Ever since she can remember, Aly has been fixing everything around her: her parents’ marriage, her colleagues’ work problems, and her friends’ love lives. After a chance meeting with an ex who has gone from a living in his parents’ basement to a married project manager in three years, she realizes she’s been fixing her boyfriends, too…
So, Aly decides to put her talents to good use and, alongside two work friends, sets up The Fixer Upper, an exclusive, underground service for women who are tired of unpaid emotional labor.
Using little tricks and tips, Aly and her friends get the men to do the work themselves – to get out of the job they hate, sign up for that growth seminar, to do more parenting. Before long, a high-profile Instagram star hires them to fix up her app developer boyfriend.
There’s just one catch – he’s also Aly’s childhood best friend and first love. As Aly tackles her biggest “fixer-upper” yet, she’ll have to come to terms with their complicated history and figure out how much to change someone she’d always thought was perfect as he is…

Rating: 5/5 Stars

I received this book as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy), from the website Netgalley, and I was blown out of my mind.
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
This may be one of the most top-tier romance novels I've ever read. I loved every single aspect of it- from the depth of each character to the rom-com like the plot to the tear-jerking ending.
The concept was so fun, and I could clearly picture what was happening and also imagine a plot like this occurring in real life.
Aly was the perfect main character and reminded me of myself too much. I loved all of the characters, and they were all dynamic, developed, and lovable.
The story was paced quickly, and I unashamedly read about half of this book during a school day - I could not put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I can't wait for everyone to read it, mark your calendars for August 22, 2022!

The Fixer Upper explores the ways women tend to fix and help everyone else at the expense of themselves. I enjoyed the characters the growth they had. This was a cute and quick read. Not as romance heavy as I'd prefer, but the story keep me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC of this book provided in exchange for this honest review!

This review has also already been posted to goodreads! @prarthanarawal (link has been attached)

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc!
3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️
the only spoiler is in the last paragraph, and I have added a warning before:)

*aggressively adds Alyssa Aresti to my kin list*

Although it took me around 15% to get into the book, I did enjoy reading this book. I loved seeing Aly’s growth and seeing myself in her while also wanting to yell at her sometimes. The best part was seeing her understand she is worth more than just a machine that fixes people.

I also liked seeing her in her workspace, however, sometimes I felt as though I was overwhelmed with the amount of business information through lengthy conversations. I like the business aspects, but it just felt like too much at times.

I love the childhood friends to strangers to lovers trope. I liked seeing Aly and Dylan buttheads and refuse to acknowledge each other from their very first interaction. Sometimes I felt as though their tension and bond were reliant on them being childhood best friends, but by the end, I was convinced there was more to it. I just wish I got to see more emotional interactions between them that weren’t based on their past.

*spoilers* I am not normally a fan of the girl grovels trope, however, I saw it done right here. I think that given this circumstance I actually kind of liked it because the premise of the book was that she was supposed to ‘fix him’ for his girlfriend, and he was already insecure about himself and what she was supposed to ‘fix’ about him. I also think the groveling played a huge role in Aly’s growth because she had learned that it was not her responsibility to ‘fix’ others, whether it be her family issues, or her coworkers, or anyone else.

The Fixer Upper is definitely a romance worth reading! The book follows Aly, a woman who has spent years "fixing" her boyfriends, only for them to end up successful and her to end up- well, not. At the prodding of her friends Eric and Tola, Aly agrees to put her skills to good use by helping other women in the same position- women who are stuck doing the emotional labor to set their partners up for success. One day she gets a call for their biggest "fixer upper" yet, and the target is her best friend and first love, Dylan.

I really enjoyed the pacing and writing of this book; it was an easy read! Aly's relationships with her friends were one of the heart-warming parts of the story for me; so often romances see the romantic partnership as the one to redeem a woman's life, and in this book, that is not the case! Aly couldn't have made it through the events of this book without the help of her side-kicks. As for the romantic relationship, my only complaint is that the build-up didn't start sooner. Ultimately though, I did love the ease of the relationship between Aly and Dylan, and their shared childhood history.

A great book, an awesome romance, and definitely something for people to look forward to in 2022!

Aly has been fixing people her whole life without reaping any benefits. When an internet celebrity approaches her to fix her boyfriend, she has the opportunity to make some real cash. But then the boyfriend turns out to be Aly's old flame. I'm always a sucker for second chance loves, but I wanted more connection.

A cute read that explored some good topics of maturity, career, and relationships! I enjoyed reading about Aly, her friends and family, and the various dynamics she feels stuck in. A little bit less of a romance and a little more fiction, which I didn't mind. I thought it was a great premise and I enjoyed reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an eARC of this book provided in exchange for this honest review!

I did not finish this book. It seemed really all over the place and I could not connect with the main character at all. The premise seemed right up my alley but I ended up being really bothered by the “I can fix him!” mentality. Maybe just came at the wrong time for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

I give this a solid 3 stars.

I feel it was more about friends and the romance was really the side plot of the story. Doesn't mean I didn't like it. I did, but I expected a tad more romance from a romance novel.

Aly is a people pleasure who is always fixing peoples problems and when her work friends notice they decide to start a "business" helping women better their boyfriends/husbands. They get this super famous influencer client Nicki and her boyfriend happens to be Aly's old best friend Dylan. They had a falling out so are forced together again and acting like they don't know each other the whole time. She tries to make Nicki's boyfriend the perfect man (and future husband) while trying to also fix her broken friendship.

I enjoyed most of our characters and the character growth. This was a really cute read quick read. Not as romance heavy as I'd prefer, but the story keep me interested.

Aly and Dyl are the cutest in this romantic story by Lauren Forsythe. The Fixer Upper is a company created by Aly and her two coworkers to help women by helping their men. The concept of Fixer Upper was so interesting and they landed a high profile client, Nicki, an influencer with a huge following, who needed her boyfriend to get a push in the commitment department and to level up in his business as well. Fixer upper was ready for the job, until Nicki introduced her boyfriend as Dylan, an old friend who Aly had lost touch with 15 years prior, but remembered her love for him like it was yesterday. I loved reading their journey back to each other- such a good read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Fixer Upper is a cute novel about second chance love. Aly is a fixer. She fixes coworkers marketing campaigns, she fixes people’s relationships and she tries to fix her mom’s neverending broken heart.

She is such a good “fixer” that she and two friends form The Fixer Upper, a company designed to help others fix a problem in their lives. Soon after, a social media influencer hires them to “fix” her boyfriend’s social media presence and life to fit hers. Only problem is that her boyfriend is Aly’s old best friend and first love.

Lauren Forsythe did a great job developing the characters. The MCs are charming and so relatable and the banter between the Aly, Tola, and Eric was great. I liked the chemistry between Aly and her old best friend, Dylan. Overall an easy and fast read (I was able to finish it in 2.5 hours) that will be a great summer rom com novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Aly is a fixer who has spent her whole life fixing people-her parents, her boyfriends, everyone but herself. She feels stuck, and seeing how successful all her ex-boyfriends have become isn’t helping, so when an heiress and social media influencer hires her to “fix” her boyfriend and convince him to propose, it’s a challenge she can’t really turn down! Unfortunately for Aly, the boyfriend turns out to be her childhood best friend and first love who she hasn’t seen in 15 years.

This is such a sweet, clean, RomCom. The character development is really involved, and the book spends a lot of time on it. By the end, I felt like I KNOW these people. I want friends like Eric and Tola, and I find Nicki to be the worst type of human. I loved watching Aly and Dylan reconnect and their new story unfold while still heavily tied in the old one. I do wish though, that the book spent a little more time on the development of their relationship instead of focusing so much time on other plot points. Still a very well written story. It’s a friends to strangers to friends to lovers story unlike anything I’ve read before.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Fixer Upper has a great premise. Aly has spent her life “fixing” men instead of building healthy relationships with them. She doesn’t realise this until her friends point it out and decide to turn it into something positive for other women.

I enjoyed the main character’s journey throughout the book, even though I didn’t necessarily agree with the way she went about things.
Aly and Dylan’s interactions are frustrating at times, they both have a lot of growing to do and I do wish there was more romance and better communication between them.
However, I was invested in their relationship and was curious to see how they would get past all their issues so they could be together.

Overall this is a fresh, easy read that will keep you entertained!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing a digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

This has been one of my favorite romcom book in recent times.

Aly loves to fix people. She has unintentionally fixed most of her boyfriends except the one that got away.
Eric and Tola work with her and they come up with the idea to tweak people. They end up with a social media influencer who wants them to remove her boyfriend. And who does it turn out to be, her best friend (who she would have preferred was more).
There was never a dull moment in the story. I would have played an extra in it if someone had given me 2 sentences to say.
It did pretty decent on the diversity of the characters as well.

I got an arc from #Putnam and #netgalley and greatly appreciated it.

Loved this book so much! Aly was the leading character I wanted to root for and was happy to follow the journey of how she got there. My only wish was for a bigger comeuppance for Felix, however, I am glad Aly found her way. I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone looking for a complicated but feel-good story set in London!

This book was cute and entertaining. It was a feel-good romcom with lots of banter. I really enjoyed this one!

I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, fantastic writing, great friends and characters, and rooting for Dylan and Aly throughout. On the flip side, it felt like emotional cheating for the entirety of the book, and that really got to me by the end.

Aly has been unintentionally dating projects rather than men - she helps them realize their potential, gets them sorted and sends them on their merry way where they can go find the love of their lives and be wildly successful. She, however, feels like she's in a rut that she can't get out of. Her two co-workers come up with a great idea to turn her project-dating history into a side hustle, and goes swimmingly! This brings her inadvertently back into the realm of her childhood best friend and former crush, Dylan.

This is where things start to sideways for me, because Dylan is dating an influencer, but she wants to shine him up a little more for the camera - cue Aly. My hang-up (without spoilers!) is that Dylan and Nicki are truly dating, and that bothers me morally since the book is supposed to be focused on Dylan and Aly. Can't get out of the premise being about stealing another female's man...

So more kudos to Lauren Forsythe as she took a concept that isn't my go-to RomCom and still made me enjoy it. Got through this quickly, because I was on tenterhooks to see how it ended with Dylan and Aly!

really went into this book with no expectations and still managed to have them absolutely let down by this book
the one word i’d use to describe this novel: Millennial (TM)
it’s so buzzfeed ladylike it just emanates that disingenuous pop feminism and i physically found myself cringing away from the book at times
whatever her name is the main female character i literally can’t remember it i know it starts with an a what is it OH ALY yes she’s just annoying like grow a spine for once
the entire business model of the fixer upper is so weird and borderline problematic - i know they address it at the end but it just didn’t deliver in terms of commentary or any sort of nuance
there is a tiny tiny hint of romance in this and yet i still didn’t like it surprise
they had a public proposal at the end and i could not handle it please dear lord if i have to read the phrase “strangers applauded” in a romance book one more time i will end it all
just the amount of times they said “you go girl” or some girlboss phrase i was about to lose it i was in tears almost
but if you want a quick easy read that’ll slightly erode your brain cells this is the book for you!

this was a sweet short book although I might have a few opinions about it. the trope was about friends to strangers back to friends again which had so many romance potential but the author didn't really use it
strong point about the book first was the MC character development , it was portrayed beautifully . second her relation ship with her mother and the way she saw her family and her friends and their characters. I didn't really connect to the plot and romance I wish there was more chemistry between characters. I also didn't like that she was kind of after another woman's boyfriend. in conclusion it was a okay rom-com
thank you to the publisher, and the author for letting me read an ARC of this
story through NetGalley.

The Fixer Upper is a slow burn, second chance romance with a significant emphasis on character development. We have a chance to grow with the characters as they figure out who they are and where they want to be in their lives.

The book focuses on Aly and her friends who create a side business helping women see their "fixer-upper" partners reach their full potential. They luck out when a famous heiress brings them on as a consultant, who assigns them with the task to nudge her boyfriend to propose. Unfortunately, this boyfriend is Aly's estranged childhood best friend, Dylan. Also, upon first meeting, they already pretend like they had no history. That won't make the situation awkward at all. You will just have to read it to see it all unfold.

I love the development that the side characters get in the book. The friendship that Aly, Tola, and Eric have is incredible. Likewise, Dylan's friends are great too, but I wish we got to know Priya and Ben a little better.

Aside from that, I didn't know what to expect in the story. It was a little cheesy and not as predictable as I thought it would be. And I can't say no to a happy ending.

Huge thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and #NetGalley for sharing this advanced reading copy of this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

A little close to home, The Fixer Upper explores the ways women tend to fix and help everyone else at the expense of themselves. Aly's journey is a little painful but also inspiring as she starts to see the cost of putting everyone else first and begins to prioritize herself, finding a healthy and life giving love along the way.