Girl gets peer pressured into harnessing wizard level manipulation skills to make profit. Is forced to take on her childhood love as a client because her mom sucks.

Started really slow, you don’t meet Dylan until almost 10% into the book.

They also both became totally fine with each other and fall back into their friendship almost instantaneously and without any resolution. That comes much later. There was a lot of potential with the best friend/stranger/enemy to lover tropes that wasn’t met.

I didn’t really resonate with any of the characters and the romance was nonexistent. Typical gay best friend, typical static mean girl antagonist. I did enjoy Eric and Ben’s relationship. From the small glimpses the reader gets that seemed like the most realistic thing in the whole novel.

Ally’s relationship with her mother and her internal battle surrounding that was done well. I loved the way the novel portrayed her childhood trauma and how it has impacted her life.

Some of the actions taken were really out of character and seemed to only happen to further the plot, and not something that would feasibly happen. Felix was totally normal until the last half of the novel where he became the biggest d bag.

Would I read it again? Probably not.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The first half of this book was a drag and I considered DNFing it multiple times. The end was cute, but I think it could have been a shorter piece.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC.

Aly just can't seem to reach her dreams, but she's great at helping other people reach theirs! She hasn't had a serious relationship in her adult life, instead dating a series of "fixer-uppers"--men who are not motivated or who just can't seem to take that last step toward their dreams. Somehow--she has been "fixing" each of them, and just before they take off into success, she abandons the relationship. She's doing the same at work, and keeps getting passed over for a promotion but helping others so much that they are taking her for granted and using her work to launch their own success. So she and her friends start using her "power" for good to help people improve their own relationships. Until a huge opportunity comes, but it's to "fix" the only man she has ever loved...her best friend who didn't love her back...who is now close to proposing to someone else. How does she "fix" someone she always thought was perfect when it's just...complicated?

I was surprised in several ways by this book. The first was that I didn't expect that it would start at the beginning and we'd see how her lack of boundaries and need to help others is a chronic problem. I was expecting it to start in the middle with her business of helping others already set up as her main thing (not a side hobby), and we'd be shown her origin story in pieces as the book progressed. I was intrigued by this unexpected straightforward timeline, and I think it worked well. I was also surprised by how obvious it was that her lack of boundaries was having such a detrimental impact on her life. She willfully ignores good advice and lets family and coworkers take advantage of her ALL THE TIME. It was frustrating as a reader, but I also understand it was a necessary part of the story. The book and characters were enjoyably well-written. I definitely felt drawn into the narrative and was fully engaged and pulling for all the right people.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher

Rounded up from 3.5 stars. My feelings on this were complicated: I loved Aly and the whole gang (would totally read a Ben/Eric book). However, I agree with what many other reviewers pointed out: There was very little actual romance in this book! I also can’t even count how many times the word “snorted” was written. I enjoyed the ending but this just didn’t hit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I actually had to DNF this book! I couldn’t connect with the main character at all…I was very irritated with the fact that the men need “fixing up” instead of accepting them for who they are and they were needing to conform to what was “socially acceptable” or “perfect for her” it just seemed very narcissistic. I also felt like this wasn’t a romance but maybe was labeled as the wrong genre.

I know there are people out there who will love this book but it just wasn’t for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putman for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! The Fixer Upper follows Aly, an ambitious and focused woman who has always put her plans and career first. When she runs into an ex and his new wife, she does some digging with her best friends and quickly realizes that all of her exes are living better, grander lives since she broke up with them. She spent all her relationships fixing these men, but never reaping the rewards of her work. Armed with that knowledge, she and her best friends start a business helping women “fix” the men in their lives. All is going well until a high profile client hires them to help her, and Aly has to face the consequences of her past.

Overall, I felt very neutral toward this book. I love the concept, and I liked Aly, Eric and Tola. My biggest issue comes with the pacing. We are 20% of the way in before the main conflict has really taken root and we meet the MMC. We are 60% (!!!) of the way into the book before we even get a CRUMB of emotional intimacy between the main characters! The tension beforehand was not intimate or flirty. At 70% of the way through the book the MMC is still attached to someone else, saying he loves someone else, and Aly is still lying to him. While Nicki is made to be annoying I am not rooting for Aly at all 70% of the way in!!! How can I be when the MMC is telling her he’s in love and happy?

I also take issue with the love interest in general. I don’t like that he is emotionally unfaithful, and I have a hard time believing in him and Aly.

If it sounds interesting, I say give it a go, but go in with the knowledge that it reads slowly (which is not necessarily a bad thing!)

With a second chance story, complex MCs, and amazing and hilarious side characters— this book made me laugh, yell, and tear up!

Alyssa aka Aly has noticed a trend with her past relationships— each of her exes has become significantly more successful after she dated them, yet she was still in the exact same spot. Along with her friends, Aly starts The Fixer Upper, in which women call her to “fix” their boyfriends and husbands with tips and tricks to get them to more for their job, relationship, or family. But when Aly is hired by a famous influencer to “fix” her boyfriend, Aly discovers it’s actually her ex-childhood-best friend and first love who she has to fix.

This story was a great combination of humor, friendship, complex family dynamics, and love. We got to explore so many aspects of Aly’s life, which made her such a complex and relatable character. Aly is a people pleaser but also wants to be in control of things so that they don’t go wrong. I loved getting to go through this journey of growth and finding her own strength that she had encouraged in others.

Dylan James brought out so many emotions. After initially being so annoyed by him, I very quickly warmed up to Dylan and his friendship with Aly. There was so much history between our two MCs, who were truly the only two who understood each other. It is so obvious they they never stopped caring for one another and I loved seeing that in small details.

