I received this ARC through net galley. I enjoyed this book immensely. Aly, has always been a fixer of everyone. It seemed only natural that her two best friends wanted to start a business where they could fix men for women. Their business became the Fixer Upper. Their new client, an insta-famous woman who wants to fix her man so he’ll propose and improve his business. Only problem is…. The man is Aly’s childhood crush! You’ll have to read to see how things turn out..

Read this if you:
•like trying to fix people’s problems
•liked Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
•like second chance romances
•like a good strong & independent female MC

I loved Aly. She was great. Dylan was the sweetest. My fav quote: “Because you’re not happy. And it’s very important that you be happy.”

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: Aug 2

I really liked the details of the story, but there are a few things that didn’t flow well for me. This is a minor detail but when she refers to her mother as “Mama” it really threw me off. The character is based in the UK, but Mama gives off strong southern vibes, so it kept pulling me out of the story because I would have to remind myself of the location of the story. I also really wanted to have a bit more of a look into how the Fixer Upper business took off; we just have it mentioned and then a brief description of all the people that were asking for help- then all of a sudden a social media star enlists their help for a lot of money. It didn’t seem realistic- there wasn’t enough build up to support that drastic jump in circumstances. I really loved Aly and Dylan, and their love story from when they were kids is sweet, I just needed a little bit more to their story to become fully invested. The ending was fantastic- it was like the middle of the book almost didn’t fit.

This is a very cute romance. I found it to be a really quick read with little to no grammar errors. I love that in this book the female is the one to apologize as in most books the female does not do anything wrong. It's hard for me to dislike charters and this author made me strongly dislike the "villain" of the book. I really enjoyed all the character development and of course, the ending was extremely cute and something I have not seen in any other book. My new favorite thing is finding 5 things to be happy about and if I don't then create them!

⭐️ ⭐️.5 stars. This book was decent, but not exceptionally memorable. I found it to be a very slow start and did not want to pick it up until I was more than halfway through. Overall though, the writing was solid, the storyline was new and fresh, and the characters were likable. I found myself more into the two male side characters than I was into the MCs, so if the author does a spin off with them I would definitely give them another shot.

4 stars!

This was a cute story about how a woman who is able to fix everyone's problems except her own. It was at times difficult to keep reading since it was slow, but I think I was just going through a reading slump. But, a sweet story and I loved the hero! :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! :)

This was a very enjoyable romance about a woman with a gift for making ordinary, sloppy boys into successful men and I think it'd be a great feature film. There are some formulaic elements but they were easy to overlook, as the cast of characters was both vivid and likable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this one.

This was a quick, fun read. There were times where I definitely felt for the main character - trying to succeed in a job ruled by the patriarchy - and really love how Forsythe showed her growth and emergence.

The story was a *little* slow to get started, but once it did it moved right along. I liked the characters, though I did see Dylan as being a little bit shallow and lost. Aly was definitely the strong character of the relationship. And by the end of the story, I'm still not sure I'd call Dylan strong (though he is making strides to be more true to himself).

A solid 3.5 stars.

I was given the privilege to read my very first ARC this week and I could not be happier with the first book given to me! So thank you NetGalley, Putnam Books and Lauren Forsythe for giving me the opportunity!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel was an absolute pleasure to read! In the beginning it reminded me of Good Luck Chuck where after dating the main character they then end up with the love of their lives, living their best life! But this novel proved to be so much more!

Aly is a 30-something year old who has realized that she has put her whole life on hold to focus on her career, a career that has failed to promote her despite basically running the show and fixing everyone’s mistakes in the company. Her two coworker/best friends find out that she not only fixes people at work but fixes people in her life. That’s the beginning of their side hustle of helping women’s relationships by fixing their partner to be more ideal.

The Fixer Upper trio get more than they bargain for when they hit it big with a celebrity influencer account! The only problem? Aly knows exactly who this influencer’s boyfriend is. Dylan just so happens to be her ex-best friend and very first love.

How is Aly and Dylan’s work relationship when he pretends that he has never met Aly before? What happens when little personal jokes keep sneaking out? And what will Aly do if Dylan ever finds out that she’s not there to fix his upcoming business opportunity but is actually fixing him to be the perfect husband to be?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. The idea of this book was great, and I loved Ary and Dylan's story. I think it was strong and you could see their past connection when you read it.
Now, I don't know if it's me, but this book was way too descriptive. I am a lover of dialogues and that happened way too little, which disappointed me a little bit. For that same reason, it took me sometime to acclimate to the book and start enjoying it. But right in the middle picked up just great. I loved the second part. It was raw and real and there were more significant conversations and things happening. I would have loved to exploit the Nicki-Ary banter a little more, but still, just the fact that it *was* there in the first place made me happy. I think it is a great story of growth WITH a bit of romance in it.

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was intrigued, it had all the right elements for a wonderful book, but unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I wanted more excitement, drama, yet the whole time reading, I was incredibly bored. Honestly, I wasn't invested in any of the characters or their backstories. Aly's entire motivation was unclear to me, she was so focused on fixing everyone else before helping herself.

The only redeeming part of this book is the ending, of course I wanted to see her get her HEA, but it doesn't fix any of the issues that I had with this story. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone I know, that's how much I disliked it.

This was such a fun book. It really reminded me of Hitch - the Will Smith movie except more British. I was obsessed with the banter between Aly and the other characters. This was a very witty book. Aly and Dylan had great chemistry but I hated that Aly was such a people pleaser. I found myself kind of annoyed. I loved the friendship between Aly and Tola and Eric. That was one of the best parts of the book. A lot of that dialogue was so great. I did really enjoy Lauren Forsythe's writing. She clearly has a knack for banter and good, solid tension between characters.

I would definitely recommend this one to a friend.

4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Putnam for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book!

I loved this book! Women's fiction plus good feminism is the best combo. I don't know what tropes to put this under, but I'm so glad I requested this book, it got approved, and I read this masterpiece. Allysa's character and attitude though a little extreme were more than relatable. There were plenty of quotes in the book that I loved and will share in my official review on my blog. I won't say much more right now, except that you NEED this book.

I’m so happy I got the chance to read “The Fixer Upper” before it comes out! I enjoyed it! It starts off a little slow but a couple chapters in, it’s worth it! I loved the idea of this book, it’s something that haven’t read by any other author. I will definitely be recommending it! Also thanks to Net Galley, Author, and Publisher for the ARC!

If you were a fan of Christina Lauren's Love and Other Words, you will surely enjoy The Fixer Upper. This is a childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance with great characters, pacing, and development. The main character, Aly, was easy to relate to-- she was a woman working in a male-dominated industry who had to be intentional with every move and work ten times as hard as her male colleagues, she dealt with insecurities, had family issues, struggled with relationships. Her life gets flipped upside down when her first love, her childhood best friend Dylan, comes back into her life. And unfortunately, the circumstance in which they meet is not ideal.. Aly and her friends help women "fix" their lousy boyfriends and now, Aly has been hired to "fix" Dylan for her next client. The two learn to work out their past while figuring out their individual present personal issues and along the way try to rekindle the friendship they had so many years ago. Towards the end, I even teared up because what Aly and Dylan had was pretty special and you could tell how important they were to each other and the pain they were going through.
I also loved the side characters in this book: Eric, Tola, Ben, and Priya. They made the story that much more enjoyable with their different personalities and the way they cared for the main characters while still being strong on their own. This was such an enjoyable read and I would highly recommend The Fixer Upper once released!

A delightful romp of a romance novel and hit a little close to home. Why DO women feel the need to find someone who needs fixing? In this novel, Aly realizes, with a little help from her closest friends, that she has a knack for improving the men in her life before they head off to greener pastures. And that idea makes a fabulous business venture...help other women with her skills! Except that her biggest client just happens to be her childhood crush...and she may still feel something for him...

Fun read!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Aly is a fixer. She takes her old boyfriends, motivates them, pushes them, and changes them for the better. But she doesn’t get to reap the benefits… she finds herself in the same position with the same job and same life, while her ex-boyfriends are living successful lives.

Fear not, Aly uses this talent to her advantage and starts a company with her two best friends, working to fix up other women’s significant others and their situations. But what happens when a famous influencer ropes Aly in for help to fix her boyfriend… who used to be Aly’s first love?

Okay, this book is a major slow burn, and it took me a while to get through it. It was a cute read, but it seemed very average to me. The ending also seemed a bit rushed. However, I liked the concept, and Eric and Tola are the best friends that I wish I had in real life!

This was not what I expected but was pleasantly surprised. Reminds me a lot of one of my favorite movies, Hitch. It is just different enough that you get the vibes with a unique story too. I definitely recommend it.

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe - 4 stars | would recommend!

Congrats on this debut novel! I really, really enjoyed it! I am a Lauren Forsythe fan and am eager to read more of her work.

This was described as a sassy feminist romcom and I agree to that to an extent. While it was sassy (+ fun) and very pro-feminism… I do think it could have used more romance.

We got a look at Alyson who was married to her job and had her eye on a promotion. She was the best daughter, friend, colleague, and even acquaintance. She took care in those around her, asked questions, listened to the answers and made people feel so important. She was a fixer by fault. She enjoyed being a fixer of relationships, careers, personal issues…you name it, she would fix it. Until one day she is assigned a job to fix her ex-best friend / love of her life to perfect him for his famous current girlfriend. While in the process of working on that, she deals with many other issues both personal and in her career. She could fix so much around her, but could she fix her own life? That’s the million dollar question.

This book was fun, entertaining, and definitely got me thinking. I did find the friends in this book to be an amazing trio and felt like the book was more about a great, strong friendship + success in life rather than a second chance romance.

In light of the romance that did take place I had some favorite lines:

“Maybe they lived small lives, but they were so aware of what they had, of how much joy their was in small moments”

“Love is only meant to be terrifying right at the beginning, right before you fall… then its meant to feel like home”

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book!

This made me feel every type of emotion in the best way possible! Though I was laughing more than anything else. It is a second chance childhood friends to lovers, and it was so good. I will not lie there were points during the book I felt so unmatched to the characters, but I still enjoyed it. Though it was definitely more of a reconnecting with friends book than friends to lovers, it was nonetheless good! It's a quick read, I recommend it!