The Fixer Upper
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 8/2/22
Author: Lauren Forsythe
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 304
Goodreads Rating: 3.67

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: 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…

My Thoughts: This is a second chance trope with no real steam, which does not bother me, just mentioning as I know some readers look for that exclusively. The characters were developed well, while there was chemistry between Aly and Dylan, the steam wasn’t there, and there was some depth, but some more would of been a notch up. The friendship was built in this book was sweet and endearing. The miscommunications were more annoying and maybe a little much. This book did not completely meet my expectations. It was not bad, I just expected more from the book. Having said that, I would still read other books by this author.

When I first started this title I was very much interested in the characters and the development that would be happening. However, by the 30% mark the story just fell flat for me and I decided to stop reading in favor of other titles.

A romance that's all sweet and no spice, this story has elements of second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers, and enemies to lovers. I really loved that the main character grew so much in the story -- especially that her focus shifted from fixing up the "fixer upper" men around her to helping the women around her (and helping herself) stop settling for less than they deserve.

I was so happy to have been chosen to read this fun romcom. It was really cute and funny and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley and Lauren for the ARC of The Fixer Upper to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This is a quick second-chance romcom. If you're looking for spice, move along. The main character, Aly, has a knack for helping people find their success in life. She is good with advice and pushing people in the right direction. The problem is that her own life needs that treatment and she ignores it or makes excuses for it. She's a flawed character, but you still want her to get her own happiness.

The supporting characters are likeable and so cute. The plot is a little wavy at times, but it all comes together. I really enjoyed the smoothness of Lauren's style of writing and found myself wanting to read more and more. I did want a little more of the second chance relationship and had wished the ending would have been less rushed. Overall, a good, cute, quick read. Look for this book to drop in August.

I love Alyssa!!! She is literally the definition of a strong woman feminist and I strive to be her 😍 All she had to do was put on her orange lipstick and her feel-good boots and she was ready! I absolutely love how this book was a feminist rom-com!!! Keep them coming because if there's one thing I love as much as rom-coms it's strong female power. This book defintely reminded me of a mix of Miss Congeniality and The Wedding Planner because HELLO SANDRA BULLOCK is a freaking queen in MC and Jlo was kind of in love with Matthew McConaughey even though she was planning his wedding...Also, I didn't even realize this book was set in London but then I DID AND DYLAN SAID I FANCY YOU AND I WAS LIKE jabdgebjaksuyebj but also YOU KNOW I LOVE A LONDON BOY...I FANCY YOU!!!! Anyways...sorry, I'm getting a little carried away 😂 This book was full of pleasant surprises and I'm here for that because #tea. It enticed me to read more despite the Netgalley shelf app saying that the book was 686 pages long. There was a little bit of a slow start, but once Dylan and Aly meet again, it gets better! Now, I know I tagged this for Enemies-to-lovers, it's really more of a friends turned enemies (because Aly fleed the country like any normal human would do if they could) turned friends turned lovers.
The characters in The Fixer Upper didn't feel flat, they had personalities! I loved Tola, because she is the definition of a bad a$$ bitch!! Like Aly and Tola were the feminist powerhouse! I honestly just wanted Aly to quit and put her middle finger up to the world because f the patriarchy! This book was so good I really can't put why into words. I knew the climax was coming but that made it all the more exciting. AND I liked how Aly didn't come running back to Dylan after he drunkenly told her how he felt. She was still being a good friend and not acting like a desperate fool. The Fixer Upper was about growing as a person and realizing that the things you thought needed to be fixed are actually perfect the way they are. Like fixing up people's boyfriends felt good until Aly was fixing up her childhood best friend. But like the ending people! SO CUTE SQUEEEEEEEE Five things right now

*I just want to say THANK YOU to Lauren, Putnam Books, and of course Netgalley for giving me an arc!

~Becca 🇬🇧

Overall fun, interesting plot. Lighthearted story, Not a ton of romance in this one though. The work friend group’s dialogue was enjoyable to read. This would make a good beach read.

I totally read this book in one night. It was really enjoyable, but I would definitely say it leans more women's fiction than romance. This book does friendships and feminism really well. I laughed out loud so many times during Aly, Tola, and Eric's conversations. I highlighted so many quotes that were relatable about the female experience, and the whole book had a really great 'girl power' vibe. The romance was there, but felt like it was on the back burner even though it was supposed to be the focus. I definitely recommend this book though. It's an easy read that is super relatable for a lot of women.

This one started off rough for me. The whole Fixer Upper plan just felt off-putting, but something kept me reading. I'm glad I finished this as some of the feelings were addressed. I do feel like this book could be triggering for some who have been in emotional abusive relationships where manipulation has been a factor.
By and large, this is was a nice romance with an interesting plot line. This isn't one that you can recommend to any lovers of the romance genre, you will need to be a little more discerning.

