Cute easy read you’d expect from a romance novel. Takes you out of reality for a spell. Just a sweet story about friends helping each other find love and navigate their entanglements. There’s a little conflict to keep it interesting but nothing that takes away from the story and happy endings all around!

Perfect propaganda to ditch Tinder and just ask your girlfriends to find the perfect guy for you. It was a cute fast paced read that had me rooting for all the women involved.

Dylan and her girlfriends have hatched a plan to find a way to meet Mr. Right. They are all mid thirties, which is usually the age when women start to worry about things like having kids, and getting married.
When they were in college, they never thought that this would be their destiny. This becomes a topic of hot discussion , which is how they came up with the "referral program".
I found this to be a cute, quirky book that I think is ok for both young adult and adult. It was a quick read, and I think it also makes for a great beach book.

This was a fun read! You really jump in right from the beginning and see what inspired the referral program. You read about each of their journeys with the men their friends set them up with. They each had different experiences and even learned something about themselves along the way.

I really enjoyed this book! I had to re-read some parts at times, there were multiple characters and POV’s and I would get lost but I don’t feel it took away from the book.

Thank you to Atria for inviting me to read an early copy of this book.

Had to DNF pretty quickly, unfortunately.

I liked the concept but there was poor execution. The book concept hinges on the trio NEVER thinking to set up the others with the men they know ESPECIALLY since they're all down about not having a husband and kids.

I couldn't after that.

I really wanted to love this one, but I felt like it fell flat for me, I can definitely see other people loving this book though. I just was missing something that connected me with the characters. I will still be recommending this for purchase in my library.

The premise of this novel is intriguing - 3 friends create a list of curated referrals for dating. The rules are clearly laid out and the dating begins. Unfortunately, the dialogue is stilted and unnatural. It gets a bit preachy at times and these women have a bit of a "holier than thou" attitude. In the end, I finished it just so I could write a review and probably would have abandoned it halfway through.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Shamara Ray, and publisher Strebor Books for providing this eARC. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
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I wanted to love this book. I saw the low ratings, and thought, "How bad could it be?" and boy did I find out.

The three POV characters, Dylan, Ivy, and Brooke, were shallow at best. I sometimes got lost in who was speaking when or which POV I was reading. They way I kept them apart? <i>Their men</i>. Sebastian (Brooke's), Barrett (Dylan's), and Daveed (Ivy's) were more varied, complex, interesting, and compelling to read about.

While the premise was cute, the execution was not. What was the point in having a list of six men for each girl to date, if she was going to stop at Man Number One, or Man Number Two? The potential for awkward dates was through the roof, but we get one cringey date, and a second that is just kind of... pitiful. There could have been up to 15 bad dates! Or hell, add some *spice* and one of the girls could have liked three of her six picks and had to pick one! And why make a rule that the ladies couldn't talk about the program, but then never have the program accidentally get revealed? Why mention the ladies meet up monthly for brunch, and only show brunch happening twice? I'm pretty sure this book goes over the course of about six months. There's a pattern here of plot devices being added to the plot and then not being used in the plot!

The book ends with one of the girls getting engaged, and calling an end to the referral program officially, declaring it "a success" because if you're over 35 and single, that's (somehow?) a problem. This feels almost like an attack on feminism: she's got the job, the car, the house, but no man, and therefore, her life isn't good enough.
Disclaimer: I know it's just a book and it ain't that serious. Let me be salty.

I Loved this I was intrigued from page 1 all the way till the end. It definitely was given Run The World vibes.

The Referral Program by Shamara Ray is my first read by this author and I’m very happy I was able to be drawn in the the way that I was.
This book drew me in and the main characters were likable and totally engaging.
I enjoyed bring with these characters.
It made me smile and it kept my attention the entire time.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books & Strebor Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I wanted more to love this book. The premise of the book sounded so good but the execration of this book fell flat. There was too many characters in this story there was way too much going on. I wish there was more development in the ideas of this book but in the end it just didn't do it for me.

Just not good overall. Too many characters and none are described physically or with distinguishing personality. You could switch any of the women and any of the men and nothing would change. I couldn’t keep the couples and women apart because they were all so similar. There is also a lot of strange misogyny and negative social commentary that is out of place. The largest conflict was something that would upset a middle schooler. I’m sure some will like it but this is not a quality romance novel for me.

Three friends, Dylan, Ivy and Brooke cook up a plan to inventory all the men they know -- friends and co-workers -- and create a list of six eligible bachelors to set the others up with. Each woman is responsible for finding six men; three for one and three for the other; that way in the end, each woman has a list of six guys to date. They start at the top of the list and if it doesn't seem like a match with that guy, they move on to the next. Simple enough right?

Dylan's last relationship ended badly after, what she thought, was going to be a loving proposal on Christmas Day with her entire family around. Even though that relationship went sour, Dylan did not give up her quest for companionship.

Brooke, on the other hand, has seemingly given up on this idea of Prince Charming. She has put her head down and worked her butt off and considers her professional successes all that she needs to sustain her. Brooke has her walls all the way up.

Ivy is somewhere in the middle of the two. She's not indifferent to a relationship but she's not super open either. She goes into the Referral Program with an open mind -- not too eager, but not too closed off either.

The concept of the "referral program" is cute, if there were more eligible men to date, I think women all over would do this. My only complaint is that I have a hard time coming to the reality that some of these men have never met these women before! Not to spoil it but, one "eligible man" is literally childhood friends with one of the women, how has he never been to a housewarming or birthday party? How have they never crossed paths before -- do people keep their different friend groups separate?

Another "eligible man" is one woman's neighbor. You can't pay men to believe that he would have never met any of her other friends.

This was a quick read. The dialogue and writing were not terrible. I do feel like the main characters' development was lacking: To me, the men had more personalities than the women. Two of the three men were more emotionally mature than their women counterparts. And the big 'TO DO' that comes out as the "plot twist" was boring and over-blown. At their big age and with their long-standing friendship, they all should have behaved better.

Excelllllllent! What a cute storyline with an even better set of characters. I loved the various POVs that not only help move the story along but add to its richness. And the change in who was sharing their POV was never confusing. You felt like you were watching a movie versus reading a book. Each characters personality was unique and complimentary. No one over/under shines. It allows for the reader to find her/himself in a character. I loved the romance and how the relationships developed and each at their own pace. Great book! Great beach read! Heck, great year round read!!!!

This book was a good time! It is written from a few different perspectives and at some points I was having a hard time keeping track of everyone, but I think that's a me problem! It was an enjoyable romance that I liked reading but isn't too memorable for me. I would recommend for anyone who likes match-making tropes!

First, thank you to Atria for the ARC! Unfortunately, this was not for me. I am not usually a romance reader, but sometimes I like to try them out because there are romances I enjoy... this wasn't one of them. If you're a romance reader, you would probably feel differently than me.

The premise is fine - three women "referring" men they know to each other is interesting and honestly doesn't sound like a bad idea - but the execution felt flat. The writing is awkward. The author uses character names excessively (on one page I counted TEN uses of the same name. It just feels clunky). The dialogue made me think "people don't talk like this" more than once.

I'm a reader who likes to skip the "background" bits. This book had a lot scene setting background moments, like driving to a restaurant and getting stuck in traffic. Instead of sitting there with the character, this could have been mentioned during brunch. There are long descriptions of things like an afternoon spent gardening. Scenes like this really messed with the pacing and my enjoyment. I think this could have been tidied up quite a bit. This is definitely a "me problem."

The three main women all felt very similar. Without the author name dropping them constantly I genuinely would have mixed them up. A lot of scenes are really similar and happen back-to-back. There are scenes that are repetitive - more than once a man tells one of the women "you're exactly like x described you" and I just. I don't know. I don't like a lot of repetition.

Also. Referring to a vagina as a "kitty" DURING A SMUT SCENE really bugged me?? Again, another "me problem."

The relationships felt a little rushed and I didn't connect to any of the characters, so I really struggled with this book.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was really excited about this one! It sounded like a fun premise; three friends starting a referral program to set each other up on dates. It fell short for me though. There were so many characters and relationships happening all at once, it was hard to keep them straight. I also didn’t find the characters too likable or find much connection to them. Emotions in this story just seemed kinda all over the place. I love a happy ending in a book, but the journey to get there in this one was not super enjoyable for me.

I loved the premise of this book, which is three friends who have been unlucky in love, who have male friends, that they think would be perfect for each other.

However, I almost didn't finish this several times. This reminded me of what I always think those reality dating shows are like, where people sit around and talk and talk and talk about feelings, and process and all that stuff. That is not what I want in a romance. I was looking for a rom-com, or perhaps something thoughtful, but this just had people talking and having sex, and talking. The dialogue wasn't even stimulating.

So, this book was not for me. Perhaps those who like reality dating shows would love this.

Thanks to Netgallely for making this book available for an honest review.

This was so cute! I really enjoyed this and it was highly entertaining. I loved the story line for this book!
I just reviewed The Referral Program by Shamara Ray. #NetGalley
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Thank you for sending me this amazing Arc. I have been introduced to a new author and the description got me immediately. I loved the idea of sister friends, it reminded me of some of my favorite black friend/sister movies. I loved that the characters were older too and honest about what they look for in relationships. I think some of the extra characters got me lost; like some of their dates that didn’t go well. I kinda felt bad for Dylan’s first referral! That’s just me. I also would have loved a sentence or 2 of consent especially when they were intimate. It kinda just went which wasn’t bad but I would have appreciated a head nod or something like can we do this unprotected? In some of those moments but I kept reading regardless. I get they’re grown and clean but that’s just my preference. I think this story has something really great to take away from reading it. I loved how their friendship was the most important relationship of them all. Love love love !