The Boyfriend Project (The Boyfriend Project #1)

By: Farrah Rochon

Blurb:

Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor-have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .

For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?

Review:

This is the second book I’ve read that involved going viral on Twitter, and I’m finding the whole idea interesting. It’s not anything I’ve ever thought about, but once I did, I could see why it would not be a good thing. Why it would cause someone a lot of stress. I’ve never wanted to become Twitter famous, and The Boyfriend Project didn’t have people going crazy, but the invasion of privacy seems awful.

Anyway, Samiah (really love her name) is a super-smart programmer. She’s worked her butt off to succeed in her career and let other things fall to the wayside. After being conned by someone clearly beneath her, she ends up making two new friends. The three women bond and push each other to resist trying to conform to society’s expectations. Their friendship was great. Even though it wasn’t the main focus of the book, it was still something I loved.

Daniel is a man that loves his country and is doing what he can to make it a better place. While I can appreciate that, it’s not the positive it used to be. However, I tried to set that aside. Daniel was the perfect modern man. He made his interest known without being pushy. Consent was important to him, and that went to everything, not just sex. Meaning he wasn’t going around touching people’s arms or offering hugs unless he asked permission first. That may seem like too much, but considering the book was set in a tech company, I thought it was an excellent addition. It certainly set him apart from other people in the industry, even though the company in the book was more progressive than most.

I thought that Rochon did a good job mentioning the issues faced by women, especially women of color, in tech. It’s an industry I’m familiar with, even though I hadn’t worked directly in it for some years. I appreciated that the issues weren’t glossed over or ignored.

Due to the nature of Daniel’s job, his and Samiah’s relationship seems doomed, but I liked how things were worked out. There weren’t big egos that had to be worked with, so that helped. They were both confident in their abilities while still struggling with other issues. The Boyfriend Project was a fun read that I really enjoyed.

4/5