London Sperry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 - 4 stars
Between liked it and really liked it

I’ve had Passion Project sitting on my shelf for a while. I originally planned to read it a few months ago, but I had just finished a few grief-heavy romances (like P.S. I Hate You and Promise Me Sunshine) and knew I needed a little emotional break. That ended up being the right call, I think. I appreciated this story more by giving it some space instead of reading it back-to-back with similar themes and show more unintentionally comparing them.

Passion Project follows Bennet Taylor, a young woman in New York City who feels lost and weighed down by grief. When she meets Henry, he encourages her to try something new every Saturday in search of passion and purpose. As their adventures unfold, Bennet begins to heal, rediscover joy, and consider opening her heart again.
The book explores what it looks like to move forward without moving on.

What I 🥰 Loved:
* The underlying theme that you can love someone you lost and still allow yourself to love again
* The exploration of grief without rushing the healing process
* The special moments-especially the tattoos, the $10 bill (betting on each other moment), and the baseball, which tied together friendship, memory, and closure in a really meaningful way

This isn’t a perfect book, but it’s a heartfelt one. It captures the messy middle of grief and healing in a way that feels authentic, even when it’s frustrating. It’s tender, a little imperfect, but ultimately hopeful and I’m glad I read it. 💛

Spoilers 🛑🛑🛑 Below:

Bennett is a complicated main character. At times, I found her very relatable in her grief journey, and at other times, she was hard to root for. But honestly… I got her. Grief isn’t clean or likable, and it doesn’t follow a neat timeline. Losing someone that close, especially a significant other, and unexpectedly, would be a lot to process. It makes sense that she pushed people away and struggled to re-engage with life feeling guilty when she felt an ounce of happiness or joy. I actually appreciated how realistic that felt. I think readers who were frustrated with her may not have experienced that kind of loss in the same way, because her behavior, while difficult, felt very human to me.

That said… the miscommunication breakup trope at the end really irritated me. 🙄 That was the moment I struggled with Bennett the most. It felt avoidable and a little frustrating after everything she had already worked through.

I also wish we had gotten more insight into Bennett’s relationship with Sam before he passed. More glimpses of their life together, her friendships, and who she was before the loss. I think that would’ve added depth and helped build even more empathy for her character.

Henry, on the other hand… he was the standout. So sweet, patient, and steady, the kind of character you can’t help but love. However, there was one moment that felt off for me: when he was upset about not being introduced as her boyfriend to Sam’s parents. That didn’t sit right.

Given the situation, Bennett’s instinct to be sensitive and protective of that family felt completely valid. Although, I think they should’ve agreed upon this prior to him agreeing to come with her to the wedding… instead of throwing it on him once they were at the wedding destination.

Honestly, bringing him at all felt questionable, and I wish that entire scenario had been handled differently. It didn’t quite align with Henry’s otherwise thoughtful character.

By the end, I was really glad to see Bennett grow and to accept that happiness doesn’t mean forgetting, and that it’s okay to carry love for the past while stepping into something new. That tension is so real, and it resonated with me personally. show less

I love this book. Bennet was such a relatable character. I lost a best friend last year, and I still struggle with grief. And I also have always struggled with depression and anxiety like Bennet. During every part of Bennet's journey, I could see myself or different points in my life, and it was so nice to know that other people understand and have been through similar situations. Representation is important, and in my case, it was important because I tend to isolate and think I'm the only show more one dealing with this kind of stuff when I spiral. I'd recommend this book for that reason, but I also advise caution because this book can also be triggering. Triggers include: death, grief, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, car accident, pregnancy, dementia, sexual content (and probably more that I'm missing).

Now for the romance, I liked the development of the romance. I liked that it wasn't instalove. This was a good friends to lovers. Henry was a good character who was also dealing with his own issues. And I kind of wish we got more of him dealing with stuff. I don't think I needed this book to be dual perspective, but I think a few strategically placed chapters from Henry's POV would have been good. I wouldn't say that that's a critique I have; the book isn't missing anything because of the lack of Henry's perspective. I just came to love the characters so much that I wanted more; I wanted to understand them more. I'd recommend this book if you really like romance stories that have a little more depth and deal with tough topics.

P.S. This book made me sob a lot. show less

London Sperry did an amazing job writing characters you fall in love with and root for. At times it was cringy in the most real and raw way. I say that as a positive thing. I suffered some 2nd hand embarrassment from Bennet multiple times but life is messy. Grief, depression, and anxiety are messy and Sperry demonstrates that perfectly! Sometimes we get so in our heads we forget how to get out and truly live. Thank God for people like Henry who help us through the struggle and show us we are show more more than the past or whatever brings us to that dark place. show less

Made me laugh, made me cry, smacked a bit structurally not artistically of glitterland, a bit. I really enjoyed this until the end.