The Boyfriend Project

by Farrah Rochon

[Sam@WLABB]

You know what they say, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," and Samiah was far too intelligent to let it happen again. After being catfished by her alleged "boyfriend", Samiah and the other two women he was stringing along, agreed to take the next six months to eschew men, and use that time to put themselves first, calling this plan The Boyfriend Project. But, then she met Daniel, and began questioning her plans.

This was a workplace romance with a twist, and I rather enjoyed it. The book had all the makings for a story that was sure to win me over.

• It was funny. The set up premise alone had me chuckling, but there was humor throughout the book, which kept me smiling.

• Samiah was an incredible woman. I think if I only saw that viral video, I would have been intimidated by her, but the more I learned about Samiah, the more I admired and respected her. Samiah rose up through the ranks of her tech company due to her intelligence, hard work, and grit. She also KNEW she was phenomenal at her job, and was not ashamed to claim her crown. I love seeing that in a woman, because we have been conditioned to not flaunt our skills, while men can crow all they want. So, good for Samiah! But, it wasn't enough for her to just be amazing at her job, she wanted to support and encourage other women, especially women of color, to reach for their dreams, and she wanted to help them realize their aspirations as well. Her ambition and desire to give back made her a standout heroine.

• Samiah + Daniel = Something Special. I loved these two together. They were both fighting the attraction for so long, but the whole time, I was treated to their spectacular banter and electric interactions. Daniel presented as Samiah's unicorn man. She had shared a list of things she wished she had gotten out of other relationships, and there was Daniel, doing those things, checking all the boxes. I loved it! They also had this mutual respect for each other. Combine that with all the little things they did to show affection, and I was fully onboard this ship. Watching these two together was such a pleasure, and it made me wish there was a bit more of the romance in the story.

• Female friendship for the win! Though they were brought together under less than desirable circumstances, an incredible friendship formed between Samiah, Taylor, and London (the other catfished women). They joked around, calling themselves "Squad Goals", but they really lived up to the name. The beauty of their friendship was in how different they were, yet how much they complimented each other. They pushed each other out of their comfort zones, and supported one another as they took those chances. The focus on friendship filled that romance hole for me, and I was happy it was a bigger part of the story.

Overall: I felt like this book had it all. A standout heroine, fabulous unicorn-man hero, sweet romance, and a fantastic friendship were the driving forces for me, but I also appreciated the author taking on issues of gender and racial inequality in the workplace. Rochon expertly combined all these elements to produce a wonderful story, which has me eagerly awaiting the other Boyfriend Project books.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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