A review by now_booking
The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was an immensely cute and emotional and relatable read and a fantastic second installment to the Boyfriend Project series. This novel features Taylor, a second member of the friend group that formed in Book 1 when three women found out they were dating the same no-good Craig and went viral. No worries if you haven’t read Book 1 though, this stands alone perfectly well and even being a stickler for reading series in order, I am happy enough recommending that you can start with this book if you want.
The premise is that Taylor, despite her best efforts, is struggling to make a success of her personal training fitness business, when she gets the opportunity of a lifetime to train Jamar, an injured NFL player who’s trying to make a comeback. The only problem is that he doesn’t want the added pressure of the media knowing he’s attempting a comeback and so when discovery is imminent, they engage in a fake dating relationship to throw everyone of. The only problem is that they’ve caught feelings for one another but there’s no way Taylor is going to hook up with a client, especially having been burnt before in the past.
I’m usually a little 🙄 about the fake dating trope. It’s not one I typically gravitate towards because it’s so unrealistic. But I loved the way it developed here. What’s great about this one is that with Taylor and Jamar, there is strong character development, and these are the sorts of characters that everyone can relate to- we’ve all battled insecurity and the feeling of not being good enough, we all know what it feels like to have broken dreams, and most people are acquainted with grief in some form. Outside of that, Taylor had so many real elements to her that I thought aren’t necessarily always romance heroine characteristics- for example she’s tangibly in debt but trying to hide it from those around her, and she struggles with an undiagnosed learning disability which she only realizes as an adult despite having struggled all her life.
The way this is written with the emotion and support and gentleness wrapped in humour and one liners and a well-executed flirtation made this an absolute joy to read. There is angst because of the baggage both characters carry, but it is bearable and you wouldn’t call this high angst. The love languages are well captured here and the protagonists have many swoon-worthy moments in how they show love and support. They actually communicate (novel idea for a romance) and when they don’t, there is a conversation about not communicating in the moment. The conflict here is mostly internal and due to (character) growing pains and never lies or flimsy misunderstandings that could be cleared with a single conversation. This is a soothing and comforting, unproblematic sort of read. I enjoyed the normalized representation of disabilities from deafness to learning disabilities to ADHD without making this a book about any of those issues or having to intro and fetishize any of those issues- and make them main character traits. There is a good level of heat, but it’s also not an erotic romance.
This is Black romance featuring two Black main characters but there are no cultural markers of race or ethnicity except that the heroine got braids- not that I was expecting Ebonics or anything cliched but these characters were very ethnically neutral. Personally, I was fine with this, the characters still felt very well-developed, but these characters could have as well have been white or any other ethnicity. This sort of neutrality can be both a positive thing allowing the characters to not be race-related by cultural experiences so that they’re “relatable” to all readers because ultimately we’re all human and can all relate to the thematic issues the characters face. But it can also be a negative thing that makes characters a little bland. I can categorically say that these characters weren’t at all bland so this wasn’t a huge issue for me- it’s just something I noticed.
On the whole, I found this to be really well/balanced and a really nice book. I enjoyed this and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a nice calming read. My caveat is that this is a book about a fitnessgram personal trainer- it is thus, by definition riddled with diet culture and somewhat orthorexic statements by the heroine on nutrition and fitness- bearing in mind that Taylor works with clients with stringent weight loss or fitness goals. If you might be triggered (e.g. have or have had an ED), as lovely as this is, it might be one to skip.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The premise is that Taylor, despite her best efforts, is struggling to make a success of her personal training fitness business, when she gets the opportunity of a lifetime to train Jamar, an injured NFL player who’s trying to make a comeback. The only problem is that he doesn’t want the added pressure of the media knowing he’s attempting a comeback and so when discovery is imminent, they engage in a fake dating relationship to throw everyone of. The only problem is that they’ve caught feelings for one another but there’s no way Taylor is going to hook up with a client, especially having been burnt before in the past.
I’m usually a little 🙄 about the fake dating trope. It’s not one I typically gravitate towards because it’s so unrealistic. But I loved the way it developed here. What’s great about this one is that with Taylor and Jamar, there is strong character development, and these are the sorts of characters that everyone can relate to- we’ve all battled insecurity and the feeling of not being good enough, we all know what it feels like to have broken dreams, and most people are acquainted with grief in some form. Outside of that, Taylor had so many real elements to her that I thought aren’t necessarily always romance heroine characteristics- for example she’s tangibly in debt but trying to hide it from those around her, and she struggles with an undiagnosed learning disability which she only realizes as an adult despite having struggled all her life.
The way this is written with the emotion and support and gentleness wrapped in humour and one liners and a well-executed flirtation made this an absolute joy to read. There is angst because of the baggage both characters carry, but it is bearable and you wouldn’t call this high angst. The love languages are well captured here and the protagonists have many swoon-worthy moments in how they show love and support. They actually communicate (novel idea for a romance) and when they don’t, there is a conversation about not communicating in the moment. The conflict here is mostly internal and due to (character) growing pains and never lies or flimsy misunderstandings that could be cleared with a single conversation. This is a soothing and comforting, unproblematic sort of read. I enjoyed the normalized representation of disabilities from deafness to learning disabilities to ADHD without making this a book about any of those issues or having to intro and fetishize any of those issues- and make them main character traits. There is a good level of heat, but it’s also not an erotic romance.
This is Black romance featuring two Black main characters but there are no cultural markers of race or ethnicity except that the heroine got braids- not that I was expecting Ebonics or anything cliched but these characters were very ethnically neutral. Personally, I was fine with this, the characters still felt very well-developed, but these characters could have as well have been white or any other ethnicity. This sort of neutrality can be both a positive thing allowing the characters to not be race-related by cultural experiences so that they’re “relatable” to all readers because ultimately we’re all human and can all relate to the thematic issues the characters face. But it can also be a negative thing that makes characters a little bland. I can categorically say that these characters weren’t at all bland so this wasn’t a huge issue for me- it’s just something I noticed.
On the whole, I found this to be really well/balanced and a really nice book. I enjoyed this and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a nice calming read. My caveat is that this is a book about a fitnessgram personal trainer- it is thus, by definition riddled with diet culture and somewhat orthorexic statements by the heroine on nutrition and fitness- bearing in mind that Taylor works with clients with stringent weight loss or fitness goals. If you might be triggered (e.g. have or have had an ED), as lovely as this is, it might be one to skip.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Ableism