Was a good read with a good premise but i wasn’t totally invested in the book it felt as if something was missing. I can’t say i enjoyed the read but I read it. Thanks to Atria Books, Strebor Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is my 1st time reading a book by Shamara Ray and I enjoyed reading “The Referral Program.” Brooke, Dylan and Ivy are best friends from college and are now working and in their mid-thirties growing tired of always finding Mr. Wrong. I’m not a fan of meeting significant others via my friends because for me we definitely do not have the same taste in significant others. One day when Brooke, Dylan and Ivy are meeting over brunch and having a conversation about being in serious relationships. Dylan comes up with a plan that is referred to as the referral program where each of the ladies comes up with candidates that neither of the women have dated before. Sounds like a plan right. This is an entertaining read that I enjoyed reading about Dylan’s referral program. These three ladies are great and for answers as how the referral plan worked out for them, I suggest that you pick up your copy and I hope that come to enjoy “The Referral Program” just as much as I did.

I received an ARC via NeGalley and Atria Books, Strebor Books and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

fun premise, not so fun execution. there wasn’t nearly enough drama for a situation that could have produced up to 18 first dates. give me a love triangle between any of the women and their matches, give me “i’m secretly in love with one of the friends i set you up with,” give me something!

the plot left much to be desired and unfortunately, that was only exacerbated by the authors tendency to set up a plot line and do nothing with it. why place so much emphasis on how disastrous it would be for the men to find out about the program if they never do? why introduce a celibate love interest and have them in a sex scene the very next chapter? (and on the topic of open door scenes, the “flower” and “kitty” euphemisms were distracting.)

Ray lost me at the end with the miscommunication trope (not once but twice!), but I’d still pick up another one of her books. the fast pace made it a quick read & the larger themes of sisterhood and leaning into vulnerability were sweet.

thank you to NetGalley and Strebor Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. all opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I really liked the premise of those story: three women struggling to find “the one” decide to start a program to meet new men. It got a little over complicated though, because honestly it’s just friends setting up each other with old friends, coworkers, acquainted, cousins etc. That’s pretty common.

I was expecting the big conflict at the end to be that all the men found out about “the program” and got upset and confused about what it really was. I was so shocked the conflict was over an insignificant new year’s eve kiss five years ago. I was so angry at Brooke for ignoring Dylan and automatically calling her man to tell her what happened when she actually didn’t even know what happened!

Also it was sometimes hard to follow with the three POVs. The women seemed similar and I wanted more scenes of them hanging out so I could learn more about them and see them as individuals. I was expecting more cute brunch scenes since they supposedly do that frequently.

I would give this author another chance though and read something else by them.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me at about 20%. I didn’t connect with the characters or premise like I would have liked to.

When I read the synopsis of the book I was intrigued but all in all it was missing potential. Unfortunately I felt it just did not hold up to my expectations. In my opinion the three FMC’s were way to similar to the point I got confused too easily.

I loved the concept of this book and I really wanted to like it, but I couldn't get into it for some reason. DNF

Dylan has been single for a couple years now and is looking to find someone to spend her life with, but how to find men who could be marriage material? Her friends, of course. Her friends are also single and so she pitches the idea of a Referral Program. Her friends would set each other up on dates with eligible men in their lives. Through the ups and downs of the program, the three friends try to find their one.

I really didn't like this. It felt like an early draft or an outline that could been improved with further editing. The writing was very formulaic, with the exact same sets of things playing out for each woman and the POV seemed to switch at times between the women and their dates somewhat randomly. As a result of focusing on three different love stories at the same time, it was easy to get the women confused and it was hard to get attached to any of them. The reaction to the major conflict felt over the top and the book felt preachy at times. While the premise was good and there were some parts I thought were engaging, overall, unfortunately, not for me.

Thank you to the author and Atria Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

This was such a fun, fresh romance—I loved the conceit of women having to recommend men to date and wish it really existed! I loved the characters and voice. A great feel-good read.

Overall this book was super cute. I loved the sisterhood between the three girls...even though they did show a sign of weakness by almost letting a man get in the way. They're strong and they're independent and they're the kind of powerful women that I love seeing represented in books.

Ray also basicallg wrote up the perfect men. We love a man who isn't afraid to go all in on his emotions. A freak in the sheets and a gentlemen in the streets 🤤🤪

If you're a romance lover - you get three love stories in one book so you literally can't go wrong ♡

My ONLY complaint about this book is some of the verbiage. Like it was a book for mature adult women but it felt childish at times. I mean calling a woman's vagina "her flower" multiple times makes me want to vomit.

Firstly, the premise of the referral program is something I love. Talk about a modern solution for dating. For these friends, at the end of their patience, they decide to set each other up with a series of friends and family members. But what they quickly learn is that there can be downsides to setting someone up with someone we know. That people can really get hurt. The narration style of The Referral Program allows little glimpses into all of Dylan's friends with a few moments of their date's thoughts.

But unfortunately this combined made it feel fast paced, but also a bit shallow. I wanted to sink deeper into the perspectives of each of Dylan's friends to see a bit more introspection. Maybe that's just a personal preference of mine, but I connect better to characters with a bit more introspection so I can put myself in their places. There's also a whole host of side characters and these glimpses tended to detract a bit from my main focus.

This was such a fun concept. Imagine - your bffs find your perfect match! That should definitely work, right? What could go wrong?

I really liked Brooke. Dylan and Ivy took some time, but I like them fine by the end.

Did the referral dating system actually work? Not really. I just couldn't get my head around the plan being plausible. And honestly, it doesn't really work in the book, either.

This book was not for me. I didn’t connect to any of the women, the conversations were awkward, and it was all very boring.

Fun concept, but I ended up not enjoying it that much. The three main character's ended up being not that distinguishable for me, and I found it tricky to remember who was referring who and who was being referred who. I think I might have liked this more if it had honed in on just one of the women and their story.

Thank you to Atria Books, Strebor Books, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
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If I’m being honest, this book has an audience, but I am not a part of it. Three women are tired of being single and decide to start referring dates to their friends from the pool of eligible men they know. There is a list of rules involved, and for whatever reason, this program must be hidden from the men. The opportunity for miscommunication is wide, but when it finally comes into play, the reason is beyond stupid, and for women in their thirties, goes on way too long.
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I actually enjoyed the men more than the women throughout the novel. The men all had separate personalities and characteristics, while the women seemed to share the same voice despite chapters from each of their perspectives. It took me a while to be able to tell the women apart, and at some point I wondered if I even cared to. My desire to finish this book was low, but I powered through and six days later…I don’t think I’ll be seeking out more unfortunately.

First I have to say I appreciate this book a lot as it was the first where I was emailed by marketing manager from Atria Books back in late June to read this. She may never read this review but Zakiya Jamal thanks for reaching out during a rough time period with book.

This contemporary romance was beyond cathartic though at many time cliche everytime I opened it up over the span of almost three months. The dialogue was often obvious but very realistic for this varied plotline to find love for each of the three main characters. It of course also put some obvious strain on there years of close friendship that has made them lime sisters. Overall I'm content I was asked to read this book for free.

Dylan, Ivy, and Brooke are fed up with dating apps and want some quality men to date. They decide to each find three men for each friend to try and date and call it The Referral Program. As they go through their dates, they realize that they are onto something and each finds love from a friend referral.

Some thoughts: this is not new. I know plenty of people that have found significant others through their friends and family. I do like how they tailored it towards each friend. I didn’t like the conflict between Dylan and Brooke. It just seemed immature and inconsequential. I did like the strong friendships between the three of them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC. The Referral Program is out now.

An interesting story, the plot was ok, but i never fully engaged with the characters.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sadly, this was a DNF for me at about 52%. It was feeling very repetitive and not very much happening to move the story forward. I felt that some of the sex scenes and terms used awkward language along with a lot of judgement from the friends about each other's sex lives and whether they should or should not be having sex with their dates. Finally, there were so many uses of referral, referral program, or the program that it was very repetitive.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: yes
spice: a couple mildly open door scenes but OMG THE WORDS during the scenes were truly ICK inducing
TWs: none that I can remember
standalone: yes
final thoughts: I had a very hard time getting into/staying into this book and it took me far too long to finish it. I didn’t find myself caring for any of the characters (except Ivy sometimes) and was hoping for some “girl power” / female friendship vibes but I didn’t feel like it met those expectations for me. I think most of the people in this book settled and didn’t actually find love. It overall felt very flat for my reading tastes, but this might be someone else’s cup of tea!

read this book if you love

💓 slowburn
😬 angst
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance