I’ve been indulging in romance novels. Funny thing is, I always  shied away from reading this genre because I thought it was just too much for me to read. Then I hit 30 years old. Once I hit 30, I no longer wanted to read the heavy hitting, deep, traumatic stuff. I can no longer sit and read about black trauma and slavery. Please, I’m sorry, I can’t do any historical nonfiction or fiction that brings black trauma to light. We all know that us Black Americans continue to go through a lot of injustices but do I want to continue to read about it? No. Please pour me a glass of Cabernet so that I can sit down and read this romance novel. I want to feel good and loved. I want to feel light and fluffy. I need escapism. This genre is doing that for me and from the looks of the romance aisle at Barnes & Nobles this Friday, I am not alone.

I stopped reading Colleen Hoover and picked up romance novels written by Black Authors. Representation matters and I wanted to read books with characters that looked like me and that I can see myself in. So I put Colleen down and picked up a book that I found at Target. I started with, “The Hookup Plan” by Farrah Rochon. I dived so deep into this book before reading reviews on Amazon. When I did get the chance to see what people were saying about this book, I discovered that “The Hookup Plan” was the third book of a series. Got Damnnit. I said. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me. I tend to grab a book without checking to see if it is a part of series, then again, why didn’t Target have the entire series there labeled as Book #1, Book #2, Book #3? That would have been a nice touch too, you know? I digress. I immediately ordered the two other books in the series, “The Boyfriend Project” and “The Dating Playbook”.

Here is a little summary of “The Hookup Plan”:

Strong female friendships and a snappy enemies-to-lovers theme take center stage in this highly anticipated romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Dating Playbook.

Successful pediatric surgeon London Kelley just needs to find some balance and de-stress. According to her friends Samiah and Taylor, what London really needs is a casual hookup. A night of fun with no strings. But no one—least of all London—expected it to go down at her high school reunion with Drew Sullivan, millionaire, owner of delicious abs, and oh yes, her archnemesis.

Now London is certain the road to hell is paved with good sex. Because she’s found out the real reason Drew’s back in Austin: to decide whether her beloved hospital remains open. Worse, Drew is doing everything he can to show her that he’s a decent guy who actually cares. But London’s not falling for it. Because while sleeping with the enemy is one thing, falling for him is definitely not part of the plan.

My Thoughts (Spoiler Alert):

“The Hookup Plan” is sexy, fun, flirty and light. I love that the story is told from both Dr. London Kelly’s and Drew Sullivan’s perspectives. I loved how we see true friendship, a woman with an amazing career and a man that is successful in his own right. We see a career driven woman who doesn’t even want to have children. Having that added in there was a nice touch. I loved seeing that. It differed from many other books of women who just want to meet a wonderful man and raise a family. Not everyone wants to have children.  I also loved that the characters were in their 30s!  It’s so refreshing to read a story that has characters that you can relate to. There’s no hint of a struggle love in sight and I love that for us, however, Dr. Kelly annoyed me at times. There were times in which I wanted her to dive headfirst in a relationship with Drew. Hooking up was fun at first,  but after a while I thought, “Okay so what are we doing here Drew and Dr. Kelly? Are ya’ll going to be together or what?”  I was satisfied when she finally took a leap of faith.

‘I’ve been in love with the idea of you for more than a decade,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘But now, after getting to know the real you, to say I’m in love feels inadequate. I’m not sure what the words are for how I feel, I just know it’s a feeling I never want to lose’

The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon

I also wanted her to take the job in Chicago but then again, I understand why she didn’t. I wanted her to get out of her head for ONCE and just take another leap of faith. I wanted that for her, but she didn’t. 

All in all, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I’m excited to read the entire series and discuss it with you all here. Here’s to reading books that make us feel sexy and fun. Happy New Year folks!