ARC Review: The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

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?

• Title: The Dating Playbook 
• Author: Farrah Rochon
• Publisher: Forever
• Genre: Contemporary, Romance
• Age Range: Adult
• Content warnings: death of a friend, grief, injury, hospital scenes, car accident, anxiety
• Rating: ★★★★

I’m relatively new to the world of sports romance  — Check, Please is the only other “sports romance” that comes to mind, actually, but I couldn’t help but find the description of The Dating Playbook to be incredibly intriguing!

The Dating Playbook is the second book in The Boyfriend Project series, although it stands completely on its own, and has some of the best rom com tropes! The Dating Playbook follows personal trainer, Taylor, who is struggling to get her business off the ground. When former footballer Jamar Dixon approaches Taylor to be his personal trainer, she figures it’s the perfect opportunity to make a deal: she’ll be his personal trainer for two months if he’ll endorse her company at the end. It’s a steadfast way to pay off her debt, and get herself back on her feet — Jamar’s only catch is that no one can know what he’s doing. And when they get spotted together in public, it’s only natural that their cover is that they’re dating.

There was so much to love about The Dating Playbook, but what I want to start with is how much I appreciate the way Taylor was written with so much care and compassion. Taylor is undoubtedly a heroine that you can’t help but love, even though some of her choices had me a little frustrated at times. One of my favorite things about The Dating Playbook is how Taylor didn’t need go to college in order to start her business — as well as how it mentioned how people are quick to judge based on if someone goes to college or not. Throughout The Dating Playbook, Taylor is considering the idea of going back to college, but often hits a mental roadblock at the thought of more education. Without giving too much away, Taylor realizes that she has a learning disability, as well as ADHD, and it was really powerful to see that representation on paper. 

Taylor and Jamar were wonderful to read about. There was so much tension and chemistry between them, and while I’m not a fan of insta-love, I felt like this one wasn’t reminiscent of a typical insta-love, and they felt properly developed. I loved their banter, but more importantly, I felt like they really wanted the other person to succeed, and be truly happy. Taylor and Jamar weren’t afraid to give each other the hard-hitting truths they needed to hear, and came together as a team. And the fake-dating, forced proximity, hurt/comfort tropes? Just absolutely lovely. 

One of my favorite things about The Dating Playbook was the message about how sometimes your initial career plan isn’t what’s right for you, and how there are multiple ways to best use your skill set. Following Taylor and Jamar on their journey to figuring out what was the right path for them was wonderful to read about. 

I read the entirety of The Dating Playbook all in one sitting, and couldn’t put it down! I felt like it was well-paced, and resonated with the way Rochon writes. As I’m not a sports person (far from it), I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Dating Playbook, and all it had to offer. I wasn’t turned off by any of the sports conversations, and I appreciated that any conversations about football or sports were contextualized quite often. I don’t think my lack of sports-knowledge pulled me out of the book, nor did I have to stop and google concepts! 

I also loved reading about Taylor’s friends, and am so excited to go back and read The Boyfriend Project to find out more about Samiah’s story — and I cannot wait for London’s story as well. As I’m not Black, I highly recommend also checking out ownvoices reviews. 

Links for The Dating Playbook: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound