User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Five smart, steamy, entertaining, action-packed, addictive, office romance with so much likable couple who conquers our hearts with their sizzling, hot chemistry!
This book at my wishlist and I’m so happy my wish finally come true because it was so much more than I expected. There are so many positive attributes which I truly enjoyed about great books.
The things I adore:
Straight to the point, intriguing, powerful opening scene: Our adorable, badass, hard-worker, successful business woman heroine Samiah coincidentally finds out from twitter that she is dating with a guy who also dates with two other women at the same time and just postopned their meeting because he’s having dinner with another woman at the very same Sushi Place who took her before.
So she storms out from her pregnant sister’s house to face the douchebag and she meets with other catfish-ing victims: Taylor and London. Three women team up to avenge the cheater boyfriend and humiliate him at the restaurant in front of several witnesses (one of them record their argument which goes viral and Samiah turns into youtube’s rising star!)
At the end of the night, the girls partied together and found themselves at Samiah’s place and they decided to resume their friendship which turned into sisterhood squad meeting at every Friday night for dinner and cocktails! They decide that they don’t need a man to bring happiness into their lives.
For upcoming six months they will decide to concentrate of their personal goals, find hobbies and face with unresolved issues that hold them back from their bright futures. They shake hands for this pact and called it “Boyfriend Project”
But this brings the second thing I liked so much about this book: Charming, good-hearted, witty, flirty, hot, sexy hero: Daniel Collins is just hired by Samiah’s company and their undeniable attraction already gives Samiah second thoughts about her pact! Maybe she should give a chance to Daniel. He seems trustworthy, decent and honest from the beginning but… here is our cliffhanger:
Daniel hides his real identity. He is an agent, investigating money laundering in their company and for digging out more he should keep secrets from Samiah. Even though he does anything not to fall for or hurt her, he cannot help himself. But what is going to happen when the secrets come out and he has to leave for his next assignment. Samiah is already humiliated by the viral youtube video and her past wrong choices about her love life. Could she trust him again after the revelation of his secret identity?
The third thing I loved about the book is both of the characters didn’t act obnoxious or illogical at the angst parts of the story. Daniel was sweet pie from the beginning and Samiah was rational, determined, and strong. As you know at the all romance books: the last quarter is about groveling, breakup and the both parties’ nonsense painful experiences (some of them stop eating, showering, turning into asocial creatures and they also act like stubborn spoiled brats not to come clean about their feelings!) But at this book: both of the characters earned entire Brownie points and saved me to read long and agitatedly emotional chapters!
And final thing I Loved about the book was the supporting characters: I already loved Taylor and as far as I may see, we’re gonna read her story at the second book that I cannot wait! And let’s not forget our sarcastic, entertaining doctor London. I enjoyed those three different, independent, strong women’s growing friendship and sisterhood.
Overall: The book carries so many important messages about racial and sex inequity and unfairness at work places. It was powerful, motivational, witty, thought-provoking, riveting, dazzling and also very romantic reading. I highly recommend it to the genre lovers!
So much thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for making my wish come true and sharing this wonderful ARC in exchange my honest review. I cannot wait to read the sequels!
Rating: really liked it
overall i really enjoyed this book! books set in a work environment are always a selling point for me and this did not disappoint.
i fucking loved these characters. especially our main girl Samiah. she’s super badass and wickedly smart. women in STEM fields>>>> anything else
Daniel, the male love interest, was kinda hard character to grow on but the wayyyyy he fucking describes Samiah in his pov was just too fucking attractive.
this is a very character driven book and the author weaves together the workplace environment, struggles each character faces, and the plot all very nicely.
my only critique for this book is that there was a lying/identity reveal trope and i usually don’t like those tropes at all. but it was weaves into this story pretty nicely that it didn’t bother me too much.
Rating: really liked it
****4 STARSYassssss! This is what I am talking about!
It is about time that romance books featuring black characters are marketed the same way as romance books with white characters have been for years.
There was not white savior or poor, ghetto black woman in sight. What you are getting is a black man and woman being represented just how we are in real life. No stereotypes inserted to be passed off as fact. This is proper representation.
What a breath of fresh fucking air!
I’m so darn giddy about this story because it’s a true representation of who Black people are. Farrah Rochon nails it. I think I may even have a slight girl crush on her now.
The book starts off with a healthy amount of drama that sets up for the perfect storyline. It follows the synopsis to the book which I can appreciate. I hate when a synopsis is just a flat out lie to get me to read the book.
Let’s start with our beautiful and sexy leading lady, Samiah. BTW – I adore her name. So cute! Samiah is everything I want to be when I grow up. She’s is the total package. Samiah has a great career, money, car, fancy condo, etc. What she doesn’t have is a partner to share it with, but not for a lack of trying. The dating scene in Austin, TX apparently isn’t that good, according to her. I don’t personally know, but that’s what the book tells us.
Now it’s time to tell you about the sexy Daniel Collins. He is a walking wet dream. The man is more than just a face, he’s also charming, thoughtful, intelligent, knows how to flirt his way right into your heart. I am a fan!
Samiah was falling in love with the person she was when she was with him."
Daniel allowed Samiah the space to be herself. She didn’t have to pretend. That’s how a woman falls in love with not only a man but with herself. There is nothing more sexy than a woman was is unapologetically herself. That’s one of the many reasons I enjoyed reading their relationship develop.
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Rating: really liked it
What happens when 3 smart girls get screwed over by one guy? They get together and form The Boyfriend Project. I loved this book! I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy it after reading the rave reviews, I just didn't realize how much. It was so much more than a rom-com. There was some depth and a little mystery thrown in there too.
Samiah has it going on...she has a great job...a great job...oh yes and a great job. That is her life. She doesn't have time for friends and dudes. Yet she falls for Craig...and then she figures out the hard way why she doesn't have time for dudes. So she enters a pack with Craig's other girlfriends...London and Taylor. Theses girls are smart, witty and wild. #squadgoals and these girls have made a pact. No guys for six months........no problem! Samiah is over dudes...until Daniel walks in. He is kind, smart, successful and GORGEOUS.....Houston we may have a problem...HAHAHA will Samiah break the pact?
I loved all the characters in this book! Well except for Craig...he was a loser for sure. If you want something light, fun, but a rom-com with something more to it...this is it!!
Thank you so much to Grand Central Publishing for sending this ARC my way in exchange for an honest review. LOVED IT!
Rating: really liked it
The Boyfriend Project is a refreshing office-romance that I enjoyed reading, but had some mixed feelings about.
We follow Samiah Brooks, a badass black woman working for a major tech company. She finds out that she was catfished by her boyfriend, who was simultaneously dating two other women. She confronts him with the two other girls, Taylor and London, and team up to expose him. They develop a friendship, and end up making a pact to concentrate on themselves for the next six months and not let any men hold them back-
The Boyfriend Project.
But then a new employee is hired at Samiah's work- Daniel Collins- and now Samiah is conflicted between her pact and her growing feelings. Not all is as it seems however, as Daniel is hiding his real identity. He is a secret agent, trying to uncover the money laundering scheme hidden in the company before it is too late.
I loved so many aspects of this book. The
female friendships were done really well and I appreciated how they all came together instead of resenting each other. I had heard a few people saying they thought there was too much focus on the work but I really enjoyed that element! I don't know much about the tech industry (or the secret spy industry for that matter) so it was really interesting to find out more about it. I
loved the discussions about privilege and how much harder Samiah had to work to be respected because of her identity as a black woman. I also liked the conversations about how Samiah feels she has to be
perfect, lest she block opportunities for subsequent black women to be employed.
Women in STEM was a major issue that was addressed, and I am so grateful for it. It was great to see a
strong, sexy female character with ambitions of making her own app, not being afraid to be forward and knowing what she wants.
However, in that list of things that I enjoyed about the story, there is one that is glaringly absent.
The romance. While I loved Samiah, and quite liked Daniel- I never got fully invested in their romance. I can't exactly pin point what it was, but I just couldn't feel the chemistry. Their banter was pretty good, and they definitely had physical attraction but somehow I didn't believe in them. In addition, the sex scenes were not my favourite. I am not sure if it was how they were written or the fact that I listened to it on audio, but they made me cringe and want to skip over them. The romance felt pretty underwhelming and boring in comparison to some of the other aspects of the story. If this wasn't a
romance book I could have gotten past that, but because it was such a major part it hindered my enjoyment.
I thought the writing was good, but I would have preferred it to be told in first person rather than third. It may be a nit-picky thing, but that doesn't usually bother me. In this book however, it felt unnatural and was perhaps one of the things that stopped me from caring about the romance. I got used to it in the end, but still think first person would have suited the story better.
Overall, I really loved certain elements of the story but the romance is what ultimately brought this down for me. I would recommend this if you are looking for a
diverse, own-voices read with well developed characters and discussions about privilege in the tech world. Don't go into this however, for the romance alone.
★★★☆☆ stars
Thank you to Hachette Audio and Libro.fm for this ALCRelease Date: 9 June 2020
Rating: really liked it
i really liked everything about this book
except the romance. which is obviously a bummer since this is a romance. you don't give a heroine with trust issues a hero who is dishonest.
i'm giving this book 3 stars because i thought the writing was fun, i selfishly like books set in austin, and i like the emphasis on found family/female friendship.
Rating: really liked it
Nah. This book wasn’t it for me. Boredom and lack of... everything made me quit.
The most exciting thing that happened was when they humiliated that idiot at the beginning of the book and that was it.
DNF at 41%.
Rating: really liked it
Finally… a few days off of work. And there’s nothing I like more than to end my work week with a fun rom- com. Perfect to pick me up and leave a smile on my face before my work week begins once again. Apparently that was asking too much. It was sadly lacking the
Rom of romance, and the
Com of comedy failed to make an appearance as well.
Samiah Brooks discovers the man she’s been dating has also been dating at least two other women...at the same time! Busy boy! Since one of these women is live-posting this date on twitter, Samiah decides to crash the date. This leads to a new viral video of the disastrous date but most importantly it led to a strong bond and friendship between the three women. They eventually make a pact to work on themselves before jumping back into to the dating game. Voila...
The Boyfriend Project. Right on cue enters Daniel, the new hunky man in the office. And hopeless romantic Samaritan is quickly smitten. But is Daniel all that he seems? And after such terrible luck in dating, can she trust again?
Fun premise. But it didn’t work for me. The actual boyfriend project took a backseat to the rest of the storyline and I had to constantly ask myself what, if anything it had to do with the rest of the book. The storyline crawled along at a snail's pace with little action or advancement. Left me begging,
“please just do something already!” 😫
There is a gratuitous steamy sex scene to lighten things up. But in no way did it fit the characters and their story. Again...romance went out the window on this one!🙈
There are many mixed reviews for this one... so once again I hope it works better for you!
A buddy 🎧 with Susanne.
Thank you to libro.fm for an ARC to listen to and review.
Rating: really liked it
This was okay. I just finished the audiobook and there were some things I really enjoyed about this book and other things I didn't. I love our main character in this book and I love that she's a badass bitch that works in Tech. I love seeing more female lead characters with jobs like this, it's very empowering, and I loved the female friendships in this book. They were so cute to read about, but the romance was where this book fell flat for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between these two and, I don't know if it was just the audiobook but the sex scenes felt like they were written so awkward to me.
Rating: really liked it
We all know the phrase "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
But is there an equivalent phrase about when you read a book and rate it 3 stars only to come back a little over a month later to realize you actually, in point of fact, don't have anything nice to say?
I'm looking for advice.
I don't know why I initially three starred this. Maybe I was just so slumpy that I assumed it was an "it's not you, it's me" situation?
How many human-interaction-based clichés can I fit into one review.
Anyway: This book seems like it has a lot going for it. Mainly in that it's a rom com with a cute cover and the idea of a boyfriend project is cool to me, as a project obsessive. (Don't even look at how many of my Goodreads shelves have the word "project" in.)
But take that promising feeling off the table entirely, because...
There is no boyfriend project.
DUN DUN DUN.
Literally nothing at all that could qualify. I'm furious even thinking about it.
And even worse, this is one of those rom coms with SO MUCH ELSE GOING ON that the actual rom is a weird afterthought, and there's no com to speak of at all.
For example: These two and their work.
The male love interest is a deep-undercover tech-based US government secret agent for, like, money laundering, so you just have to accept that as a normal and reasonable thing if you want to continue with the book without screaming or throwing things. Fine.
But if you can believe it, that's not even the most distracting part?
Our protagonist, who is just a normal human woman doing tech stuff, makes SO MANY bizarre and inexplicable work decisions - not calling out a coworker even though she herself is beloved and respected, in spite of the coworker undermining her and taking credit for her work; turning down an opportunity that sounds like a once in a lifetime chance to better herself and the world for something she could do at the same time - that I wanted to tear pages and/or my hair out.
I felt the chemistry between these two at the beginning, but both characters' insane work plot lines took up all the page time and my patience.
AND, on top of everything else, our protagonist is in a viral video mocking a previous date that led to her making a new group of friends, which I almost forgot about in spite of the fact that it also takes up more time than the romance.
There's too much going on.
Bottom line: I wrote myself into dropping this to 1.5 from 3. What a day.
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pre-reviewinstead of a "boyfriend project" i'm continuing romance novel quest.
they both result in disappointment, but only one of them helps my reading challenge.
review to come / 3ish stars
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reading books by Black authors for Black History Month!
book 1: caste
book 2: business not as usual
book 3: the color purple
book 4: the parking lot attendant
book 5: kindred
book 6: wrapped up in you
book 7: the boyfriend project
Rating: really liked it
2.5 stars. There wasn't anything necessarily bad about this, but if I'm being honest it was just kind of boring. Womp :c
Rating: really liked it
This book was EVERYTHING you want in a romcom! Fantastic characters... witty banter... sizzling chemistry... fabulous female friendships... swoony romance... Farrah Rochon, you queen! This was fab! The book kicks off with Samiah finding out her boyfriend is cheating on her not only with one, but two other women. The upside to this is that Samiah and the other two women Taylor and London form a fast friendship. Bonding over Craig the sleaze. The girls decide to form a pact and call it the boyfriend project. For the next six months they are going to focus on themselves and this means absolutely NO MEN. Samiah is sure this will not be a problem because her life is pretty much all about her job, that is until she meets her new coworker Daniel. Daniel is pretty much every woman’s dream... Hot, smart, kind, thoughtful... did I mention Hut? SO what is Samiah to do?
This book completely grabbed my heart and attention. The audiobook was narrated by Je Nie Flemming Who did an exceptional job. She really gave the perfect voice to each character, did a great job with Daniel (always a bonus when a female does a good male voice). I just cannot say enough good things about this book! I’d love to hang out with Samiah, Taylor, and London. Daniel was quite delicious and perfect for Samiah, even though he was hiding something from her. Also Samiah had a pretty cool sister and brother-in-law as well. This is a can’t miss romcom and if you like audio I strongly recommend!
This book in emojis 🍷 🍣 📱 😍
*** Big thank you to Forever and libro.fm for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
Rating: really liked it
The Boyfriend Project is the perfect uplifting rom com about strong women.
I absolutely loved The Boyfriend Project. I read a chapter sampler on NetGalley and have been impatiently waiting to read the rest of the book.
I love the characters in The Boyfriend Project. Samiah, London and Taylor all are focusing on their careers. Taylor worries about what her family thinks of her career and Samiah and London are like her older sisters encouraging her to follow her dreams. Samiah has an app idea that she wants to develop but has put it to the side for years. The other women encourage her to develop the app.
The Boyfriend Project is an own voices novel.
I listened to the audiobook and Je Nie Flemming did an excellent job narrating.
I highly recommend The Boyfriend Project to rom com fans.
Full review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
Rating: really liked it
I read romantic fiction for the escapism. I like that I know the ending before I even start the book. I like that I know there are going to be two characters that are destined to be together and will have to get over a roadblock in their relationship at about the 80/85% mark that will make it seem like their relationship is doomed but it won’t be because of one last great big gesture that will have me swooning at the end.
This book gave me all of that.... (although there’s a big old but coming... more on that later!)
This novel delivered a great female MC in the form of Samiah Brooks. She’s smart, sassy, fiercely independent, and is basically just the kind of woman I wish I could be. She’s a woman who isn’t afraid to be seen as career oriented and categorises her job and career success as being hugely important to her. And what I loved about her background story was learning about how how hard she had to push herself to achieve. How much extra she had to prove herself because she’s a Black woman and how she had this incredible inner zeal. There’s this fantastic quote that I’ve got to share that really made me go woah...
”Do you have any idea how steep the hill I have to climb is just to get people in this industry to take me seriously? So many write me off the minute I walk into a room, or when they learn that the S in SBrooks at Trendsetters dot-com stands for Samiah and not Samantha or Sarah or some other ‘nonethnic’ name. I’m not a perfectionist because I want to be one, it’s because I have to be one.”
Doesn’t that just hit you right in the feels? Doesn’t it make you mad at the inequality that a Black woman faces throughout all aspects of her life just because of her skin colour and gender? I just love the Black #OwnVoices representation that this book brings to the table. Major props for that.
I also really liked the two female friends of Samiah’s that she makes early on in the novel. Samiah, London and Taylor come together (via the joys of live tweeting) when they discover that they’re all dating the same guy. He’s swiftly kicked to the curb and the ladies become besties. I assume there will be two more books in this series that will focus on these two other ladies (especially because there’s a sort of cliffhanger style ending re where one of the ladies ends up in the epilogue).
The male lead in this was where I feel the book let me down. I did really like that Daniel was mixed race, Black-Korean, and loved that this book was all about promoting and normalising diverse male romantic leads. But ughhh...
I just did not like his storyline AT ALL!
Hello spoiler alert time!!!Daniel was some sort of undercover federal agent that was assigned to work covertly in the company where Samiah worked. His job was to try and track down some sort of financial bad guys and misdeeds in the company. So basically he was lying about who he was. No one in the company knew he was undercover as he had managed to get himself hired as a coder. This meant for the entire novel (bar the last few chapters) his character identity, his dealings with Samiah etc. were all tainted by this big old lie.
And I didn’t care for it.
It kept me from rooting for them as a couple because on one hand you had Samiah who was reluctant to start a relationship because of jerk guys lying to her in the past and her wanting to put her downtime into developing an app, and then you had Daniel with his irritating inner monologue being all “oh I’m so hopelessly attracted to Samiah but I can’t reveal who I truly am to her so I must stay away...but oh no my loins won’t let me be and I must be with her no matter the risk” and I’m there like no.
NO.
NO.
NO!
DO NOT LET THIS FABULOUS WOMAN FALL FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE STRAIGHT UP LYING YOU SNIVELLING WEASEL!
UGHHHHHH
And in the climax of the storyline Daniel was an UTTER snake because after he had sex with Samiah he left her lying asleep in bed AND THEN WENT TO HER HANDBAG AND STOLE HER SECURITY PASS!
Like I know, it was his job yada yada yada... but he knowingly deceived Samiah and I basically wished him all sorts of hurt.
Oh but because this is a romance novel the two characters had to end up together.... UGHHHH PASS THE SICK BUCKET PLEASE!
His romantic grand gesture at the end made me want to scream and vomit and scream some more and vomit some more.
Oh boo hoo to you and your man pain Daniel. YOU LIED AND MANIPULATED SAMIAH AND YOU DID NOT DESERVE HER FORGIVENESS!
There was even this line in the book that had Samiah being all understanding about the greater good of his job and I’m like sure, he had a responsibility to justice and bringing down these criminals. BUT HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO UNPROFESSIONAL IN THE FIRST PLACE AND CONNED SAMIAH INTO THINKING HE WAS SOMEONE HE ISN’T.
I never wanted to see a couple break up more but sadly that didn’t happen and I’m here like ughhhhh.
So to me the plot of the novel didn’t work because there was too much deception on the part of Daniel and I didn’t feel that he was truly sorry for his actions. It just sucked and I really hope that Samiah dumps his ass if this series does continue on...
I’m so sad about this book. The beginning was soooo strong and it has a great opening with the three ladies and the twitter cheat. And there was so much to like with the great diversity, the brilliant female characters... but the romance 100% was a let down for me. I struggled to finish this book. I think it took me at least five days to slog through to the end! It just didn’t make me feel all those happy romantic comedy feels sadly.
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Rating: really liked it
In
The Boyfriend Project Samiah Brooks is captured on video calling out a shady dude who pulled the same stunts with 2 other women, Taylor and London, and the video goes viral. It’s not the type of attention Samiah needs though it does result in some welcome female friendships with Taylor and London. The 3 women commit to focusing on other projects rather than men for the next 6 months.
Samiah is a dedicated project manager at a software company in Austin and hopes to develop her own app someday. Her new coworker Daniel Collins is
not part of her plan but he’s thoughtful and good looking and well, hard to resist. Will she uphold the pact or break it, and is Daniel really a worthy guy or just another shady dude?
When
The Boyfriend Project first came out, I admit I didn’t have much interest in reading it. I judged the book by its cover which to me, implied a light romcom, a genre I don’t often seek. After seeing the book all over bookstagram though, I became curious and I’m glad I gave it a shot as I ended up really enjoying it! I appreciated the independent, ambitious women Samiah and her friends were, I liked Daniel, felt the chemistry was believable, and enjoyed the dialogue in this modern, entertaining story.
