The premise for this book was cute, but I just did not love the execution. I felt like the main character was fairly one dimensional and I did not find myself caring deeply about what happened to them. I still enjoyed the book, but I don't know if I would read another by this author...

This book was something I could really relate to. Aly is in here 30's. I, as well, am in my 30's. The past men that I have dated I have helped them only for the relationship to end or not even really start and help them get to the path on where they want to go. Only for them to succeed. Now, I, have also succeeded professionally, but not so much with relationships.
Somethings I loved with the book:
The character development. The personal growth of Aly by the end made me realize somethings about myself. The side characters are fun and well written. It is a troupe I don't read too often but will now seek out (friends to strangers to lovers).
Overall, a great and fast read that I will be making a physical purchase of upon release.

Review on my IG @bookatthebeach to come closer to PUB Date!

“Love is only meant to be terrifying right at the beginning, right before you fall. Then it’s meant to feel like home”

I’ll be honest, I forgot the synopsis when I picked this one up and I’m so glad I did. The element of surprise for something I knew was going to happen was entirely worth my forgetful mind. I loved the history of Dylan and Aly and I loved the way that time stood still for them. This was the perfect friends to maybe lovers to lovers and I really enjoyed their story.

Overall, I give this story a 3.5 rating, having genuinely enjoyed the story, the characters, and the themes found throughout. If you’re looking for a cute and easy read about friendship, women empowerment, independence, and some romance sprinkled throughout, this is the one for you.

The Fixer Upper sets up an unrealistic premise to develop our main character, Alyssa, into a self-assured and confident woman. However, while the story starts off slow, and does have an outlandish plot device that becomes the central arc of the story–and the reason for the title–it was a cute enough read for me to suspend my disbelief and dive into this London girl’s life, rooting for her successes throughout the way. Alyssa is someone who is very much used to fixing everyone else’s problems around her. The issue comes in the form of her own life, where she seems to have become a background character, helping those around her without owning her strengths, demanding respect, or taking credit for any of it. As the story progresses, she learns more about demanding what is right for her and making more selfish decisions that will benefit her in the long run. Overall, the theme of women empowerment is threaded throughout the story, giving Alyssa a strong female friend, as well as placing women around her who purposely need lifting or can help lift Alyssa up. I enjoyed the commentary about the many hats women wear and the ways in which women can be viewed, both negatively and positively, in the workplace and in their personal lives.

However, I will say that if you’re in search for a high-key romance novel, this is not it. As a matter of fact, romance seems to take a backseat in this story, becoming a result of Alyssa’s character development, rather than the central plot. The story relies heavily on the history behind Alyssa and the love interest, so we don’t spend too much time reading about the current romance brewing between them; it simply becomes apparent there was something there in the past that has been threaded into their present selves. Despite this, there were some really cute moments between the two, some genuinely sweet quotes that I couldn’t help but highlight to go back and re-read, and a sweet tradition between them that made my heart flutter every time it was brought up.

Because the romance does take a backseat in the overall arc of the story, we get to spend more time with Alyssa and her friends, and this story becomes just as much a story about friendship than it does one about romantic relationships. Alyssa surrounds herself with two very strong and interesting friends, who are honest with her and good to her in ways even she is surprised about. They were developed enough that I couldn’t help but root for them as much as I was rooting for Alyssa. As a matter of fact, I really liked that there were an array of secondary characters introduced, some who I loved and some who I genuinely couldn’t stand, but it made the story seem more realistic, like most of our lives are painted with both colorful and dull background characters.

I’m relieved i finished this book. Because i did not enjoy it. I had no investment in the characters, no investment in the plot. It was soooo boring and I just wanted it to be done.

Aly Aresti is a fixer. In all her relationships she has been overly helpful improving the lives of her men and they have moved on to be very successful with other women reaping the benefits. Her friends have seen this happen enough. They convince her go into business with them. It will be called The Fixer Upper and women can hire them to improve their men. When one of those men end up being her childhood best fried what can possibly go wrong? The characters showed a lot of growth in this story, and it was an entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC. The publishing date is in August.

