Another contemporary romance novel, this one uses the fake dating trope in a delightful way. Taylor is a personal trainer, featured in The Boyfriend Project (the first in the series) and former NFL player Jamar. He hires her as a personal trainer, but then hijinks ensue and they have to pretend to date. I really liked how this unfolded, it felt fairly realistic to me (for a romance novel). I appreciated the discussion of mental health, as well as career struggles and really nice communication and chemistry between the two main characters. The inclusion of the female friendships continued to be an anchor in this part of the series, providing a really nice touch. I did like the first in the series more than this one, but am still going to continue to read it for London's story next. I encourage you to pick it up if you're looking for a good beach read.

The Dating Playbook by @farrahrochon is the follow up to The Boyfriend Project. Three women meet when it turns out they were dating the same guy. They bond instantly and resolve to spend more time on things that make them happy other than men.

One of the women, Taylor has decided to grow her fitness business but a series of bad business decisions and setbacks has her rethinking her goal. An unexpected client appears in the form of an ex-football player who wants to secretly hire her to get him back in shape to make another go at playing in the NFL after a career ending injury.

I loved this even more than the first book. In this series, the women's friendship is just as interesting as the budding romance. Can't wait until next summer for book 3.

Thanks to @grandcentralpub @netgalley for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the narrator & this book was great! This is a great series - loved the chemistry and overall dynamic between the 2 characters. As a former fitness professional, this one felt a little inauthentic in terms of her job & "fitness lingo" but it wasn't a huge deal. Looking forward to the 3rd book in the series.

A love story perfect for fall, The Dating Playbook, follows ex-pro footballer Jamar Dixon and the enigmatic, beautiful woman he hires to train him secretly, Taylor Powell. Taylor knows she shouldn't get involved with a client, but in order to keep the training secret, she ends up telling a white lie to the media that she and Jamar are dating, in order to explain why they are seen spending so much time together. But, as the two spend more time with each other, the lines between fake relationship and real relationship blur, and they make such a wonderful couple. Great story, hot romance, and fun banter.

thank you to net galley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book was good! Taylor's character was interesting, she was very strong willed and persistent. I enjoyed the fake dating trope although it always causes miscommunication between the characters.

Things I liked:
- The side characters! Taylor's friends were so sweet and I can't wait to read London's story coming out next year.
- The plot; I thought it was interesting.

Things I didn't like:
- Miscommunication trope
- Taylor's toxic views and methods on getting in shape
- The third person POV. This is just a personal preference but I feel like with third person POV you can't feel as connected to the characters like you can with first person.

This is a sequel but you don't need to read the first book in order to understand what is going o as it revolves around different characters.

Major trigger warning for death of a loved one.

In this second entry of Rochon's The Other Women Strike Back (unofficial title by me) trilogy, Taylor's personal training business takes a turn when NFL star Jamar Dixon becomes her client. Did the story make me that much more eager for football season? Yes 100%. The romance hinges on fake dating and kisses in the rain, so I was a big supporter of the characters' progress.

The book has a lot of forceful messaging, and I think that can make romance as a genre more powerful and meaningful. Unfortunately, my reactions to the messages here were mixed at best.

Let's start with the positive. At the beginning of the book, we find Taylor with maxed out credit cards and a worry that she won't make rent. This level of financial insecurity is so rarely acknowledged in romance, and I found the setup truly worthwhile. The story also delves into mental health and Taylor's worries about measuring up to her siblings and peers while her business struggles to get off the ground. The book offers a thoughtful, multifaceted indictment of the education system, bringing to the foreground: anxiety caused by a system built and sustained on standardized testing, the pressure to get a higher education for the sake of many career options, and the lack of awareness about learning disorders that can haunt a student when teachers don't properly catch it and meet students' individual needs.

But now I need to delve into the negative because it hit me hard. "Capitalism is my jam" is a real sentence in this book, and I never fully recovered. The phrase "wealth-shaming" also exists in the same book as a girl who worried about a future living out of her car. An All-American message of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps was especially alarming given the detailed context provided. We know that Taylor was failed by her schools and her family, but business decisions that didn't result in instant success are still cast as her failures and an ADHD diagnosis doesn't alter her characterization as impulsive and risky.

I also take specific issue with Taylor's so-called "brilliant" business idea of outsourcing P.E. to part-time fitness instructors, and I do not have the energy to list all my increasingly incensed comments about privatizing public education rather than fixing our achingly broken system. And I'm allowed to be saucy about that, seeing as I work in a public school and spend most of my waking, non-reading moments thinking about said school and education at large.

While there are certainly bright moments to this book, the disappointments far outweighed them for this reader.

So I don’t feel like this author is for me. This is the second book I’ve read by her and I felt like it moved too slowly for my liking. The story was good, just wanted a little more action. I’m giving it 3 stars because the story was well-written and I can see why other readers would love it, unfortunately it was just okay for me.

So, I really liked The Boyfriend Project but this one really exceeded my expectations. It was fantastic. I loved everything about it.

I had been in a bit of a reading slump and then just dealing with some personal stuff so I wasn't really reading but this book really pulled me out of the slump and I loved every minute of it.

When I read The Boyfriend Project I didn't think I would like Taylor because I didn't think she would be relatable as I am not into fitness and all that. But she was so relatable and maybe one of my favorite characters ever.

I love romance novels that have depth to them. That explore real life situations and this book was that for me.

I highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for this eARC.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was really looking forward to this one. And I was not disappointed! Farrah Rochon paints the perfectly hot picture of Taylor and Jamar! You can't go wrong with romance and football. From the start you know they're doomed to fall for each other and I was there for every moment of it! Love the friendship she has with her girls and his loyalty to family. I also love Farrah's way with words. Can you say "naked Tetris"? A perfect read for hopeless romantics like me! Now, can we get London hooked up?!?!

Thanks to #netgalley for the advance copy for an honest review.

The Dating Playbook is the delightful sophomore story in Ms. Rochon’s The Boyfriend Project series. This time around, we follow Taylor, one of the three close friends who bonded over a shared dating mishap (book one). Taylor runs her own fitness training company and assumes that bootcamp attendee Jamar is staying after class to hit on her after seeing the viral video that gave her some internet fame. However, Jamar, a former college football star, wants to secretly train and earn a spot back in the NFL, so he proposes to hire Taylor as an exclusive trainer.

Jamar and Taylor share sparks from the start. Both are good people and can tell the other is a good match. Since we experience the story from both MCs POVs, the reader knows how each character feels. When Taylor tries to cover the fact she’s Jamar’s trainer by saying they are dating, they decide to pretend date to build up social media support.

I love a good “fake relationship” story, and The Dating Playbook nails the trope. The pair slips up and kisses and then cannot keep their hands off one another. They both want more than fake, but Jamar needs Taylor as a trainer more than as a hookup. And she needs cash and to maintain client/trainer boundaries to protect her company.

Jamar and Taylor’s story could have been predictable. It could have been messy and ugly. However, Ms. Rochon pens a lovely romance that addresses potential conflicts without adding in unnecessary drama. Both characters undergo personal growth - figuring out how to navigate uncomfortable waters (family, social media, the press, etc.) with confidence. They each learn that they don’t have to go it alone and have close friends/family support.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed The Dating Playbook and loved the chemistry between Jamar and Taylor.

My Rating: B+

4.5

This can be read as a standalone, but while you don’t need to read Samiah’s story to enjoy Taylor’s, I recommend reading them in order. You get to know how their friendship came to be and it helps you understand a couple instances better.

A little bit of fake dating along with some forced proximity made this a rom com you don’t want to miss. I loved the banter between Taylor and Jamar. The chemistry and level of steam while the couple blurred the lines of their agreement was well done.

I love the topics Rochon includes in her romances. STEM in the first book and learning disabilities in this one, it brings more depth to an already great rom com. If anything, I would have liked some more time with the three girls together. I love their conversations and how they can joke but give great advice at the same time.

Such a quick, fun romance. One of my favorites of the month so far.

I absolutely love the fake dating trope and so I was really excited for this book!

After reading and enjoyed The Boyfriend Project I couldn’t wait for Taylor’s story! Getting to know Taylor and Jamar as they took on the fake dating trope was fun and very entertaining. Their love story had me smiling! There was plenty of chemistry and tension. I will say the book had a slow start but both characters learned a lot about themselves as the story progressed. This sports romance with a heavy emphasis on fitness and nutrition and some of the commentary didn’t really sit well with me. Seeing Taylor’s continued friendship with Samiah and London however, was amazing!

If you enjoy sports romances, the fake dating trope, and dual pov stories, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

CW: sexual content, grief, car/motorcycle accident, medical content, panic attacks

Thank you so much Netgalley and Forever for the eArc!!!

This book has everything to love in a contemporary romance. First, you have Taylor. Taylor is a personal trainer working hard to hit the point in her career where she can remain in the black and consider herself a complete success. She's super confident and a great friend, and yet struggles with finances and circumstances affecting her business. I loved that Rochon writes a women who can be both confident and badass and yet has these insecurities. It felt very real and makes the character a whole person. Then you have Jamar. Jamar is a pro-football player who recently suffered a severe injury. He's secretly looking to get back to the NFL and wants Taylor's help to do so since he doesn't want anyone within the organization knowing just yet that he's looking for a comeback. Jamar has confidence and kindness. And while he is beloved and seen as a success, he has demons of his own that he is struggling with.

These two characters were so much fun together. The football and workout scene are great without being a central focus of the story so you don't get lost in the details of either. I enjoyed reading about characters that were successful in their own ways and yet struggling in others. Their journey together is great and the fake dating aspect a lot of fun. The setting in Austin, TX is the perfect backdrop for a perfect Fall read. The banter and chemistry is fantastic. All in all, this is a great second book for The Boyfriend Project series. I'm loving Rochon's writing about these three girlfriends and how they support one another and cannot wait for the next book.

I like the premise of this series so much: 3 women, catfished by the same man, go viral when they confront him at a restaurant. The unusual meeting provides the foundation for a great friendship which, to me at least, takes center stage over the romances in either of the first two books of the series.

While the first book in the series focused on a competent STEM heroine being duped by the secret agent hero posing as her coworker, the second book focuses on Taylor, a struggling trainer/nutrition expert secretly working with a football player determined to make it back into the NFL. Given the secretive nature of their working relationship, the two embark on a fake relationship to throw off the media and public and as is the case with this particular romance trope, what starts off as fake soon turns to something very real.

I’m going to be honest - the romance was, well, FINE. It’s the friendship between the 3 women that I find much more interesting and appealing in this series, the way they support and encourage each other and yes, if needed, give each other a kick in the pants. The actual love story, at least to me, seems almost like an afterthought and I found myself less invested in the HEA between Taylor and Jamar and far more interested in seeing how Taylor, with the help of her friends, decided to finally go after her professional dreams.

CW: grief, off page death of best friend, learning disability, recovery from career ending injury, difficult family relationships, on page hospitalization and ailment of close family friend

Taylor Powell’s personal training business hasn’t been going quite as she planned, and she’s scraping the bottom of her bank account. When Jamar Dixon, former NFL player, shows up at her pop-up boot camp class and asks to hire her as his personal trainer, Taylor is skeptical.

The catch? He doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s trying to make a comeback until he’s certain he can. Cue fake dating and more sparks than either of them bargained for.

The Dating Playbook is the follow up to last year’s The Boyfriend Project, which focuses on Software Engineer Samiah Brooks. After Samiah learns that she’s not the only girl who’s been catfished by Craig, she develops a friendship with Craig’s other girlfriends (read: victims), London and Taylor. The three make a pact to spend the next six months focusing on their own goals instead of dating. When Daniel, a new employee, shows up at work, Samiah is smitten. However, Daniel might not be exactly who he says he is.

Though The Dating Playbook is technically the second in a trilogy, and a follow up to The Boyfriend Project, It can easily be read as a standalone.

In The Boyfriend Project, I really enjoyed the depiction of smart, successful Black women, and really loved seeing the friendship between Samiah, Taylor, and London grow. However, the romance fell short for me, and I found some of the steamier scenes a little uncomfortable.

I much preferred the romance in The Dating Playbook. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Taylor and Jamar, and loved how Rochon gave both characters realistically challenging past experiences to overcome. The fact that I know nothing about (and don’t care at all about) football wasn’t as big of a factor as I feared. There was some really good (spoilery) rep here that I related to and really appreciated, but don’t often see in books.

This series is pretty steeped in military culture, which makes them not the best fit for me, but I was so impressed by The Dating Playbook that I’m planning to pick up London’s story next summer.

Thanks to @readforeverpub for a digital ARC for review.

I can not recommend this book enough! I read The Dating Playbook in one day. This romance book is one of best books of 2021.. I appreciate net gallery and selected publishers for this early copy

The Dating Playbook is the delightfully funny second tale in Farrah Rochon’s The Boyfriend Project series. You can read this without reading the first book.

Taylor Powell experienced her proverbial fifteen minutes plus of fame when her acerbic tweets about a date from hell turned into a viral video takedown of a catfisher in a restaurant. She’s been besties with the other two women involved in the very public incident (London and Samiah) ever since. But friendship wasn’t really what Taylor was hoping for from being buzzworthy. She loves her new peeps, but her business Taylor’d Fitness desperately needs a boost if it is going to survive. Some unfortunate decisions have left her with bills that are piling up, and her lack of a college degree means that she’s not even considered for positions she could easily perform. She’d thought internet fame might result in more clients but alas, that is not what happened. Taylor doesn’t see a way out of her current dilemma.

Then Jamar Dixon shows up at her popup fitness bootcamp. A former footballer who wants back into the NFL, Jamar is looking for a personal trainer who can help him achieve his personal best but keep the information that he’s attempting a comeback on the downlow. Jamar doesn’t want Twitter and the sports bloggers getting into his head with their negative opinions on his odds of recovering from his career ending injury. He’s had enough of that already. He likes Taylor’s style, strength and dedication and figures she can definitely get him where he needs to be.

Taylor would love to use the fact Jamar is one of her clients to hype her business but he’s paying her enough – with promises to promote her company once they are finished – that it is worth it for her to stay mum till Jamar returns to being one of the best running backs in the league. So, when a sports reporter catches them together, Taylor is quick to tell the man they’re a couple. She has a lot riding on Jamar’s success, and she isn’t going to let a little thing like having to fake date a client keep her from getting it.

The only problem is, Jamar and Taylor had a hard enough time keeping their crazy attraction to each other in check before they were a faux couple. Now that they’re spending all this extra time together, will they really be able to keep things strictly professional?

When Taylor’s good friend London learns of their plans she says, “You do realize this sounds a lot like a romance novel, don’t you?” and I appreciated that meta moment. The plot and action that serve as the impetus for our story is a familiar device in the genre. That isn’t a bad thing – the author uses her trope to good effect, creating a genuine and heartfelt romance in her only-in-a-romcom narrative – but I was grateful to see the ridiculousness of the situation openly acknowledged and dealt with.

From the first moment they meet, it is clear Jamar and Taylor are perfect together. They get each other’s jokes, feel really comfortable together, share confidences and support each other through the highs and lows in their lives and have terrific chemistry. This is one of those stories where the heroine and hero don’t have to work hard to be a couple because they feel meant to be. Their love story is joyous and captures perfectly the magic of finding The One.

I always think of Farrah Rochon’s books as being romances about grownups because of how mature her leads are. Jamar and Taylor have some struggles in their lives, but they know how to deal with adversity and pressure without being snarky maniacs toward everyone around them. In Taylor’s case, she is broke. I loved how Ms. Rochon depicted this situation – she captured perfectly that feeling of balancing needs and wants, of watching your friend’s spend money you can’t even dream of having, the dangers of credit card debt and the damage it causes and how living even a really simple, low frills life can be bankrupting in this day and age. I like how Taylor stayed positive through all this but was also very practical about the need for money.
She was a touch less reasonable when it came to her family. She felt they judged her by their own standards of success rather than her own and as a result viewed her as the familial black sheep. Jamar helps her hold some sensible conversations about that and really address those feelings.

From early in the story, we can tell Taylor has an undiagnosed learning disability and Jamar is able to help her with that as well. I liked that he never took control of any of Taylor’s situations, that he never just plowed over her own wants and wishes as he solved her problems but worked with her and cheered her on as she came to her own solutions.

