Passion Project Book Review
In today’s blog post I’ll be sharing my Passion Project book review. This new release by London Sperry is a challenging read as it covers difficult topics like grief of a loved one, and learning to move on. The main character was hard to like. And it made the story difficult to read at times. I kept waiting for her stop being awful to people and yet… it never really came.
Maybe it’s my fault for not reading what the book was about before I picked it up. I was just so taken by the beautiful and colorful book cover. Haha!
What is Passion Project by London Sperry About?
If your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life, Bennet Taylor is failing miserably . . . with a big emphasis on the miserable. Where’s that zest she keeps hearing about? She’s a temp worker in New York City with no direction, no future, and no social life. And at the painful center of this listlessness is grief over the death of her first love.
When Bennet runs into Henry Adams just hours after standing him up for a first date, she makes an alcohol-fueled confession: She’s not ready to date. In fact, it’s been years since she felt passion for something. Not even pottery, or organized sports—not anything. Rather than leaving her to ruminate, Henry jumps at the opportunity for adventure: Bennet needs to find a passion for life, and Henry will help her find it. Every Saturday, they’ll try something new in New York City. As friends, of course.
As their “passion project” continues, the pair tackle everything from carpentry to tattooing to rappelling off skyscrapers, and Bennet feels her guarded exterior ebbing away. But as secrets surface, Bennet has to decide what she wants, and if she’s truly ready to move on. With emotional resonance and sparkling banter, Passion Project is a fun, flirty, thoughtful story of finding a spark—and igniting happiness. (from Amazon.com)
My Initial Thoughts
I don’t normally enjoy reading books where the main character is grieving. That’s just a personal choice. If given the choice, I will always choose the story that’s romantic and happy and funny. So Bennet was a really hard character for me to like. I mean, the first time we meet her she’s puking in a bathroom after ghosting on a blind date from a dating app. It’s pretty rough.
But let’s be real. We’ve all had times in our lives when we don’t make the best choices. And I also really wanted to give Bennet a hug. Lol. I wasn’t sure why she was struggling so much but I knew she was going through it. And it’s so hard to watch that.
Bennet is going through a lot in this story. So I buckled myself in and kept reading. This contemporary romance is so much more than a romance. It’s about two people finding each other at the most inopportune time, and helping each other through hard things. This wasn’t my favorite book to read but I respect the story and I respect the themes behind the story.
The First Couple of Chapters Were So Real
When the book opens, Bennet is about to go on her first date in a very long time. And she is nervous. It’s so relatable. Later on we learn that she is trying desperately to get over the death of her boyfriend, who passed away very unexpectedly. I was cringing so hard and yet I was also feeling a lot of empathy for Bennet. She could have made better choices, but she was out there trying to make a change in her life. She was trying to move on. And that is very admirable.
The Passion Project
I loved how Henry and Bennet went around town trying new things together. At the beginning of the story, Bennet isn’t sure what her passion in life is. She’s working temp jobs to make it by in NYC, but what does she really love? She’s not sure. She and Henry begin going on adventures around the city trying out new hobbies, classes, and jobs.
It’s perfect romantic comedy fodder. But while the storyline did make me smile at times (mostly because of Henry) I just didn’t feel that happy while reading it. Every scene had the messiness of grief woven into it. Henry may have been a swoonworthy hero, but I just didn’t find this story that romantic.
Sal is a Gem
One part of this story that I really loved is Sal. Bennet meets him at one of her temp jobs (they work together at the library) and he’s a middle aged man who is excited beyond belief to become a grandfather soon. His daughter is pregnant and he’s so excited to share her ultrasound photos with Bennet and Henry. Haha. It’s so sweet and I love the friendship that he builds with Bennet (and Henry).
He even starts a group chat on facebook and begins spamming them with all kinds of information about his future grandchild.
My Other Favorite Part
I also really liked when Henry and Bennet transformed the roof of her apartment building into a rooftop oasis for her roommate. It felt like something that they would have done on Friends. Haha. I just love stories that are set in NYC. Probably because I’ve always lived in the suburbs and I have no idea what city living for new yorkers is like.
I Felt Unsatisfied by the Ending
This story really made me hurt until the very end. And that’s because of Bennet and Bennet’s grief. Up until the final scenes she was so self absorbed and not thinking about anyone but herself. I felt horrible for how she treated Henry. I really wanted her to wise up and realize that she might need therapy to help her deal with her heavy emotions and trauma from her ex boyfriends accident.
There’s a little bit of closure where Henry and Bennet move in together and Bennet decides she wants to be a grief counselor. But it really would have made me feel better if she had mentioned going to therapy or getting help herself, because she really needed it. She was really a shell of her former self for a majority of the book.
With that Being Said…
I didn’t love this book because the plot just didn’t work for me. But that’s not to say it’s a bad book. Because it’s not. There was some charm to this story. And I really enjoyed Henry and his personality. He really challenged Bennet to get out of her comfort zone and talk to new people. As an introvert, I also find that difficult to do.
You Might Like This Book If:
You’re empathetic to mental health struggles. You enjoy slow burn romances. You relate to flawed characters. You’re part of the Abby Jimenez fans or Emily Henry fans. You enjoy stories with deep emotion. You like stories with personal growth and emotional depth. You’re just a fan of romance novels in general.
In Conclusion
Thanks for checking out my Passion Project book review. This new contemporary romance release by London Sperry covers so much more than romance in this story. There are moments of sorrow and moments of joy. And I hope my honest review explains that this is a thoughtful and well written story that will appeal to a lot of readers. But it was a little too sad for me.