I had a lot of high hopes for this book when I read the plot summary. The idea of a fixer of relationships instead of politicians or celebrities was a great idea for the main character. Aly saw all of her ex's better off after dating her, so naturally her friends believed she could make a job out of it. She ends up with a client who wants to fix Aly's first love & best friend, thus putting Aly in a difficult position because does she think he needs any fixing at all?

As I said, I had high hopes for this book, & while I did enjoy the book, it didn't completely satisfy me. I thought it would be more of a romance, but I saw it lacking a lot in that category. Parts of this book did feel unrealistic for me, so that was slightly hard to ignore. I enjoyed reading Aly & Dylan's progressing relationship, & seeing how both characters were flawed in their own ways & wanted to be accepted for who they both are. I loved Aly's friends Tola & Eric & the dynamic the friends had together. While this was not my favorite read ever, it was a light read & I did enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, & G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC!

This book was so goddamn cute. A childhood friends to strangers to lovers story.

Alyssa is 33 working at a marketing firm, toiling away in the hopes of finally landing her well-earned big promotion. One night while dining out alone, she runs into an ex who credits her with turning his life around. Soon, with the help of her friends/co-workers Tola and Eric, she realizes that she is a "fixer" with a clear pattern: she dates men who are "projects" in need of improvement, then after she's put the work in to change them, she's exhausted and bounces, leaving other women to reap the rewards of her labor. So the three of them hatch a scheme to harness Aly's "fixer upper" skills to help women whose boyfriends/husbands need some gentle prods in the right direction.

That's how Aly ends up face-to-face with Dylan, her childhood best friend and crush whom she hasn't seen or spoken to in 15 years. Dylan's famous influencer girlfriend has hired Aly to "fix up" Dylan—she wants to mold him to fit better into her lifestyle. At first, Aly has no intention of taking Dylan on as a project, but when her mother needs money fast in order to keep her home, Aly accepts the job on the condition of a HUGE fee. As she reconnects with her old friend and gets sucked into his world again, Aly struggles to come to terms with her own feelings and what she wants and, most importantly, what is right.

The story was interesting and unique and really sucked me in. The beginning was a bit clunky—it was more telling than showing until the love interest was introduced, as if the author was just going through the motions to set up the good bits. Still, once Dylan came into the picture, it all fell into place. I will say, if you're looking for a book with loads of romance, this might not be for you. The romance is there, but it's slow-burn, more build-up and tension than actual action.

This book reminded me of Heartbreak for Hire, People We Meet On Vacation, and Love and Other Words, but a lot slower in terms of romance. Still very good, a solid 4-4.5.

This one was just okay for me. I thought the premise was interesting and I’m always looking for fresh ideas in romance. Overall I just had quite a few problems.

First, for a romance there wasn’t a lot of romance. I often struggle with friends to lovers because it can feel really instant and unbelievable since If there isn’t build up. Which is what happened here. We didn’t see Aly and Dylan’s past so their romance wasn’t obvious.

Another problem I had was that during this whole story Dylan had a girlfriend. So it felt really icky to have him and Aly in this weird emotional relationship when he had a girlfriend. And the girlfriend, sure she was a bit shallow but overall she was a nice person who thought they were in love. Cheating tropes really bother me.

Finally I had issues with Aly. I felt like it was really jarring how intuitive and strong she could be about other people but how utterly clueless she was in her own life. She was in terrible, destructive relationships, abused at work left and right, and had an emotionally harmful relationship with her parents. Her life was such a mess that it just made it more unbelievable that she was a “master manipulator.”

Overall, a pretty problematic book for me in several ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. I absolutely adored this book. I laughed, cried, screamed, got really angry, and had frequent heart eyes. I’ve read a lot of books that made me cry throughout but this one had me sobbing every 5 minutes. I quite literally could not put it down, and against my better judgment, stayed up until 6 am reading it. I am obsessed with Dylan and Aly. I want more more more. And there were absolutely characters that made me want to tear my hair out, but I loved to hate them. The only thing I want more of is Aly and Dylan’s romantic relationship. I would definitely read a novella or an entire book of Aly and Dylan fluff. will be buying the paperback once it’s released.

The beginning of this book had me worried it was going to be rushed and cliché. However, once the initial plot was set up it progressed very well. I enjoyed this women empowered romance quite a bit.

Here’s 5 things I enjoyed:
1. The character development was immaculate. It was not only believable but also inspiring.
2. The friends to enemies to lovers trope was done well.
3. While I tend to hate the miscommunication trope, it was done in a way that didn’t leave you frustrated with either the main character or the love interest.
4. Women empowerment was woven throughout the story line that allows you to relate to at least one aspect within this book.
5. The resolutions for all the conflicts and issues throughout the story were done very well.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

Remember the cliché line, don’t judge a book by its cover? I fell for it hook, line and sinker with this book, The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe! Based on the front cover and summary blurb on back, I expected it to be a cute, little, light-hearted RomCom. Oh boy it is not that! For fans of Josie Silva’s, One Day in December, get ready to eat your heart out with this Contemporary Fiction Second Chance Romance. Even being completely blindsided and outside of my normal preferred genre’s, I rated The Fixer Upper as a 4 Star!
Set in London, England, UK, Alyssa Aresti (AKA Aly) has a terrible track record with ex-boyfriends. She dates them, plants the seed for their success in life, and then eventually the relationship fizzles out. Her friends realize this pattern and suddenly The Fixer Upper is formed. A web-based secretive site allows for Aly and her friend to “help” those women in need with their relationship issues. Of course it was all fun and games, and sure, lives were being changed for the better until one high profile influencer asked for the impossible! Unable to say NO, The Fixer Upper got to work. Enter target male… Dylan James. The Dylan James who also just happens to be Aly’s first and only true love.
What worked well for this book was the build up of conflict. In Aly’s personal life, in her work life and eventually in her relationship; everything conflict related lead to her own metamorphosis. And don’t get me wrong, Forsythe painted harsh scenes, harsh realities people live in daily where anxiety usually wins. However, Forsythe’s writing style gave smooth edges to the harsh situations. As a reader, it was not overwhelming and I was able to form deeply felt connections to many of the characters for which ever their circumstances were. Something, someone, or some situation will resonate with everyone who reads this book!

3.5 stars
This book was cute but the message behind the book is probably the best part of it which makes me conflicted on how to rate it lmaoo FRTC

Aly Aresti is a walking fixer. Every man she’s dated has somehow benefited from her fixer-upper ways. It seems the only person she can’t fix is, herself.

“Face it, Aly, this is what you do. You date guys who aren’t worthy of you, and then you do everything for them.”

When Aly and her friends come to the realization that she is a bonafide fixer, they decide to take their group on the road. They create a professional service for women who want to give their men an extra push. She is unexpectedly sent to “fix” her childhood best friend and former love.

From there you can pretty much guess what happens. Except this book surprised me! I mean it still came to the cliche ending but the WAY it all played out was exceptional.

First, I love the dedication, and I think it explains a lot about the book’s theme.

“For the women who learned, sooner or later, that selfish is not a dirty word.”

Second, I absolutely love the side characters. I really want to be a part of their little friend group. The characters’ personalities are so well written that I felt like they were real people.

Lastly, this book is definitely a feminist romantic comedy. It’s face pace with a slow-burn romance intertwined, it's hilarious, and it’s light-hearted and fun!

Thanks, NetGalley for the early eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review! Honestly this book has such a beautiful cover and that's what made me want to read this.

Aly has been fixing things all her life - her parents, her coworker's work, etc. She's so great at it that, she starts The Fixer Upper, a secret website where women who are tired of the men in their lives always letting them down, sign up so that Aly and her friends can do some behind the scenes magic and fix them up. Everything starts going haywire when a big instagram celebrity hires her to fix her boyfriend because the boyfriend is Aly's childhood best friend and first crush that she never forgot about.

The plus: I liked the growth in Aly at the end. She starts to trust others and builds real friendships with Tola and Eric. She figures out that she doesn't have to continuously fix those around her and that others can figure things out for themselves (ex. her mom).

The minuses: This was not romance. I didn't really feel the connection between Aly and Dylan. I might have felt more of a connection if there were a couple flashbacks to their childhoods. I couldn't even tell they liked each other, other than them stating they have been in love with each other their entire lives. Also did anyone else feel like there was emotional cheating. Dylan had a girlfriend the entire book, yet he was flirting and '"in love" with Aly the whole time? The whole fixing him up for his girlfriend but also being secretly in love with him was so icky.

3 stars because it was okay enough for me to finish it and not give up. It was kind of slow for me. There was 0 romance like it was marketed. Also, I usually love any best friends to lovers trope, but unfortunately I couldn't feel a strong enough friendship for that.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book to me is what I would consider a “palette cleanser”… Maybe you just read a book that was very emotionally heavy or you’ve been stuck in a reading rut and want to get back into it.

This book was fun and flirty with your typical “enemies to lovers” trope which I love. The side characters were a joy and you felt very involved in this read. This book was also super relatable to those struggling to meet someone in a society so focused on a picture perfect image and who felt everyone around them was happy and love but secretly dealing with more issues that you know.

Overall I enjoyed this fast paced read and definitely recommend it! I do want to mention in the ARC I read, there were a few typos that need correcting that were most likely accidentally overlooked (capitalization, missing letter in a word).

As an extreme peace-keeper, I completely related to the premise of this book - a woman (Aly) who is used to managing her friends and family's conflicts or life complications decides to put her talents to use in the romance department/getting actually paid for her emotional labor. This is complicated when Aly's first love comes back into her life, and she ends up helping him with his self-image and dating life. A little Hitch-esque, except with a much more feminist lens.

The pacing of this book is fast, the characters are (usually) likeable - it's a fun read! I'd recommend.

The story follows Aly who improves the lives of men without her or their knowing, and eventually to her creating a business around that concept after many requests from different wives and girlfriends. Women who are looking for their significant other to finally propose, or go for the dream job, or simply communicate more effectively. All fun and games until one day, an influencer seeks her service to get her boyfriend to be this hot new tech entrepreneur and propose to her. All in one month. The real kicker? It's Aly's former best friend and love from her childhood that she hasn't see since that one fateful day that ultimately made them ghosts of each other's past.



Cute and fun story! I probably would categorize this as a second chance romance or even a friends to enemies to lovers romance. Considering it was a quick read, I did want to see more of the relationship between the main character Aly and Dylan. It felt like we got a glimpse and then poof! The story was over. Which also brings to me say that there wasn't much development in the book. Huge bonus is the power of womanhood. Women finally standing up for themselves and believing and knowing that they belong in this male dominant world. I loved that it had that message and gave us a great example that women should never settle for less than what they deserve.



Thank you so much NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Lauren Forsythe for this e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This is a short but sweet read that was overall enjoyable! I ultimately found this book to be a bit one dimensional at times - specifically with the side characters that I wish we got to see more of. I actually really ended up liking Aly and Dylan and the main storyline between them! Overall this was a great read that had so much more than just romance!

ARC kindly provided in exchange for my honest review.

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe is a novel about a woman named Aly who, unintentionally at first, fixes her lousy boyfriends and then they go on to be more successful versions of their previous selves. She creates a company with her friends to help other women fix their boyfriends. She gets a new client who is a celebrity and her boyfriend, Dylan, happens to be Aly’s childhood love that she hasn’t seen for 15 years. This novel stands out because the main character is very relatable. Whether she is dealing with her annoying coworkers or her parents failed relationship, she faces the world with an ambitious attitude. She would do anything for the people she loves. I loved getting to see Aly and Dylan’s dynamic. I do wish, however, that we got to see a bit more of them as children. I think that would really benefit the story and make it a bit more romantic. All in all, this story is very cute and I enjoyed it.