I enjoyed Passion Project by London Sperry. Bennet (even though her name is spelled incorrectly) struggling to find herself and who she wants to be after the unfortunate passing of her sweetheart, Sam. Along comes Henry, an optimistic and happy MC. Together, they try different "passion projects" to help Bennet find herself and perhaps a HEA.

Henry was a doll. I struggled with Bennet at times because she really got in her own way, but it made the story more relatable. I loved the supporting characters as well! Plus it was fun to go on the passion projects too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read. As soon as I started I didn’t want to stop. I haven’t read a romance in a bit that held my attention this well in awhile. I was so invested in this story and seeing how things would play out. For this being the authors first novel, im thoroughly impressed and will definitely be reading anything else she comes out with!

Hi yes I would like to order one Henry for same-day delivery, please and thank you.

This was an excellent debut! The NYC setting was the icing on the cake of an emotional and fun love story about a girl suffering from grief and lacking passion and a golden retriever boy who struggles with people-pleasing.

Thinks I liked:
- Fun romp through NYC (I was feeling homesick so this helped a bit)
- The writing was solid
- Bennet and Henry were unique characters and weren't just copy and paste
- Exploration of grief
- It felt like a realistic Gen Z relationship

Things I didn't like:
- The third act breakup, while I understood in terms of story arc and message, was a bit hard to get through as Bennet isn't always the best decision maker
- some of her relationships with her friends could have been fleshed out a bit more/given more page time

Overall, I would happily recommend this book. Definitely one of my favorites of the year so far!

Thank you to Viking, London Sperry, and Netgalley for a digital copy of Passion Project in exchange for an honest review.

“𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.”

This is a fantastic debut novel from London Sperry! I loved the imperfect and compelling characters so much. Ugh, it really had me in my feels 😢. This reminded me so much of one of my favorite books, Promise me Sunshine. Absolutely recommend this read! Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC.

Passion Project is a novel that explores themes of grief and depression. I wasn’t expecting a romance with such heavy emotional weight to draw me in the way it did.
Bennet is upfront with Henry, letting him know she’s not ready for a relationship. Still mourning the loss of her first love who passed away a few years prior, Bennet is consumed by her grief. She’s withdrawn from her closest friends, including her roommate, distanced herself from her parents, dropped out of college, and feels stuck, unable to move forward.
Henry enters her life and helps reignite a sense of purpose and passion within her.
The banter between Bennet and Henry was great. I found myself rooting for something deeper to develop between them.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to friends.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher PENGUIN GROUP Viking for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Passion Project was everything I needed to get me out of my reading slump-the right pace, the right story, the right amount of romance. I loved this book and will recommend it

This book is a heartfelt story about friendship, love, and healing. Bennet is struggling with the loss of her college boyfriend and the guilt she carries. Unable to move on, she drifts from one temporary job to another, distancing herself from friends and avoiding honest conversations with her parents. Then she meets Henry, who inspires her to step outside her routine and try something new each week. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this novel is filled with humor, emotion, and hope. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I tried really hard to get into this book, but a DNF at 26%. The main character, Bennet, is trying to move on after the death of her first love. She was unlikable right away, but some books can get away with that; this one could not. Henry enters the picture and they decide to work on a “passion project” to help her move on. The story felt very basic and was hard to get into, despite being a cute idea.

I absolutely loved this book. Seeing the growth of Bennet was so satisfying. I completely expected a fluff piece but there was a lot of depth and growth. Henry was the perfect golden retriever boyfriend.

OMG this was a book I could not put down! The realistic way things just happen when you least expect it - whether it's a good thing or bad one. Bennett is a mess but aren't we all. She meets Henry through a dating app but doesn't go on the date. She chickens out at the last minute and who can blame her. Dating apps are scary - you're ready but you're also not ready. Tragedy in Bennett's past has haunted her but it is time to move on girl. She meets Henry anyway in the most embarrassing way of course. They decide not to date but they do decide to try to work together to find Bennett's passion - their Passion Project. And it's just amazing from there on. The writing, the relationships, the friendships, and of course sometimes you get in your own way. Totally recommend this 100000%. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for giving me early access to this book.

*The Passion Project* was an okay read for me overall. The story centers on a woman navigating the effects of anxiety and past trauma, and I appreciated the way her emotional struggles were portrayed. It’s clear how her experiences have shaped her relationships, and the book takes care in showing what healing and repair can look like. These were the strongest elements for me.

The characters are likable, and there are some touching moments that reflect the book’s themes of growth and reconnection. However, I found the plot predictable, and the writing wasn’t always as smooth as I’d hoped—it occasionally disrupted my immersion in the story. I had to push myself a bit to finish, which made it feel more like effort than enjoyment at times.

