Cute premise and interesting characters. However, I had a bit of trouble getting into it.

There was a miscommunication (and overreaction in my opinion) that split up the MCs Aly & Dylan in the past. Upon being unexpectedly reunited, they did a lot of lying and dancing around things, which was very frustrating. Their emotions were a bit all over the place and I had a hard time connecting with them.

But I’m a sucker for a second chance romance, and there were so many cute things included that kept me reading… tell me 5 things, go on an adventure, tell me something true… etc. And the stories with her mom and yiayia… overall a cute story with a few snags for me personally. But will keep an eye out for future stories from this debut author.

Thanks to Putnam Group GP Putnam’s Sons & NetGalley for this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

One of the more convincing friends-to-enemies-to-lovers arcs I've read. And all of the bits about emotional labor and whatnot got me right in the gut. Sweet, adorable, and feisty.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ✨

I’m not going to lie - this book had a slow start and I had some trouble getting into the story line. Once the plot took off it turned out to be an adorable second-chance romance.

I loved seeing the interactions between Aly & Dylan. The other characters I could take or leave them.
Spice level: adorable
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I love the concept of The Fixer Upper! The Fixer Upper follows Aly and her friends, Tola and Eric, as they help men find their full potential in life. While Aly is able to help others, she can’t help her own love life. When an opportunity arises to help a famous influencer fix her boyfriend, Aly’s ex-best friend is suddenly thrown back into her life.

This is definitely a slow burn, which I loved! I’m also a huge fan of the friends (especially ex-best friends) to lovers trope. I was rooting for Aly to finally stand up, communicate, and be selfish! I found The Fixer Upper to be an easy and lighthearted read, which I enjoyed. The only issue I had was that the ending felt a bit rushed. Overall, I thought this book was adorable and I had fun reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a fun book! A romance but twisted up in the main character trying to escape her terrible boss and make a business for herself. Would make a great poolside or beach read for the summer.

I liked the overall message this story had for women. The dedication really resonated with me: “For the women who learned, sooner or later, that selfish is not a dirty word. It took me a while, too.”

While the actual romance in the book (a second chance trope) actually didn’t feel like the primary focus of the story, I actually didn’t mind because I liked the character growth with saw with Aly.

I don’t love a slow burn. Although I liked the characters I didn’t feel the payoff was worth it in the end, though.

Forsythe really said 'we're not accepting weaponized incompetence anymore' and I love that for her. A quick fun read, all the characters were endearing! Would reccomend

The character development is amazing. Loved the concept of the story and would totally watch this as a movie too! Reminded me of failure to launch but way better! Such a cute book, I didn’t want it to end!

“The Fixer Upper” by Lauren Forsythe (new author to this reader) is a cute and okay story of second chance love and where the main character, Aly finds herself coming face to face with her first love while in the process of fixing up other people’s love life. I understood the intent of the plot, but it fizzled in places. The slow burn until a quarter way into the story just to get to the love interest was a bit of a struggle for me. At times, there didn’t seem to be much attraction between Aly and Dylan…somewhat of a communication problem I’m guessing. Not much on romance. I did think Aly’s character could have been developed a bit more prior to coming to some sort of growth at the ending. I did look forward to this reading based on description, however it fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnum, for the ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Fixer Upper is a cute second chance romance where Aly puts her skills of fixing people and problems to good use until she's faced with the only boy she's ever loved after 15 years of separation.
Aly and her friends/coworkers start a business--The Fixer Upper--to 'fix' people, and toward the end of the book, they decide they'd rather take it in a different direction, which I was more on board with. I love the side characters and wish we'd gotten more of them. The book is more of a rekindling of friendship, understanding the past, and sharing feelings, than it is a romance.
Aly always fixes things for people in her life, but not herself. She has to learn to stand up for herself and to COMMUNICATE, especially with Dylan. I feel like she had so many opportunities at the end to show her growth and didn't until the last few pages. All plots and subplots seemed to resolve quickly, to the point that I have more questions than answers, but oh well.
It's a promising book, but not what I was expecting.

Pretty cute. Aly discovers that she loves a good project--especially fixing up men and relationships. However, is she helping or hurting? What happens when she decides her own life needs fixing?

I loved the writing itself. Because it was inviting and easy to jump into, I was able to continue past the slow opening, focusing on the clues set out letting me know the story would pick up and be everything I wanted out of the book.
And it did deliver! Once the story picks up in Chapter 6 (imho the first 6 chapters could definitely be condensed - too much groundwork covered), it gave me the butterflies and entertainment I hoped it would.
All of the characters were well developed, except for Nicki - though her annoyingness was easy to pick up on, she was a very two dimensional character.
I was a fan of Alyssa, Dylan, and Tola, and would love another book following up on their next chapters in life. You know it’s a good book, when you want to continue on in life with the characters.
I would probably give this book an 8.2, out of 10, only due to the extremely slow opening, but it’s definitely one I could see myself reading again.

“Because it’s only scary when your falling. And then it feels like home”

Brief Synopsis:
Aly always in control and striving to be perfect. She is constantly fixing everyone else’s problems; at work, her friends, her parents and her past boyfriends. All her Ex boyfriends turn their lives around after they date Aly. Aly and her friends from work decide to take Aly’s talents and make a covert business called The Fixer Upper. They are going to help women improve the men in their lives without the men knowing. When a famous Instagram influencer hires them to fix up her boyfriend everything changes when the boyfriend Dylan turns out to be Aly’s best friend from high school

My thoughts:
I loved Aly’s friend and business partner Tola. She was such an amazing friend and said what was on her mind no matter what! Nicki’s character was funny and represented the perfect influencer. Read if you love friends to lovers trope! Overall this book was SO adorable and fun to read!
Thanks so much to for the ARC!

I struggled with this one. I loved the concept but the build with the lover interest didn’t even begin until about 25% in. I didn’t love the characters, they fell flat without a lot of chemistry. I found myself bored and mostly reading about Aly’s busy work schedule. This book had a lot of missed potential.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnum, G. P. Putnum’s Sons for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4/5☆

Aly has always fixed everything and everyone in her life. Everyone always depending on her at her job. Aly always has something to "fix" even other people.

This books was an amazing read, and a slow burn with little romance which I did not mind at all! This books plays on the friends to lovers trope and executes it marvelously. These characters are dynamic as they change (especially aly) throughout the novel and learn more about themselves, life, and love. It was a cute story and would definitely recommend it especially if you love this type of trope.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsyth for the arc to review!

Okay, possibly the sweetest book I’ve read in a while! I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so I was hooked from the beginning.

I honestly didn’t want this to end. I loved the witty banter, the characters were all well developed and charming, and the settings were top-notch. The perfect trifecta to a British rom-com!

Lauren Forsythe’s overall message of being true to who you are, having open and honest relationships, and being present was so well written. As I was reading the main characters' POV, I kept thinking-out-loud… “that’s me,” “that’s what I do!” It honestly was really eye-opening and I kind of felt like I was reading about my own life.

The Fixer Upper operation reminded me of Hitch when he’s helping guys get a fighting chance with the girl of their dreams (except reverse roles).

Overall, I loved this and need more like it on my TBR! Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsythe for allowing me to review this book!


Favorite quotes:
“You, I wanted to say. You’re all five today.”

“Gratitude is an excellent emotion. But it’s not a shield that holds off bullshit indefinitely.”

“And then those blue eyes met mine like they were a dare.”

“It feels like maybe everyone else is acting in a movie and I never got the script.”

“Because it’s only scary when you’re falling. And then it feels like home.”

This was a very fun quick and light read, I enjoyed it a lot. There were parts that made me giggle, parts that made me want to cry.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book and the plot of it, Aly is a pushover and let’s everyone walk all over here. When her and her friends discover all her past boyfriends have actually become successful at the things she helped them with. So her and her friends decide to make a business venture which leads her to helping her very first and real love.

Which ends up spiraling into so much more, I love the way everything went together. Also it had a hint of friends-enemies-lovers and I think that’s what’s really hooked me.

I think if you like fun light banter, and a quick sweet read this one is for you.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC in return for my honest opinion!
I thought this book was a cute childhood friends to strangers to lovers. Aly has always fixed everything and everyone in her life. Everyone always depending on her at her job. When she has to 'fix' Dylan, her childhood best friend who she loved, she's not sure she can do this to him. Why should she change any of him for his famous girlfriend when he's perfect. But there's so much at stake. This book is very, very slow burn. In fact, you won't see much romance. Mostly focuses on Aly and her finally growing as a person.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsyth for an arc in exchange for a review!

This was a cute British rom com. Our main character, Aly, is a fixer. She fixes her boyfriends, the work of her colleagues, and her mom's issues with her dad. Aly is strong-willed and independent and overall a really fun main character. She is hired to "fix" her former best friend, whom she was in love with fifteen years ago. She hasn't spoken to him in fifteen years, but it's clear that there are some unresolved feelings between the two of them. She realizes that she doesn't want to fix him because to her, he is perfect the way he is. Overall, I enjoyed the story (although it was a bit far fetched). I really liked Aly as a character, she was well developed. I felt like Dylan didn't know what he wanted and I was frustrated with him a lot, which is why I'm deducting stars. He was floundering throughout the book, and I just wanted him to get his act together. Overall, definitely a fun read!