Bennet is a young woman crushed by the grief of lost love. She is barely going through the motions when she comes barreling into Henry, the guy she ghosted on a first date. Henry vows to help Bennet find her passion again.

The story is sad and sweet. Bennet was a relatable character, but I found myself getting frustrated with her character’s constant back and forth. What kept this from being 4 stars for me was how quickly things wrapped up at the end. It did not feel as authentic that Bennet would be able to get her life together so quickly.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group VIKING for this arc!

3.5 stars for me

This book was a beautiful exploration of grief and the messiness of people going through it. Henry is too good for this world, and I’ve been casually sobbing through the entire last act. Very excited to read whatever is next for London Sperry!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

this is one of the most emotional and accurate representations of depression i’ve ever read about in a romance. this was so raw and so real and while it was so painful i absolutely loved this story SO much. bennet and henry are some of my favorite characters ive ever read about. from the moment they met their chemistry was undeniable and their connection was so special and it felt so realistic and made me forget i was even reading a work of fiction. i cried like an absolute baby while reading this, this book will stick with me for the rest of my life.

3.5 stars

I love a good rom-com type of book, and while this wasn't just a fluffy romantic read, it was nonetheless superb.

The story follows Bennett, a recent college grad who also recently lost her boyfriend tragically (this is revealed on the back cover, so no spoilers here!) and is aimlessly scraping by in NYC. In walks Henry, kickstarting a summer that both of them will never forget.

I loved that this book dealt with the very real subject of grief, depression, and anxiety. There were so many moments that I could relate to in terms of figuring out your passion/vocation in your twenties. I think the author handled the mental health aspects well, and ultimately gave our FMC a healthy arc.

What I didn't love was the oh-so-pervasive miscommunication trope which I can't stand, but was perhaps realistic for two twenty-somethings that are just trying to figure out how to be adults.

This was a fantastic debut novel for London Sperry, and one I would definitely recommend as a sweet but also thought-provoking summer read. Great for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the ARC. This title will be published April 8, 2025.

#PassionProject #NetGalley

Passion Project immediately became one of my top five favorite books of all time!

Bennet is a temp worker living in New York City and struggling with grief after the death of her college boyfriend. When she stands up a first date with Henry and then unexpectedly runs into him, they get to talking and he suggests they become friends and meet up weekly for an activity to help Bennet discover her passion.

This book felt like a love letter to New York City and a warm hug to anyone who has ever lost a loved one or struggled with their mental health.

The writing is phenomenal, intentional, and witty. It has the perfect balance between humor and seriousness. London Sperry explores numerous themes in this book including grief, happiness, passion, love, forgiveness, friendship, and mental health. This book has the most realistic depiction of anxiety, depression, grief, and panic attacks I've ever read. While this book deals with heavy topics and has its share of heartwrenching moments, I came away from reading this book feeling lighter and hopeful.

The character development is amazing and I was rooting for Bennet from the start. Her journey in this book will stay with me forever and she will always be one of my favorite FMCs. She is messy, flawed, relatable, resilient, and brave. Henry is one of the most wonderful MMCs I've ever read. His endless empathy, kindness, sincerity, patience, and optimism was so refreshing and awe-inspiring. Every character in this book is full of depth and intentionally crafted to move the story forward and contribute to Bennet's transformative journey.

I took away so many lessons from this book about personal growth, taking accountability, learning to forgive yourself and others, and accepting love. I think this story will be incredibly healing and helpful for anyone who has ever struggled with grief or mental health.

I highly recommend Passion Project to romance readers and fans of Emily Henry, Jessica Joyce, Ashley Poston, and Carley Fortune!

Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for access to this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! What a knockout of a debut! This book was so beautiful.
Bennet is struggling. She is living in NYC, grieving the sudden death of her boyfriend, who died in a car accident a couple years before the beginning of the book. She works a variety of temp jobs and is mostly just coasting through life, trying to manage her anxiety and depression. Her best friend and roommate, Sonya, sets her up on a date with Henry, a man they find on a dating app. Bennet ghosts Henry, planning to never contact him again, and through some serendipitous events has to face him. They strike up a friendship and a goal: to find Bennet’s passion by going on little adventures throughout the city.

