It’s hard not to compare books in a series but I liked the first book better. The Dating Playbook is very sports and fitness heavy, neither of which I have any interest in. Still love the friend group that supports each other and I enjoyed the writing and dynamics among the characters.

Thank you Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Where do I start? This book was so darn good. Like I could not put it down. I loved getting to know Taylor and Jamar and seeing their love unfold. They each had such intricate back stories and I liked how they supported and challenged each other through it. Jamar was carrying around so much guilt and Taylor had esteem issues. The characters were so relatable and imperfect but yet perfect for each other. Ms. Rochon is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. The only sad thing is I have to wait a whole year to read London’s story. Awesome book!

Farrah Rochon did it again, and she did it from the very first page. I fell in love with Taylor, Samiah and London in The Boyfriend Project, because they came together to celebrate being strong women in the face of a scumbag who dated them all at the same time. And they came up with a game-plan to make their lives better. I have to admit I love them even more now that I have read Taylor's story with Jamar. Because the women's friendship is still very important, and they continue to lift each other up.

The Dating Playbook includes a fake relationship between Taylor and Jamar, because Jamar needs a personal trainer but doesn't want anyone to know about it. Just in case. Of course, playing a new couple when they are so attracted to each other couldn't do anything else but lead to real feelings. But my goodness, especially Taylor tried to fight those feelings. And she was fierce!

Reading about strong women is something I absolutely love. And when they are able to deal with all the different kinds of difficulty life throws their way, I love them even more! Taylor had a lot to deal with, between not earning enough money, to realizing it would be a good idea to go back to school. Only, she also knew that school hadn't worked so well for her in the past. And I love how she and her friends walked through things, and how Jamar helped her understand that she was definitely strong enough to do what she wanted.

Between the hot chemistry, the friendships, and the somewhat difficult relationship Taylor had with her family, I was hooked from start to finish!

I loved The Boyfriend Project so I’m beyond thrilled that The Dating Playbook lived up to the promise of the first book. This book BRANG it. We read Samiah’s story in The Boyfriend Project and we get Taylor’s, the fitness trainer, story this time.

Taylor got her hit of social media fame after the infamous video of her, Samiah, and London calling out the loser who tried to date all three badass women without them knowing about each other. Sadly, the fame was fleeting, a job fell through because she doesn’t have a college degree, her credit cards are maxed out, and the bills keep coming.

She needs to take her business to the next level but how?

Jamar had to leave the NFL during his rookie year due to a shattered knee. He needs to make an against the odds comeback. And he thinks Taylor can help him achieve his goal. But he wants to keep his possible comeback quiet so no one can know Taylor’s his trainer. When a sports blogger sees them together, the obvious answer is to claim to be dating, right?

Oh my! *fans self* Fake dating and forced proximity plus So.Much.Heat make this the perfect romcom.

I love that Taylor, Samiah, and London are supportive of each other – encouraging and even a little harsh when it’s needed. But Farrah Rochon writes their relationships with each other so well, you can feel the love. And I’m absolutely here for it.

She also touches on a host of deeper issues – grief, obligations, perception of Black men, especially as athletes, CTE, military families. Even how difficult and even intrusive fame can be, even if it brings a more than comfortable lifestyle.

The sweet and spicy banter between Taylor and Jamar was everything. I truly adored all of their conversations about vegetables, especially eggplants. I loved that you could feel the depths of how much they cared about each other – even when they were disagreeing.

And the heat between them was sizzling almost immediately. No fade to black moments here!

This is a fast-paced, contemporary, steamy romance with well-developed characters that you cannot help but cheer for. I can’t wait until we get London’s story in 2022!

