Readers who enjoy a slow romance may enjoy this story more than I did. I struggled to get hooked on the plot and the characters, whom I found a little more depressing in their insecurities and past romantic history than what I was in the mood for. However, I think there is absolutely something here for the right audience.

Sometimes I go on a NetGalley binge and request anything that looks even vaguely entertaining — which is how I ended up with an e-ARC of Lauren Forsythe's upcoming romcom, The Fixer Upper. I didn't know what to expect going in, but I was hooked immediately by the great characters, the high-speed plot, and the sharp humor. And surprises like this are exactly why I will continue to go on request-binges and hope for unexpected treasures.

Alyssa Aresti is good at her job. She's good at keeping people at a distance, while still being the friendliest, most thoughtful person in the room. And she's good at leaving her underachieving boyfriends better than she found them... to the point that all twelve of them have hit achievement markers she's still struggling for herself. After an awkward run-in with one such ex, Aly's work buddies convince her to try her hand at "fixing" other women's partners for them, too. They see it as filling a need for over-stretched modern women who are tired of performing emotional labor for the men in their lives — and the Fixer Upper team is great at giving men the gentle nudges they need to step up as parents, pop that big question, or finally go for the dream job, instead of just talking about it. But when Aly is hired to fix up (and coax a proposal from) her first love and former best friend, the one she's measured all her other relationships against, she starts wondering if she's really helping anyone with her meddling... and if she wants to build up Dylan for someone else when he's already perfect for her.

First, let's address that elephant in the room. Dylan is perfect in that classic romcom way — smart, tender and attentive, and unattainable because the timing just never works. I really loved him and his dynamic with Aly, whether they were sniping over past hurts or lapsing into that shared language of longtime friends. However, I grew frustrated with him as the story went on because, while Aly was growing and learning to stand up for himself, he remained passive and frequently compromised who he was to please his girlfriend. And the longer he stayed with her, knowing he loved Aly, the less I thought of him. So, while Dylan does well enough as an object of affection for Aly, as a catalyst for her to wake up and take charge of her life, I would have like him to have an equally satisfying arc. It's not a deal-breaker because I still rooted for Aly to get the boy, and I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, but it does bring down my final rating.

But now for the things I loved!

The friendships are the true love stories of the novel. Aly starts with two incredible, funny, and supportive friends in Tola and Eric, and then Ben and Priya get folded into the group, too, and they're just as great! They're all fascinating, compelling characters in their own right, with individual ambitions and struggles. They're not just there to be supporting characters in The Aly Show, and I would happily read another book about any and all of them. We should all be lucky enough to find friends like these.

My second favorite thing — and it's a really close second! — in The Fixer Upper is the plotting and pacing. No, really! Forsythe knows all the classic romcom beats she needs to hit, and she lines them up and knocks them out with lightning-speed precision. There's never a moment to be bored because everything happens fast and everything is in support of the main story. It's entertaining, engaging, and honestly, quite impressive, especially in a debut author. I can't wait to read more from her!

Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For me, I think this story and I were doomed from the beginning. It was slow to start and had a hard time staying focused on the story. I didn’t like how this book made it seem like all men are not capable of doing basic human function without women. The double standard became taxing because the stereotypical misconceptions that were placed on men were overused in the beginning. Outside of the “love story” the writing felt monotoned and repetitive.

Where I found joy with this story was in the romance, but even at times that was problematic and unrealistic. I felt their chemistry and connection, but actions spoke louder than words and I had a hard time believing the authenticity of it. Overall this story had potential, but it had more problems that made it hard to read. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC.

Enjoyed this women's fiction about women getting back at men. But in a humor filled way. Though not a favorite I still enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved this mess of a book!!!! I’m a sucker for second chance romances (probably because I’m projecting my feelings on a book per usual) & this one was done in such a creative and unique way!

aly is stuck in life - no solid dating life, no career advancements, no way of knowing if her mother is ever going to be happy - until her two best friends mention that she’s a fixer upper. she fixes people in her life to live their best potential and then they leave her behind. but when aly decides to start a business to fix men for women, she runs into a childhood friend from her past that threatens to tear everything she worked for down.

I loved the author’s commentary on influencers, novelists, and relationships in general. it wasn’t fluffy or unrealistic at all, and I loved hearing each character’s individual point of view.

as someone who uses social media for income occasionally, it was refreshing to hear opposing views when it comes to being an “influencer” :’) yes, you have nikki who doesn’t even know what being real or authentic means anymore and has to record everything she’s doing. but then you have aly pushing dylan to be active more on social media to aide his own brand, which was really nice to see.

I would absolutely recommend this one for anyone a fan of “people we meet on vacation” or wants a fun romance!!

thank you to netgalley, penguin random house and putnam publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. see you all in august ‘22 😍

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

The Fixer Upper is a fun rom-com set in Britain. Aly realizes she has made all her ex’s lives better and ends up starting a business to do the same for others. But when she gets hired by an influencer to fix up her former BFF? Awkward!
Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.