There is so much to love about this book. So many shoutouts to parts of NYC, so many magical moments in which Bennet experiences new things and being present in her life.
Henry is truly the ultimate book boyfriend. He’s so patient, so supportive, tender, gentle, and clearly has been to therapy. He is so open to life, to sharing joy with others, and to gently easing Bennet out of her shell. Like, I’m gonna be honest with y’all, if Henry was real…it would be a gigantic reminder that I’m not 100% gay.

The exploration of grief/the complexity of grieving is done so well. Grief can be ugly, and can make us behave in selfish, self-destructive ways. Bennet is certainly not perfect and embodies how complicated a person can be/behave when they’ve survived such a guttural loss at a young age.

This was almost 5 stars for me; there were a couple minor plot points/choices the author made that I didn’t love but overall this is a beautiful, tender, lovely romance novel. You will laugh and cry and you will absolutely remember how joyful life can be.

5 stars 🌟 LOVED!!! This romance touched on grief, depression, finding your passion, friendship, and falling in love.

Fans of Cara Bastone and Emily Henry will love this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is my new favorite book OF ALL TIME.

This book is a breath taking story of grief, friendship, love, & dare I say, passion. The insane amount of dialogue was my FAVORITE PART. It gave the reader such a wonderful insight into each character & the type of person they are.

The meet-cute, friends-to-lovers vibes were absolutely everything I want from every romance novel.

It is perfect. I’d say no notes, but I took A LOT of notes.

Beautifully written.
Insanely insightful.

I have never swooned so hard.
& I LOVE how flawed our FMC is, her journey is something that may be misunderstood by some, but carries such a remarkable message of growing through your pain.

Hmmm okay so i really struggle with rating this one. It started out soo strong for me i was literally giggling outloud and was soo into the banter but then i got so bored by the halfway mark. I wasn’t as interested in Bennet and henry’s “passion project” dates and it felt a little immature but then they did a complete 180 in their relationship and there were some spicy scenes thrown in as well. Idk i think i give it a 3.5-3.75 stars. Not my favorite romance

Passion Project is a single POV friends-to-lovers romance. Bennet is still mourning her boyfriend who passed away when her friend and roommate sign her up for a dating site. Her first date with Henry is a disaster, but against all odds, Henry convinces Bennet that they should be friends. The two embark on a summer of adventures in NY, hoping to help Bennet find passion and direction in her life.

This was an excellent and emotional read that dealt really well with topics of grief, depression, and anxiety. Henry’s optimism was charming and likable, and Bennet’s emotional state felt very relatable. Well worth the read!


Read dates: 03/06/2025- 03/08/2025
Goodreads review: 03/08/2025
Instagram review: 03/09/2025
Blog review: 04/08/2025

Wow! Such a heartfelt and enchanting debut, and with personality to boot!

The premise sucked me in: a romantic comedy centered on Bennet, a woman in her mid-20s with no direction, no future, and no social life, trying to find herself in NYC with the help of Henry, the guy she stood up on a first date. What kept me firmly planted to my couch flying through pages was the banter, hijinks, and chemistry between Bennet and Henry, as well as the explorations of grief and finding fulfillment in life. The story felt very believable to me, especially the dialogue. Giggling and kicking my feet g a l o r e. I also felt immensely for Bennet and the struggles she goes through, even if it veered into self-pitying territory at times.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the pacing. I think the middle dragged on for a bit too long; the story could've been at least 50 pages shorter, and I think that would've made it a bit more impactful. However, that does not detract from the abundant charm this book is packed with.

This author is most definitely one to watch. Can't wait to see what she's got in store for the future!

“Being up here makes me feel small, but being with you makes me feel significant.”

This book had me laughing, all in my feels, and wanting to start my own “passion project.” Passion Project is a beautifully raw and heartwarming story about grief, love, and rediscovering joy in the little things. Bennet is lost in her grief until Henry—patient, persistent, and full of quiet charm—proposes a series of Saturday adventures to help her find her spark again. Their Saturday adventures were so unique and fun, and their chemistry? Absolutely perfect. If you love emotionally rich romances with humor and heart, this one needs to be on your TBR!

I loved this book. Often times, I am drawn to books depicting grief, and this one made me feel so seen. Bennet’s fear of being too broken to be loved again is one I hold, as well, and I definitely shed many tears while reading because of that. I hope to find my own Henry one day, who will choose and love me as he did Bennet.

I didn’t give this five stars because of the last third of the book. I wish the conflict had been different, that London Sperry had navigated the storyline differently, but I still hold this novel so close to my heart and hope everyone comes to love it as I do, too.

I really enjoyed PASSION PROJECT. I found it to be a solid debut that delivered the message it set out to clear. I think we all need to embark on passion projects.

Bennett’s plight was relatable to me and I think it’ll be relatable to a lot of people. She is essentially bed rotting. She’s depressed and living with (barely) functional depression. Henry’s positivity was infectious and knowing that he had his own grief he was grappling with made him even more human.

I loved the journey this book took me on, even though I wanted to shake Bennett a bit towards the end. This is a solid rom-com that dealt with some heavy topics so definitely not just a rom-com. I recommend this to all lovers of rom-coms and contemporary fiction.

I truly believe I’ve found a new favorite, Passion Project is everything I want in a romance and, after striking out a lot over the last year, came at the perfect time. Genuinely funny, touching, and oh so romantic — I was literally kicking my feet and giggling. In a world of shadow daddies, professional athletes and mafia men, Passion Project has the grandeur of a romance novel, while still feeling ultimately realistic.

(also bennet has my exact brand of anxiety which was super cool and also very scary. london sperry might live in my walls)

Gosh, I love this book. As someone who has dealt with the hollowness of grief, I connected with Bennet's depression and stagnancy. It's hard to move to New York City alone in your twenties without a solid job or support system, and it's even harder when your boyfriend and soulmate who you were supposed to move with passed away suddenly in a car accident. Passion Project is about moving forward, not moving on — opening yourself up to new friends and adventures and loving someone new despite your fear. This is a romance novel for the NYC transplants who aren't sure they can hack it, for the temps and the bartenders and the cater waiters, for the readers who want a happily-ever-after with a side of "oh thank god they're going to therapy." London Sperry is a captivating new voice and I can't wait to read more from her in the years to come.

An absolutely beautiful story about accepting grief and learning to love again. Passion Project had just the right amount of humor and heartbreak to the point of laughing and literally crying while reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I went into this completely blind based on a recommendation from a fellow bookstagrammer, and boy am I glad I did! Passion Project exceeded all of my expectations, it is such an incredible debut novel. The author did an excellent job tackling the difficult topics of grief, depression, anxiety and learning how to find yourself after grief. I enjoyed following along as Bennett learned how to live again. Henry’s character also served as the perfect example of how it’s possible to love people through their grief and allowing them the space to figure out things in the own way.

Finally, as a person who has suffered from debilitating anxiety, this book made me feel seen. I can’t wait to see what else this author comes up with!

Wow. What an incredible debut!

I devoured Passion Project in less than twenty-four hours. It was a tug-of-war of emotion; one moment, I was laughing, the next, I was in tears and clutching my heart.

My heart ached for the main character, Daphne. The grief, the depression, the anxiety. Also, may I applaud an accurate description of panic attacks and anxiety? I often get so frustrated reading descriptions of panic attacks, yet they were portrayed so well in this book. This might be something that most people overlook, however, accurate depictions of this are important to me and quickly change how I view the writing in a story.

All of the characters in Passion Project had such believable and realistic reactions to the circumstances at hand. I adored Henry’s character. He was so understanding, never quick to anger- we love an emotionally mature man. He was so patient and understanding, even when Daphne made hurtful choices, and he handled them gracefully.

I appreciated how minimal the direct miscommunication was. It was a deeper miscommunication- the characters didn’t know what they wanted and needed- a miscommunication of brain and heart. A few times, I wanted to shake Daphne by the shoulders and ask what she was doing. They were the kind of choices you know someone needs to go through with to grow, learn, and heal.

Simultaneously, there were moments I was so proud that I wanted to clap and cheer her on. It’s not easy to push yourself out of a dark space, to try even when it feels impossible. To show up even when you know you’re going to be late. The exploration of grief and healing was just- ugh. I am tearing up trying to word how well written the main character’s grief was. I think anyone who has lost someone dear to them will be able to connect with Daphne’s tempestuous inward journey of overcoming her loss.


I am the same age as Daphne. I have also made a move to a big city and have been sitting stagnant in my depression and anxiety. Just this year, I have started the journey of coming out of my shell, meeting people, and making this city my home. I didn’t expect this book to feel so deeply relatable. What a wonderful ending this story had.

Passion Project has left me with a kernel of courage and hope that things might just be okay.