2 stars
I wanted to like this one, I really did. And I went into it thinking I would. But sadly, it dragged for me. And then the ending... I thought my book was missing some pages!!!

The Boyfriend Project is a great contemporary romance novel that showcases both strong female characters and a forced proximity romance with just the right amount of humor and drama!

The story is kickstarted by a bad date that is being live tweeted, which makes two other women realize they are dating this same man and all three are being catfished by him! These three women bond over being cheated on by the same man and set out to support each other while they swear off men and work on focusing on themselves. Everything is going well until an attractive new employee walks in the office doors...what happens now?

This was a smart, fun and well developed romance! The characters were incredibly relatable and jumped off the pages/headphones.

The narrator of the audiobook is what made me enjoy the story even more. She injected so much liveliness into each character - and had a different identifiable voice which made it easy to follow along.

If you like reading romance books with successful career women, pop culture references (I was living for that 90 Day Fiancé reference!), a story that praises female friendships, some office drama and a little bit of steam- then The Boyfriend Project is for you!

4 ⭐️

The first (I don’t know HOW) I’ve read from Rochon, this story was exactly the sort of read I needed right now. Three women, bonding over their mistreatment at the hands of an unworthy man brings their support and friendship to the forefront. From talking through questions of ‘what’s next’ career-wise, to shoring up the momentary confidence wobbles, and even simply enjoying and anticipating their time together, Samiah, London and Taylor are people you want to know and are facing the issues that many women face with career, life and romantic options.

Daniel is a newly hired employee at Samiah’s workplace, a tech firm with a solid reputation and where she’s shined for more than three years. Aside from being gorgeous and instantly intrigued by Samiah, he’s also kind, offering her solid words and asking how she’s holding up in the aftermath of the viral video. But Daniel’s got a secret: he is working undercover at the company, as some of their software appears to be utilized for money laundering, with ties to a larger organization that the feds have been following. While Samiah isn’t on Daniel’s investigative radar, she is on his, and the two are drawn together with an electric chemistry and compatibility that allows them both (even he slips) to be more themselves and honest with that than ever before in relationships.

Rochon has dealt with the struggles of ‘office relationships’, Daniel’s actual purpose in being in Austin, Samiah’s struggles and determination to be “the best” so as not to close doors on other minority women entering the tech field (or STEM-based employment), as well as her own struggles with finding time to cultivate her own dreams, make friends, be a friend and find who and how she wants to be moving forward. From addressing the ‘women in tech’ issues, to regular workplace kerfuffle, struggles with work-life balance and even the fallout when Daniel’s true purpose is unveiled, the story is quick to read, with easily accessible emotions, characters to love and plenty of moments to recognize events that are familiar - I whipped through this book in hours, and wanted it to go on for more.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aJg/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited for The Boyfriend Project, as I love stories about women bonding over mutual scumbag exes lately. The friendship aspect is everything, especially since it brings together three different women from completely different walks of life. I love how they lift each other up and support each other in all things, whether it be love, work, or whatever.

I almost wish the focus had been more on that, although that would make it more women’s fic thann romance, but the romance itself had me flip flopping on how I felt about it. The first meeting between Samiah and Daniel was cute, and I could see as things started to heat up between them why she was tempted to go against her no-dating pact with the other women, as he is charming. But given that his arc revolves around him deceiving her, regardless of the reason, I found myself unsure of how to feel about it going forward, especially once she did find out, and I wasn’t sure he did enough to make it up to her.
I would still recommend it on the basis of the friendship aspect, given that it is likely to be an overarching element for the series overall. And while I wanted a little more from the romance, I’m sure there will be others who enjoy it just as much as the other parts of the book.

Overall this a pretty nice romance! The setup and character dynamics were done really well and I really felt for Samiah and loved her career aspirations! Where this story fell a little flat for me is with the hero, Daniel. He always seemed a bit stiff and I never really identified with his character or with the central conflict. But overall i think this story works and is a quality romance!

I loved The Boyfriend Project! Samiah has just learned (via Twitter) that her boyfriend is simultaneously dating two other women. When they confront him - the three women end up leaving together and a new friendship is born. Unfortunately - someone also recorded the showdown and now it’s gone viral. The three new friends vow no dating for 6 months as they each focus on something for themselves. Samiah is planning to spend the time on a new app for finding friends.

The next day Samiah meets Daniel - her new coworker and she immediately feels sparks. However Daniel may not be exactly who he seems to be.

I loved this book so much. I often feel like jobs are glossed over in romance novels - just something vaguely mentioned. In this case, I felt like Samiah and Daniel both cared deeply about their careers. The conflict in their relationship felt real and I loved how they handled the resolution.

At multiple points through the story - they model great communication and support of each other. I love seeing this! I also appreciated the glimpse of a Black woman in the tech industry - showing the challenges Samiah faces on a daily basis at work.

I am so excited to read more from Farrah Rochon and can’t wait for the rest of this series! Thank you to Forever, Netgalley and Librofm for the advance reading and listening copies.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I was surprised by the end of this novel because I expected to be disappointed. The Goodreads rating is quite low, and that's something I look at before diving into a book, just so I can get a general feeling for how a book is going to be. This novel was pretty good; I enjoyed the subplots, especially Daniel's mission to find the money-launderers. I haven't read many books that take place in Texas, and definitely not Austin, so the setting was refreshing.

If there's one thing I wished was different, it was that the romance took up more page-time. I felt that the romance wasn't the main plot for this book. It seemed on par with Daniel's undercover mission and Samiah's job. For people who were looking for a hot, romance-centered novel, this wasn't it, and I can understand to some extent if they're disappointed by that. However, the writing was pretty decent, and I flew through the book in a few days.

Interested to see Taylor's story because I feel like this novel set up the beginning of her tale. Her life seems a mess, which is always fun to read.

How great it is to see strong female relationships celebrated and to see a black female protagonist highlighted because of her intellect first. There's a lot of swoon here, but we never forget that our lead also has the skills to pay the bills.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

📚 Book Review 📚
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Thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
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I have had this book on my radar for a while and was thrilled to get an early copy for a couple of reasons: 1. Strong female friendship storyline 2. A strong, smart female MC with a STEM job 3. A sexy male lead who’s also an undercover agent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a home run read for me personally.
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What I liked: I loved the two MCs. Samiah was a breath of fresh air as a heroine because of how strong and determined she was. Daniel was a kind, thoughtful and non-manipulative hero. Rochan did an excellent job of presenting the struggles black people face when working and trying to get ahead in the workplace. 🚨 SPOILER (maybe)🚨: I also loved that Samiah did not compromise on her dream and her career path to be with a man
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What I struggled with: Overall, I felt there was a lot of telling and not showing. A lot of the beginning started with a ton of descriptions and very little dialogue even when characters were interacting. It really stagnated the story for me. I also thought the female friendship portion of the story was going to have a more predominate part of the plot.
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This one wasn’t for me, but I would still recommend it if you want a romance with strong female heroines and prefer a slow burn romance. (There are two rather 🔥🔥🔥 scenes in case you prefer low steam).
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The Boyfriend Project is out June 9!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
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The Boyfriend Project has the ideal mix of fun, friends, and romance that make for a perfect summer read.

When Samiah Brooks' boyfriend cancels dinner at the last minute, she plays it cool. She knows what it’s like to have to work late and besides, he’s taking her to a fantastic club later that night. As she’s perfecting her smoky-eye in anticipation of their rendezvous, her sister begins reading live tweets of a girl named Taylor about her date from hell. Taylor’s acerbic wit makes the tweets prime entertainment, but her descriptions of her companions' car, home and habits have an eerie familiarity. By the time Taylor describes her date’s favorite dish Samiah’s not laughing. That meal can only be found at one local eatery- and given the other information the lady has tweeted, the man on that date can only be Samiah’s boyfriend. Samiah is all about confronting her problems and fortunately, the restaurant is right down the street. Her arrival is a welcome distraction for Taylor and as the two bond over their hatred of “Craig” (probably not his real name) they are joined by London, a third lady being catfished by the liar currently choking on his sushi roll. Luckily, the guy has excellent taste in women and Samiah and the two other ‘girlfriends’ have a great time taking the jerk down a peg in public. The three leave together, headed for the club Samiah had planned to visit with “Craig” later.

They never make it. Instead, they wind up having drinks at Samiah’s house and creating “a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men and no dating.”  Naturally, that’s the cue for Daniel Collins to enter Samiah’s life.

