I loved the writing itself. Because it was inviting and easy to jump into, I was able to continue past the slow opening, focusing on the clues set out letting me know the story would pick up and be everything I wanted out of the book.
And it did deliver! Once the story picks up in Chapter 6 (imho the first 6 chapters could definitely be condensed - too much groundwork covered), it gave me the butterflies and entertainment I hoped it would.
All of the characters were well developed, except for Nicki - though her annoyingness was easy to pick up on, she was a very two dimensional character.
I was a fan of Alyssa, Dylan, and Tola, and would love another book following up on their next chapters in life. You know it’s a good book, when you want to continue on in life with the characters.
I would probably give this book an 8.2, out of 10, only due to the extremely slow opening, but it’s definitely one I could see myself reading again.

“Because it’s only scary when your falling. And then it feels like home”

Brief Synopsis:
Aly always in control and striving to be perfect. She is constantly fixing everyone else’s problems; at work, her friends, her parents and her past boyfriends. All her Ex boyfriends turn their lives around after they date Aly. Aly and her friends from work decide to take Aly’s talents and make a covert business called The Fixer Upper. They are going to help women improve the men in their lives without the men knowing. When a famous Instagram influencer hires them to fix up her boyfriend everything changes when the boyfriend Dylan turns out to be Aly’s best friend from high school

My thoughts:
I loved Aly’s friend and business partner Tola. She was such an amazing friend and said what was on her mind no matter what! Nicki’s character was funny and represented the perfect influencer. Read if you love friends to lovers trope! Overall this book was SO adorable and fun to read!
Thanks so much to for the ARC!

I struggled with this one. I loved the concept but the build with the lover interest didn’t even begin until about 25% in. I didn’t love the characters, they fell flat without a lot of chemistry. I found myself bored and mostly reading about Aly’s busy work schedule. This book had a lot of missed potential.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnum, G. P. Putnum’s Sons for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, possibly the sweetest book I’ve read in a while! I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so I was hooked from the beginning.

I honestly didn’t want this to end. I loved the witty banter, the characters were all well developed and charming, and the settings were top-notch. The perfect trifecta to a British rom-com!

Lauren Forsythe’s overall message of being true to who you are, having open and honest relationships, and being present was so well written. As I was reading the main characters' POV, I kept thinking-out-loud… “that’s me,” “that’s what I do!” It honestly was really eye-opening and I kind of felt like I was reading about my own life.

The Fixer Upper operation reminded me of Hitch when he’s helping guys get a fighting chance with the girl of their dreams (except reverse roles).

Overall, I loved this and need more like it on my TBR! Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsythe for allowing me to review this book!


Favorite quotes:
“You, I wanted to say. You’re all five today.”

“Gratitude is an excellent emotion. But it’s not a shield that holds off bullshit indefinitely.”

“And then those blue eyes met mine like they were a dare.”

“It feels like maybe everyone else is acting in a movie and I never got the script.”

“Because it’s only scary when you’re falling. And then it feels like home.”

This was a very fun quick and light read, I enjoyed it a lot. There were parts that made me giggle, parts that made me want to cry.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book and the plot of it, Aly is a pushover and let’s everyone walk all over here. When her and her friends discover all her past boyfriends have actually become successful at the things she helped them with. So her and her friends decide to make a business venture which leads her to helping her very first and real love.

Which ends up spiraling into so much more, I love the way everything went together. Also it had a hint of friends-enemies-lovers and I think that’s what’s really hooked me.

I think if you like fun light banter, and a quick sweet read this one is for you.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC in return for my honest opinion!
I thought this book was a cute childhood friends to strangers to lovers. Aly has always fixed everything and everyone in her life. Everyone always depending on her at her job. When she has to 'fix' Dylan, her childhood best friend who she loved, she's not sure she can do this to him. Why should she change any of him for his famous girlfriend when he's perfect. But there's so much at stake. This book is very, very slow burn. In fact, you won't see much romance. Mostly focuses on Aly and her finally growing as a person.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsyth for an arc in exchange for a review!

This was a cute British rom com. Our main character, Aly, is a fixer. She fixes her boyfriends, the work of her colleagues, and her mom's issues with her dad. Aly is strong-willed and independent and overall a really fun main character. She is hired to "fix" her former best friend, whom she was in love with fifteen years ago. She hasn't spoken to him in fifteen years, but it's clear that there are some unresolved feelings between the two of them. She realizes that she doesn't want to fix him because to her, he is perfect the way he is. Overall, I enjoyed the story (although it was a bit far fetched). I really liked Aly as a character, she was well developed. I felt like Dylan didn't know what he wanted and I was frustrated with him a lot, which is why I'm deducting stars. He was floundering throughout the book, and I just wanted him to get his act together. Overall, definitely a fun read!

I loved this book! I read the first 20% over 2 or 3 days, but then I stayed up until 1AM to finish it. It does have elements of a slow burn/second chance romance, but the main focus of the book is our heroines growth. She really learns how to be honest with herself and fight for what she wants. I really loved getting to know her friends and her old best friend. A fun ride with a satisfying ending.

It was hard for me to enjoy this book just because i don't like any type of cheating. i find the painting of the current girlfriends as terrible overused.

This book was a quick, easy read. It kept me entertained and I was either laughing or yelling (usually at the MC). There were so many things to love about this book and I found it easy to adore.

Aly is a push-over, people pleaser. She is constantly helping other people fix their lives for the better, but she never takes her own advice. Aly has had a plan for years for her boring life and she does not want to derail that plan. Until her best friends bring it to her attention that she has a knack for making people take a leap of faith and fix their boring lives. They decide to make a company out of it called “The Fixer Upper.” Aly and her two best friends, Tola and Eric, are helping many women fix their significant others into better people by secretly manipulating the men. All is going well until a famous influencer hires them to fix her not so famous boyfriend, who just so happens to be Aly’s ex-best friend and first love. Through many trials and tribulations, Aly finally bucks up and learns to say no and takes charge of her own life, but she just might lose her friend that she just got back through the choices she makes.

I highly recommend you pick this charming romance up when it comes out August 2nd. It is definitely worth the read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Putnam for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book! Lauren Forsythe did not disappoint and I look forward to reading more of her work down the road.

I really struggled with this - I was expecting a fun comedy with a little bit of romance, a'la Bridget Jones' Diary. The start was promising and I was excited to continue but 30% of the way in, I started to struggle. I found the main character far too flat for a main character, the love interest is featured mostly as an off-page character, leaving all the interactions between Aly and Dylan to be snide and them lying to the people around them about their past. The pacing also felt off - the resolution to the main conflict comes literally in the last five pages, sort of out of nowhere, as the last time we've seen the MCs, they've departed on chilly terms deciding to go their separate ways. The whole book felt convoluted and at times, misogynistic, particularly as Nikki, Dylan's girlfriend was described. 1.5 stars, rounded up.

Spoilers!! Fixer Upper was such a cute, fun way to bring in my 2022 reading!! I would label this as a RomCom novel (British style). I loved the different story elements that were brought into play here. Basically set up as a friends-enemies-lover romance, Alyssa has to help a famous client "fix up" her boyfriend who she wants to propose to her. Turns out, this client's boyfriend is her ex-best friend from childhood. There were so many important themes I noticed in this book, which I loved - feminism/double standards, struggling with career and boss issues, grief/loss, chasing your dreams (also love), and also, being with someone who accepts you for who YOU are, not who they want you to be. It was just super cute and feel good, and an easy read.

YES! YES! YES!

Full disclosure, I am a rom-com junkie, so its not hard for me to love this one! Super cute rom com filled with charm, fun and the age old enemies to lovers trope! A perfect quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe.

What a fun rom-com! Aly has always been a kind of "fixer-upper." She can make a boyfriend propose, make someone obtain their dream job, convince someone to attain the unattainable.

She and her friends decide to start a side business to make some money off of Aly's abilities. When a social media influencer with millions of followers reaches out for help they know they are going to start to rake in the business. Until the male half of the couple turns out to be Aly's "one that got away."

The book is a quick read, and predictable but that didn't bother me at all. It felt believable and the characters were likeable.

4 ⭐

"When you love someone for over a decade, it lives in your bones, like an echo.”

Aly is a fixer. She has been fixing everything around her: her parents, work problems and friend’s love life. After a chance meeting with an ex she also realized she’s been fixing her boyfriend’s too. That’s when she and her friends thought about Fixer Upper. They thought they could empower women by helping them fix their men. Help the men see their potential and act on it. Sounds easy until their biggest client Nicki asked for their expertise. Things get complicated when the Fixer Upper new project is no other than Aly’s estranged best friend Dylan. This was a fun and fast paced story. I can’t say it was a romantic love story over all because it was more than that. It was about women empowering women, the influencer lifestyle (the unrealistic part) and the issue of fixing everything else except yourself. The friends to enemies to lovers trope was just the cherry on top. I really wished there were more Aly and Dylan moments together and Hello I needed explanation and story behind the two digit years of silence and no communication. Overall this book was enjoyable. The funny banters between characters had me giggling. I need friends like Eric, Tola, Ben and Priya in my life. The work situation got into my nerves (coz it still happens) but I was glad Aly finally stood up for herself and finally acknowledged her worth. 

My favorite part of the book is the Five Wonderful Things. It was Dylan’s mum saying. Tell five things you’re excited about today and if you can’t think of five, you’ve gotta take yourself off on an adventure.

Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for letting me read this book.

This was such a cute romantic comedy! I mean I love anything to do with British men so there was no way that I wasn't going to absolutely love this!

I love a good rom-com and this one did not disappoint. I love when there is a happy ending. I will definitely be picking up more from this author in the future. Thank you Netgalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Everyone has a talent, and Aly’s is fixing. She’s been doing it her entire life. Fixing her relationships, her parent's marriage, and other people's work troubles. From this, Aly and her friends, Tola and Eric, start a company called “The Fixer Upper” which is a business to help encourage men to grow for their partners. When Aly decides to take on a celebrity client, she runs into a childhood friend from her past.

Overall, this was a super cute book and I really enjoyed reading it! I am an absolute sucker for a second chance love/friends to strangers to lovers romance. I love the growth of our main characters Aly & Dylan in this book and just adored the side characters.

If I’m being nit-picky, I felt like the story took a bit to kick off but once it gets into the action it really hooks you!

Read this if you want:
💗 A cute British rom-com
🤷‍♀️ A “we do not know each other” trope
👩‍❤️‍👨 A friends to strangers to lovers storyline
🥳 Cute banter

Special thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Unfortunately, I found I just really couldn't get into this novel. I kept opening my kindle, reading a few pages or a chapter and then wandering off. It had a decent start but the addition of the marriage plotline with the ex when combined with how the pages & characters didn't grab me made this a DNF for me. I think it will be perfectly lovely for other folks, but just isn't a book that I wanted to continue trudging through.

As per my personal policy, I will not be posting a review of this book up anywhere since I didn't finish. Best of luck to the author on their release this summer.

I enjoyed the book but it just felt like something was missing. I think this book would have greatly benefited from being dual POV. If we knew how Dylan felt it would probably move the book along better. That being said I absolutely loved their fight and then the romantic gesture following it.

I received an arc through netgalley.