How do you move on from losing the love of your life? How do you watch others live their lives without this all consuming grief? Bennet Taylor lost her boyfriend, Sam, in a car accident during the last semester of college. Dropping out of school, Bennet moves the New York and becomes a temp, just trying to make it through each day.

Enter Henry, the swoonworthy man whom Bennet’s roommate Sonya sets her up on a date. Henry is kind, funny, charismatic, and seems to have his life together. Bennet wants absolutely nothing to do with him. But alas, Henry won’t let Bennet get away that easily.

Passion Project follows Henry and Bennet as they set out to find Bennet’s passion for life. Of course, along the way they fall in love. But can Bennet let go of the grief and guilt she’s been holding onto for years in hopes of truly finding her happiness?

Thank you London Sperry, NetGalley, and Penguin Books for the advanced reader copy of this contemporary romance, out April 8th!

PASSION PROJECT by London Sperry

Pub date: April 8th, 2025
Publisher: Penguin Books
Rating: 5 / 5


"Having your shit together is not a prerequisite for love."

25-year-old Bennet Taylor is a mess. She can barely afford living in New York, bounces between temp jobs, and has maybe one friend left. Oh, and she's grieving the death of her first love. So there's that. Bennet's lethargic days soon change when she meets Henry Adams... right after she ghosted him on their first date. When Bennet shares about her lack of joy in life, Henry proposes an idea: each weekend the two will try something new together. The end goal? Find Bennet's life passion.

PASSION PROJECT is a stand-out debut that perfectly encapsulates the messiness, excitement, and hope of life. The heart of this story is a young woman learning to fall in love with herself while falling in love with living—and an incredibly charming guy. Bennet is navigating her 20s while carrying incredibly heavy emotions and managing depression and anxiety. One of the strongest aspects of the story is the focus on her mental health and journey of self-forgiveness. Of course, there are lighthearted and swoon-worthy moments with Bennet and Henry, too! Henry so wonderfully complements Bennet. The evolution from strangers to friends to maybe-something-more has all the flirty banter, drama, and heartfelt connection a reader could want. London Sperry's first novel (which will hopefully be one of many!) is a must read for those passionate about emotional growth, compelling characters, and happy endings.


(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!)

What I liked: Bennet's pros and cons in Chapter Nine, Henry, and Bennet's temp agency coworker, Sal (a grandfather to-be). [Henry and Sal *might* be reason enough to read the book.]

Things about which I might be ambivalent: Bennet's roommate, Sonya, and Sonya's girlfriend, Jamie, both of whom meddle.

What I really didn't like: Bennet . . . for the vast majority of the book. Starting around Chapter Twenty-Three, Bennet starts to take responsibility for planning some of the passion project activities, at which point she becomes more present, starts caring more about others (Twenty-Four), and becomes more independent (Twenty-Five).

Overall, I felt the publisher's blurb massively misstated the tone of the story. The bulk of the book was oppressively angsty and dark, and there is precious little comic relief. We do eventually get to a happy-ever-after, but the ride is unnecessarily long and painful.

This was an interesting read for me. I felt a lot of the sadness and deep emotions that the fmc struggled with. The story development was great and had me rooting for bennet as she grew and came to trust herself again.

This story was chock full of grief so potent I couldn’t swallow. I could feel the desperation, the sorrow, the hopelessness in my bones. But it is also a story of love and digging your way out of that hole. It was really well done, incredibly vulnerable and heartwarming. Thank you Penguin Books and Netgalley for this ARC!

4.5 Stars
Funny and light, but also extremely vulnerable and sad. Bennett is heartbreakingly familiar to me. The panic and anxiety is something I know intimately and seeing it reflected so well onto the page made my throat tight.
We all know the anxiety and depression she goes through, and Bennett has been through a lot. Henry is a breath of fresh air for her and for the reader. He is kind, talkative, relaxed, and gentle. The reminder to just do things and find your passions and remember those who love you is an incredibly important message.
The mental struggle Bennett goes through — the guilt, grief, anger, hurt — is almost overwhelming. While many of her actions are contradictory and sometimes reading the world from her point of view overwhelming, I can only explain that that is the point! We are in Bennetts head, and do you see how exhausting the overthinking is? Can you feel how tired she is? Can’t you see, feel, breathe the guilt? As outsiders, we want to shake her, but if anyone has been in the position of anxiety and depression she was in, you know the only person who can truly help you is yourself. It’s a hard process and incredibly frustrating (especially when she says certain things) but it is ultimately real. And that’s why it is such a special book.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I found myself connecting with Bennet and understood where she was coming from. I could see others being annoyed with her if they have not been in similar situations to hers. I loved how supportive Henry and her friends were, but that they set boundaries too. Their adventures were so fun!

Bennet feels stuck in life as she bounces between temp jobs while grieving the loss of her first love. After she stands up a date, she keeps running into him and forms an unlikely friendship.

I loved this one! Bennet recognized she wasn't ready to date but decided to take a chance on Henry as he tries to help her find her passion in life. They form a friendship as they tackle new activities across New York City, slowly breaking down Bennet's guarded exterior. There is great banter and relatability as the pair are navigating the realities of adulthood.

There was some drama at the end I didn't love, but I really enjoyed the story overall.

If you like a slow burn friends-to-lovers story and finding love after loss, I'd recommend picking this up! It reminded me of Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone which I also loved.

The prose is delightfully conversational and pulled me in right away! I adored how patient Henry was with Bennet as she is struggling with her grief. This story had me feeling so many things! I loved how sincere and soft Henry was. Bennet's raw grief and depression were messy but very relatable. This is definitely a slow burn story but I found myself very invested in their romance. The third act conflict did lose me a little because Bennet made some frustrating choices that made me doubt their relationship. However, I had a good time with the story overall. If you're looking for a more emotional, slow burn romance with flawed characters then this is a great one to pick up.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

This book was everything!! Passion, love, heartache, and grief. Such a wonderful written book. Cannot recommend enough.

Thank you to Penguin Books for making this free eARC available on Netgalley! All opinions are my own.

Passion Project is London Sperry's debut novel! It follows Bennet Taylor, who is lost, grieving, and depressed in NYC when the book opens. She eventually meets Henry and goes along with his idea to try out several different activities together so she can find her "passion" in life.

I found Passion Project to be a relatively quick, life-affirming, enjoyable read. I fell in love with Henry right alongside Bennet. Their rapport was fun and believable, and I loved being along for the ride. The book also included a heartfelt look at grief and the feelings we try to hold within ourselves when we're trying to heal and live without forgetting the ones we've lost. I definitely shed a tear or two toward the end of the book! And while I wasn't a fan of a couple of Bennet's choices, I realize she was trying to figure things out while navigating her grief.

This was so much more than a lighthearted romcom, but it ticked a lot of those boxes too. Tropes to look forward to include slow burn/friends to lovers, one bed, NYC as a character, and love after loss.

I highly recommend this one for readers who are looking for romcoms with a little more weight. Like another Bookstagram friend said, it would make a great movie - one that I'd absolutely love to watch!

This book releases this week, on April 8. Congratulations to London Sperry on this incredible debut! I can't wait to see what else she writes in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the eARC.

Passion Project will easily be in my top books of the year. This book just did it for me. The depiction of grief, real grief, cannot get out of it grief, and the pain of moving forward when grief is all you have left. This book had me sobbing at the end. Just beautiful. 5/5, 10/10. Loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of Passion Project. Hard to believe this is London Sperry’s debut novel, but wow I loved this book so much! I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover, it is gorgeous. What I didn’t expect was the depth of this novel, I went through all of the emotions while reading this one. It’s a heart wrenching story about grief, depression & anxiety. Bennet’s journey through all of this with Henry by her side might be the best thing I read all year. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To start. I did not like Bennett. She’s kind of a jerk. I get her grieving but was it grief or guilt getting to her? I’m thinking more guilt.
She did not deserve Henry. At all.

I would or loved to see Henry interacting with his parents. Having his own stuff going on would have been nice to get more of his feelings and how he’s coping.

I did choose this as my BOTM because I want to give more to debuts. However promise me sunshine was an ass on for March with the same ish plot and for me it was hard to top. May of effecting my reading of passion project.

Started this book around 8pm. I wasn't expecting to finish this one sitting but it was almost 3am and my head hurt so much from sobbing uncontrollably. I went into this one blindly, I didn't even read the blurb and let's just say that this has become one of my favorite love stories (not only between the main characters but about them finding themselves again individually) and I am so surprised over this one being a debut. I'll be reading anything London Sperry writes from now on. This was a sweet, delicate and human story with great mental health representation.

Thank you so much to Penguin Books for the advance reader copy.