The side characters were hilarious and I was totally invested in them as well! I loved getting to understand Aly through the way her family is. Forsythe really captures the complexity of her family, which drives Aly’s growth.

Even though this is without a doubt a romance, Aly’s character arc is what really resonated with me. As the two get reacquainted with each other, they also get reacquainted with who they each used to be, which is vital in their growth. I absolutely loved it.

I absolutely loved this book, although keep in mind it reads much like a cross between women's fiction and romance rather than straight romance (the only reason I docked a point). Aly and her friends realize that she "fixes" every man she's been with... so why not test this out? Their experiments turn into a side business, which leads to Aly being hired to "fix" the only man she's really ever loved, her childhood best friend, Dylan. Dear readers, this was a really slow burn, but SO WORTH IT. The ending had me in happy tears. There were also strong friendships, a sweet secondary romance, and a lot of character growth that I really appreciated. It was hard to put this book down at times because there were moments when everything, EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong. My jaw dropped, and I rarely could predict what was going to happen next. Forsythe has a gift here. If you want an unexpected love story that will make you feel like you grew up with the main characters, pick this book up. I'm so glad I did and will be reading whatever Forsythe writes next (hint, can Tola get a book?). A big thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for a fair review!

I really liked the premise of this book but sadly, it was hard for me to get through it. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters at all.
Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really intrigued by the original concept of the story and loved the fast paced beginning. I even highlighted a few sections that I really liked and made me laugh. Unfortunately, it wasn't able to keep that pace for me.

I enjoyed watching Aly find her footing in life as she developed the types of friendships she always wanted. I liked watching her finally standing up for what she deserves and finding a way to fix herself in the fashion she had always done for her boyfriends. What I would have liked to have seen was more of the romance. Without giving away too much, I had some issues with the main love interest and didn't fully subscribe to his way of dealing with his feelings. He was a serial dater, but also the victim at the same time. With all of her self discovery, I thought Aly deserved more in the end.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down! It was so charming and the characters were so likeable. Would definitely recommend to friends

Absolutely adorable characters and plot. I enjoyed every twist and turn and loved the plot line. I have always loved this authors books and was not disappointed n this one.

This one had a slow start and it took me some time to connect to any of the characters. I found Aly to be a bit grating at the beginning and her relationship with her “mama” felt forced. Also I had a hard time getting past her juvenile name for her mother and how she would drop everything to help her when her mom wouldn’t even help herself. The supporting characters in this one were fun but we didn’t get a lot of depth with any of them. I wanted more about Ben and Tola particularly.

I did love that Aly gained some confidence throughout the story. I also enjoy seeing personal growth along with the romantic relationship in a romcom. I’m a sucker for a second chance romance but the premise of changing Dylan for a woman he doesn’t love was hard to swallow. The writing was well done and overall an enjoyable story.

This book has a slow start but is so good! Aly realizes that she has fixed up every boyfriend she has had. She made them grow up and reach full potential. Her and her friends decide to turn it into a business. It’s all fun and games until she gets hired to help her former best friend and crush reach his full potential and propose to an influencer. The story is a sweet second chance romance.

I really liked this book, even though I predicted the whole ending. It was a really cute romance book to get through quickly. I also really liked all of the characters. Aly was independent and was needed for a lot in her life, which is relatable. I would totally recommend this!

this was just meh for me. as many other reviewers have already mentioned, it's slow to start, and even then, we don't see a ton of character development. not a lot of chemistry between the main relationship, and it felt a little ick that she was actually more or less going for someone else's boyfriend in this quest to fix him but also steal him. not all books are for everyone, and i think this one just wasn't for me!

I loved the premise of this book--a woman who has a knack for turning her ex-boyfriend's lives around starts a business to help fix up anyone's man! The MC was witty and hilarious and the banter between them was quite funny as well.

I do wish the romance was leveled up a bit. It felt sweet and the journey that was the MCs relationship was well thought out if at times a bit slow building. But overall a very cute romance!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
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I was very close to DNFing this book near the beginning. The start was too slow for me. I didn’t care about any of the characters at first. I started to get invested halfway through. I really liked the best friends to enemies to lovers trope. I also understand why the main character Aly was good at fixing people. A lot came from what she experienced at home with her parents- but even then I didn’t care but about her parents either. I will say, I wish we could have seen a bit more of Eric and Bens relationship and a bit more romance overall. I also really liked the growth Aly had at the end! I didn’t HATE the book, but I did enjoy it. However, it’s more of a 3.5 star read for me.

This was the breakout romance book I've been hoping for!

Most of us in our heart of hearts do not trust our boyfriends/fiances/partners/husbands to do things around the house, and do them well- like when you ask them to mop the floor, and there are still dirty footprints on the floor, or you ask them to do the laundry and they only take it out of the dryer and don't fold it... yeah, you know.

Now imagine you could change that.

Enter Aly, who is the ultimate girlfriend- she leaves her boyfriends better off than when she finds them, we're talking hot mess express to executive. So when she turns this talent for bettering others into a business, oh yeah, now we're talking.

UNTIL the man she's bettering is the best and worst part of her past.

I loved everything about this book, all of our characters, the downfalls, plot twists... this was so gosh darn cute and I just want to be friends with Aly.

Easy five stars!

Nope nope nope not the book for me. The writing was fine but I just hated the premise and the characters so much. Is there a bigger cliché than someone starting a self-improvement business when they’re literally willing to do NONE of the work to improve their own unhappiness in life?

Did these ladies really think starting a business to manipulate men into being better was going to end well? The conflicts were predictable from one thousand miles away. The supporting characters were the only saving grace and I don’t even know how they put up with the main character’s BS with such understanding. The lack of growth was astounding.

Hoping my next go-around with this author is a more enjoyable plot.