4.5 stars outta 5

I read The Boyfriend Project last year and absolutely loved it, When I saw that The Dating Playbook was coming out this year I KNEW I had to get my hands on it. I absolutely fell in love with Farrah Rochon's writing, as well as the way she can weave a story. I love that she creates such realistic characters and scenarios. After reading Samiah and Daniel's story I couldn't wait to get into Taylor's story, If you love fake dating tropes as well as sports romance with two really down to Earth characters this book killed it! The best part about it for me was that there was so much depth and discussion in this book. It touches on mental health, it touches on grief, as well as things that I have personally struggled with. Jamar is a former football star who is determined to get back into the game after a serious injury took him out. He hires Taylor to be his personal trainer to get him back into shape and in the right condition to continue his career. While all of this is going on they are both doing a whole lot of soul searching and learning about themselves and I think it is a beautiful thing to see. Watching the relationship between Taylor and Jamar blossom was such a beautiful thing. I also really like seeing the friendship between Samiah, London and Taylor grow. Also, can we talk about the fact that this book and thus far any books that Farrah Rochon puts out are completely and utterly bingeable? I flew through this one too, reading the large majority of it in the span of a couple of hours.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Romance for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Dating Playbook is the follow-up novel to The Boyfriend Project. This book was one of my most anticipated summer releases and let me tell you, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. It has everything I love: sports romances, friends to lovers, fake dating, only one bed, slow burn, forced proximity.

Taking place three months after the first book began, Taylor Powell is running out of money and maxing out her credit cards. After a few poor business decisions, Taylor'd Conditioning isn't taking off like she'd hoped. Out of desperation, Taylor holds a pop-up boot camp, where she meets Jamar, a former NFL standout, who is trying to get back to the League after suffering a career-ending knee injury. He convinces Taylor to be his trainer, but when a sports reporter calls the pair out, they decide to put on a fake relationship for the public in order to keep Jamar's plans under wraps. But when the pair find themselves carrying on the charade, even when no one is watching, they must decide whether to pursue something real or stick to the dating playbook rules.

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book. Taylor and Jamar have quick, easy banter and their chemistry is amazing. I loved that they started off as friends, but both secretly had the hots for each other. It allowed their relationship to develop quickly, because they spent day in and out together in extremely close quarters.

In The Boyfriend Project, Taylor was my least favorite out of the three friends, but after reading her book, she has such a special place in my heart. She is much more than the frazzled messed she shows in the first book. Taylor won me over with her spunk, no bull attitude. She did not care who Jamar was, only that he reached his goals. She was absolutely hilarious and her great one liners had me laughing out loud so many times. I loved seeing her more vulnerable side, especially when it came to her struggle with potentially having a learning disability that's gone undiagnosed for much of her life.

And oh Jamar...he is such a stand-up guy! Hard working and incredibly determined, Jamar will let nothing stand in his way. He is always working hard to up the competition and is a natural born fighter. Nothing comes easy for him and I loved seeing how Taylor pushed him closer to his dream. Both characters were absolutely perfect for each other; they knew when to push and when to comfort, something both needed greatly throughout the book.

Jamar's struggle to get back to the NFL is touching. His entire goal is to make it back to fulfill a dream he had with his best friend who was tragically killed in a car crash their senior year of high school. Grief drove his goals, but his journey during the book was touching and incredibly relatable. Grappling with his involvement in Silas' death was raw, vulnerable, and I am glad that this element was included in the book.

I love, love, LOVED this book even more than the first and I cannot wait to see where the story goes next with London's story. Please do yourself a favor and pre-order this book today!

⚠️ CW: car crash/death of friend (off page), learning disability

The Dating Playbook is out August 17. Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC for an honest review.

We are back with our lovely trio of #squadgoals, Samiah, London, and Taylor. Taylor takes center stage in this book as she struggles to get herself out of a financial crisis and get her brand of personal training/meal planning/fitness regime running. While running a boot camp style exercise camp to help pay off a meal with her friends the night before, enter Jamar Dixon, a former football player for the Chicago Bears. He knows her style of no-nonsense, kick ass training is what he needs to get back into the NFL after an injury put his very newly NFL career to a halt. Sprinkle in some fake dating, not so fake dating, misunderstandings, grief, guilt, and self-esteem issues, and you have The Dating Playbook.

I really enjoyed Taylor. I liked her a lot in the first book, and I'm glad we got her story for the 2nd. Not that Samiah didn't feel real, but Taylor felt more relatable to me. As someone who has struggled to make ends meet, who had to decide if my car payment was getting paid versus keeping my electric on, I understood Taylor's struggles significantly. I rooted for her since Samiah's book, and it was no different in this one. I also understood how frustrating it can be to know that you can only get so far without the education behind it. Taylor was just as capable as those with degrees, but in a world that requires people with advance degrees (that are usually useless anyway), she was stuck.

That was a slight gripe I had with this book. The very big focus on education. Yes, an education is very important, but there were definitely other avenues that Taylor could have taken to get certified that didn't require an expensive degree. Taylor was already in financial debt, but that was never a reason for her to not want to go to school. I'm sorry, but if you're $20K in debt, maybe school wasn't going to be an option. I did appreciate that Taylor decided to make the decision on her own (after a kickboxing incident that felt...unrealistic and put there to force Taylor to see the "error of her ways" in not getting a degree), but I would have liked this better if Taylor could have succeeded without feeling as if she needed to put herself into more of a financial hole. There was no talks of grants or scholarships, so I left the book wondering, "How is she going to pay for this?"

As far as Jamar goes, I liked him far better than Daniel. Granted, he wasn't hiding a huge ass secret. His grief for his late best friend and the guilt he carried felt so incredibly real, and there were times where I wanted to hug him while also smacking him on the back of the head. His ending felt a bit contrived, this forced notion of "you can't have your cake and eat it, too." It kind of made the rest of the book seem...pointless? Obviously there needed to be a reason to put him and Taylor together, but to have no reward for the work he put in? Honestly, if he had told Taylor about his knee beforehand, this could have been something they could have addressed, so in the end, he dug his own NFL grave.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, the brutally honest friendship between our three ladies, the communication between Taylor and Jamar, the talks of grief, guilt, family issues with feeling inadequate. There were a lot of things I didn't like which I've mentioned above as well as the luke warm love scenes. The love scenes could have been fade to black, and I don't think they'd have taken away anything from the book. Farrah's writing has a lot of strengths, but sex scenes were not it.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to London's book although I have a feeling that her book, especially going through the buy out with her hospital is going to test me as a reader. Not with regards to London, but what she's about to go through. I look forward to more friendship bonding between our three Badass ladies.

Taylor was introduced in The Boyfriend Project alongside Samiah and London. She was my least favorite character of the trio. However Farrah Rochon went more in depth with her character here and changed my mind. Taylor is struggling financially and when offered the chance to work with former football star Jamar Dixon she jumps at the opportunity. Jamar has his own struggles, both personal and professional. He wants back into the NFL and Taylor is just the person to get him back on the field. In order to keep the media from learning the truth of their relationship, they create The Dating Playbook. Do the plays work? You'll have to read in order to find out!

The Dating Playbook is another amazing read by Farrah Rochon. If you enjoyed her first book in the series, The Boyfriend Project, you are going to love this book even more!

In this book 2 of 'The Boyfriend Project' series, the story centers on Taylor's story. She is a personal trainer who is going through the ups and downs of the business. She is passionate about being a personal trainer but it isn't paying the bills as she hoped. But that all changes when Jamar walks into her life. Jamar is trying to secretly make a comeback to the NFL and enlists the help of Taylor to get him stronger and in shape for a return to professional football. He suffered a knee injury and many don't think it's safe for him to play. But he wants to leave the game on his own terms. That means training and pushing himself to give himself the best shot.

Taylor and Jamar are both so entertaining. They are funny and have great chemistry. Because Jamar wants to keep his potential comeback a secret they agree to fake a relationship so no one questions if Taylor is his personal trainer. So, they come up with a 'Dating Playbook' to make sure they keep things professional yet realistic at all times. I am rooting for them in the beginning because of their instant connection and my love for them only grows as the story progresses. They are both dealing with doubt and insecurities in their lives and when they open up to one another it makes them feel hopeful and happy. When Jamar feels certain guilt about his past and career, Taylor reminds him how special he is with his thoughtful and protective attitude. And when Taylor feels insecure about her career choice and being enough, Jamar gives her the confidence and drive to continue to push for dreams.

I give The Dating Playbook 5 stars. I thought 'The Boyfriend Project' would be my forever favorite in the series but The Dating Playbook is just so relatable and charming. Farrah Rochon gives readers everything they could want in a contemporary romance: romance, wit, and humor. Once you read this book, you won't be able to put it down! I can't wait for London's book and for more of this series!!

Wow! I loved this one! I had to read it as soon as it hit my kindle.

This series is quickly becoming a new favorite. Strong women, amazing female friendships, amazing banter and romance, what more could you want?

I loved The Boyfriend Project and could not wait for London and Taylor's story.

The women in this series are so strong and dedicated to their careers and friendships. If only all women had friendships like this. Even though Samiah, Taylor and London met in less than ideal circumstances, but have developed such an amazing friendship in short amount of time.

Taylor is an amazing trainer and attracts ex-NFL star Jamar. After having a career ending injury, he's determined to get his shot back in the NFL and wants to hire Taylor to train him secretly. The chemistry between these two is immediately off the charts. I loved their friendship and banter. Because of past experiences, Taylor won't sleep with clients (even if she's falling for them.) This causes a lot of tension between the two, but I'm so glad they were able to work it out. I've loved both male leads for this series, Daniel and Jamar. Of course no one is perfect, but it's nice to have wonderful male leads.

I cannot wait for London's story.

I will update as soon as I post my review on bookstagram.

I enjoyed the first installment of the series, The Boyfriend Project, and The Dating Playbook is even better!
Taylor is a entrepreneur, personal trainer and nutrition consultant who is facing a bit of financial difficulty when former NFL hotshot Jamar contracts her to get him in peak physical condition in hopes of rejoining the league after an injury. The mutual attraction is present from their very first meeting, but Taylor has no idea who he is and is a bit wary of men after the last guy she dated was busted in a viral video of she and two other women confronting him when they found out he was dating all of them at the same time. Jamar is persistent and their business relationship leads to much more.
Farrah Rochon does a truly beautiful job of creating realistic and complex relationships throughout this book. The squad (Taylor, Samiah, and London) have a sisterhood that was forged in the fire and grown stronger in the ensuing months. The families showcased are multifaceted without being overly dramatic. The scene when Jamar visits his parents had me screaming with laughter. I even went back and reread it after I finished the book to check if it is really that funny... it is!
The chemistry between Taylor and Jamar is fantastic with some of the cutest/corniest flirting I have read in a while, which is why the fake relationship and forced proximity tropes were completely unnecessary and were the weakness of the story. Especially because there is no real resolution to the issue that caused Taylor to move out of her apartment. It is good that these scenes do not take up a significant amount of the book.
Overall I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars, go ahead and preorder or add it to your TBR list. If you haven’t read The Boyfriend Project it is not required but it does provide some back story into the squads relationship. Besides, it’s a really good book, I am looking forward to London’s book arriving next year. I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and I’m reviewing it voluntarily.

I adore this series. The characters are realistic, have real problems, and real obstacles. Even better, they work through their problems in a way that feels both authentic to the story and fairly realistic for responsible, healthy adults. Not only was I cheering for them to get together, I want them to be my friends. I'm looking forward to volume 3 in the series, and will be glad to suggest this book to friends and library patrons.

I adored The Boyfriend Project. It's the one book I read before starting a bookstagram account that I went back and reviewed just to share that it deserved five stars. So I have been eagerly awaiting Taylor's story for a year, but with that little bit of worry that I couldn't possibly like it as much. I am amazed and thrilled to report that I didn't need to worry. I loved Dating Playbook even more.

Taylor is a fitness trainer, and Jamar is hoping to earn back a spot on an NFL team. Their romance is hot, in a way that is only possible with lots of workouts. And they also connect with each other and support each other at deeper emotional levels. But this romance is so much more. 

The things that take a romance novel to the next level for me are having amazing secondary characters and bringing in serious issues. This book nails both. We still have the awesome trio of strong women with Taylor, Samiah, and London supporting each other in their goals (and pushing each other when necessary). And Taylor's family and her interactions with them add yet another amazing layer while I laughed out loud at Jamar's interactions with his parents.

But more, this book tackles really big issues around media representation and stereotypes of Black men in the NFL, military life and the toll it takes on families, and grief and guilt in ways that moved me deeply. One part that touched me particularly strongly was the amazing portrayal of all the feelings that can accompany an undiagnosed learning disability.

I don't want to say more about any of these to avoid spoilers, but just wow. This book made me think and cry and laugh. I expect to read The Boyfriend Project and it again back to back. And now I can't wait for London's book (she was my favorite from the first novel).

Thank you SO much to Forever for the advanced reader copy. Reading it was so special.

So hot!! I love this author and was still blown away by how fun and steamy this book was. Very highly recommended for all public library collections!

The Dating Playbook

Now I LOVED The Boyfriend Project - it made me an instant Farrah Rochon forever fan. I could not wait to get my hands on this book, the second of the series, after being introduced to Taylor & her group of girlfriends in the first book.

Yet somehow I was completely surprised in a good way at just how much I LOVED this book, The Dating Playbook. I was ready to give it 5 stars right off the bat but this book grabbed my attention and I didn't want it to end!

Somehow even knowing the basics of Taylor as someone working towards her goals of being a fitness coach didn't prepare me how invested in her personal growth & career I would become. I absolutely adored how she and Jamar met and how their lives were woven together in this story, on both the personal & professional level.

Pick this one up if you love the fake dating trope, the perfect level of steam all with great friendships to lean on as Rochon manages to make this romance novel a bit deeper & intimate in the best way.

After reading Alexa Martin's series, and this one, sports based romance may just have a special place in my heart - I'm already looking forward to rereading this one when I get my hands on a finished copy!

My virtual book club @loveARCtually is hosting this incredible title as one of our club reads next month & I'm so excited to get to gush with them and convince everyone I can to preorder this one, a total must read IMO!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing me an ARC to read, Farrah is by far one of my favorite authors & I was thrilled to have the chance to devour this book!

If you enjoyed The Boyfriend Project like I did, this is a must read!

After falling in love with the bad ass ladies that are Samiah, Taylor and London who became best friends after confronting their mutual cheating boyfriend, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Taylor’s story.

Taylor is having a hard time staying afloat running her fitness company and is struggling to find a way out of the debt and despair she is in. She wants to finish her degree but is terrified she will be unable to do the work and wondering if she may have a learning disability. When Jamar comes into her life and asks her to train him to get back into the NFL but in secret, she is suspicious of his motives but needs the money so agrees.

Enter in some fake dating plus instalust and you can guess what happens next. My favorite part of these books is the unlikely friendship between the three women. I cannot wait to get London’s story next!!

I was so excited for Taylor’s story! This second book in the series was fantastic. I love these complex characters. Taylor and Jamar “Diesel” Dixon start as friends in a fake relationship, but of course fall for each other for real. I especially liked the family members in this book, Jamar’s grief story was well done and Taylor’s complex relationship with her immediate family was great as well. Highly recommended and now I can’t wait for London’s story.

Disclaimer: I got this book in exchange for an honest review. I’ll have a review up on my Bookstagram account (reach is roughly 2,930 followers) @meetcuteromancebooks! I was a huge fan of The Boyfriend Project and sequels are always a hit or miss but this is one you definitely don’t want to miss out on!!! I adored Taylor and Jamar. London was a bit of a wacky character but Jamar really stood out to me!! I’ll share more of my thoughts on this book closer to the release date but it’s a must read!!!

***SPOILERS***
I really liked The Dating Playbook (I had access to an ARC), maybe even more than The Boyfriend Project! I think Taylor is relatable: assertive, yet insecure; broke, yet generous; good at what she does, but scared to take it to the next level....
She and Jamar are good for each other. They provide support and listening ears. She helps him begin to rethink his guilt over Silas. He helps her to think about her possible learning challenges and how she views herself within her family. They both call each other out when the other is trying to deflect from the real issue bothering them.
I think their love story is cute 😍.

Can't wait for London's installment next year!

I could not put this book down. It was excellent.

Taylor Powell is an outstanding fitness professional but finds herself struggling to pay her bills after a series of jobs don't pan out, mainly because she doesn't have a college degree. Then she meets Jamar Dixon, a former football star, whose pro football career ended after being carted off the field with a knee injury. Jamar wants another chance to prove that he can play with the pros and he wants Taylor to help him get back into the physical shape to do it. But there is one catch -- no one can know they are working together. When they are spotted in public together, Taylor accidently says they are dating to protect Jamar's privacy. This begins a series of "strategies" for how to handle their fake dating public persona which has now developed to hide the fact that they are working together professionally. But the more they work together, the less "fake" the dating starts to feel.

This book sucked me in from page 1 and I could not stop reading. These characters were so good and there so many deep issues addressed in this book. From grief and guilt to issues of learning and education. I loved the complexity of the characters. All of the characters were so well developed and I wanted to know what happened to them.

I loved Rochon's writing style and the way she handled some of the really hard issues in this book. I read the author's notes at the end and saw that some of these issues were really difficult for her to write about. It came through on the page how much she poured her heart and soul into these characters and this work. I felt these characters and everything they went through. Especially Jamar and his grief and heart break. I wanted to wrap him up and hug him so many times.

This is one of the best reads I have read in a while. I highly recommend this one.