I received this from NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were so many adorable things about this book.

This is an opposites attract love story. I especially loved the details about repairing the house that they're sharing. They have to work through those difficulties while also managing their careers. When one is a free spirit and the other an organized-have-no-time-off person, there's bound to be tension. My favorite part is when the secrets are revealed. The Fixer Upper is a feel-good romance with a bit of spice.

Aly firmly believes she is on the right career path. But her personal life is another mater altogether. She has a knack for picking men "with potential" who can never seem to get it together. A chance meeting in a bar with one of her exes demonstrates that Aly is the thing that pushes her exes to be better, she is the catalyst for their personal epiphanies. One of her former projects is now successful and checks all of the boxes she deems necessary to demonstrate he is a fully matured adult: he has a legitimate career; he has a beautiful, accomplished fiancee; he has a house in the suburbs.

When Aly lets her friends Tola and Eric know about the meeting and her discovery, they decide to take an objective look at the data and examine Aly's effect on the twelve men she has dated. All twelve of them had 360 degree reinventions when the relationship ended. Tola and Eric are convinced this means that Aly is a genuine "fixer-upper" - someone who knows exactly how to motivate men who aren't quite ready to pop the question, or go after their dreams, to finally do it.

For months they take on side projects as a team, helping women who seem caught in limbo. And then a big potential client reaches out with an opportunity that seems too good to be true. Groom her boyfriend's social media image, help him nail the campaign to launch his start-up and convince him to propose. Aly agrees and all is well until she meets her new fixer=upper.

He is none other than her first love and she hasn't seen him in fifteen years.

This second-chance romance is all about standing up for what you want - especially learning to say know to time vampires who will suck energy from you and people in your life who want to step on your back to give themselves a boost to the top. It's about claiming your voice as a woman in the workplace and realizing you don't have to be nice to people who continuously take advantage of you.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. The Fixer Upper was a sweet (very low heat) romantic comedy. There were definitely a few moments that verged on being too much second-hand embarrassment, but it was still fun. I always have a soft spot for the best friends to lovers trope, but I do wish it that Aly realized a little sooner that she didn't need to fix Dylan. This book was sweet, fairly funny, and a bit of a romp.

I loved the characters and the sweet second chance romance. Their group of friends was fun and they kept me entertained. I loved the story of her relationship with her mom. The romance had tension, pining, and drama - everything I love about second chance romance. But…there isn’t much payoff for all the angst. The ending was cute, but I was disappointed. Everything between them was tied up in a bow and it’s written like an HEA, but things aren’t actually resolved. I was waiting for so much more. I don’t think they overcame the issues that caused their problem at all. Dylan didn’t actually make a choice and why (?!) after everything she learned, was Aly still the one fixing everything in the end? I just didn’t buy it and that was my main issue with the book. I didn’t buy into the ending or the premise.

The premise - their fixer upper business - felt so unrealistic that I didn’t care for the first 20% of the book, which was all about the setup of the business. Aly and her two work besties are hired by women to fix their men, thereby instantly fixing the relationship, because obviously the men are the only problem. It only takes one conversation with the man in question to get them to do exactly what their partner has been wanting for years. They have a 100% success rate. It was way too simplistic and I wasn’t into it.

Once Dylan came into the story, I really did enjoy the book—up until the ending. There were so many great moments that I almost forgot what wasn’t working.

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe is a listed as a romantic comedy where Aly is always fixing everything. From her friends' love lives, coworkers' problems, everything but advocating for herself. When she starts up a side gig to help women help their significant others everything is going great until a high profile influencer enlists her help and the guy she needs fixing is her childhood best friend...

It seemed more like women's fiction than romance to me, and it was a cute story!

I have accepted that publishers seem to be fast and loose with the rom-com label. This book was fun and amusing, but in my opinion, the story was more about Aly. Though the sheer fact that all these men she dated were a better version of themselves AFTER dating her could be frustrating, the truth was that they improved or succeeded because of her sacrifices. Aly had a tendency to put her needs after others, and it was this thread of the story that really spoke to me. Women are somewhat conditioned to nurture others at the expense of their own needs. That was a big theme in this story, and it was wonderful to see Aly finally recognize this in herself, so that she could put herself first and achieve all her heart’s desires.

Though it was light on the romance, I was all in because I have a thing for second chance romances. I will admit, I was frustrated to learn both sides of the tale of why the friendship between Aly and Dylan ended, but I also reveled in watching them reconnect. I am a sap for long and storied friendships, and these two just seemed to be each other’s “person”.

I would say one of my favorite things about this book was Aly’s reunion with her childhood best friend, but I also adored the cast of supporting characters. They all contributed to how fun and feel-good this story was, and I delighted in their brand of chaos.

Overall, I found The Fixer Upper to be a solid debut. A fun and entertaining story with a cast of characters to adore and amuse me. It was also very satisfying to see the fixer finally put herself and her needs first. All of this was topped off by an utterly delightful ending left me with a smile on my face.

In a moment of clarity, Aly notices that every man that she has dated and subsequently ended things with has gone on immediately after her and done something incredible. This includes getting a job they wanted but were too scared or lazy to attempt to go for, buying a house, even finding love and getting married. That's when she decides to start a fixer upper program, where she helps woman by doing their emotional labor of encouraging the men in their lives to realize their potential. It is all going good until her most famous client puts forth extreme wishes of wanting her boyfriends new company to launch and be successful AND to have said boyfriend propose in an extremely short amount of time. This is especially true when Aly finds out the man she wants Aly to encourage to propose to her, is Aly's former best friend Dylan who she hasn't talked to in years. Of course, that's when issues arise.

This sweet romance book was an incredibly quick read for me because I truly could not put it down! It was a cute new concept that felt very fresh and kept me interested for sure. I could easily see this being an incredibly romcom movie. The character development was fantastic, I felt like we got a true sense of Aly and Dylan, and the side characters of Aly's friends Tola and Eric are fantastic and I hope that they get their own book as well because I loved their characters!!!

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, especially if they love a feel good story that completely wraps up and just leaves you feeling warm. I received a review copy from PENGUIN GROUP via NetGalley and I voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review

There wasn’t too much I liked about this book. I really didn’t like the main characters, at all, but did enjoy when the side characters were in the scene. The entire premise of the story was based on outright lies, lies of omission and deceit. It wasn’t working for me. It was one of those stories where I was internally screaming, “Just tell the truth! Just communicate!!” This one left much to be desired.

I get that this is a slow burn and women's fiction novel, but I couldn't stay concentrated on it. It did not hold my attention and truth be told, I was quite bored with it. I could not draw myself into the story with the characters.

If Jane Austen’s Persuasion was a modern romcom then it would be The Fixer Upper! This book is full of heart and funny moments, amazing friends and complicated family, navigating the ups and downs of social media, and an emotional second-chance romance. It felt a little slow to start, but then I really got into it and loved all of the characters (except maybe a few that you love to hate) and the second-chance romance. Lovely, emotional, romantic story!

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe is a listed as a romantic comedy where Aly is always fixing everything. From her friends' love lives, coworkers' problems, everything but advocating for herself. When she starts up a side gig to help women help their significant others everything is going great until a high profile influencer enlists her help and the guy she needs fixing is her childhood best friend...

It seemed more like women's fiction than romance to me, and it was a cute story!

Book Review:

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe

This is a cute premise and a really enjoyable rom-com. I liked Aly and Dylan's history and their chemistry. It's a pretty PG romance so mostly focuses on the characters and feelings more than their actions. It has a great ensemble cast for both Aly and Dylan.

If you have a beach trip coming up I would definitely bring this one with you!!

Thanks to @netgalley for this advanced reader!

#BookReview #Bookstagram #LaurenForsythe #TheFixerUpper #GPPutnamsSons #BookishLife #Reading #BookRecommendations #RomanceBookStagram #RomanceBooks

I liked this one, good banter, perfect British humor, but I get really frustrated with characters who don't/can't/won't communicate. It makes for a frustrating read, especially when half the time I'm thinking JUST SAY SOMETHING.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy of The Fixer Upper in exchange for my honest review.
Predictable romantic comedy with some funny parts, but a bit confusing and the flow was a bit off for me. The Fixer Upper service seemed over the top and unrealistic. Quite a bit of drama and overall, the story didn't come together in the end, but it was a happy ending.

I was so annoyed with this book. It felt like a “fix what I don’t like about the partner” book. I didn’t connect with any of the characters.

I just couldn't enjoy these characters or story. From the main female character, so the guy's girlfriend, to the general unrealistic, manipulative storyline... it just all was so unappealing to me I couldn't enjoy it at all.

I think I've realized that this style of romance just isn't for me. I've read a few 'woman confronts her ex's who are thriving in their new relationship' books and it's been a struggle for me to connect with the characters each time. While I appreciate Aly's positive fixer attitude and I'm always here for a second chance/childhood friends to lovers romance, this didn't give me the butterflies that I wanted.

Aly is waiting for her reservation at a restaurant but soon finds out that they don't accept solo reservations. Until her married ex shows up and insists the waiter gives her a table for one—unless he's being discriminating.

Suddenly, the ex thanks Aly for being forceful with him to improve his life. Hoping it ends there, he asks the dreaded question.

I suddenly realized where the conversation was about to shift, and there was no way to avoid it. I rallied my energy for the inevitable: Who’s doing better now? Who’s winning at life?

Her good friends do research to test a theory and find out that all the men Aly has dated became successful after leaving her. After pondering on the thought that she may have been wasting her time all.these years, a plan forms in her mind.

Even though Aly is a character who's portrayed as insecure, overworked, and hurting — while hiding all these, she grows so much. She was a relatable character, and I loved how Lauren weaved her flaws into the story, showing us we're all humans.

Thanks to Putnam for sending me a galley! I loved it.

Aly has always been good at fixing things for the people around her, and she seems to have a special talent for fixing her boyfriends. After every break up, the man she was with seems to get his life together and find the woman he ends up with. She decides to put her talent to use and starts a business helping women fix their significant others. But things get complicated when one of her first clients is asking her to fix her former best friend.

This was the slowest of the slow burns. This one was sweet, but a bit too slow for me at times. However, there was some fun banter, and this was an entertaining premise. I really enjoyed how it all wrapped up, which ultimately made the journey worth it.

Thanks to Putnam Books for the advance copy.

It took me awhile to get into The Fixer Upper - Aly is a "master manipulator" as she fixes those around her. I did really appreciate her character growth by the end, though. The friends were the best part for me. The social media influencer, Nicki, was the WORST. I liked how this book had narratives the overall message on not letting people walk all over you and communicating with honesty. This was a really solid debut from Lauren Forsythe and I am definitely interested in seeing what she writes next! (less)