This book was so fun and I really enjoyed reading it! I loved the characters and thought the premise of the book was really interesting. Overall, it lived up to my initial expectation. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read it early.

An entertaining rom-com read with a sweet and lovely romance. Definitely would recommend as a beach read and would be perfect for a Hallmark movie.

I want to thank NetGalley, Lauren Forsythe and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

I guess I'm the odd one out in not enjoying this book! It was decent enough, but I couldn't get past how much I disliked the main character or their "business idea," which was extremely manipulative. There was also a huge lack of romance, which is a big deal for a rom-com - talk about false advertising.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading this eARC, which in no way biased me. All opinions are my own.

For being a romance book, this really was light on the romance bit. This gives like a “Failure to Launch” vibe based off the synopsis, and its kinda what we get, like loosely.

The whole childhood friends to lovers (which isn’t my favorite trope to begin with) add some “we should talk about this but ultimately we won’t so we won’t speak for YEARS and now we are strangers” could have used some work. I couldn’t get invested in the plot or the characters.

I loved the cover as always, its one of the first things that drew me to wanting to see what it was about and requesting it.

Overall this was average. Nothing bad, and nothing overly life changing.

🧡🧡🧡🧡/5

I really really really enjoyed this debut book from @laurenforsythe_author !

And honestly, I would have given it five stars if the whole premise of Dylan and Aly’s relationship didn’t revolve around the miscommunication trope. I’ve never been a huge fan of the trope, although sometimes I don’t hate it as much, depending on the scenario.

This book was focused on women in the sense that it showcases a few moments in life where women get taken advantage of and passed up on certain opportunities because of our gender. And by the end of the story, you watch Aly take her stand and overcome the belittling she has endured her entire adult life at work. And if that moment and growth wasn’t empowering, I don’t know what else is. However, there were some moments with the whole Fixer Upper scheme that was a bit manipulative and toxic towards women, and I’m not 100% sold on that front.

With that being said, the whole plot line of The Fixer Upper was pretty unique and interesting. And I can’t lie and say that it definitely didn’t have me entertained and sucked in from the beginning. Because it did, despite some of my reservations.

But my favorite parts were the ones with Aly and Dylan. Especially towards the end where I was feeling all the feels and crying into my duvet in the middle of the night wishing for a happy outcome for them.

I enjoyed all of the characters and the growth they did all overcame by the end. And I thought the romance was fleshed out fully and had my emotions all over the place. Which is always a good sign in my opinion because that means I have been thoroughly invested if I shed a tear or two.

I LOVED the overall theme of relationships. Who you are in them versus who you are at your core, was very well done and deeply expressed from the very beginning of the story.

Overall, TFU was an enjoyable read, with much deeper themes for life if one looks for them under the flashy influencer lifestyle and crazy schemes that the characters conjure up.

Alyssa a 33 year old women single but comes across an ex who is exactly the kinda man she wanted and help become for someone else. She learns she is a fixer and she fixes people but not herself when her coworker caught wind of this they join together to help other women fix their men. Intill she meet the biggest influencer who help fix her man who happens to be her old childhood friend and the man she loves.

Though it was cute and corny but I loved it

Some people need to be fixed, others do the fixing.

Aly Aresti is the latter.

Born into a broken marriage, Aly can’t remember a time she wasn’t looking out for the well being of those around her. Her childhood instability carried with her into adulthood, Aly often finding herself cleaning up the messes of friends, family and colleagues, even including the men she has chosen to date.

Noticing a pattern, but ironically not knowing how to fix herself, Aly and a few friends start a Fixer Upper service. The premise is simple- attract women who attract men who need some sprucing and do some damage control. Before long, the underground service takes off.

Ultimately they end up getting the attention of an A list client. A social media influencer named Nikki, she thinks her boyfriend is perfect, except for the fact that he’s so-called, “socially challenged”. A tall order, Nikki not only wants the Fixer Uppers to whip his social media status into shape, but she demands them not so gently nudge him towards a grand proposal of marriage, tout suite.

As if all of this plus work woes wasn’t hard enough to juggle, then Aly meets the camera shy boyfriend, who allegedly needs fixing, Dylan. The only problem is she’s met him before. In fact, many moons ago, Dylan was her best friend, and her first love. Things between them ended awkwardly though and they haven’t been in touch since. Yet all these years later, Aly still sees Dylan as the perfect man which begs the question- how do you begin to fix something you don’t see as broken to begin with?

The Fixer Upper was a refreshing debut from author @laurenforsythe_author. A closed door romance, I bought into the backstory of Aly and Dylan and rooted for them in the present. I found myself a bit conflicted about what Dylan really wanted, but I had a feeling it would all come together eventually.

