The Dating Playbook

Score: 4.5/5 Bookmarks

Steam Rating: 🍆🍆🍆 /5

A big thank you to Forever Publishing for gifting me a digital review copy of The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon and to LoveARCtually for hosting some traveling arc fun with a physical copy!

Oh I loved this book! How can I care so little about actual football but love football (or football-adjacent) romances so darn much?! To be fair, after loving The Boyfriend Project (the first in this series) I knew I'd love this one, and it didn't disappoint.

Taylor Powell (who we met in the last book) is a personal trainer, but things aren't going so hot right now and she's struggling to get her business off the ground and pay her bills. At a pop-up bootcamp session, she meets Jamar Dixon who's trying to work his way back into the NFL after blowing out his knee early in his career. He thinks Taylor is just the trainer to help him, but he wants to keep it all under the radar.

When a nosy reporter starts asking questions about the two of them Taylor blurts out that they're dating, so as not to blow Jamar's plan. Obviously, the more time they spend together the more undeniable their chemistry is. But they both have goals they're working hard for and don't want to jeopardize, plus they each have a healthy amount of issues they need to work through before they can really commit to another person.

I loved both of the main characters so much. They felt like people I've known all my life, and I just wanted to hug the book at the end. Plus, the female friendships in the book are just amazing. It'll make you chuckle, and it will make you cry, and basically feel all the feelings. Farrah Rochon has done it again folks!

Synopsis:

When a personal trainer agrees to fake date her client, all rules are out the window in this delightful romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Boyfriend Project!

When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor needs more than the support of her new best friends, Samiah and London. She needs a miracle.

And Jamar Dixon might just be it. The oh-so-fine former footballer wants back into the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. There's just one catch -- no one can know what they're doing. But when they're accidentally outed as a couple, Taylor's game plan is turned completely upside down. Is Jamar just playing to win . . . or is he playing for keeps?