Jamar is in many ways the opposite of Taylor. He’s financially secure, has a good relationship with his family, and excels at academics, financial situations, controlling social media – he seems to have it all together. However, beneath it all he carries a weight of guilt and some unneeded responsibilities based upon events in his youth. I really loved how he was able to work through his issues by talking to the right people throughout the story. I can’t emphasize enough how fabulous it is to read about characters who handle the challenges in their lives in mature, responsible, reasonable ways. This is a happy, amusing, humorous tale but the comedy doesn’t come from crazy characters doing stupid things but from people being able to joke, play and laugh their way through this sometimes-difficult thing we call life.

This series places a lot of emphasis on great gal pals, and nobody could ask for better friends than London and Samiah. I loved how these ladies continued to be a big part of each other’s lives, offering a helping hand or sympathetic ear when needed and spurring each other to greater success. We catch only a glimpse of Daniel and Samiah as a couple, but I was happy to see them still going strong and I loved watching London as she dealt with her two friends being in love while she remained stoically single. I can’t wait to see who she winds up with (her book comes out next summer).

Great characters, solid writing and a charming love story make The Dating Playbook one of the best novels I’ve read this year and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance novels.

After her business goes into a slump, Taylor finds herself deeply in debt. When former NFL player Jamal hires her as his personal trainer, it could save her financial life. But Jamal doesn’t want the media to know he’s trying to make a comeback. To throw a reporter off the scent, Taylor and Jamal say they’re dating. When their staged relationship leads to real attraction, can they keep their relationship professional?

This is a fun, flirty story with a ton of chemistry and characters you can’t help rooting for. Both Taylor and Jamal are dealing with emotional scars from the past that get in the way of making good choices in the present. I love how Taylor stands up to Jamal when she disagrees with his unhealthy decisions. If you loved THE BOYFRIEND PROJECT, you’ll definitely want to read this book!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

After enjoying the first in this series, I was excited to read this book. I thought the writing flowed well, and I read it fairly quickly. However, it didn't click as well for me as the first one. Despite it not clicking to the same level, I did enjoy this story, and I look forward to the next one.

The series premise is a fun one. Three women form a bond after their viral public take-down of the guy they each unwittingly have been seeing. Three very different heroines - a techy nerd, a fitness instructor, and a doctor. Taylor is the fitness instructor. She has ambitions to grow her fitness business, but unlike her new girlfriends, she's in a much more tenuous position financially and with her career. A few misguided decisions have her in a deep hole financially. This is where Jamar steps in. He's a former high school and college football star, who had a promising NFL career cut short with what would be a career-ending injury for many half-way through his first season. He hires Taylor to be his full-time trainer to get him back in shape for the NFL and to prove the naysayers wrong. The attraction is there from the beginning, but they want to keep their relationship professional. Then, when reporters start sniffing around why Jamar is hanging out with a trainer, Taylor blurts out that they are dating. So, they are fake-dating in public, have the desire to date in truth, and are training in private.

This could have had such delicious tension, but I didn't feel it. I think it boiled down to a mismatch between the tension and the action. For example, when they finally succumb to the "why not date in truth when everyone thinks we are anyways" dilemma, it felt anti-climactic. It was after the tension had eased some and it needed to be built back up again, at least that's my take. I liked the characters overall. I thought there stories compelling. I did think some of the issues felt surface-deep, but I think that would have been a minor complaint if the tension had worked better. I do think this was a good pairing, so the romance worked on some levels, just not all.

Ultimately, while this didn't fully work for me, I did think this was a diverting read. Settings were well-drawn, and I thought all the major components were there. It just didn't click for me like the first book. I look forward to London's book next summer.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a chance to read and review this book. Views are my own.

In the follow-up to the Boyfriend Project, The Dating Playbook tells the story of personal trainer Taylor Powell, who is struggling to get her business off the ground and make ends meet. When ex-NFL star Jamar Dixon needs an off-the-radar trainer to get back into NFL shape, it seems too good to be true. When they end up accidentally dating to keep their training relationship under wraps, they can't resist the real attraction building between them.

Both characters are dealing with some heavy stuff - Jamar with the death of his best friend, and Taylor, a learning disability and anxiety. Despite this, the Dating Playbook still felt light and fun, and a big part of this was the banter and ease between Jamar and Taylor. However, their chemistry didn't always pop off the page for me - partially just because of a lack of tension but also because Taylor as a character just felt a little flat sometimes.

Overall I enjoyed the book - I did really love the female friendships of the book and I can't wait for London's story!