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!

DNF at 30 %. I liked the premise but I disliked the characters a lot. I didn’t feel any chemistry or love for these characters. I love a good sports romance but this didn’t work for me.

Hell yeah! Boyfriend Project was one of my favorite romance reads of last year!

Those tough ladies who gather to kick ass of that scumbag who dared to date three of them at the same time learned his lesson well by being humiliated on viral social media video!
I loved Samiah’s love story but I was so curious about Taylor and London’s sequels! Especially fiery Taylor picked my interest after turning into a jail bird.

Thankfully at this book, we have a great chance to learn more about Taylor, her predicaments, financial problems, suffering from finding better job opportunities without college degree and the reason beyond her anxiety about returning back to college to pick up where she left.

She feels vulnerable when she’s surrounded by two genius women like Samiah and London who are doing so great at their jobs, climbing corporate ladders. Even though only a few months ago they met each other with the help of their scumbag date, their friendship already bloomed and they formed a tight bond, telling everything each other.

Now, Taylor is broke, barely paying her rent. She may get kicked out from her apartment and forced to live in her car, if she cannot find more clients of her training business. She could had done everything she could last year to take her fitness consulting business, Taylor’d Conditioning to the next level by studying Instagram fitness influencers, videoing insta stories, offering classes, paying extra to promote her videos but she still barely makes ends meet. Correction: she cannot do that!

But sometimes extraordinary happens and a hot, muscular stranger joins in her last class, wanting to talk with her about personal training options. Jamar Dixon, ultra charismatic, rich at age 25, a skillful footballer wants to go back to NFL and he wants Taylor to train him.

Of course Taylor thinks there’s a catch because Jamar could find any NFL trainer to help him take his place back in NFL but she doesn’t know he already knew her from that viral video with cheating scumbag. He has a huge crush on her and he is ready to pay handsomely which could help her to pay her entire debt and start over!

Working with ultra hot football player she’s fully attracted might be a big challenge but she can handle it, right? She already learned her lesson about not mixing business with pleasure! She’d vowed never to do it again!

But Jamar wants this arrangement to be a secret and when the press get intrigued by seeing them together, they are forced to pretend as lovers. You may guess how their story goes... The sparks are flying, attraction is so real... How they manage to stay professional when their hearts tell them to rip off each other’s clothes.

Overall: I loved this series and I enjoyed to read Jamar and Taylor’s story. I cannot wait to read the next sequel. London is definitely an intriguing, eccentric character!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever ( Grand Central Publishing) for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

We've got fake dating and forced proximity, and I am in LOVE! Taylor was so ambitious yet stubborn and I loved watching her come into her own. I've never read a book about a personal trainer and this one seemed well-researched and non-triggering. Plus when the steam hits, all of the tension that built up is tooootally worth it! But beware, because this book is unputdownable.. so cancel your plans, grab some lentil chips, and enjoy!

*Thank you to Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I really, REALLY liked The Boyfriend Project so when this dropped I was super excited to get my hands on it. I remember loving Taylor, London and Samiah and couldn't wait to be a part of their little trio.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't quite the one for me.

Taylor is desperately trying to make end's meet. After a stable job falls through because she didn't have the educational background for it, she offers a pop-up training session in order to get more clients for her self-made fitness company. It is there that she meets Jamar and is given an opportunity she can't really refuse. After a knee injury cut his NFL career short, Jamar is read to train and get back onto the field. In an attempt to keep a low profile, he wants to go to hire a trainer that is not affiliated with the NFL and he thinks Taylor is perfect for the job. Her drill sergeant methods are exactly what he needs and his fame is exactly what she needs to get her name out there. All of a sudden, the world thinks they're fake dating and suddenly, keeping a low profile is not as difficult when the world thinks that the person you're spending the most time with is someone you're supposed to be around a lot. It seems like an easy plan of action until their attraction is added into the equation and now neither one of them knows how to navigate what comes next.

Okay, I was pumped. My engines were revved and ready to go. I..... this hurt my feelings. I was so confused by the execution of this book. The writing was okay but I did not buy a single event in this book. It just felt like we were given a look into the personal feelings and stresses of our characters but were not given anything more than a superficial profile of them? If that makes any sense. Like I know Taylor was stressed about money and work and whether or not she had a learning disorder but I don't think I ever knew Taylor as a character outside of her problems. Same with Jamar. They became their problems and maybe this could've been a good conflict that we'd see a resolution for by the end of the book but I didn't see it coming (and I didn't end up coming either).

The two "love birds" were not believable as a couple. It had been two weeks and Jamar was already like "YOU STILL THINK THIS CAN ONLY BE FAKE?" well.... yes? We had a fake date and a kiss and a bigger kiss but nothing tells me this can't not be fake. I need to make money? I also just did not understand Taylor's hang up about continuing to fake date despite the fact that they did eventually mutually like each other beyond fake boyfriend and girlfriend. I know she'd found herself in a similar situation where she dated a client and he betrayed her trust HOWEVER, she can't lay out some ground rules? Develop some kind of contract that would ensure she is not taken advantage of from a business standpoint? It was such a weird issue but non-issue. Again, I understand it made her nervous to put herself in that position again but I also think that a whole lot of communication between the two of them would've sorted it out. Also, speaking of things I don't understand. Her hang-up with her brother? I needed more information than what was given to me to change my mind that I found her kind of immature.

The one thing I liked about this book had brought up learning disorders. Especially those that go undiagnosed. Taylor has lived through elementary and high school without anyone flagging this and her parents don't recognize it either. I enjoyed the way that this part of her story plays out. I loved her moment in the kitchen with her mom and her doing that for herself at an age where I'm sure a lot of people out there are thinking it's too late and there's no point. I'd imagine it feels relieving to have those grey areas of your life coloured in and answered after all of this time.

All in all, I wish I liked this but I just didn't. I'm sorry. I hope London's story ends this series on a high note.

I loved The Boyfriend Project, and this follow-up was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. And WOWWW, it was even better than I expected. Taylor was so strong, yet so vulnerable, and one of her insecurities was something I could relate to. My heart was hurting for her, while also hoping for her. Jamar was trying to do what he felt was right for everyone but himself. They are exactly what each other needed. An incredibly spectacular read!