London Sperry’s debut novel is a heartfelt, honest, and engaging read, with well-developed characters and a compelling storyline that kept me turning the pages.

The book delves into themes of grief, depression, healing, wellness and personal rediscovery.

Bennet is grappling with the loss of her first love when her friends encourage her to start dating again. That’s when she meets Henry, who’s determined to help her rediscover her passion in life. 🩷

Thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin Group for the ARC!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I’m thinking many of you contemporary romance readers will enjoy this answer just because I rated it low, you might rate it higher!

Quick points I wish were different:

Extremely mopey protagonist who literally I had zero connection to. I wish there was something relatable for me but I couldn’t picture her as an authentic character.

MMC was too golden retriever it was so unrealistic

Felt the humor and the plot fell flat.

What worked:

The writing style was really well done!

Loved the idea of finding love and friendship after loss

Good side characters (dare I saw I was more interested in them???)

I really am on a romantic comedy lull these days.

Similar vibes to The Last Love Note (less sad though), Is She Really Going Out With Him?, and Practice Makes Perfect.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for this ARC!

This book was so good! It was emotional, but heartwarming in the best way.

Bennet is going through a hard time. Her life is consumed with grief and depression after a devastating loss. After she ghosts Henry on a date and they randomly meet up again, she lets him know that she isn't in a good space for a relationship. He proposes they meet up once a week to help discover her passion (aka their Passion Project). As they explore the city together and become friends, feelings develop, but is Bennet actually ready for a relationship?

This book was great. It captured grief and loss so well, while also being filled with hope. I felt for Bennet the entire book. She was struggling and needed patience as she dealt with all the feelings. Henry was the perfect person for that. He was kind, thoughtful, and funny. The ideal book boyfriend! He and Bennet were great together as they figured out what she needed to bring her back to life. I did like that she didn't just need a boyfriend to make her better; she needed professional help and time, and also friends, family, and love. The third act breakup was gut-wrenching, but made the make up even better. This was a beautiful story and I'll happily read whatever London Sperry writes next!

I'll note that this book and Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone have pretty similar plots. Read them both. They are both amazing in their own ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the e-book in exchange for my honest review!

This book wrecked me.

I cried more while reading London Sperry’s *Passion Project* than I have any other book in a hot minute. But like it was a healing cry? It was an “I feel seen” cry? Because damn if this book doesn’t have one of the most relatable representations of depression and grief I’ve ever read.

Can I just say how absolutely refreshing it was to read—in a cishet romance, that is—about a woman being a goddamned mess while the man had his life together? Like I’m sure that’s not rare, but for whatever reason most of the contemporary romances I’ve read where one of the two is a mess it’s either the man hitting rock bottom *or* the woman *is* a mess, but not really that big of a mess.

Bennet, though, is a MESS. And it felt so relatable, especially since there are times when my depression (combined with chronic illness) doesn’t let me get out of bed, shower, eat, maintain relationships, or really take care of myself. While I think some readers may be turned off by Bennet at times and maybe read her as self-centered when she can’t remember key details about her friends’ lives, as someone who has also spent plenty of time simply trying to survive, it was so real and I loved this book for it.

It also made the payoff of her figuring out what her passion was (won’t spoil it) feel that much bigger. Because it felt seriously hard-won. And while I did love Henry (sweet, compassionate Henry), this book was definitely more Bennet’s story. (Like literally, because it’s in just her POV.)

All that said, I also think some readers will really struggle with Bennet’s behavior in the third-act conflict. My experience: I read the first 80% of this book in one sitting and had to work up the nerve over the next couple of days to make it through the next few chapters because I knew it was going to be rough. But without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that, for me, it did not feel contrived, and while frustrating as hell, Bennet’s behavior was realistic, and it felt necessary for her to move forward and grow.

So yeah, I loved this. Overall, I think if you liked the vibe of Emily Henry’s *Happy Place*, then you’ll probably like this one too. This gave “life can get better” hopeful sorts of vibes, but it took a lot of tears to get there. I would definitely recommend and read again. And also I cannot believe this is a debut?!! I very much look forward to future books by London Sperry.

Many thanks to Penguin Books for the advanced reader copy!!

Passion Project was an absolute gem of a rom-com, and I can’t believe this is the author’s debut novel. London Sperry will be an auto-buy author for me, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the future.

Thank you to Penguin Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Passion Project. If you enjoy Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, this will be right up your alley.