4.5⭐️ i loved this so so much!!! the banter & ease in bennet & henry’s relationship was so so good & i am just obsessed with them!!! there were just a couple things that kept it from being 5 stars but i could definitely see myself looking past them and upping the rating upon a reread!! the conflict at the end annoyed me in ways but then it also felt true to the characters so it actually didn’t make me super mad but i hated it in the moment!! the vibes were immaculate & the writing was so satisfying to read!!! i am so so excited for future books from london!!

oh also i don’t swear but this quote has already meant so much to me & changed my perspective on love & life (& i read it 2 hours ago) so i have to share:
“having your sh*t together is not a prerequisite for love.”
ok i’m gonna go sit in a corner and rethink my entire life, byeeee🫠🤯


thank you to netgalley & the publisher for a e-arc in exchange for my honest review!!

I can’t form a coherent thought about this book because I’m so emotional but I loved it and I hope you do too! Full review to come when i can pull myself together. Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review 🫶🏾✨

4.25 ⭐️ “Being up here makes me feel small, but being with you makes me feel significant.”
The cover of this book and the New York setting immediately sucked me in to reading it and I ended up really enjoying it! I really loved the depiction of grief in this book. In this book you are following Bennet as she deals through all her grief following a great loss in her life and her journey as she rediscovers her spark for her life. I appreciated how this book shows the ups and downs of the identity crisis you experience and the difficulty of picking yourself back up after a life altering loss. I felt so much for Bennet and I loved seeing her heal and reconnect with the people in her life after struggling with so much alone. I absolutely adored Henry’s character!!! He was so charming, sincere, and such a sweetheart! I loved how they formed such a strong friendship with each other before it turned romantic. Definitely a slow burn! Their little adventures throughout New York were so much fun to follow!! I loved how they pushed each other out of their comfort zones and made each other feel seen. Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a New York set rom com that also packs an emotional punch!

This is such a deeply felt romance that explores grief with nuance and care. At times, I wanted the slow burn to burn a little faster, but it all ends with a very satisfying happily ever after.

Thank you Penguin Books for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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4.5 stars

I can’t believe this is a debut novel! London Sperry introduced a very unique storyline into a genre that can feel quite repetitive sometimes and I’m so grateful this story exists. I think I felt just about every emotion known to man reading this — I laughed, I full on cried, I raged, and everything else under the sun. While there were certain parts of the plot that didn’t work for me and Bennet could really frustrate me to no end sometimes, I’m glad I enjoyed the writing because without a doubt I’ll be picking up the next book from this author.

If you’re looking for a story that focuses on living life with heavy grief, learning to open your heart and take risks again, and a very slow burn (but worth it) romance (be warned: the romance is pushing sub-plot status for this story), definitely pick up this book!

I liked that this story followed a young woman, Bennet, who was deeply heartbroken and weighed down by grief, yet gradually found the hope and courage to heal and love again.

At times, the romance felt forced and overly cheesy. The contrast between Bennet being excessively selfish and Henry being unrealistically nice felt exaggerated and hard to believe. However, there were also moments that were genuinely funny and heartwarming.

I recommend it to anyone looking for a light read with a happy ending.

I LOVEDDDDDD THIS READ!! The book had me from the beginning and I am so excited to yap about this so so much!!

This was a delightful book. I loved both the characters of Bennet and Sam and all of their adventures throughout the city of Harlem and NYC. Bennet is stuck in a rut and her best friend Sonya is trying to get her out ot it by signing her up for a blind dating service. While the actual date flops, her date (Sam) decides to help her get out of her rut and find her passion instead.

Positives:
Extremely likeable main male character
Themes such as overcoming loss and grief, struggling with depression, friends to lovers, finding your passion, friends as family, etc.
I loved the setting and all of their adventures while trying to find Bennet's passion
Beautiful cover

Negatives:
A bit of miscommunication interferring with their relationship but it is not over the top.
The main female character was a bit more unlikeable and immature

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this

Sometimes romance hooks take a bit to develop and find their footing, but THIS grabbed me from the opening page all the way to the end. I adore stories that are rooted in something much deeper than a blind date gone wrong and this delivered. Bennet is deep in her grief following the death of her significant other but is attempting to date and meets Henry, the glowing definition of golden retriever. While they are the definition of slow burn with insanely palpable chemistry, they instead start "Passion Projects": meet ups to try and find something for Bennet to feel passionate about. It's this adorably beautiful friends to lovers transition that is so deeply rooted in grief, overcoming, and the definition of love.

The language is perfection. The steamy scenes are great. The slow burn is a beautiful payoff. When we do get to the real dramatic tension (going to her significant other's sister's wedding), it's a type of palpable drama that you just believe. Even the third act breakup, which I normally can't stand, really worked.

Pure adoration. I raced through this, felt every emotion humanly possible while reading, and could easily start over.

Bennet meets Henry through an app, then stands him up. But that is not the last we see of him. As the book progresses you start to understand why. An emotional read at times.

Easy comfort read. I didn’t even notice time passing I was so absorbed in the story.

I loved Henry, such a sweet golden retriever MMC. London’s portrayal of grief and guilt through Bennett was interesting. I wished there had been more emotion in the writing, but Bennett couldn’t handle her emotions so I thought London’s writing did a great job of conveying that.

This is one where I wish we had at least a couple chapters from the MMC’s POV. I want to know what kept him around, what did he see in her after such a rough start?

Overall a fun read!

This book was so good! I loved it and will be buying a physical copy for my shelf to reread and share

Passion Project is a truly heartwarming and sweet book. My first from London Sperry and I'm sure will not be my last. Hitting the ground running with Bennet Taylor, it wasn't hard to understand her struggles as she tried to live the life she was supposed to have with her beloved Sam Chase by her side. With the backdrop of New York City, the whirlwind of emotions that drives Bennet to barely make it through the day was at times exhausting. I could feel her despair at not knowing how to simply live without the love of her life. We don't get to know exactly why he is no longer with her until much later in the book as a confession of sorts with the man who would ultimately save her, one wonderful Henry Adams. Once they are in each other's orbits, thus starts the Passion Project wherein Henry tries to get Bennet to find her passion. What she might need and/or want in order to truly live life again. And although they begin this wild journey to discovery as hesitant friends, eventually much more is at stake and I wondered through most of this book whether or not Bennet had what it would take to finally move on.

I must admit there were times when I thought Bennet's lack of enthusiasm for anything outside her bedroom door was simply just too much. But then as the pages flew by (and they really did since the writing is easy and well-paced) I came to realize just how much pain she was in and that although she tried hard to stay engaged with her more than loyal friend and roommate in Sonya, sometimes she just couldn't. I worried that she'd drive away everyone who cared and there were times when that almost happened but thankfully with Henry's help, the darkness started to lift and rays of sun began peeking through.

Henry is a love and a half. His positive nature and the fact that he wanted to be around Bennet when their first date from meeting through an app went belly up almost immediately, was beyond endearing. Helping Bennet find her 'thing' was never easy but the more time they spent together, the more Bennet started to open up and finally see the world around her once more. I loved their Saturdays when Henry would set up the next adventure, bringing out real smiles and a sense of accomplishment even at the smaller stuff. He truly cared about Bennet and even when things became uncomfortably intimate, he stayed the course and remained her Passion Project companion no matter what. He's a keeper of the highest order and we should all be so lucky as to have someone like Henry in our lives.

I will say that when truths leak out (which was a complete surprise to both myself and Bennet) I wasn't sure what her future would actually hold if she couldn't trust those closest to her again. But thankfully Bennet is surrounded by well-meaning and caring friends like Sonya, Jamie, Sal and most importantly, Henry. I was glad to see her finally able to forgive and realize that life doesn't always go to plan. But with love by your side in whatever shape that might be, you can find the will to move forward.

A crucial part of the book has Bennet once again questioning whether or not her decisions wrt Sam are the right thing for everyone involved. There is a world of hurt not only within her but starts to spread to those she cares about most. I wondered how Bennet might fix things to finally find her forever and I was both surprised and very pleased at her grand gestures that came out of her 'come-to-Jesus' moment that shook her to her core. I applaud her courage throughout this well-written book and was thrilled she was able to realize there is so much life to be lived, it may just look a bit differently than what she first imagined.

This book is labeled a rom-com and yes, there are many funny moments in this wild and unforgettable journey. But to me, it's more poignant than that as the albatross that is Sam and his leaving plagued Bennet for the better part of two years. However, her charming inner thoughts and her lack of a filter most of the time did have me chuckling and it made for the understanding of how a man like Henry could fall head over heels for this mess of a woman.

Passion Project made me tear up. It made me laugh a bit but most of all, it made me smile with pride that Bennet realized she's only human with flaws like the rest of us. And, most importantly, that one can have two loves of their lives. You just have to be brave enough to hold on tight and know how lucky you are that two people saw in you what you couldn't.

5 big stars.

Absolutely adored this romance centered around healing from grief and what it is to fall in love a second time! I laughed, I cried, and of course I swooned to no end. Five glowing stars

I really loved this book for the majority of the story; however, it kind of fell apart for me at the end. The transition from the conflict to the resolution felt super rushed (and trust me, I hate a drawn out non-communicative conflict). But something just felt inauthentic about it. I was definitely engaged and I’d read it again, but I didn’t love it. 3.5 stars.

I loved this book SO MUCH! It was such a comforting read. As someone that struggles with grief, depression and anxiety I found this book incredibly relatable and inspiring. It’s hands down one of my favourite books of all time now.

This was just sooo beautiful and I see myself reading this again.

Thank you NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Viking, Penguin Books and London Sperry for giving me an ARC of this wonderful book!

4.5 stars! Oh my goodness I loved this! The banter, the tension, the writing, all of it! I loved! The fact that this is a debut too? Incredible. I thought that this handled the topic of grief and loss and mental health so so well and I found myself tearing up multiple times through out the book. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a little more emotion to it , I highly recommend picking this up!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

“Passion Project” by London Sperry is a heart-aching romance revolving around grief. Bennet lost her long love / college boyfriend Sam and moved to New York to live out the dream that Sam wanted… Lost in her grief of Sam, Bennet is going through the motions of life and is a pretty closed book shutting out everyone from her past and unable to let anyone in.

Her roommate has her go on a date that she pretty infamously messes up as she ghosts him and gets wasted at the restaurant across the street. But by chance from her mistake she ends up meeting him. He convinces her to meetup as friends and try to experience new things in what they call the “Passion Project.” Through her exploration with her new found friend Henry and the Passion Project, she opens up a tiny bit, but is still consumed by grief.

This books main focus is overcoming grief of a lover… however I feel this book could relate to many people who feel they are just going through the motions of life or are grieving a person or a situation (like a health condition taking an ability away, or moving far from family). I found Bennet’s struggles to be relatable whether or not grief is of a loved one.

As a romance, Bennet’s past and new relationship have some great beauty on the midst of chaos. I found laughter, tears, heartache, and heart-warming moments in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of this book even when characters regressed at times… it felt very real.

“Having your shit together isn’t a prerequisite for love.”

I’d like to that NetGalley, Penguin Books, and the author London Sperry for providing me with a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the book!

Grief-stricken, 20 something year old, struggling to connect with others and find her place in NYC.

I loved how grief, personal identity, mental health, friendship and love are all tied up nearly in this book!

This being a debut for the author is impressive and it's a solid 4 star read to me. I found our main character Bennett's story to be a page turner. The author did a great job at providing a realistic voice to how grief can affect our functioning during such crucial years of life. You'll be appropriately frustrated here and there, but rooting for personal growth in our main character is a bumpy road sometimes.

Glad to have read and recommend this book. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from London Sperry!

Feeling lots of feels over this new novel by London Sperry! Passion Project is a romance balanced on top of deep grief, New York City vignettes, and the turmoil and confusion of your 20’s! I was blown away by Sperry’s depictions of Bennet’s grief and anxiety- so many times I found myself thinking “wow, that’s relatable” while reading. That fear in your early to mid 20’s that you are the only one that doesn’t have life figured out and everyone around you feels so put together is so real! Bennet’s character development was my favorite part of this book, though. I was so inspired by her making change, communicating, and facing a lot of fears towards the end of the novel! The romance in this was great, too! Bennet and Henry had such a natural chemistry, and their relationship developed so organically. This book gave me big mid 2010s rom-com energy!! So fun and full of heart!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC!