I hate myself for taking so long to read this one. It was a great story!!

This is the perfect second chance romance without any steam. Best friends Aly and Dylan grew up together, went through some hardships in their teens and eventually lost contact. Aly’s coworkers realize that every single man Aly ever dated ends up becoming their best selves after they break up. Her friends/coworkers and her come up with a side hustle to help women mold their partners into what they need. They have a good thing going but hit it big with a super famous social media influencer, Nicki, reaches out for help.

Aly sees Dylan again, but this time she’s been hired by his social media influencer girlfriend to get Dylan to take his tech business seriously and to propose to her within 30 days! NO PROBLEM, if only he isn’t the love of her life and acted like they were complete strangers when he sees her again!

This book was fun! The commentary was hilarious and other than a few oddities, this book was paced so well making it super bingeable.

Perfect if you love:
-second chance romance
-childhood friends to lovers
-witty banter
-found family in friends
-personal growth

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group-Putnam, and the Author for this eARC!

I enjoyed this book. Aly was not my favorite. I think she could have been more likable. The side characters especially Eric was fabulous! I enjoyed the humor and the writing.

This was a fun beach read. There were times when it was a bit far-fetched and times when it was a bit too predictable, but overall I enjoyed it. Perfect for when I was in the mood for something light..

If this was a women’s fiction book, I would give it a 4/5 stars. It has some really good thought provoking moments on what YOU deserve as a woman/parter/daughter which i really liked

If this was a romance book, would give it a 1/5 stars. The MMC is with SOMEONE ELSE for literally 90% of the book. The couple doesn’t get together until the very last chapter!

The minor characters were way more like-able then the main characters :( i think if the book was redone with Eric as the main character and it follows his relationship, this would have been a 5/5 romance book for me. But Aly trying to fix someone she’s in love with, Dylan being in love with Aly while with someone else, just is icky to me.

The Fixer Upper is filled with swoons and simple romantic gestures and feels a little like a cable rom-com.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

3.5, rounded up for Good Reads

I really liked the premise of this book. I thought it was a fun take on the "hiring someone to teach you dating" trope. It was a quick read and I'm excited to see what else this author comes up with. I really liked the character development and growth in some of the characters and really rooted for Aly. This was such a fun beach read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Honestly, this ended up being such a disappointment. I wouldn't describe it as a romance - and maybe it wasn't actually supposed to be and that was my own assumption based on the synopsis, which colored my enjoyment. While I found the overall concept interested it also felt kind of icky - why should I root for this couple when she's going to be manipulating him and he's in another relationship for so much of the story? I felt like there was so little actual conversation between them that we saw.

I did like seeing Aly stand up for herself but I really hated how much lying and manipulation (however well intentioned) was involved in the whole story)

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was very annoyed for most of the book.
Didnt enjoy the miscommunication trope at all and the third act breakup felt ridiculous.

This was fine. It was a cute women's fiction and made me laugh throughout reading. I liked the way Aly and Dylan grew throughout the book.

There was something deeply relatable to me about a main character who spends her life fixing everyone around only to still feel a little broken inside herself.

The twist is such a good one and I really enjoyed the dynamics and inner struggles for these two main characters. It was an interesting take on a wedding planner style scenario and I loved every second.

Overall a very cute rom com with more giggle worthy moments than I expected!

“In this funny and sharp romantic comedy, a woman with a knack for turning her boyfriends’ lives around starts a professional service to help wrangle men, only to be unexpectedly matched with an old flame.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review!

If you’re looking for a book that includes:
• Second chance
• Friends-to-enemies-to-lovers
• Women’s rights

…then pick up this book and see how you feel!

This book had an interesting twist to it. While it wasn’t a traditional rom-com, it was witty, humorous, intriguing, and displays women in society.

I thought Aly’s backstory was interesting. It was a refreshing concept and it had fun side characters along the way.

That being said, I had a difficult time connecting to the characters and plot.

I'm a sucker for a good second-chance romance, and this one did not disappoint. THE FIXER UPPER by Lauren Forsythe is a delightfully charming romcom!

This is my second @Laurenforsythe book and I fee like she might be my new British romcom author. The plot is a little out there but the characters are charming and the lead is very smart and capable at her job - so many romcoms feature ditzy or dumb women, It’s always nice to see someone capable.

This was a fast paced, sweet read with second chance vibes and friends to lovers. did not realize this book was closed door. Which is fine, but I just usually prefer a bit of spice.

A cute book about a woman who finds herself always "fixing up" her boyfriends before they break up and turning them successful without her. She realizes this and turns it into a new business helping others to get their boyfriends on track. However, she finds herself in a situation where she is working to fix up a new client's boyfriend who just so happens to be a blast from her past.

Sweet, feel good romance. Heavy on the miscommunication trope which was a big minus for me. Overall, it was entertaining but not my cup of tea.

TL;DR:
- 3.25 stars
- Content warnings: toxic family relationships
- Heavier on the women's lit than romance second-chance-once-friends-now-enemies-to-lovers type vibe.

Loved:
- Aly + her sidekicks Tola and Eric were lovely. They made the book for me.
- The writing was very witty and full of banter - British authors do that in a way that many others can't and we should be thankful for that!!
- Aly's relationship with her mom was so heartbreaking - but it was very real. Her mother had the best lines in the whole book. Lots of wisdom.

Less into:
- I think this was women's lit more than it was romance by a long stretch. (And I don't use women's lit in a derogatory way! It's just not a love story to me.) I see in the other reviews, even from higher ratings than me, that most other people note this too. I went into this wanting a romance and getting far more main character development from Aly than I was expecting, so I didn't love that. I also felt the end of the book, while technically HEA, was sad!
- The premise required a LOT of suspension of disbelief and because this is Forsythe's debut, I didn't know if I was prepared to give that much of it for an author I was just learning.
- I'm not sure if there was supposed to be a social commentary on influencers and that's why Nicki's character was unlikeable but that was a strange element to me. Simultaneously I felt like the other characters were so... dismissive of that profession in a way that felt so early 2000s catty to me.
- The miscommunication as a plot device was a bit too much for me.

Pick up for a witty banter-filled debut! Leans far more on women's lit than romance, so go in prepared!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I remember being very bored and when reading this. Maybe it was the story, maybe the writing style, or both. I don’ didn’t really like the romance, and wish the characters had been expanded a bit more.

The premise of this book sounded really promising, but I spent the whole time waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the characters to “click”. Waiting to feel like I couldn’t put it down. It never happened.