is undoubtedly a heroine that you can’t help but love, even though some of her choices had me a little frustrated at times. One of my favorite things about The Dating Playbook is how Taylor didn’t go to college, and didn’t need to start her business — as well as how it mentioned how people are quick to judge based on if someone goes to college or not. Throughout The Dating Playbook, Taylor is considering the idea of going back to college, but often hits a mental roadblock at the thought of more education. Without giving too much away, Taylor realizes that she has a learning disability, as well as ADHD, and it was really powerful to see that representation on paper.

Taylor and Jamar were wonderful to read about. There was so much tension and chemistry between them, and while I’m not a fan of insta-love, I felt like this one wasn’t reminiscent of a typical insta-love, and they felt properly developed. I loved their banter, but more importantly, I felt like they really wanted the other person to succeed, and be truly happy. Taylor and Jamar weren’t afraid to give each other the hard-hitting truths they needed to hear, and came together as a team. And the fake-dating, forced proximity, hurt/comfort tropes? Just absolutely lovely.

One of my favorite things about The Dating Playbook was the message about how sometimes your initial career plan isn’t what’s right for you, and how there are multiple ways to best use your skill set. Following Taylor and Jamar on their journey to figuring out what was the right path for them was wonderful to read about.

I read the entirety of The Dating Playbook all in one sitting, and couldn’t put it down! I felt like it was well-paced, and resonated with the way Rochon writes. As I’m not a sports person (far from it), I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Dating Playbook, and all it had to offer. I wasn’t turned off by any of the sports conversations, and I appreciated that any conversations about football or sports were contextualized quite often. I don’t think my lack of sports-knowledge pulled me out of the book, nor did I have to stop and google concepts!

I also loved reading about Taylor’s friends, and am so excited to go back and read The Boyfriend Project to find out more about Samiah’s story — and I cannot wait for London’s story as well. As I’m not Black, I highly recommend also checking out ownvoices reviews.

I adored The Boyfriend Project, so I was thrilled when NetGalley and the publisher were kind enough to give me an advanced copy of The Dating Playbook!

This book follows Taylor, a fitness trainer and nutritionist trying to get her company Taylor'd Conditioning off the ground. Unfortunately, this isn't going well, and she's struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with the decision to go to college and get her degree, since school has never been her strong suit.

In comes Jamar, a former running back who injured his knee in his rookie season. He wants to try to make a comeback, but needs help to get himself over the hump and back into NFL caliber shape. After seeing Taylor's online videos, he comes to one of her classes because he thinks she'd be perfect. They reach an agreement where she will help him get ready for a tryout in total secrecy -- and if he makes it in the NFL, he'll credit her. Thanks to an unfortunate run-in, they end up in a fake dating scenario to cover for the real reason they're spending time together, and have to fight their very real attraction to each other.

This book was fantastic! I loved Taylor and Jamar. They both were very fleshed out characters, with their own issues and obstacles to overcome throughout the novel. I found myself rooting for them the entire time. We also get more of the powerful lady friendship forged in the first book, which is excellent! And the ending was so sweet.

I adored this book, and can't wait for everyone to be able to read it. It's made me even more excited for London's story to finish off the trilogy!

Another terrific read from Rochon! Taylor's beautiful but insecure because of issues with school. Jamar's rich and talented, but he feels guilty for having the career his best friend never would. Another tale of well-rounded characters finding themselves and each other. I loved it.

Literally my only complaint is that Taylor said she needed to make banana bread while the bananas were still ripe.

**Review based on ARC**

(I'll post on Amazon when the book goes live)

I loved the boyfriend project and was so excited for the 2nd book in the series. Taylor did not disappoint, and I devoured this book as fast as I could. I thought the premise was great, and loved the football and personal training aspects. It was also great to see London and Samiah again in this book as well. They are a great friend trio that I would love to be a part of.

Thanks NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC!

Thank you to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for my gifted copy of The Dating Playbook, by Farrah Rochon. This sweet book about a trainer who agrees to fake date her football player client comes out on August 17th, and if you’re a romance reader, prepare yourselves!

In my opinion, fans of The Boyfriend Project will be absolutely delighted by Taylor’s story. She’s such a fun, real woman - with relatable issues! And, Rochon knows how to inject the perfect amount of humor in there with the romance to keep you laughing as you swoon. Jamar is definitely a swoon-worthy book boyfriend too. He had some great scenes in the book that made me want to jump into the pages and tell Taylor “WAKE UP! HE’S SO INTO YOU!” And then, as the cherry on top, this book is set in Austin. And, any book set in Austin makes me so nostalgic for my college days.

Farrah Rochon's THE DATING PLAYBOOK is a compelling fake dating, "hands-off" romance between Taylor, an uncertified personal trainer with money troubles, and Jamar, an injured pro football player preparing an NFL comeback. As the couple individually work towards their career goals, they try their best (and fail) to resist their mutual physical attraction.

This low-conflict love story features endearing protagonists, amusing supporting characters, and lessons in conquering fear and self-forgiveness.

The Dating Playbook is the incredibly charming follow up to The Boyfriend Project that follows Taylor a down on her luck personal trainer and Jamar an injured ex-NFL player who’s trying to get back into the league. After watching her workout Jamar hires Taylor to train him and sparks fly between the two but Taylor doesn’t want to cross the professional line. One day the two are mistaken for a couple and decide to continue the rouse but can they fake a relationship for the sake of publicity or will their very real feelings bring the whole stunt crashing down.

What I liked:

The characters really make this book. Taylor and Jamar were so relatable. Taylor was so independent and strong. Jamar was so loyal and supportive. I loved the banter between them.

I really loved the continuation of strong female friendships in this book. Taylor, London and Samiah’s close bond and support for each other was heartwarming.

I also loved the representation for adult learning disorders in the stories narrative. I don’t often read stories that feature this and if I do it’s usually a child with a learning disorder so it was especially refreshing to read about an adult struggle and coping with the news of a learning difficulty.


What I didn’t like:

Let me start out by saying I love a fake dating troupe but in this case it was hard to believe.
The relationship between Taylor and Jamar seemed underdeveloped and maybe this has to do with the writing style but I felt like the author kept skipping over passages of time and scenes that would have validated the feelings that the two had for each other. We never really “see” them doing anything other than work out. Yes, they are getting to know each other through working out but I would have also loved if we got a little less exercise and a bit more romance.

Overall, this was a good follow up to a debut and I will definitely read London’s book. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book. It was easy to read and the characters felt so real and lived in. But, the chemistry between Taylor and Jamar wasn't there. It just felt like their relationship with no spark. They were sexual attracted to each other but I just didn't see that romantic chemistry.

I will be the first to say that while I love romantic comedies, I'm very hyper-critical of each one I read. The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon is one of the good ones. I rarely laugh out loud at jokes in books because they're usually corny or awkward, but I was actually laughing in this book. This is a great follow up book for Farrah and look forward to many more!

Farrah Rochon is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors in the modern romance genre, and The Dating Playbook continues her success of creating believable, fun and heartwarming characters.