Thanks to Putnam for my copy of Dealbreakers by Lauren Forsythe.

This is a cute women's fiction -- I argue more than a romance. Marina is a coder and after being frustrated by the online dating world, creates an app called Dealbreakers where women can then review the guys they went on a date with, to help other women with the red-flags. But in her day-job she's gunning for a promotion but is paired up with the charming Lucas in a competition for who will get it. She looks at her app to see if there is any dirt on Lucas and he has over 100 comments -- many of which look like he's a red-flag for what she wants in a partner...

I was not a fan of Marina at all. She was still not over her ex and that whole still texting each other all the time was kinda weird.. And it seemed like her only dream was to get married and have kids and just fit any random guy into her dreamt perfect life. Also, the whole work premise is kind of unbelievable too...

It was a quick read but forgettable.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, fast-paced and held my interest. I wanted to keep reading and find out what was going to happen next. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

After a devastating break up, Marina has no time to waste when it comes to meeting her future life partner. So she creates Dealbreakers, an app that gives women the opportunity to rate men on dating apps and share any deal breakers they may have. She uses the app to get some intel on Lucas, the man she is paired with at work to go on a series of “dates” to test out the ideas. The man she hasn’t gotten along with since they started working together. Since this series of dates is the one thing standing between Mariana and a big promotion, she wants as much information on Lucas as possible. But even she is surprised to find that Lucas is the lowest rated man on the app. What’s even more surprising is the more time she spends going on these fake dates, the more she enjoys being around Lucas and the less his deal breakers seem to matter.

This book was SO much fun to read! I loved the premise of this story and it was filled with the perfect mix of character development, romance, and laugh out loud moments. I loved the different “dates” Mariana and Lucas went on and even want to try some of them myself now! Mariana was a great main character and I loved seeing her success. I flew through this book and loved every moment of it!

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

DEALBREAKERS by Lauren Forsythe is a fun nemesis-to-lovers rom-com that takes place at a startup. A cute and clever premise with a slow burn and a competition that will have you gripped!

Marina Spicer has a life plan. A successful career, a caring husband, and a large family of her own, all future ticks on her list of life accomplishments. After a breakup with the man she assumed was her life partner, Marina wastes no time getting back on the dating horse, even creating an app that shares feedback from men’s online dating profiles. So what if she has yet to go on a successful second date? Her unicorn is out there and she is determined to find him. She simply doesn’t have time for sparks, for fireworks, yet freelance copy writer Lucas is determined to upend her carefully laid plans. A work assignment has the pair facing off, with Marina determined to prove a set of outings would be perfect for a group and Lucas insisting they would make romantic dates. Through witty banter and sizzling tension, Marina begins to realize that maybe she can prioritize her happiness over a checklist and that maybe her dealbreakers can be ignored for the right person.

Dealbreakers had delicious sexual tension and hilarious banter throughout the novel and I found myself fully invested in Marina and Lucas’s love story. The outings they went on were fun and set the atmosphere perfectly as their relationship grew. There was some serious buildup to the romance so when they finally got their sexy time, the door flew shut so fast and it honestly left me disappointed. I understand that not everyone goes into a romance wanting to experience everything, but a peek behind the door would have been perfect. Instead, I questioned what just happened. The other tiny gripe I had about this book were Marina’s friends Bec and Meera. I loved them as characters and their dynamic, but they didn’t really push Marina out of her comfort zone soon enough. It seemed like they were content with her not pursuing happiness. They did step up when the time came, but I just wish it would have been sooner. I really liked the self-growth in this book and how realistic it was. One moment I would be cheering for Marina, only for her to have a backslide, but I found that to be far more believable than if she just did a complete turnaround right away.

I really enjoyed Dealbreakers and think it is the perfect for fans of a tame, exciting romance.

*Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was a fun read. The fake dating setup was an interesting change from how fake dating would usually go. The dates they went on were cute and gave them a chance to show off their chemistry. The side characters were a nice addition and added to the story well.

I found this book a fun read once I got into it. I had a hard time with Marina because she comes across pretty harshly but as the book goes on, it makes more sense as to why she is that way. Lucas is a great counter to her perfectionism ways. He's more laid back and less serious. They get paired together at work to figure out if activities are for dates (Lucas's stance) or for group activities (Marina's stance). They have a competition going and the winner will get a promotion. This leads to some interesting interactions at some fun sounding places. Recommend reading this one if you like a good romcom.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely.

After fifteen years together with her high school sweetheart, Marina wants to start a family and her boyfriend tells her he's not interested in having kids. Now she's living in her newlywed best friend's couch and navigating the online dating world. She has a list to find the perfect guy, but she feels like she's running out of time. As a coder, she's able to create an app that pulls ratings and comments from all the dating sites to better weed out guys with dealbreakers. Then Irish freelance content writer Lucas Kennedy shows up in her office, competing for the promotion Marina was set on getting. When their bosses assign them a task of testing out dating locations, Marina plugs him into her dating app to see what she'll be working with and is shocked to see that he's the worst rated date on the app. They've always clashed even over email, but as they argue their way through the fake dates, Marina realizes that she's having more fun with a guy that seems so wrong for her than the perfect guys her app keeps setting her up with. Could Lucas actually be her Mr Right or is she just wasting her time?
This was a cute and fun enemies to lovers, fake dating office romance with a fast pace, lots of flirting and humor and moderate spice. I loved all the fun dating locations they tried out, especially the see throwing! These two were definitely an opposites attract couple.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I adore the cover and the blurb is so fun, so I was excited to jump into this one. Forsythe is a new-to-me author, and there were definitely things I liked about her writing. Unfortunately, I simply didn't connect to the heroine at all, and this is very much her story. She's so judgmental and makes so many assumptions, I just couldn't get behind some of her decisions. For that reason, the romance was tarnished for me, and I found myself skimming a lot - and it's not a particularly long book. So this was a miss for me, but I'm sure there are readers out there who are going to love it.

One of the best romances I’ve read this summer! It’s workplace nemesis-to-lovers set at an internet start-up in England. Marina Spicer is a coder, with a life-plan: work promotion, new apartment, a husband, and kids, and after wasting 15 years on her ex-boyfriend who didn’t want those things, she’s ready to enact her plan now. In an effort to cut the BS out of online dating, she created Dealbreakers - an app for women to rate their dates so that other women don’t waste their time. Enter Lucas Kennedy, an Irish writer who has been working remotely as a freelance writer for the startup, and has been trading passive-aggressive emails with Marina the whole time. When the pair are teamed up to compete on a project, the winner of which will receive a promotion, the sparks fly. Despite their intense attraction to one another, Dealbreakers reveals that Lucas is nothing Marina wants… except someone forgot to tell her heart… as they spend more and more time together, Marina begins to question of her dealbreakers are actually holding her back instead of helping her to move forward with her plan.

If you loved The Hating Game or Shipped, you will absolutely love Dealbreakers. The tension and attraction between Marina and Lucas is so thick you can practically cut it with a knife, and the push and pull between them has you screaming at Marina to just get her head out of her a$$ LOL

Dating is like navigating a minefield, so many hidden explosives that threaten to blow up.
Marina developed a little app so women could add notes to their dating experience, a novel idea.
Of course she starts hanging out with Lucas, who has received some of the worst scores.
Is she wasting time or is there really something there?
It’s a cute angle for a rom-com and the ending was good.

Dealbreaker is a fun read. It started strong for me but ended slow. but overall I enjoy reading it and will recommend to others.
Thank you Netgalley for the Advance E-readers copy.

3.5 stars

I greatly enjoyed Lauren Forsythe's debut The Fixer Upper, so it was an absolute no-brainer to pick up Dealbreakers. Her particular brand of women's fiction is definitely more grounded than most, which is such a treat as I have grown to find most books of the genre to be overly twee or underdeveloped in the romance department.

Dealbreakers, while treading familiar ground, is an immensely enjoyable read that made me long for that fireworks feeling of falling in love. It's light, it's fun, and a great reminder that love can find you in the most unexpected of places. Reading this was an absolute delightful way to spend a rainy weekend afternoon and I hope that other readers get to enjoy Marina and Lucas as much as I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Marina Spicer is a coder living in London, trying to get back into the dating game to get "back on track" after her boyfriend of 15 years leaves her. She has everything all planned out about her future and is frustrated by the men she meets and is feeling stuck in her job. To get a promotion and move ahead, however, she has to work with her nemesis to prove that the fun activities the company promotes are better for friend events, not dates.

This was a really unexpected book for me. I liked the setting, the banter, the friendships, and really connected with Marina's feelings of being stuck, not good enough, and not living the life she wants to be. Marina and Lucas' relationship was cute and never felt forced or off. I also really liked Marina's support system with her friends and her dad (♥️) encouraging her to get out there and try more things. The only thing I didn't really care for was the epilogue - I thought it ended perfectly without it!

Dealbreakers was a cute, easy read. Work enemies to lovers trope with forced proximity but no spice. I enjoyed the storyline, but things seemed to progress either really slow, or really quick. It had a great cast of characters though and good banter.

Marina is a coder who has invented an app called Dealbreakers. It’s basically a rating system for people on dating apps; if the real life person matched what they have on their profile and if they are good people just not right for them. (This is a genius idea!)

At work, she’s on the road to promotion, but her email only colleague is in her way. When Lucas shows up to the office, she can’t believe this handsome (and tattooed) man is the same person she’s been corresponding with. Their boss decides to send them on some dates to test new ideas for things to do. The series of dates they go on was absolutely hilarious especially the axe throwing date. Marina can’t help but take a look at Lucas’ profile and he has one of the worst reports on the whole app. Apparently, he’s famous for making women feel like they are one in a million and then just leaving them.

Marina loves getting to know Lucas and she’s getting very close. But she can’t help be wonder if the dealbreakers comments are telling her something. Should she listen to her own instincts?

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Lucas’ Northern Irish accent will have you absolutely swooning. I loved that Marina made her own app! I loved that she had a real job she worked hard to get and was successful. Thank you @putnambooks, @laurenforsthye and @prhaudio for my gifted ebook. Dealbreakers is out on August 1!

4.5 stars

Fun, witty and enjoyable enemies to lovers plot. Took a few chapters to get me engaged but overall I enjoyed the story.

I’m a bit conflicted on this one. I think I liked it, I flew through it, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. I think it all just felt a bit judgy? Like one way of life is “right” and one is “wrong”. I don’t know, maybe I need to think on it some more cause I thought the romance was fun with them being work nemesis of sorts and then being forced to do these activities together, getting to know each other along the way.

Tropes:
💻 workplace romance
🤭 banter
❤️ "darling"
👥 forced proximity

single POV
3/5 stars ⭐️
0/5 spice level 🌶️

Ｒ Ｅ Ｖ Ｉ Ｅ Ｗ 🪓❤️

ᴅᴇᴀʟʙʀᴇᴀᴋᴇʀꜱ
ʙʏ: ʟᴀᴜʀᴇɴ ꜰᴏʀꜱʏᴛʜᴇ
ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: ᴀᴜɢᴜꜱᴛ 1, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

This book was overall just good fun to read. With enemies to lovers, chemistry, forced proximity, and a charming guy with an accent; it was a sweet read that you won’t want to put down.

Synopsis: Coder Marina Spicer has no time to waste when it comes to love, hence her long list of dealbreakers. Frustrated by the online dating world, she created Dealbreakers, an anonymous app where women review how men stack up to their internet profiles. Her high standards have served her well at work, so why not in love?

Enter Lucas Kennedy. A charming Irish content writer, he’s the only one standing between Marina and her long-deserved promotion. Much to Marina’s chagrin, the two are paired on a project to test out date ideas, ultimately determining which of them will run the department. Taking a peek at Dealbreakers hoping to learn some dirt about her rival, she finds he’s the worst-rated man on the entire app.

As Lucas and Marina argue their way through mixing cocktails, salsa dancing, and throwing axes, Marina finds herself having more fun than she’s had in years. So when temptation becomes too strong to resist, Marina allows herself to break some of her own rules. After all, if the Dealbreakers say he’s Mr. Wrong, he can’t possibly be Mr. Right . . . can he?

I really enjoyed watching Marina’s feelings for Lucas develop over the book. She was so stuck on her checklist of what she wanted in a relationship and life that all along in front of her stood Lucas who absolutely adored her. I would recommend this heart and humor book to anyone that loves a good romcom.

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ @netgalley & penguin group @putnambooks ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇꜱᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ

*4.5

This was super cute! I liked seeing her slowly fall for Lucas without knowing it. She was so stuck on what she wanted in a relationship that she didn't see what was right in front of her. He was so patient and kind of obsessed with her and I loved it.

I received an arc through netgalley.