So if you’re “fixing” for a rom com that will raise your spirits, look no further than The Fixer Upper.

Thank you so much @PutnamBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 02 August 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Aly realizes that the amount of effort she puts into her romantic relationships is not equal to what she gets out of them, but all of her ex-boyfriends without fail are better off for having dated her. Aly's best friends convince her to start a mini-business where she "fixes up" other peoples partners for them.

WHAT I LIKED:
- second-chance is becoming one of my favourite romance tropes
- the core narrative of not getting wrapped up trying to be everything for everyone
- the fact that Aly is extremely relatable as she is hardworking, determined, focused & yet insecure
- overall a fast paced, fun read yet still covers those deeper more insightful topics

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the whole concept is kind of manipulative & toxic (although this is openly discussed by the characters)
- very little actual romance

If Olivia Pope would focus on people’s emotions and relationships instead of law and politics, she could be this book’s main character Aly who is some kind of broken heart heart fixer, love guru, career strategist, helping people to have their own HEA and achieve their business goals!

Aly has always been a fixer, everything in her life she could she'd fix. Her parents marriage, friendships, whatever it may be. On whim, Aly and her friends make a business of helping other women fix their men. It was all going well until Aly is hired to help a high profile Instagram influencer's boyfriend - and he just happens to be Aly' best childhood friend and first love. A very sweet second chance romance.

I truly didn't expect to like this book. The premise isn't one I usually go for (a little too Hallmark movie-esque), and am always a little hesitant when our heroine seems to be a bit of a Mary Sue in the synopsis. The Fixer Upper is a quick, light RomCom with quite a few good one liners. My big hangup was the plot's reliance on the miscommunication trope - not my cup of tea. But I really enjoyed Forsythe's writing and look forward to more from her!

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe. Pub Date: August 2, 2022. Rating: 2 stars. When I read the premise of this book, I thought it sounded fresh, fun and intriguing. Ultimately, this book was none of those things to me and I found myself having a hard time connecting and enjoying this novel. I think the advertising of romance is stretching it due to minimal romance throughout the book. There are some interesting themes throughout the book that I could not connect with such as manipulation mixed with business. I think this book could have been executed differently. Thanks to #netgalley and #putnam for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Story: 3 stars
Audiobook narration: 2.5 stars

The set up for this book was interesting - a woman realizes all the men she dates are ready for commitment after breaking up with her, so she tries to leverage that to help other women “fix” the men they’re with. The execution was just super boring. She finds herself hired to fix a man who turns out to be her childhood love. Supposedly Aly needs the money but the motivation for the money was unclear and not very compelling. There’s also basically no romance here. The two love interests barely spend anytime on the page together so it’s really hard to root for them.

The audiobook narration was really difficult to listen to. The narrator doesn’t distinguish between voices for the characters so I found it very hard to follow.

Thanks to Putnam for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

4.5 rounded to 5

Aly is a type-A, get-shit-done with a smile on her face Boss B*tch who is reliable–to a fault. After running into an old flame, she’s forced to face the reality that she’s been dating fixer-uppers: she Cinderella-s guys who then move on as their best selves to another lucky lady.

Aly and her friends decide to parlay her talent for fixing by helping other women. They’re on a roll when an influencer contacts Aly about her struggling BF who needs a push to propose. The catch? This fixer-upper is Aly’s former childhood BFF and crush, Dylan.

5 wonderful things about this book:

Emotional Labor
I’ll spare you my soapbox rant so TL;DR– this is one of my biggest feminist issues. I found myself allied with the characters in a common cause and I. FELT. HEARD. Forsythe superbly integrates the serious topic in a relatable way.

Humor
You get tons of laughs from all characters in different forms: the MCs’ banter, dry British humor, hot takes, and plenty more.

Friendships
The fantastic cast of characters is purposeful and diverse. They show Aly what healthy relationships look like and that she’s lovable just as she is. Special shoutout to Tola- the BEST!

Growth
Aly is forced to assess ALL her relationships. She begins to realize her own worth, sets boundaries, and becomes determined to define her own HEA.

Grand gesture
Aly’s OTT heartwarming declaration of love is full-on quintessential British romcom goodness. The ultimate HEA for a second-chance romance.

The only minor issue I had was with the MMC, Dylan. Some of his actions felt more manipulative than “lost”.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm a little wary of women’s fic masquerading as romance, but this was a well-balanced, enjoyable read. I didn’t even realize until our book club discussion that there was zero steam. And for us, that’s high praise!

This story will fill you up and keep you smiling. Add it to your TBR ASAP!

3/5 -

This just wasn’t the book for me. I didn’t really like the thought process/ personality of Aly, and even her relationship with her ex, Dylan, seemed so weird. It was a 0/5 on the spice scale with a super clean romance arc that ends in just a kiss. Idk if that impacted my review, but honestly, it was just hard finding the romance between the two characters for me.

Brief Plot: Aly’s friends believe she is has the ability to take all lack luster boyfriends, give them encouragement, and then after their break-up, her ex’s THRIVE. So they put Aly’s process to a work setting, starting the The Fixer Upper. Aly suddenly finds herself being paid to fix up her first love, Dylan, so that he can launch his company and propose to his social media starlet girlfriend. But as the two start to get to know each other more, Aly needs to learn if she needs to stop fixing others, and take a bigger inventory on her own needs for once.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review!

This second change romance is everything you want and need. After starting a side gig with her two friends Alyssa gets started on her biggest challenge, fixing up her former first love and childhood best friend. Seeing these two together was adorable and you couldn't help but to ship them together from the get go.

Plus for those who are happy to skip the spicy scenes will love this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so behind on my @netgalley reading. I even took this picture back in July but am just now getting a chance to read it. Thanks to @putnambooks and @netgalley for a chance to read, even though I am a little behind!

Aly has been fixing everything since she was young, from work problems, to love lives, to get parents marriage. After a chance meeting with an old boyfriend, Aly realized she has been fixing her boyfriends as well and starts a business doing just that. When her biggest client introduces her to her boyfriend, things may start to get a little messy. Aly comes face to face with her old best friend and boyfriend who broke her heart.

This was a cute read! You need to be in the right frame of mind for a lighter read. If you prefer your romances spice free, here is one for you. 🙂

#bookstagram #booklover #booksbooksbooks #romancereader #romancebooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations #booknerd #netgalley #gpputnamssons #penguingroup

One of my favorite second chance romance reads in a while. The plot was classic but not predictable and the writing was so well done, reading it was like watching a movie.

📚📚Book Review:
The Fixer Upper
By: Lauren Forsythe
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars
Genre: Fiction/Romance/Contemporary Romance
Thank you @netgalley @putnambooks for the arc ebook!

Aly dates the guy. They break up. That guy goes on to achieve incredible things. Yet, when Aly dated him, he was kind of a loser with no drive, goals, or ambition. And this keeps happening!

She shares this with her two co-workers, Eric and Tola, and they realize she must have a talent for "fixing" guys. They set up, The Fixer Upper, as a side gig which offers the service to women to fix their guys up. Basically Aly uses subliminal tips and tricks to get these men to do the work they need to do to get their lives on track.

When they get hired by an Instagram influencer/star, Aly comes face-to-face with her next client, her ex-childhood best friend, Dylan. The one she was in love with. Oh boy, how will this fix go?

Cute, quirky, funny 😁
Childhood friend to lover

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

the fixer upper is definitely more along the lines of women's fiction than romance, but has the right balance within the narrative to make for a satisfying read. the story itself revolves around aly, who is on he cusp of a big promotion within her marketing career despite the hurdles that come while working in a corporation that tends to overlook her contributions while rewarding sub-par performances from her colleagues - all while asking for her to clean up their messes. in this time, she's come to the realization that her past relationships have all gone onward to seemingly grow into the best versions of themselves after they've split. the combination of both work and personal come together to lead to a business idea with the help of her best friends and healing from her first heartbreak when said ex becomes her biggest, and most complicated, project yet.

as i said, this is definitely leaning more towards women's fiction, where the focus is on more than the second chance romance between aly and dylan, who both have a different interpretation of their last encounter over a decade ago. it focuses on what aly has worked towards versus what she truly wants from her life. a job where she's been constantly overlooked versus an opportunity to do something she finds fun and fulfilling. continuing to keep her life close to her chest versus being open and honest with those who care. allowing the past to dictate her present or confronting it her past to build a better future. i enjoyed the aforementioned conflict that was the crux of the narrative. aly is so accustomed to keeping everything together for everyone but herself, that when it all begins to take a tumble off her carefully built facade, it opens her up as a character and person more. i enjoyed dylan not outshining the main character and how very human he seemed with his own wants, how accustomed he became to molding himself for others, and how he comes to his own realization towards the end. and the way aly steps up at the end in such a romantic display was just so sweet that i was perfectly fine with the lack of an epilogue. very much worth a read if you want a story that leans more on personal growth of characters than heavy on romance.