A fun, easy, predictable story that “feels like home.” Aly’s growth was overall positive and I liked her as a main character. Happy with the LGBTQ+ representation as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC.

This was another contemporary romance/women’s literature mashup that just did not hit the mark for me. I liked the idea that Fixer Uppers were a group that helped women “cash in” on the unpaid, emotional and physical labor they offer men (and the narrative had a lot of insightful things to say about that topic!), but after that the story felt flat. I did not feel an ounce of chemistry between Dylan and Aly. Frankly, Dylan was so sulky, obstinate and dismissive of his girlfriend’s work that I cannot see how he should have been a romantic interest. The whole point is to not get stuck with a man you have to project manage! This trope of “he’s not a jerk, he’s just damaged” combined with my biggest pet peeve of immature, snippy behavior passing for “banter” made this already slow book feel way too long for so little action and such a speedy resolution. All together, I would have loved to see a better narrative built around this really interesting premise.

Unfortunately, especially as I was really excited for this rom-com, I just don’t think it was for me. I really struggled to get through it, and by the time the plot picked up and the romance became more involved, I had lost interest in the main character. I found her extremely uninteresting and flat, and her friends felt very on-brand for the romance genre, but almost so much so that they were hard to distinguish from other characters. So unfortunately, this just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a review!

Aly is notorious for pleasing everyone. If she (or someone she knows) comes across a dilemma, she is sure to fix it whatever the task. How far will she be pushed till she decides enough is enough?

For me, this book started off a bit slow, but it was easy for me to resonate with Aly, as I always feel the need to please everyone. The author did a great job introducing Aly and her friends. I almost felt like I was one of them, cheering her on on the sidelines. Her friends did exactly what friends should do; they encouraged her when she needed motivation, and they told her when she was in the wrong. Seeing her reunite with an old friend was bitter sweet, and I wish we got to see more of her friendship/romance with Adam!

Overall, I felt the story was cute and modern, but for a book that is classified as a romance novel, I would've loved to see more romance.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, for providing me with an ARC of this book. The following is my honest review of this book.

Aly seems to always find herself "fixing" those around here--whether it's her exes, her parents' marriage and subsequent issues, her co-workers, or even strangers. Her friends and co-workers, Tola and Eric, encourage her to make a side-gig out of doing this emotional labor and target it at women aiming to fix up their boyfriends. The business is really taking off when a popular influencer hires their services for her tech entrepreneur boyfriend, but Aly quickly realizes that he's her estranged childhood best friend and first love.

This book is witty and fun to read, although slow-paced (not my personal preference). For falling into the romance genre, the friendship between our two main characters is far more heavily featured than a romantic relationship; the romantic interest, Dylan, is not introduced until twenty percent of the way through the book and <spoiler>the main characters only get together in one big public confession of love in the very last chapter.</spoiler>

The best friend characters felt a bit stereotypical at times, Eric in particular fell into the "gay best friend" trope, but the book was quite self-aware of this, even giving Eric the line:

"Every straight girl wants the only two gays she knows to get together. The fact that we both sleep with men is not enough of a connection."

At first I found myself quite fatigued by Aly constantly doing office housework, such as ordering cakes for special events and staying late at work to help her inept co-workers complete projects, but it was satisfying when she finally realized her own bad habits and started standing up for herself and saying "no".

Overall, the book followed pretty predictable beats and wasn't the most memorable. I didn't find Aly to be the most likable main character, but many will enjoy the banter between her and her friends.

I had a hard time getting into this in the beginning, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending was good, though I didn't particularly like either of our main characters and found that the supporting characters seemed much more interesting.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this rom-com story, Aly is the go-to gal at work who will help whoever asks her in order to show she is hardworking and deserving of a promotion. She defines herself as always trying to help others. In fact, when she looks back on all her ex-boyfriends, she has helped them become better people and realize their potentials but she has never reaped the benefit. However, those changes always happened after the relationships ended. Aly and two of her friends decide to put Aly’s gift to work and set up a “fixer-upper” service to help woman change their men and their relationships. As word of mouth spreads about her success, a social media celebrity contracts her to fix her boyfriend Dylan who also happens to be Aly’s childhood best friend and her first love. But things don’t always work out when you confront your past and then it gets complicated when she realizes she still has feelings for Dylan. Aly must deal with the realities of fixing people through manipulation and losing sight of being honest with herself and others.

The story started out well and I applauded the premise of a woman being strong to celebrate herself and go against the grain by treating herself to a lovely night out. However, it soon became pretty slow paced and had trouble keeping my attention. I would have liked Aly to fix herself up as she thought more of others needs than her own. Also, I would have liked more chemistry in the relationships for a romance story. Where was the sizzle? The characters were pretty flat. It’s not really a book I would recommend as a must read, but it’s good enough to while away an afternoon.

Many thanks to #netgalley #thefixerupper #laurenforsythe for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I absolutely loved Aly's story! Her fears are very similar to mine of never being good enough and putting yourself last to help everyone else. I loved her journey to figuring out what she really wants and going after it, plus the social media aspect of the story was great as well!

There are times when you just need a fun lighted hearted cute read. The Fixer Upper was the perfect book to just read and enjoy.
This isn't a book that is going to change lives or even leave long lasting impressions for anything other than being a fun rom-com book. I loved Aly and her need to control things for her love ones. I enjoyed the book for what it offered to me, a fun escape from reality for a while

Aly has been fixing things throughout her life: her parent's marriage, her coworkers, and her boyfriends. After a chance encounter with an ex-boyfriend that has gone from living in his parents house to married, a successful career and buying a new house, Aly and her two friends, Eric and Tola realize that every boyfriend Aly has ever had goes on to find success after breaking up with her. The friends decide to capitalize on this and start a side business helping women "fix" their partners. As the business becomes more successful, a high profile social celebrity asks Aly to help her tech start-up boyfriend prepare for a big investor presentation and propose to her all within a month. The only problem is that the boyfriend needing fixing up is Aly's childhood best friend and first love. Can Aly really fix Dylan and does he actually need fixing?
Throughout Aly’s story the reader sees the power of change, the power of friendship and the power of love. While this is a romantic comedy, I felt that the story was much more about Aly’s own growth and learning. She has spent her life fixing people, but in the end she discovers that maybe she’s been worried about fixing the wrong things. Aly learns about being brave, speaking the truth, and standing up for herself. Aly is a heroine you will find yourself cheering for as she discovers important things about herself with the help of some great friends. And in the end she just might find what she has been looking for. I enjoyed this book. It makes a good beach read.

I liked this book! I thought it was sweet and easy to read. This book follows a second chance romance following two characters who seemed to spend time avoiding their feelings to each other. This story was fast-paced, which I liked, but I do wish the ending wasn't so rushed. The happy ending happened so late into the book, I feel like I didn't get to see the characters happy and in love. I still recommend this book to any fans of romance!

This book is pretty much everything I want a British rom-com to be. It's witty, sharp, and the characters are so lovable.

I think that's what really made this for me, all the side characters felt like real people and even our protagonist, Aly, her problems felt so real and relatable as a women in business.

The romance was sweet, wholesome, and definitely a slow-burn. I'm not one for "spice" so this was perfect for me. The couple had some really tender and sweet moments and I very nearly cried, which does not usually happen when I read these types of books.

The only thing that didn't quite work for me was the pacing of the resolution. It felt a bit rushed and we could have used another chapter or epilogue for some closure and a pinch more romantic fluff. This is a rom-com after all, we're allowed to see the couple kiss more than once lol!

Definitely a really well done debut, I look forward to reading from this author again!

This was such a fun second chance romance! Aly is determined, insecure, and a people-pleaser and seeing her character development unfold as well as the other characters was so exciting and hopeful. I thought the concept for this novel was very unique, although reading about “fixing” men was a little off putting for me at times. I really enjoyed Aly and Dylan’s relationship as they reconnected as well. This novel has themes about discovering yourself, knowing your worth, and taking your power back. It ended just how I needed it to!

The only reason I took off a star is because the romance is more of a sub plot in this novel with their friendship being the main plot. Also, there were a few subplots I would have like to see have more detail.

Overall, such a fun read and recommend it to anyone wanting a lighthearted rom com with an emphasis on friendship.

Sharp, witty rom-com with an extremely likable main character, Aly. I loved the fast-paced intensity of this book as you wonder how Dylan feels, is it too late for them and will Aly’s lies ruin everything. Even more so I enjoyed watching Aly’s individual growth in setting boundaries, speaking up for herself and instead of trying to fix everyone she puts herself first.

This was a fun, cute read. I definitely expected more romance involved than what we got, but I still overall enjoyed the book.

Aly has always been a fixer and when faced with the task of making an influencer’s boyfriend a better boyfriend/future husband, she runs into her ex-best friend. It turns out the ex-bestfriend is the influencer’s boyfriend, Dylan.

Dylan and Aly had secret crushes on each other when they were younger, but after a huge misunderstanding they went their separate ways with no communication after. The miscommunication trope isn’t a huge favorite of mine, but it didn’t overpower the story too much. It was interesting to see how Aly and Dylan dealt with being around each other again, all while obviously still having the same secret feelings.

I enjoyed the main characters and also the side characters. Since the plot wasn’t too romance heavy, we got to see all the different aspects of the character’s lives. The character’s grew as people throughout the story and it made for a fun read. As I said, I wish there was more romance for a romance labeled book, but I did still like the book.

Thank you to the publisher through NetGalley for the ARC!

Cute, easy rom-com. This is the kind of book you want to sink into at the end of a hard day or a break up. However, it was a little slow starting and predictable.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read that kept me going from the first page. Being true to yourself and your feelings should always be number one.

Fixer Upper is a great read and I would definitely recommend it! I am so glad I got an ARC and can’t wait for it to be released. I loved the Fixer Upper concept and how it grew throughout the book. Aly is easy to root for, except sometimes it was frustrating when she would doubt herself/get in their own way, but that’s also what made her character more relatable. Either way, it was a great read!

This book started kind of slow for me but once Dylan was brought into the book, I was hooked. Aly, fixer of everything, is somebody that I think many women can see in ourselves. She had dated many men without much luck for herself - although her exes all ended up being successful after dating her due to the fact that she pushed them to better and “fixed” them.

Aly worked with her 2 best friends at her day job and together, they decided to tap into Aly’s gift of fixing men by creating a business where women could hire them to “fix” their partners to be more of what they wanted to have in a spouse. After their business starts to grow, an influencer hires the Fixer Uppers to “fix” her boyfriend and convince him to marry her.

Plot twist: the influencers boyfriend ends up being Aly’s best friend from her childhood - the same one that she had fallen in love with and ghosted when she left for college. Now Aly is responsible for shaping her old best friend into somebody that will propose to the unbearable influencer. Can she do it? Or does true love never really die?

I enjoyed this book, like I said, once Dylan was brought into it. It was a little slow going before then but I give it 4 stars overall for being a light hearted, easy to read romcom. Each of the characters was unique and enjoyable to read about. Be sure to add this to your TBR list if you love second chance at love romcoms!

Thank you NG, publisher, and Lauren Forsythe for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren Forsynth for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review ☺️

Let me just say, I read this book in just two days. I thought was addicting and cute. I absolutely love British romcom.

Aly, a marketing guru, has a terrible track record of ex-boyfriends. She always leaves them better than she found them - a classic fixer upper. Her friends help her realize the pattern, and together they create a business out of it. All is going well until a social media influencer asks for their help with her boyfriend… none other than Dylan James, Aly’s childhood best friend and the one boy she ever loved.

This book is filled with comical scenes, raw emotion, vulnerability, and the scariness that comes with real love. I adored the character development. Aly felt real. A woman who has struggled with her insecurities and then overcomes them. The timeline of the story felt realistic. It was a slow build romance but the book wasn’t solely focused on the relationship between Dylan and Aly, it also focused on the amazing friendships throughout. Honestly, that might have been my favorite part.

This book is fantastic in that it’s multilayered. I think there is something for everyone in this book ❤️