That said, there’s real heart in the story, and readers who are drawn to emotionally driven, character-focused narratives may connect with it more deeply. *The Passion Project* shows promise, and I’m curious to see how London Sperry’s writing evolves in future work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a fun and well rounded read. I was originally intrigued by the bright vibrant cover and I have heard a lot of buzz about this book. The FMC Bennet was somewhere between relatable and annoying. There were a lot of times I wanted to jump in and shake her and scream, “What are you doing?!” but you can see her growth through the novel. The MMC Henry is described as… perfect, of course. To me it was a bit of a cheesy and corny story but sometimes that is what I am looking for in a rom-com. There was a little spice but I’d probably give this about 1 pepper on a 1-5 scale. Despite the main theme of grief, I would probably say this book was a light read. There were some emotional parts but lots of funny and lighthearted scenes as well. It’s not in my top 10 or anything like that but I would recommend it. It gives “awww” vibes.

First time reading a book from this author and now I need to read her past work! I loved this book such a fun quick read

Passion Project 💌

“I don’t understand it, and if I could, I think l’d have unlocked the secret of life. I’d be the most powerful self-help guru on earth, and l’d make millions on a book titled Don’t Have Anxiety, It’s Just a Made-Up Thing in Your Head That Causes You to Do Crazy Things! and l’d spend my days in a villa in Greece never worrying about anything. I’d live my life and not ask questions.”

I mean, same girl, same! This was a debut that totally blew me away - I devoured it in a day!

Bennett is grieving the death of her first love, and is barely making ends meet living in NYC. When Bennett meets Henry, he promises to help her find her passion again - thus begins the “Passion Project”.

I loved this story because it’s not your typical romantic comedy. Sperry writes with incredible wit and humor, while also covering some heavy topics - mental health, grief - and while at the core it’s a lighthearted romance, there’s depth that kept me invested. I loved all of Bennett and Henry’s adventures!

To emphasize how much I enjoyed this one, I read it on my phone (ugh). There’s an issue currently preventing NetGalley files from being added to Kobo ereaders. The point is, it’s clearly a page turner because phone reading is not it!

About that wit and humor I mentioned, here are a few of the lines that made me chuckle:

“Sounds like Humans of New York but murdery. Which, by the way, actually is a crime.”

“I give myself a mental high five for that sick burn…”

“…and rainbow pigs will fly out of my ass and start dancing the Macarena.”

Thank you @penguinbooks and @netgalley for the eARC! And @londonsperrywrites for writing this absolutely adorable, sweet story 🙂

I enjoyed this book so much!! I love the idea of finding your passion through trying new things with a new friend. The chemistry was so fun to read but I absolutely abhor third act breakups. Especially misunderstanding third act break ups. Otherwise, this was a delight.

“Love doesn’t care about whether or not you have your shit together, or if you’re a grieving mess. Love doesn’t care if you’re anxious or depressed or drowning in everyday life. Love just loves”

Bennet is searching for a fresh start if NYC after the death of her ex-boyfriend. What she thinks is a failed date with Henry turns out to be everything she didn’t know she needed.

The Passion Project is a beautiful written story of grief and healing. Bennet and Henry set out on adventures around New York City on what they call the “Passion Project.” It is my goal to one day visit NYC so this book was such a treat for me, I loved how the city was brought to life in this book.

The way Henry cared for Bennett melted my heart. Henry saw someone hurting and in need of support and he stepped up to be exactly what Bennet needed. The banter was so much fun and the slow burn that builds is nicely done. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read Passion Project.

There was so much to love about this book! I loved the set up, Henry, and Bennet. My favorite parts were when they were together exploring New York and connecting with other people like Sal. I also loved the ensemble cast. I was locked in for the first 70%. However, the third act breakup annoyed me so deeply. I understood all the character motivations, but the second hand embarrassment took me all the way out. The epilogue quickly won me back though, that was lovely. I also wish we’d gotten more on Sam, seeing as grief surrounding him was the driving force of the narrative. I wish we’d gotten to know more about him than he loved baseball. Bennet’s journey with grief and how that influenced her friendships was another excellent piece of the narrative. Overall, I’m very impressed with this as a debut, and I’m very excited to see where London Sperry goes from here!

A cute little romance read that I ended up really enjoying.

To be honest, I hated it at the start because the MC was so caught up in her own head. But I think it was written as a very reflective way that we can sometimes tell a narrative in our head and believe a story that nobody else would ever tell about us. I loved seeing her development.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love the setting in this book, especially as someone who is always going into NYC! The characterization was great and the characters were so sweet. A fun time, but had a lot of depth.

"I think you want to be miserable because you're afraid to be happy" - Well this quote does sum up a lot of this story, a complex romance, comedy, with themes of grief and healing.
Well done for a debut novel, while main characters Bennett and Henry are believeable, realistic and flawed humans, the NYC setting breathes life into this story. I have read similar setting and themes in other romance novels that I just connected with more, but I did still enjoy this! A solid 3.5 stars from me, rounding up because I love a New York novel and the Henry character was really well done (dare I say he deserves better than some of the stunts Bennett threw at him). While I didn't LOVE some of the conflicts in this story, it is a story about grief and healing, and not having been in these shoes before I can't fully judge Bennett's actions, even if I was internally screaming at her to make different decisions! But, that's a good sign of being connected to the characters and wanting to spare them hurt, even though that hurt is vital to the their growth. Read if you love NYC romances, a FMC who is working on finding herself and slow burn.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy!