Taylor was introduced in The Boyfriend Project alongside Samiah and London. She was my least favorite character of the trio. However Farrah Rochon went more in depth with her character here and changed my mind. Taylor is struggling financially and when offered the chance to work with former football star Jamar Dixon she jumps at the opportunity. Jamar has his own struggles, both personal and professional. He wants back into the NFL and Taylor is just the person to get him back on the field. In order to keep the media from learning the truth of their relationship, they create The Dating Playbook. Do the plays work? You'll have to read in order to find out!

The Dating Playbook is another amazing read by Farrah Rochon. If you enjoyed her first book in the series, The Boyfriend Project, you are going to love this book even more!

In this book 2 of 'The Boyfriend Project' series, the story centers on Taylor's story. She is a personal trainer who is going through the ups and downs of the business. She is passionate about being a personal trainer but it isn't paying the bills as she hoped. But that all changes when Jamar walks into her life. Jamar is trying to secretly make a comeback to the NFL and enlists the help of Taylor to get him stronger and in shape for a return to professional football. He suffered a knee injury and many don't think it's safe for him to play. But he wants to leave the game on his own terms. That means training and pushing himself to give himself the best shot.

Taylor and Jamar are both so entertaining. They are funny and have great chemistry. Because Jamar wants to keep his potential comeback a secret they agree to fake a relationship so no one questions if Taylor is his personal trainer. So, they come up with a 'Dating Playbook' to make sure they keep things professional yet realistic at all times. I am rooting for them in the beginning because of their instant connection and my love for them only grows as the story progresses. They are both dealing with doubt and insecurities in their lives and when they open up to one another it makes them feel hopeful and happy. When Jamar feels certain guilt about his past and career, Taylor reminds him how special he is with his thoughtful and protective attitude. And when Taylor feels insecure about her career choice and being enough, Jamar gives her the confidence and drive to continue to push for dreams.

I give The Dating Playbook 5 stars. I thought 'The Boyfriend Project' would be my forever favorite in the series but The Dating Playbook is just so relatable and charming. Farrah Rochon gives readers everything they could want in a contemporary romance: romance, wit, and humor. Once you read this book, you won't be able to put it down! I can't wait for London's book and for more of this series!!

Wow! I loved this one! I had to read it as soon as it hit my kindle.

This series is quickly becoming a new favorite. Strong women, amazing female friendships, amazing banter and romance, what more could you want?

I loved The Boyfriend Project and could not wait for London and Taylor's story.

The women in this series are so strong and dedicated to their careers and friendships. If only all women had friendships like this. Even though Samiah, Taylor and London met in less than ideal circumstances, but have developed such an amazing friendship in short amount of time.

Taylor is an amazing trainer and attracts ex-NFL star Jamar. After having a career ending injury, he's determined to get his shot back in the NFL and wants to hire Taylor to train him secretly. The chemistry between these two is immediately off the charts. I loved their friendship and banter. Because of past experiences, Taylor won't sleep with clients (even if she's falling for them.) This causes a lot of tension between the two, but I'm so glad they were able to work it out. I've loved both male leads for this series, Daniel and Jamar. Of course no one is perfect, but it's nice to have wonderful male leads.

I cannot wait for London's story.

I will update as soon as I post my review on bookstagram.

I enjoyed the first installment of the series, The Boyfriend Project, and The Dating Playbook is even better!
Taylor is a entrepreneur, personal trainer and nutrition consultant who is facing a bit of financial difficulty when former NFL hotshot Jamar contracts her to get him in peak physical condition in hopes of rejoining the league after an injury. The mutual attraction is present from their very first meeting, but Taylor has no idea who he is and is a bit wary of men after the last guy she dated was busted in a viral video of she and two other women confronting him when they found out he was dating all of them at the same time. Jamar is persistent and their business relationship leads to much more.
Farrah Rochon does a truly beautiful job of creating realistic and complex relationships throughout this book. The squad (Taylor, Samiah, and London) have a sisterhood that was forged in the fire and grown stronger in the ensuing months. The families showcased are multifaceted without being overly dramatic. The scene when Jamar visits his parents had me screaming with laughter. I even went back and reread it after I finished the book to check if it is really that funny... it is!
The chemistry between Taylor and Jamar is fantastic with some of the cutest/corniest flirting I have read in a while, which is why the fake relationship and forced proximity tropes were completely unnecessary and were the weakness of the story. Especially because there is no real resolution to the issue that caused Taylor to move out of her apartment. It is good that these scenes do not take up a significant amount of the book.
Overall I would give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars, go ahead and preorder or add it to your TBR list. If you haven’t read The Boyfriend Project it is not required but it does provide some back story into the squads relationship. Besides, it’s a really good book, I am looking forward to London’s book arriving next year. I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and I’m reviewing it voluntarily.

I adore this series. The characters are realistic, have real problems, and real obstacles. Even better, they work through their problems in a way that feels both authentic to the story and fairly realistic for responsible, healthy adults. Not only was I cheering for them to get together, I want them to be my friends. I'm looking forward to volume 3 in the series, and will be glad to suggest this book to friends and library patrons.

I adored The Boyfriend Project. It's the one book I read before starting a bookstagram account that I went back and reviewed just to share that it deserved five stars. So I have been eagerly awaiting Taylor's story for a year, but with that little bit of worry that I couldn't possibly like it as much. I am amazed and thrilled to report that I didn't need to worry. I loved Dating Playbook even more.

Taylor is a fitness trainer, and Jamar is hoping to earn back a spot on an NFL team. Their romance is hot, in a way that is only possible with lots of workouts. And they also connect with each other and support each other at deeper emotional levels. But this romance is so much more. 

The things that take a romance novel to the next level for me are having amazing secondary characters and bringing in serious issues. This book nails both. We still have the awesome trio of strong women with Taylor, Samiah, and London supporting each other in their goals (and pushing each other when necessary). And Taylor's family and her interactions with them add yet another amazing layer while I laughed out loud at Jamar's interactions with his parents.

But more, this book tackles really big issues around media representation and stereotypes of Black men in the NFL, military life and the toll it takes on families, and grief and guilt in ways that moved me deeply. One part that touched me particularly strongly was the amazing portrayal of all the feelings that can accompany an undiagnosed learning disability.

I don't want to say more about any of these to avoid spoilers, but just wow. This book made me think and cry and laugh. I expect to read The Boyfriend Project and it again back to back. And now I can't wait for London's book (she was my favorite from the first novel).

Thank you SO much to Forever for the advanced reader copy. Reading it was so special.

So hot!! I love this author and was still blown away by how fun and steamy this book was. Very highly recommended for all public library collections!

The Dating Playbook

Now I LOVED The Boyfriend Project - it made me an instant Farrah Rochon forever fan. I could not wait to get my hands on this book, the second of the series, after being introduced to Taylor & her group of girlfriends in the first book.

Yet somehow I was completely surprised in a good way at just how much I LOVED this book, The Dating Playbook. I was ready to give it 5 stars right off the bat but this book grabbed my attention and I didn't want it to end!

Somehow even knowing the basics of Taylor as someone working towards her goals of being a fitness coach didn't prepare me how invested in her personal growth & career I would become. I absolutely adored how she and Jamar met and how their lives were woven together in this story, on both the personal & professional level.

Pick this one up if you love the fake dating trope, the perfect level of steam all with great friendships to lean on as Rochon manages to make this romance novel a bit deeper & intimate in the best way.

After reading Alexa Martin's series, and this one, sports based romance may just have a special place in my heart - I'm already looking forward to rereading this one when I get my hands on a finished copy!

My virtual book club @loveARCtually is hosting this incredible title as one of our club reads next month & I'm so excited to get to gush with them and convince everyone I can to preorder this one, a total must read IMO!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing me an ARC to read, Farrah is by far one of my favorite authors & I was thrilled to have the chance to devour this book!

If you enjoyed The Boyfriend Project like I did, this is a must read!

After falling in love with the bad ass ladies that are Samiah, Taylor and London who became best friends after confronting their mutual cheating boyfriend, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Taylor’s story.

Taylor is having a hard time staying afloat running her fitness company and is struggling to find a way out of the debt and despair she is in. She wants to finish her degree but is terrified she will be unable to do the work and wondering if she may have a learning disability. When Jamar comes into her life and asks her to train him to get back into the NFL but in secret, she is suspicious of his motives but needs the money so agrees.

Enter in some fake dating plus instalust and you can guess what happens next. My favorite part of these books is the unlikely friendship between the three women. I cannot wait to get London’s story next!!

I was so excited for Taylor’s story! This second book in the series was fantastic. I love these complex characters. Taylor and Jamar “Diesel” Dixon start as friends in a fake relationship, but of course fall for each other for real. I especially liked the family members in this book, Jamar’s grief story was well done and Taylor’s complex relationship with her immediate family was great as well. Highly recommended and now I can’t wait for London’s story.

Disclaimer: I got this book in exchange for an honest review. I’ll have a review up on my Bookstagram account (reach is roughly 2,930 followers) @meetcuteromancebooks! I was a huge fan of The Boyfriend Project and sequels are always a hit or miss but this is one you definitely don’t want to miss out on!!! I adored Taylor and Jamar. London was a bit of a wacky character but Jamar really stood out to me!! I’ll share more of my thoughts on this book closer to the release date but it’s a must read!!!

***SPOILERS***
I really liked The Dating Playbook (I had access to an ARC), maybe even more than The Boyfriend Project! I think Taylor is relatable: assertive, yet insecure; broke, yet generous; good at what she does, but scared to take it to the next level....
She and Jamar are good for each other. They provide support and listening ears. She helps him begin to rethink his guilt over Silas. He helps her to think about her possible learning challenges and how she views herself within her family. They both call each other out when the other is trying to deflect from the real issue bothering them.
I think their love story is cute 😍.

Can't wait for London's installment next year!

I could not put this book down. It was excellent.

Taylor Powell is an outstanding fitness professional but finds herself struggling to pay her bills after a series of jobs don't pan out, mainly because she doesn't have a college degree. Then she meets Jamar Dixon, a former football star, whose pro football career ended after being carted off the field with a knee injury. Jamar wants another chance to prove that he can play with the pros and he wants Taylor to help him get back into the physical shape to do it. But there is one catch -- no one can know they are working together. When they are spotted in public together, Taylor accidently says they are dating to protect Jamar's privacy. This begins a series of "strategies" for how to handle their fake dating public persona which has now developed to hide the fact that they are working together professionally. But the more they work together, the less "fake" the dating starts to feel.

This book sucked me in from page 1 and I could not stop reading. These characters were so good and there so many deep issues addressed in this book. From grief and guilt to issues of learning and education. I loved the complexity of the characters. All of the characters were so well developed and I wanted to know what happened to them.

I loved Rochon's writing style and the way she handled some of the really hard issues in this book. I read the author's notes at the end and saw that some of these issues were really difficult for her to write about. It came through on the page how much she poured her heart and soul into these characters and this work. I felt these characters and everything they went through. Especially Jamar and his grief and heart break. I wanted to wrap him up and hug him so many times.

This is one of the best reads I have read in a while. I highly recommend this one.

Farrah Rochan does it again, I absolutely loved this book! I loved learning more about Taylor in this book after the whole scandal from the first book. Taylor is such a strong character, and I loved her! My heart was hurting for her the whole time. Jamar was the perfect partner for her, they needed one another. If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend it!

So Farrah is a must read read for me every since her last book The Boyfriend Project! When I seen this was a series I knew I had to keep going! This has to be the best contemporary romance writer I've read to date!
Her writing and style is something special! The Dating Playbook is simply amazing. It's a fun, cute, steamy romantic read that will grab you by the heart and squeeze. I couldn't get enough of these characters. I mean the connection with them was straight fire! Wonderful guys!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publisher for tis amazing advance ebook copy😍

Ill post review to my Goodreads closer to pub date!

The Dating Playbook is the 2nd book/follow-up to last year’s The Boyfriend Project. I love the friend group, the 3 women met in The Boyfriend Project (book 1) after learning they were all dating the same man...they ditched him and formed an instant friendship with one another. They even made a pact, to worry less about men & dating apps and focus on projects in their life that brought them joy instead. Book 1 was Samiah’s story and this book is Taylor’s.

Taylor is a personal trainer who is in debt and in major need of cash, with bills piling up and her rent due soon she is desperate for some new repeat clients. And so Jamar, a former NFL player who wants to get back into the game after a serious knee injury and needs a trainer, comes into her life at the perfect time. There’s just one catch, he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s training again with the hopes of a comeback. So when they get spotted together and outed as a couple instead, the fake dating begins to cover up the fact that he’s actually Taylor’s training client.

I did enjoy this read slightly more than the first book, the tropes and characters in this book worked for me more. On top of having financial issues, Taylor also is handling/figuring out if she has a learning disability and I really liked to see that explored in an adult character in a book. Jamar also has more to his character than just being a football player with a knee injury, he lost his best friend and still has grief/feels responsible over that. Fake dating is a trope I really enjoy, this one did jump into the real dating rather quickly where I would have enjoyed more fake time/fighting the feels a bit longer. With this series I always really enjoy the friend group of the women and how supportive they are of one another. And I will be looking out for London’s book/the 3rd in the series next year.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts & review. The Dating Playbook will be published August 17, 2021.

This was a sweet fake dating/close proximity book. It was a very quick read and I really enjoyed the characters. Looking forward to the next book in this series!

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for an advanced copy of The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon.

I thought The Boyfriend Project last summer was so funny and have been eagerly awaiting the second book in the series and The Dating Playbook didn't let me down.

This is Taylor's book and I loved how she was doing everything she could in her personal fitness business. When Jamal a college football star and former NFL player reaches out wanting her to be his personal trainer as he wants to come back to the NFL after a knee injury she agrees because she's struggling financially. They agree to keep this a secret as he doesn't want the sports world to know he wants to come back, but when talking to a reporter and Taylor blurts out they are dating, to keep their personal trainer relationship a secret. But sparks start to fly and Taylor has one rule, she doesn't sleep with clients....

I loved her drill sergeant attitude towards personal training, calling Jamar 23 and the grocery store scene in the book had be laughing so hard. I'm a big fake dating fan and there was a funny line between the girls about fake dating and what happens in romance books! Sports romances are the best and this also touched on deeper issues too of believing in yourself, that you don't need a college degree to be successful and undiagnosed learning disorders.

Can't wait for next summer to get London's story!

Thoroughly enjoyed Farrah Rochon's upcoming new release The Dating Playbook. It was a quick and entertaining read!! I basically devoured it within 2 days.

I appreciated how both of the main characters developed and dealt with their challenges and the groundwork that was laid to make for a very realistic romantic story. Not to mention that the sexy scenes were also quite satisfying.

The story was engaging and a pleasant change of pace for a romance novel! While, yes, it was predictable, I could not put it down till I was finished.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced reader copy!!

Ok, Farrah Rochon, you've thrown down the gauntlet to all other authors! This was a wonderful book - Taylor and Jamar are lovely to read about. Their insecurities are real to them and could be things any of us deal with. I liked how they took care of each other throughout. And, I laughed, a lot! I also enjoy the female friendship - I think it's so well done and something we can all use in our lives. If I had one quibble, it was that the characters seemed to "get over" their issues a bit too easily but, maybe, they just needed to hear good advice at just the right time. Minor quibble in an otherwise excellent book! Can't wait for London's story!