The best thing about this book is it means the series is over. I read the Boyfriend Project when it was a Book of the Month pick. It was awful. The characters were so unlikable and the plot seemed so fake. But when the second book came out I thought, it has to get better right? Maybe the first one got all the author's anger at men out, and this one will be more romance type book. No, it was just as unlikeable. Unfortunately I am stubborn and will not leave a series unfinished. I had to read this one as well, and it fell just as flat as the previous two.

London is a successful surgeon and makes no time for relationships. She is convinced by her friends that she needs a casual hookup and runs into *surprise* another successful person who is too busy for relationships. Of course they immediately become enemies because that is what all authors seem to think needs to happen before they can have a happily ever after. Like I said, lots of anger at men and making them the bad guy in these books. Now that the series is FINALLY done, I will steer clear of the author in the future.

While I'm so sad this series is ending I'm so glad it went out how it did. This is by far my favorite book in the series.

London and Drew are such great characters, they're incredibly well written. London is so ambitious and smart and driven and doesn't try to hide those facts like so many others characters do. Drew is also so fun because he's also smart and driven, but he's realized how things besides business success can be important. It's really nice to see the steps he's taking in his life to right the wrongs he's seen or that he thinks he's done, and to see him take hose lessons, and a ton of patience, to let London decide what path she wants to follow. It's so amazing to see how much he supports her. I think London's path may be my favorite of all 3 books. I like watching her realize that maybe the path she's always thought she wanted isn't what she wants now.

The ending was great and I loved seeing a sort of closure to all stories.

4.5 stars rounded up!

This has to be my favorite series. I fell in love with the BOYFRIEND PROJECT back in 2020, and each book continuously gets better in my opinion. I think this may have been my favorite installment of the series! I love this series because it’s way more than just romance, each character has the opportunity to find herself and make choices best for her life, whether that’s professionally or personally.

The only thing that irked me was how much London held on to high-school (because it’s mentioned a lot to start), but duh, that’s the premise of her budding romance.

But once London got over her high-school grudge, I really enjoyed how everything else in her life became more clear, similar to how dominoes fall. I thought she grew a lot and it was a great way to complete the circle for all three women. But okay can this series continue?! I mean, seems like there’s an opportunity for one more.

Overall, I love this series and will recommend it to anyone who needs a romance in their life. Each can be read as a stand alone, but each book mentions something from the previous. It’s not confusing, but readers may not understand the context. London’s story gave me Grey’s Anatomy vibes.

Big thank you to Netgalley, Forever Pub, and Hachette Audio for the ALC! This one drops August 2.

Content Warnings: emotional abuse, death of parent, terminal illness, sexism, cancer, domestic abuse

Review & Notes:

Notes:
The Hookup Plan is the third book in The Boyfriend Project series by Farrah Rochon. I first discovered her books when the first book The Boyfriend Project was a featured Book of the Month romance pick. So glad I selected it! I enjoyed the first two books and loved being able to read London and Drew's story as the trio of books came to an end. This was a series filled with strong, inspiring women and I was totally there for it!
I initially received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and then received a final print copy from the publisher, so I switched formats about 1/4 of the way in.
I LOVED this book! It was a wonderful close on the trio of women and their stories. Filled with strong characters and important topics and themes. Friendships, relationships, careers, life, and love. A wonderful reminder to be true to yourself, take care of yourself and make decisions in your life that are true to what you feel is right; go with your gut on what's important in life. Money isn't everything but when spent well, it can truly be life changing and impactful.
Misc. details:
Trope/details: enemies to lovers, second change romance, work/colleagues
Content warnings: touches on heavy topics such as losing a parent to cancer, having an alcoholic/abusive parent, narcissistic parents
Theme: navigating the waters of a personal health condition with the important reminder of taking time to take care of yourself. Reminder of the importance of friendship and being in a relationship with someone that gets you and wants the best for you.
Steam Rating: R - open-door steamy but not overly graphic. It started to get steamy relatively early on (no slow burn but still lots of sexual and emotional tension building!).
Quote that made me laugh: 'He was far more forgiving than she was. She held on to a grudge like a drowning woman holding on to a life raft.' - I love writing like this. The story has heavy topics but the writing style is hilarious and entertaining. I didn't make a lot of notes while reading because I was so into reading! Another win from Farrah Rochon.

Hot and steamy enemies to lovers romance. London is stressed out and although she loves the girls night out, it's not scratching her itch. Drew Sullivan may be her rival from high school but he's looking hot and who better to have a no strings hookup than with someone you know you won't develop feelings for.. until you do.

A bit more spice than I prefer but that's just me. The first half was a bit too much for me but I enjoyed the second half of the story. In the second half we get better character development and the plot moved along faster. Strong female protagonist, supportive male interest.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

This book wasn't terrible, but it wasn't keeping me hooked. A lot of it felt rushed and while this book is promoted as being able to be a stand-alone, I felt like I was getting half the story in terms of London and her two best friends who are focused on in the first two books. Maybe if I had read those two, I would feel more connected to London and this story, but I literally couldn't wait to be done with this book. It was... Boring? London was awesome and so was Drew, but I just did not feel their chemistry for literally half of the entire book.

2.5 stars

4.25
Thank you to Forever Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I thought London and Drew's story was definitely the best of the three. I loved seeing the enemies to lovers and friends to lovers vibes. London was so fierce and passionate about her career and I really enjoyed seeing that. I also liked how Drew brought out the relaxing and more carefree side of her. I really liked how the relationship with London's father and siblings was worked out throughout the story and her standing up for herself was truly iconic. The cameos from the other two books were fantastic and I loved seeing each woman close out their story in such a meaningful way.

The Hookup Plan is the third installment in the Boyfriend Project trilogy. In this final book, we get London Kelley’s story. She’s the highly intelligent, witty, and no-nonsense pediatric surgeon in the friend group. London doesn’t have any desire to fall in love. She just wants a casual hookup with no strings attached. She thinks she’s found that when she sees her high school nemesis, Drew Sullivan, at their class reunion. He’s a tall, gorgeous millionaire that has found success as a hedge fund manager.

The book covers their journey as they are unexpectedly forced to work in close proximity. Drew’s firm has been hired to determine if the county hospital where London works should go the privatization route. While London rallies against that plan, she’s also fighting off Drew’s romantic advances. We get to see them navigate their growing interest in each other. We also see how they can coexist professionally without it being a conflict of interest.

I think this series got better with each book. This turned out to be my favorite of the three. I felt like London’s personality was the most like my own. I understood her hesitancy to get into a serious relationship. I also understood how hard it was to resist falling for Drew. He’s absolutely dreamy! He’s so compassionate, generous, and thoughtful. I really loved their rivals to lovers chemistry. I also loved how each book covers the same six month time span. It was so nice to get an update on the other two couples from the series. This was the perfect closing to a great series.

This is a strong 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read that I would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Farrah Rochon for the opportunity to review this book.

#TheHookupPlan #NetGalley

I liked it for the most part but didn't love it. The repetition of London's obsessive dislike of Drew in high school was overdone and it took too long for her to deal with it.

I also was upset at how often cancer was a part of the story. I have dealt with cancer far too much in my real life. I go out of my way to avoid it in my fiction and was pissed that the author ambushed the reader with it. WTF wasn't it mentioned in the blurb? That alone cost the book a star rating. Sadly, it means that I can no longer trust this author's blurbs.

This is the third book in The Boyfriend Project series and follows pediatric surgeon London and millionaire Drew. The two reconnect at their high school reunion and after some reminiscing about how they were enemies back in the day, they end up in bed together. London is in need of a way to de-stress from her job and Drew is in town temporarily so the two agree to a hookup arrangement. Only problem is that Drew ends up being head of the team auditing London's hospital and he's dead set on showing her that he can be more than just a hookup. But with their past and having to make a big decision about her future, London isn't sure falling for her hookup is part of the plan. I really loved this book and I thought London and Drew were perfection. I loved how easily their history was worked into the story without having a bunch of flashbacks or info-dump sessions. I also found the way these adult characters acted now that they're back together was more accurate than I think some other stories with similar premise would have. Sure, there was a good amount of verbal sparring at the beginning, but it wasn't like these two very professional adults fully regressed back to their high school selves. Their chemistry together was off the charts, even in the non-sexual scenes where it just really felt like they were in sync all the time. My one complaint is that it did feel like the story got bogged down in all the hospital auditing plot points. I get that the hospital is the biggest thing in London's life, but I think some of the scenes could have been condensed a bit and we still would have gotten the same idea. There was also a big reveal in regards to this plot point at the end and I really wanted to see the fall out of that reveal but it was sort of swept aside.

TW/CW: cancer (pediatric and adult), death of a parent (in recent past), narcissistic parent, pediatric surgery, domestic violence (in past)

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC

Expected publication date is August 2, 2022

Thoughts

Taylor, Samiah and London are back in book #3 of The Boyfriend Project. This time around we get London’s story. She is beautiful, successful and single, and that’s ok because London doesn’t need a man, just a quick fix with her high school archnemesis Drew then she’ll be on her way. Girl it’s never that easy.

Oh how I love a good enemies to lovers story! I also love a strong and independent female character which London is all of that and more. What I needed from this story was more steam! It started off in that direction then slowed way down! The banter between the two characters was priceless though so that made up for some of what I thought was missing.

Overall this was a cute read, but not my favorite out of the three books.

High school rivals, and co-valedictorians, London and Drew, are reunited at their 15-year reunion. Perfectionist, overachiever London, now a pediatric surgeon, still gets all riled up at the thought of Drew challenging her in high school, but when a heavy storm keeps her at the hotel post-reunion, she thinks he might be the perfect stress relief. One night and no strings with an attractive former enemy who she never plans to see again--what could go wrong?

As it turns out, she will be seeing Drew again, and sooner than she thinks. Former hedge fund manager and current multimillionaire Drew has been hired to audit the hospital where she works. London can be stubborn and prickly when it comes to Drew but can she put those feelings aside for the good of the hospital and in order to continue their *ahem* method of stress relief?

I have several friends who absolutely adored this book, but ultimately, it wasn't a favorite for me. I enjoyed the verbal sparring between London and Drew, but many of the thoughts that the two leads have, as well as several of their conversations, felt repetitive to me.

I appreciate that the author also tried to take on some deeper issues for both characters--grief for him, misogyny, paternalism, and a complicated relationship with a parent for her--but where I expected those issues to be fleshed out and resolved to a certain extent, the scenes felt rushed or maybe even incomplete. And at the end, I felt like not a lot had actually happened in the book.

Fans of the The Boyfriend Project trilogy will be happy to see Samiah and Taylor back for this one, and I do always enjoy seeing supportive female friendships portrayed on the page. The epilogue ties things up for them in a "what happens next" sense.

At a glance:
- Dual POV
- Rival / enemies to lovers
- A bit of workplace romance
- Let's do this without feelings
- Family issues
- Supportive friendships
- Open door

Content Warnings: death of a parent (past), grief, complicated relationship with a parent, misogyny, paternalism, mention of physical abuse, pediatric hospital patients, unstable childhood, discussion of cancer

I received an advance copy from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I’m loving the inclusion lately of women having “male-dominated” positions such as lawyers and doctors, particularly women of color. This was another sizzling hot entry into the enemies to lovers trope.

Dr. London Kelley runs into her high school nemesis, Drew Sullivan, at their fifteen-year high school reunion. She decides to have a one-night stand with him but, when she learns he’s town for a few weeks AND will be working at her hospital, they agree to keep the arrangement going. Drew has liked London since high school and hopes their casual agreement will turn into more, even though his company is responsible for recommending whether her hospital should be sold to a private company. Can they keep business and pleasure separate or will Drew successfully crumble all of London’s carefully-constructed walls?

A spicy romance with people you cheer for to find an HEA.

The Hookup Plan is the final installment of the Boyfriend Project trilogy featuring London, a surgeon in residency and Drew, a wealthy hedge fund manager. If I had my druthers, I’d have placed this book as the middle release and put The Dating Playbook as last- only because I really enjoyed that book, even more than The Boyfriend Project. This is probably my least fave of the three but it’s a Farrah novel so let’s not pretend I didn’t enjoy it.
I DO HAVE QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS THOUGH:

**SPOILERS ABOUND***


First, two fade to black scenes at the beginning of this book are a turn off, especially considering they get down and dirty later in the book. I don’t understand the thought process to keeping these scenes not only chaste but completely cut off particularly in an enemies/rivals to lovers trope. I saw reviews of several people who DNF’d after not one but two cold showers at the beginning of this book. I’ll take it or leave it, but readers who read romance for the BANG are going to leave it before realizing there’s more to it.

If Drew is investing in the hospital London where London works, it’s not a conflict of interest for them to be ‘buddies” while he’s considering an investment/donation? Won’t it look like she gave him favors to sway him? (Also Drew should have told her what he was doing in town. Hated all of that!)

Sometimes what a problem needs is a big bag of money and I love a grand gesture as much as anyone else. I felt squicky about Drew bailing out a failing hospital and throwing money at it bc he is in love with London. She should have taken her talents and her man to Chi and let the dude running the place go down with the ship. Just my thoughts.

I was much more a fan of Drew than London. Drew seemed cool and calm, feeling and emotional esp about his mother and was a good balance for ‘I’m a strong Black women and don’t need no man’ London.

Lastly, I want to toss London’s father off of a roof. That’s all.

Enemies to lovers is my fave trope despite knowing that I don’t want to be anywhere near a person I truly despise. It always works out- the faux animosity brings great fireworks and stress of knowing you are falling for a person you can’t stand is great drama.

This book releases Tuesday, Aug 2nd. Already can’t wait to see what Farrah has up her sleeve next - I know she has a YA Princess Tiana book coming that I will likely skip.

The final book of the Boyfriend Project trilogy and in my opinion, the best! The strong female friendships really leap off the page in this book. Combine that with the absolutely perfect banter in a high school rivals rivals to hookup buddies 15 years later to lovers arc, I could not get enough! Female MC London is so relatable and complex and I really enjoyed her growth through her relationship with her father. The sexual tension and chemistry is palpable between London and Drew and I cannot recommend this book enough! Oh and did I mention it is set in a hospital,?!? If you love Greys Anatomy, definitely pick this one up!

The Hookup Plan was my favorite in The Boyfriend Project series! I loved London and her badass, no excuses attitude towards everything in her life. As a pediatric surgeon, she has achieved a lot of success, but she also learned how to achieve work life balance and prioritize what is important. I could relate a lot to that message as a teacher, which is why I think I loved London so much.

The steam in this book was mostly closed door, but I found myself not missing it at all. The banter between London and Drew more than made up for that, and learning more about the medical field and watching London navigate other personal challenges was interesting. There was something for everyone in this book, and I think it will be a huge hit!

A huge thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
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This is the final book in The Boyfriend Project trilogy and it was such a strong finish. Samiah, Taylor, and London are brought together by a random circumstance at the start of The Boyfriend Project, and each book has focused on one of the women. London finally got her novel this time around and it takes on the enemies-to-lovers and enemies-with-benefits trope. For the first time, the male protagonist, Drew, is known to London before they start hooking up. They battled for valedictorian in high school, and it is naturally the high school reunion that brings them back together.
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I have been a fan of Rochon’s writing since I first discovered this trilogy, and I read the first two in rapid succession. I had been awaiting this release for a year, and was so excited when Forever Publishing gave me early access to an ARC. There are a few side characters that I could see Rochon exploring in future writings, but I would also be okay with her finding a whole new cast of characters to dive into. Whatever she decides, I will definitely be looking for her next book when it comes out. For now, enjoy this beautifully crafted story.

The Hookup Plan was an amazing read! The chemistry between London and Drew was everything! The story was so relatable. It felt like not only something that would happen in real life but on a movie. I love that black excellence was portrayed! Loved it!

This the third book of the The Boyfriend Project and can be read as a standalone though it is much better to read it all to get more depth from the other characters.

This was a fun enemies to lovers story between two high school rivals. It took awhile for me to warm up to London but Drew was the perfect book boyfriend from the start. I love how patient he was with London and could anticipate her needs.

Some of my favorite parts of the books were when London was with Samiah and Taylor. I love their friendship and bummed this is end of this series.

Thank you @readforeverpub for a copy of this book.