This is such a cute book! A perfect romance with well-rounded characters, humor and warmth. If you’ve watched the Will Smith classic Hitch, you know how the relationship fixer-upper business goes. This book has all the charm of that premise and a little more because Dylan is such a swoon worthy book boyfriend. All the stars!

Thank you netgalley and GP Putnam for the arc.

Female main character spin on a "Hitch" like premise that will have you falling in love.
Aly is a self titled "fixer", of her parents marriage, project boyfriends who just need a nudge in the right direction, or lazy coworkers who depend on her to keep them looking good. Aly's friends, Tola and Eric, convince her to put those talents to use and start a business 'fixing' the men in other women's lives. It's all going well until their newest client wants them to fix her boyfriend, Aly's childhood best friend and first love. Aly's ready to throw herself all in, but can she follow through with changing someone she always thought was perfect?

"It's easy enough to just keep saying you'll do something, because then you never have the chance to fail."

I know The Fixer Upper is titled as a romance, but I loved that the main focus was on Aly herself. A woman in her early thirties who feels stuck; she's a last stop before former flames become their best selves, in a job where she is grossly underappreciated and overworked, stuck alone and wanting companionship. I loved seeing Aly learn to stand up for herself and grow in setting healthy boundaries in her life. The business aspect truly reminded me of the premise for the movie Hitch, in the best way. Aly just wants to understand and help people, that's what motivates her and makes her good at her job. The backstory of Dylan and Aly is sprinkled throughout the book, childhood best friends lost by everyone's favorite, the miscommunication trope. I have also realized that I am a huge sucker for the books with adult main characters, who are closer to me in age and typically fall under long term pining/friends to lovers.

"That's what happens when you love someone for over a decade, it lives in your bones, like an echo."

Trying to keep things professional while also acknowledging and working through emotions and feelings that you've buried most of your life is handled beautifully throughout The Fixer Upper. I immensely enjoyed this book and look forward to owning a physical copy to hook my friends with.


4.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC. This is a voluntary review.
*I will check all quotes against the printed version before publishing my review on other platforms.*

This story is all about growth and I loved how the characters were able to communicate, connect, and change. From the moment Dylan appears, you know where the story is going, but that doesn't make the ride any less enjoyable. If highly motivated Aly is hired to "fix"her first and only love, she's going to do it. Even if it only continues to prover her friends hypothesis about her past relationships. I highly recommend if you like (slightly) older heroines and character development!

I will admit, at the beginning, I was a little turned off by Aly's job as a Fixer Upper. I just had trouble grasping the idea that their staged chance encounters could change people's lives. But then Dylan showed up, and all my doubts went out the window. I loved the awkwardness early on, and I loved watching Aly grow and learn about herself and what she really wanted. A great book.

*Review based on ARC.

BRIEF SUMMARY: Aly is a chronic fixer of all problems, relationships, men with Peter Pan Syndrome, her parent’s marriage. Aly and her co-workers, Tola and Eric have decided to put Aly’s knack for fixing relationships and marketing skills to help women who are tired of men who just don’t get it, whether its handling the baby, allowing a person 15 minutes to relax before being bombarded at home with the kids, or significant others that are tone deaf to use by creating a secret website where women can request Aly’s assistance. Aly, Tola and Eric are almost immediately fully booked. After the word about her services gets out, she hears from a famous influencer, Nikki that needs her help with her boyfriend, she wants him to propose and wants to help her boyfriend’s new business become an immediate success. Aly and her friends meet with Nikki and discover that the boyfriend/purported man child is actually her childhood crush and BFF Dylan. Things between her and Dylan did not end well. At the meeting Dylan acts like he does not know Aly. Aly initially decides not to take on the job, but soon after she goes home and finds out that her mother needs money. Aly immediately calls Nikki and tells her she will do the job for $100k. Nikki tells her that she will pay her $100k but she will need to make sure Dylan proposes. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Will Aly get Dylan to pop the question, help Dylan’s new business take off, and continue to do the marketing job she currently has?

MY THOUGHTS: This was a fast read. There was great chemistry between the MCs. The book was not entirely predictable, which I like. Unfortunately, the ending of this book was so rushed. It felt like she was running out of a page allotment. If you do not like stories with actions that could be defined as cheating, you may want to take a pass on this one. If you are into cute characters like a dog named Helena Bonham Barker, a story about a childhood sweetheart, and miscommunication misfires go grab this book ASAP.

I LOVED this book, once I hit like 15% I could NOT put it down! I relate to Aly so hard! I was so invested that I cried happy tears. The MC is in her 30s and she's still figuring herself out, which I really appreciated! I will now be recommending this book to everyone I know!

The Fix Upper is a refreshing romance novel that has an unorthodox plot, which I thought was unique. However, I felt that the actual romance in this novel was dull and a little boring at times.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the eARC.

This was a solid 3 star read. The fixer upper had some really great parts and it was when they were showing three friends, just growing up and making mistakes. I absolutely adore books that involve friend group and such so I was super excited. However, the relationship/romance just kinda fell flat. It didn’t ruin it for me, but I would have loved to have seen more of why Aly had been in love with Dylan for forever. Otherwise, this is a cute read and is definitely worth it.

If Olivia Pope would focus on people’s emotions and relationships instead of law and politics, she could be this book’s main character Aly who is some kind of broken heart heart fixer, love guru, career strategist, helping people to have their own HEA and achieve their business goals!

She had too many ex boyfriends and after dating with her, lives of all those big boys changed ( in a truly positive way) She realizes she’s born to help people: she doesn’t only fix broken hearts, she also helps to solve career problems, parental struggles. So she decides to monetize her natural gift by starting a firm with her friends Eric and Tola.

But when she takes a semi influencer’s boyfriend as a client, she realizes that boyfriend is not a regular person: his name is Dylan and he was her best friend fifteen years ago, the same boy she had a huge crush on and the same boy who broke her heart.

Now he struggles with his job and personal image. Aly is forced to help him which means they have to confront with their unresolved issues. Could their sparkle rekindle? Would it be ethical to date with your client who has already girlfriend?

This book is entertaining British romcom. The premise was a little far fetched and the entire problem around main characters is occurred because of misunderstanding. Well, that earned my few eye rolls.

The banters between characters were enjoyable. I found Dylan a little insecure and lost. The reason behind his change after their share past was a little unrealistic. The whole ending of their friendship process was also a little exaggerated. They may easily talk and get through it.

Overall : it was still sweet, lovely, feel good romance and fresh debut. I’m giving three stars because of the reasons I pointed out. But I truly like to read more works of the author in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM, G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

This book had me hooked from the start, and I found myself relating to the MC a lot. I enjoyed reading about her and her best friends more than the actual romance, but overall this was such a cute romcom! I’m sure I will be getting myself a copy when the book comes out.

Thank you @Putnambooks for this @netgalley ARC of The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe in exchange for my honest review!

I am going to be honest: I underestimated this one. I figured it would be light and funny and cute - which it absolutely was - but I didn’t anticipate the lines that would stick right between your ribs or get caught in the back of your throat. There are countless little moments that are so unexpectedly real and relatable in what is admittedly not an entirely relatable situation, and it brought this book from a breezy four-star read to the full five stars for me easily.

Aly has been solving other people’s problems for so long that she’s made it into a part of her personality.

It’s not always intentional - the push to recognize potential, the encouragement to go for that dream or job or crush. But after running into an old ex who accredits her for turning his life around, Aly realizes she’s been fixing people at the expense of herself.

With the encouragement and assistance of her two best friends, Aly starts The Fixer Upper, a service designed to help women who aren’t getting what they want or need out of their relationships. Simply put: they make a service out of taking over the emotional labor; and spend their free time helping men realize their own potential and now to reach it.

All is well, until a potentially life-changing new client introduces them to her boyfriend - and Aly is face-to-face with her childhood best friend for the first time since she confessed her feelings for him over a decade prior.

Juggling her career, her family, her friends, and now an increasingly complicated web of deceit, Aly is forced to face her own history - quite literally - with a man who she has never thought needed to be fixed up at all.

A cute rom-com with best friends to strangers, strangers to enemies, then enemies to lovers. It’s a journey and I enjoyed the ride!

4.5 stars rounded up.

Aly is a fixer. That’s all she’s known her whole life. How to fix relationships; how to fix careers; how to fix parenting struggles. You have a problem, she’s your gal. The only thing she is unable to fix is her own life and relationships. Soon after she and two friends form The Fixer Upper, a company designed to help others “fix” different aspects of their lives that they find lacking, she agrees to help a semi-famous influencer develop her boyfriend’s career/image. Only problem? Said boyfriend is Aly’s long lost best friend and first love. Cue the craziness, scheming, heart breaking, word waring, match making and overall chaos that ensues as a result, in Lauren Forsythe’s debut novel.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book that I found I didn’t want to end. Although the plot was a little far fetched at times, the overall message about relationships and who you are in them vs who you are at your core, is very well done. I also loved the aspect Forsythe presents of the “influencer” and losing track of what is real and what is being crafted to maintain an image in that world.

The well developed and charming characters(with the exception of one or two who were pretty loathsome), the witty banter being spewed left and right, the picturesque settings, and an adorably named Beagle all create a charming rom com worth adding to your to-be-read list.

Aly is a self described fixer who has a history of ex-boyfriends who have found success after dating Aly.
Aly and two friends, Eric and Tola, start a business to help “fix” men in other relationships. All is going well until Aly “meets” a blast from the past who is now dating a semi-famous influencer.

What I loved about this book: Tola. Hands down. What a fantastic friend. So supportive and cool. Eric and Aly were so lucky to have her.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the banter between Dylan and Aly.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this book for my review!