Friends to lovers is the best trope. I love the depth to both of our main characters!! They start fairly one dimensional but we see how the perceptions of others impact them, and the depth to each.

I relate to Bennet, and her quietness, and her desire for more coupled with crippling fear. And Henry is a treasure that must be protected at all costs. And I’m here for all his tattoos.

The last quarter of the book was ROUGH for me to get through because I was so emotionally invested, but that’s a good thing. The match analogy is everything. IYKYK.

Endless Flirting!
Fierce Female Friendships!
Forced Proximity!
Grumpy x Sunshine!
NYC Setting!
Slow-Burn!
Overcoming Grief!
Mental Health Rep!

LOVED this romance set in the Big Apple. Henry’s big heart is so adorable. The way these two people let love back in had me clutching my heart.

Thank you Penguin Books

I was a little unsure about taking on this novel. It contains a lot of serious material - mostly anxiety / depression and intimate partner loss - and I expected a read that was heavy and perhaps a bit dark. But instead, the story is fast-paced and readable without ever diminishing or dismissing its characters' struggles.

Bennett, the protagonist, blames herself for her ex-boyfriend's death, and while all around her she sees (and imagines) her friends achieving dizzying successes, she's struggling to cobble together any kind of functional life. When Henry offers his friendship, she seizes the opportunity for a connection that doesn't feel loaded. But soon they're pushing each other out of their comfort zone, and Bennett is developing feelings she doesn't expect and isn't certain she's ready to allow.

<i>Passion Project</i> is a sweet romance, a quarter-life coming-of-age, and an argument for the value of life and hope in the face of grief and loss. A lovely little read.

After her boyfriend passed away, Bennet Taylor moved to New York City to honor his dreams, but life there is not exactly easy for her. When her friend signs her up for a date with Henry Adams, Bennet doesn’t show up but yet somehow end up running into him. After a couple of chance encounters, Henry decides to be her friend and together they start a passion project to help Bennet find her passion in life.

What an incredible debut novel! It's no surprise it was chosen as one of BOTM's April picks. I absolutely loved it!
The characters are raw, messy and incredibly relatable. My only complaint is that I wanted more of them.

This novel explores themes of grief, depression, self forgiveness and self acceptance. It’s both realistic and hopeful. And beautiful. It was inspiring to see Bennet find closure, forgiveness and open her heart to new possibilities.
I’ll be reading everything London Sperry writes in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for making this ARC available!

I truly loved this story and I hope Henry gets all he ever asks for in life because that man is PATIENT!! While I understand Bennet was grieving a loss, I just had in the back of my mind how she was kind of selfish and honestly I’m annoyed her happiness came from a man 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, I thought the writing was great and the pace was also great. I’ll be on the lookout for this author’s next book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Passion Project was a fantastic balance of life lessons, growth, romance, grief, and following your heart. I really loved the “grumpy/sunshine” trope in this one— Bennet and Henry were just so fun to watch fall for each other. I really enjoyed seeing Bennet open up to her friends and the people around her again, and most of all, was so glad she found something to be passionate about again. Would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a sad-happy read!

Thanks so much to Penguin, NetGalley, & London Sperry for the eARC of this read!

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.