Daniel is used to the whole first-day-at-work experience. As an undercover agent for FinCen (Financial Intelligence Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Treasury Department) his job is to infiltrate suspect corporations and figure out how they are committing their dirty deeds. Trendsetters, a snazzy tech company, is the latest of his assignments. His plan is simple; be an outstanding employee, and crack their security system so he can discover who in the firm is laundering money. He hadn’t counted on Samiah, though. Her fame via a viral video of her confrontation with “Craig” is the talk of the office during Daniel’s first hour there, and when he meets the lady in person he realizes that his usual policy of maintaining a polite distance from his coworkers is definitely not doable in this instance. He is completely fascinated by Samiah and wants as much time with her as he can get.

Samiah and Daniel’s relationship is a complicated dance from the beginning. She has just had a very public fall-out with a man who was lying to her, and Daniel is in no position to be honest with her. Someone at the company is working with some very dangerous people and it’s extremely important to shut them down as soon as possible. While Daniel believes Samiah is not involved, one person working with FinCen on the issue has already been hurt, and he won’t tell her who he is just to have her become the next victim.

Samiah doesn’t want a rebound relationship. She hadn’t been serious with “Craig” but she had been hurt by what he’d done. She also wants to be true to her new friends, and their pact. Her successful career has left her little time for girlfriends and she realizes this is a massive need in her life, which means her relationship with her recently acquired besties is a priority. She also takes to heart one of the key ideas in the pact: investing in herself. She’s wanted to create an app for years but hasn’t taken the time to do any serious work on it. However, doing that and hanging out with her friends won’t leave her much time to develop a relationship with Daniel.

Which leads me to one of the things I love most about Ms. Rochon’s novels: the way she is able to deliver a realistic romance. Samiah and Daniel are fully fleshed-out human beings and in the 21st century that means they are busy people. They are essentially working two jobs, and in addition to that, they have family and friends who matter to them, so they have to make time for their relationship when they can. This means they start out simply, by getting to know each other at theTrendsetters coffee bar and over lunches. I also appreciated that during this office romance they spent lots of their time actually working. The story emphasizes how hard Samiah had to strive just to get where she is, the setbacks she’s had along the way and the responsibility she feels as a black woman to excel in an industry that is predominantly male and white.

Daniel has also worked hard to get where he is and is concerned about how dating someone at the company he’s investigating will affect his position. He’s too strongly attracted to Samiah to walk away from her but his job is not conducive to romance. The best case scenario is that things work out both with his case and Samiah, but since he won’t be assigned locally again, that will mean a long distance relationship. I felt his anxiety over these issues was very realistic and I enjoyed the way the author addresses them in the story.

I always think of Farrah Rochon’s books as being romances about grownups because of how maturely her leads handle their affairs. Samiah and Daniel are human beings who have reached a good place in their lives and are ready to share that spot with someone special.  They are able to (shocker!) talk through their issues and reach an acceptable compromise. The melodrama is kept to a minimum, allowing the passionate love story to shine on center stage.

While that was a big plus for most of the tale, my one quibble with the narrative is that Samiah is a tad too mature, forgiving and understanding when the whole denouement and resolution regarding the money laundering comes about. Daniel takes a step which has consequences for her and she is a lot more understanding about that than most people would be. I also wasn’t as convinced as he was that the action was necessary. That is just a small foible in another wise stellar work, though.

The author does a nice job of creating a great secondary cast in Taylor and London. Like Samiah, they are strong, independent women but they differ enough from her to provide a nice contrast. I liked them both, which is a good thing since I am pretty sure we will be reading their stories soon. This novel ends with a cliffhanger for one of them, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that’s resolved.

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

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
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There were times I forgot The Boyfriend Project was a romance because I was having too much fun watching Samiah fall in friendship with her new besties, London and Taylor, after all three women were duped by the same guy. Daniel, even with his part-Korean hotness and cheekbones, was no match for the true bonds of love and trust these three friends created. Forget a good book boyfriend, this story will make you long for the best of book girlfriends.

And even before the creation of Hashtag Squad Goals (their new squad name), Samiah was a dynamic heroine looking to conquer the tech world with dignity and determination. Samiah didn't need a man to complete her, and she in fact pledges with her new BFFs not to date for six months. Then Daniel walks into her office and she melts under his gentleness and their chemistry.

What's not to like? But that's precisely the problem. Samiah never gets to meet the real Daniel because he's an undercover federal agent. Cheekbones or no cheekbones, the real Daniel doesn't get enough time to prove he's worthy of Samiah. And Samiah has enough on her plate as she balances a viral video scandal, developing her own app, and holding her own in the tech industry.

In the end, I fell in love with the book's messaging supporting strong independent women and finding friends along the way, but I never fell in love with the actual romance between Samiah and Daniel. Their chemistry never seemed strong enough to overcome the breach of trust created by his professional lying, and frankly, I didn't understand how Samiah forgave so easily.

That said, the author created fun, sparkling moments with Samiah and her girlfriends, and I would happily read more sequels about the continued adventures of Hashtag Squad Goals.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a complimentary eARC which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

This was another one that I wanted to love but sadly it fell flat. While I loved the friendship between the women the romance left a lot to be desired. I just didn't feel the strong chemistry between the characters to root for them to get together.

The Boyfriend Project was such a wonderful surprise! It was smart, fun, and even had a little suspense thrown in. I found that it actually fell more into women's fiction territory for me, but there is also a sweet and sexy romance too.

The book starts off with an incident that sets up one of the most epic friendship meet cutes ever. I loved the sisterhood and camaraderie that developed between Samiah, London, and Taylor. They may have been brought together under less than ideal circumstances, but I appreciated that they didn't tear each other down and actually lifted the other up. So often characters (especially women) are pitted against one another, and it was beautiful to see these women respond in such a positive and supportive way.

Samiah was such a fantastic heroine. She was smart, driven, knew what she wanted, and didn't compromise her beliefs. Her struggles and concerns about perfectionism and leaving no room to question her abilities opened my own eyes and I applaud the author for highlighting these issues. Another one of my favorite parts of the book was the flirting and sexual chemistry between Samiah and Daniel. The little gestures and moments as they circled each other really added to the build up. The romance isn't super heavy in this one, but there are still some very sexy and steamy scenes. I may not agree with how things all came to a head, but I understand why our characters made the decisions that they did. The mystery/suspenseful portion of the book wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly after the amount of build up, but I think Samiah really shined and showed her maturity in these final chapters. I appreciated that Farrah Rochon allowed Samiah the opportunity to take the time she needed to reconcile her feelings and didn't force the ending into a tidy little bow. I'm really looking forward to reading Taylor's story next!

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I was able to read The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon for free from Netgalley for providing me with an advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Boyfriend Project was a fast, fun and hot romance. Samirah discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her with at least two other women. She confronts her cheating boyfriend and ends her night befriending the two other women that were conned by her ex.  The three women make a pact to try to better themselves before deciding to date again. I like how we can see the important of female friendships can be. It was nice to see that Samirah was able to balance her romantic relationship while maintaining her female friendships.

I really enjoyed a lot about this book. I adored the heroine and the STEM aspect of it. Competence porn is totally my jam and a book with a POC heroine who was at the top of her game professionally was wonderful to see. I thought the scenes where Samiah was explaining that she has to be perfect because of the fact that she’s a black woman in an industry dominated by white men were spot on. I also adored the friendship between the three women and the premise of them meeting after being catfishes by the same guy was really fun and new. While I liked the hero, I also thought the thing he did to her at the end necessitated a bigger grovel than what Samiah got which is the real reason I downgraded this to a four star. I thought the end felt a little rushed and the time between Daniel doing what he did and Samiah finding out the truth and then the end scene at the garden between the two just deserved a bigger conversation.

Thank you to Netgalley, Farrah Rochon, and Forever for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I give this book 3.5⭐️s (why are half stars never a thing?!?) I love how strong the 3 main female characters are in this book. There is a situation which causes them to meet (don’t want to spoil) and they become such great friends!!! I also love seeing a female black woman in a field that is male dominated! I found the characters easy to like, the story easy to fall into, and there are some pretty good plot twists!!!!

I enjoyed going through all of Samiah’s hurdles with her and seeing her strength and ambition to get things done for herself! I do feel as though she was a little too quick to trust Daniel, particularly after things she had been through recently, which while not unbelievable, not something I particularly loved.

If you are looking for a book with diverse characters, strong female leads, and some character growth, pick up this book!!!!

The Boyfriend Project is a success for me - but probably not for the reason you expect!

Samiah and Daniel are both so not in place where an office romance is wanted or even makes sense but fate doesn’t seem to care. I loved that Daniel struggled with his reality every step of the way and wasn’t just “it’s all for the job” tone deaf. Samiah’s desire to be her best self not just for her but for every girl and woman hoping to join the STEM field after her made me love her has much as Daniel does.

But what made this book such a success for me was the friendship between Samiah, London, and Taylor,
the realness of how Samiah and Daniel dealt with the fall out of everything, and Samiah’s explanations of her journey to and truths of being a black woman in a field dominated by men, often white men at the highest levels. In other words what I loved most is that this book feels so honest but also positive, which was desperately needed when I was reading this book for the first time.

Now, if we could find out what happens with Taylor sooner rather than later that would be great!

Ok, so I quite enjoyed this one actually! It was fun, I loved the main characters, side characters, and the writing quite a bit and had quite a great time reading it. I think it unfortunately fell short in a few areas for me, which is the reason why this is not a higher rating, but it had a lot of great things about it as well and I’m really glad I picked it up.

I want to first point out that my favorite thing about this book was by far the friendship between Samiah, Taylor and London. It reminded me of the friendship between the girls of the Central Park Pact series by Lauren Layne due to the reason behind them becoming friends in the first place. It was just so fun and I found myself flipping the pages throughout the book waiting for another scene between these 3 ladies! They fit so well together and al of their personalities were just so fun!

I enjoyed the romance between Daniel and Samiah quite a lot, but I have to be honest I was a bit disappointed because I felt like it became a side plot, and the book focused way too much on their respective works and not enough on scenes between the two, which resulted in their relationship feelings way too instalove and very underdeveloped for me. I think it didn’t help that I didn’t really care about the work plot itself, I just wanted more of the romance because they had so much chemistry. I feel like if the author had focused more on their development and built them up a bit more Daniel and Samiah had such a big potential of becoming a favorite ship for me.

I also loved both Samiah and Daniel separately. I love reading about strong, independent and hard working women and Samiah was all of those things + so much more. I also love a soft and supportive male character, and Daniel was definitely that. I was a bit disappointed with how he handled his work and all the lies he told Samiah. I get why he did it, and it think he was in a very tricky situation, but I still wasn’t a huge fan of how he handled it.


This was a fun book overall that had an awesome strong female friendship which i always love in books! Even though it didn’t become a favorite I still enjoyed it quite a lot and would for sure recommend, specially if you loved Central Park Pact by Lauren Layne! Can’t wait for London and Taylor’s books!

The Boyfriend Project started out with a bang, with heroine Samiah discovering that the guy who she'd recently started dating was dating at least 2 other women at the same time and was spouting the same lies and lines to all of them. She discovers this when one of the other women live tweets a description of her horrible date and the guy in question matches up to Samiah's boyfriend. She immediately marches off to the restaurant to confront him, ends up dumping him publicly, but in return gains the other 2 women, London and Taylor, as new friends. This part of the book was great and I couldn't wait to dive in and see what adventures were in store for Samiah and her new BFFs.

As the story went on, it lost some forward momentum and started to drag. All of the elements were there for an enjoyable story, but it didn't fully gell for me. I loved the developing relationship between the three women, as well as the detailed descriptions of the software company Samiah worked for, the projects she was working on, the challenges she faced as a minority woman working in a demanding STEM job. Where the book was a letdown was in the romance between her and Daniel, a Treasury dept. employee who obtains at job at her company to investigate some financial improprieties suspected of being committed (Samiah is not under suspicion). I never felt any sparks between them and didn't like the way Daniel kept pulling away because he knew it was wrong to get involved with Samiah under false pretenses, but then would turn around and reel her back in as soon as she took his cues and tried to maintain some distance. By the end of the book, their romance felt real, but it was a bit too little too late. In the end, I liked the book, but I didn't love it.

*DNF at 20%*

Not going to rate this because honestly it has all the potential of being an amazing read but it's not grabbing me and it has my biggest no-no trope (older woman, younger man). Granted he's only two years younger but he's also described as looking way younger than he is which, paired with the personality of the heroine (who is a badass and I love her so much) but who also gives me BDE a la "I am a grown ass woman who has my shit together", the hero's vibes feel more "I'm the kid brother who is charming" and I just know it'll bother me because I'm annoying like that. I love how diverse this book is though and I think many will love this one, especially if you love great girl friendship groups.

*thank you for the arc!*