I adored this book! It was a feel good, fun and everything I wanted in a rom-com. It felt like a typical rom-com movie and it was so enjoyable! I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Fixer Upper had potential in the premise, but ultimately fell flat for me.

Aly is the ultimate hypocrite, fixing everyone else except herself. She recognizes this early on, but fails to do anything about it until the very end. Instead she judges the influencer who hires her and makes a mess of everything. Just not a likable character, and neither is her love interest.

The Fixer Upper was a cute book. It’s an easy beach reach that you can probably finish in a day. There were many funny parts but no sexy love scenes. I was a little disappointed in that. Other than that, I enjoyed it.

Aly is always the one to fix a problem. She would fix a person without knowing it and once they are ready to move on, they would leave her behind. She had a series of boyfriends who got their dream jobs and life after leaving her. She was the one that everyone at work came to for help or to dump their work on since she wanted to help or fix them. Aly was hired by an influencer and given a month to get the influencers boyfriend to become the perfect she wants and to get him to propose. Her boyfriend was Aly’s old best friend and first love. Will Aly do the job she was hired for and fix her best friend or will she tell the truth and risk losing him forever?

The Fixer Upper was adorable! Aly is a woman who was always fixing others, but forgetting about herself in the process. She reunites with her childhood best friend, Dylan, and is reminded of her worth. My favorite parts of this book were the moments between Aly and Dylan. So much love, understanding and compassion! I would have loved a follow up chapter to see where they are today.

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe is a sweet read, perfect as a beach read. I especially loved the opening scene because I think it helped to quickly established the main character's personality and made her relatable. Throughout the novel, the plot was interesting and kept you reading. However, I would like to have seen more romance. Overall, it was a great read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Super fun and entertaining book set in London. I think the story line and situations are very current and relatable. Overall is an easygoing feel good book that will get you hooked.
And please, put attention to the dedication of the book, is a good one!

The setting...
I loved the plot and the premise of the book. Coming from an advertising major myself I enjoyed it more. It is super clear the generational differences and programing between characters and approaches to different situations throughout the book. The trope is clearly second chance love with lots of obstacles and miscommunication . However and big big HOWEVER, this book is a rom com, yet it has zero romance 😩. After all the angst and overcoming that Aly and Dylan go through, we are only rewarded with a kiss and the promise of a picture perfect ever after life.. What!!!?? Not even a fade to black scene. This is why I knocked out 1 star. I know there are readers who prefer this, so if this is what you like, this is the book for you :) but I do enjoy at least a scene or two of some 🌶.

The characters...
I loved them! Tola, Eric and Aly are friendship goals! Their banter and relationship gets you through the book. Eric charisma, charm and positivity is contagious. Tola's energy and mindset is refreshing. the contrast she provides to Aly's millennial programming is perfect. For Aly's character I kept going back to imagining her as an Olivia Pope or Hitch. She was super smart with good work intuition for everyone else except herself. Toxic mom relationship didn't help. Dylan I guess it was ok, his lack of personality contributes to the storyline but that's it. Finally Nikki 😂 she was manipulative but got things done, I would love to see a redemption story for her, that would be a good spinoff book. I know she is supposed to be "the bad guy" but her character and background for me has potential.

The book covers an array of different subjects along the storyline.
Aly's co-dependent mother with a bad relationship that sadly I think many women (and even men) are part of. Aly's work environment, super toxic but also very common. She does everything well, above and beyond, being passive aggressively manipulated by her boss, which honestly is the responsible of the whole toxic situation. The one time she actually uses her work benefits and gets blamed for not being part of the team got to me. And then, the whole "fixer upper" plan, I honestly thought it was a good thing. Some people do need a wake me up every now and then as part as a motivation. After all, "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results." Right?

Thank you NetGalley and Lauren Forsythe for the ARC of this book, I truly enjoyed it!!!!

I had a really fun time with this story. Aly and Dylan are adorable characters in this best friends to strangers to friends again lovers? Reunited/2nd chances are one of my favorite troupes and this one is super short easy read.

The fixer upper was a fun and fast read about Aly, who is a people pleaser, starting a business with two of her friends to help “fix up” people’s boyfriends. Aly ends up taking on a job to fix up a famous reality tv star’s boyfriend and convince him to propose to her, who ends up being Aly’s childhood best friend Dylan James. Dylan and Aly go from best friends to strangers to friends again in this novel.

Thank you again to the publisher and to NetGalley for sending me a virtual arc of this novel.

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 points about the book first was the MC character development, it was portrayed beautifully. second her relationship 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

Friends decide to create a service where they serve individuals in relationships by doing the heavy emotional lifting, so to speak, and strive to create happy endings while doing so.

A fun and intriguing read! Such a novel idea and the estranged childhood friend trope is always a hit (: