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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first book by Farrah Rochon that I’ve read, and while The Dating Playbook didn’t wow me, I appreciated the humor and the message of female empowerment. It’s particularly refreshing that the story features smart, independent black women.
I really enjoyed the fun relationship between the three best friends, especially the way they support and encourage each other. I only wish their individual personalities stood out more. Taylor is a strong woman who is determined to grow her business as a personal trainer and nutritionist. Her friends are thriving professionally, but she is struggling. However, despite her insecurities and financial troubles, Taylor never gives up and is never bitter.
There is nothing to dislike about Taylor or Jamar; it’s just that their romance feels a little stale. In order to be fully invested in them as a couple, I wanted to experience a great buildup of attraction, tension, and conflict. Much of their time together is spent focusing on Jamar’s diet and exercise plan so that he can get his body back into shape for the NFL. The problem is I’m a couch potato and am not terribly interested in nutrition and fitness. Truthfully, I was bored sometimes.
Even though I have mixed feelings about this book, I’m definitely interested in reading more work by Ms. Rochon.
Recommended for fans of:
Workouts
Nutrition
Gal pals
I really enjoyed the fun relationship between the three best friends, especially the way they support and encourage each other. I only wish their individual personalities stood out more. Taylor is a strong woman who is determined to grow her business as a personal trainer and nutritionist. Her friends are thriving professionally, but she is struggling. However, despite her insecurities and financial troubles, Taylor never gives up and is never bitter.
There is nothing to dislike about Taylor or Jamar; it’s just that their romance feels a little stale. In order to be fully invested in them as a couple, I wanted to experience a great buildup of attraction, tension, and conflict. Much of their time together is spent focusing on Jamar’s diet and exercise plan so that he can get his body back into shape for the NFL. The problem is I’m a couch potato and am not terribly interested in nutrition and fitness. Truthfully, I was bored sometimes.
Even though I have mixed feelings about this book, I’m definitely interested in reading more work by Ms. Rochon.
Recommended for fans of:
Workouts
Nutrition
Gal pals
I am not a fan of romance… not as a genre and not as a concept, but this was plain old joyful. I laughed out loud so many times and absolutely enjoyed the whole story.
3 stars!
I don’t know how to fully feel about this one. It was cute, it was good, but it also didn’t blow me away. It’s somewhere in the middle, hence the 3 stars.
I don’t know how to fully feel about this one. It was cute, it was good, but it also didn’t blow me away. It’s somewhere in the middle, hence the 3 stars.
The Dating Playbook is a fun fake dating romance trope between Taylor, a personal trainer, and her client, Jamar, a former NFL player hoping to return to the game. I’m a sucker for a fake dating trope but throw an athlete into the mix, and I’m all about it. I did to a hybrid read/listen. The narrator was so fantastic and added an extra element giving voices to these characters. I enjoyed the chemistry between Taylor and Jamar, and it felt natural. I honestly did not want this story to end!
Thank you, Forever, for this complimentary copy for my honest review.
Thank you, Forever, for this complimentary copy for my honest review.
These character's just hit right, I was all in on this relationship from the beginning also I'm so glad I guessed that a certain line would be said at the end, it made me giggle to myself.
Spoiler
To paraphrase, "We're going to Disney baby!"
I wanted to like this book. I truly wanted to get wrapped into a romance novel and be swooned alongside the characters, but that didn't happen. For most of the book we toy with the "I want to but I can't because of professionalism" trope and then it's swiftly canned. The story in its foundation could be great. Except Taylor doesn't grow as a character in ways that resonate with my reading of her. For most of the book, I'm wondering if there's anyone she actually likes in life. The internal moments are not there to hold her together. Jamar on the other hand seems to have solid reflections from time to time. This book was very ambitious and I wanted more out of it.
I wanted to like this book. Fake dating is one of my favorite romance tropes, and we have a young hot athlete falling hard for his personal trainer? Yes please.
Unfortunately, all the focus on nutrition and the diet Taylor puts Jamar on just kept pulling me out of the book. I’m not a nutritionist to a pro athlete, but even I know that they eat way more calories than Taylor was allowing. And honestly I just *hate* diet talk in all forms. There were other things about this I didn’t love, but that’s the piece that really kept me from being able to sink in and enjoy this.
Unfortunately, all the focus on nutrition and the diet Taylor puts Jamar on just kept pulling me out of the book. I’m not a nutritionist to a pro athlete, but even I know that they eat way more calories than Taylor was allowing. And honestly I just *hate* diet talk in all forms. There were other things about this I didn’t love, but that’s the piece that really kept me from being able to sink in and enjoy this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia