I enjoyed this lighthearted read that brought a fun spin on the enemies to lovers and workplace romance tropes!

I found Marina to be relatable as a main character, as she encountered situations that did not always turn out the way she wanted them to, but pushed her to adapt to a certain outcome instead.

Between the witty banter between Marina and Lucas and the depiction of the dates they went on throughout the story, I found this book to be an enjoyable romance novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was super cute! I liked seeing her slowly fall for Lucas without knowing it. This is a fun enemies to lovers, workplace romance

"Dealbreakers" by Lauren Forsythe is a refreshing and witty exploration of modern relationships, focusing on the complexities of love and the quirks that can make or break a romance. The protagonist navigates the often hilarious and frustrating world of dating, all while grappling with her own set of dealbreakers. Forsythe’s writing is sharp and engaging, filled with relatable moments that resonate with anyone who has ventured into the dating scene. The characters are well-developed, and their interactions are both amusing and thought-provoking, prompting readers to reflect on their own relationship boundaries. With a perfect blend of humor and heart, "Dealbreakers" is a delightful read that captures the ups and downs of love in a relatable and entertaining way.

A delightful romance that pulls you in from the first page! The characters are relatable, and their relationship feels authentic. The story balances humor and emotion beautifully, making you root for them every step of the way. A great pick for anyone who enjoys a heartwarming love story!

Thanks to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dealbreakers is the first book I’ve read by Lauren Forsythe and it didn’t disappoint. It was the perfect chef’s kiss of a rom com with a driven female character Marina, with her lists, and plans for the future, meets her annoying co-worker, gorgeous and charming Irishman (swoon), Lucas.

I’m a sucker for reads like this, that go quickly and suck you in. There’s heat and tension with the action behind closed doors but you don’t even miss it with the sparks flying between these two on a competition for a promotion and their work.

This is a perfect summer beach read, so if you’re looking for one, add this one to your beach bag.

Unfortunately, after multiple attempts I have been unable to get into this book. It felt very slow for me and the characters were not likable which made it hard to root for them and enjoy the story. Due to that I have decided to soft DNF the book and potentially pick it up at a later date.

“One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.”

Read if you enjoy:
- Rivals to Lovers
- Opposites Attract
- Workplace Competition
- He Falls First
- Dating App
- Closed Door Romance

Rating: 3.75 ⭐️

Imagine a marriage between How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Hating Game… that gives you Dealbreakers!

Lucas was such a great MMC! This charming Irish content creator filled the pages with witty banter that kept Marina falling for him, despite being the worst rated in her Dealbreakers app.

Marina was a very relatable character. She had room to growth and I was glad to see that towards the end.

The concept of the book was great! Loved the dates and the results after each. It was an easy and fun-to-read story with many laugh-out-loud moments.

tattoos and a rival its just so perfect together I love this cover and I love this amazing story and everything on it.

This book was good but I also Felt like something was missing. It was good and I do think that others would really like it but it wasn’t my favorite

Cute little romance with a “woman coder” angle. It wasn’t anything earth shattering for me but it helped kill a Saturday afternoon and gave me some comfort so 3 stars!

Marina is a coder who has had her heart broken so naturally she designs an app to help her sift through all the duds in the dating apps to find her perfect match. When she is pitted against her nemesis Lucas at work for a promotion in a contest that involves going to test out dating sites sparks start to fly. Too bad her app says he’s absolutely not her perfect match. Should she trust her head or her heart? Fun romcom!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Marina and Lucas are competing for a promotion at work, when a coworker recommends that they work together to try out their ideas. Forced to test out some date night events, Marina struggles to see how someone like Lucas could ever meet all her goals for a man, but Lucas is also offering that they could have some fun together in the meantime.

This book was just ok. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it. Marina felt like a relatable single woman in her thirties, while Lucas’s laid-back suave personality seemed to contradict everything she was hoping for.

Thank you to GP Putnam Sons for an advanced copy of this book!

I went into this book with no expectation and I was pleasantly surprised. Marina is a driven woman who sees her vision-the job, the husband and the kids. She creates an app where women can go in and rate men they meet on dating sites. This is supposed to be a women helping women, giving the inside scoop type thing so you don’t waste your years on the wrong one. She is chasing more ways to get backing for her app.

Enter Lucas. They are workplace rivals who are paired up to test a bunch of local date spots. She also looks him up in the app and finds out he is the lowest-rated man. She already doesn’t like him. Except she starts to like him. And what does she do with that?

I really enjoyed this book. Marina stood in her own way of getting happiness and I just wanted to yell at her sometimes, but Lucas preserved and became an endearing character. I greatly enjoyed the audiobook and found the whole story to be enjoyable all around.

This was a good adult contemporary romance, that I would recommend to those who think it sounds interesting!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

Super quick, fun, easy batter filled romcom by Lauren. Did I know where it was going to end up? Yes like every romcom I ever pick up or hallmark movie I watch but still enjoyed it every second of the way? Of course! Marina was very set in her ways with her lists and it was a bit like hitting you’re head against a wall over and over and wanting to shake your friend and tell them they are their own worst enemy, yep. But was happy to see her growth after seeing Adam with his pregnant baby mama. Loved love Lucas actor and wish they would have been a pov from him honestly to get some of his side of the dates or his opinions on Marina. I also felt like some more of their chemistry was missing with cutting out all the “connecting” scenes, not asking for rated r but felt like it was a cut off whenever it got there and felt like a missing part of the book. Overall a good book I’d recommend to my romcom loving book clubs and friends. Thank you for letting me read and review

Loved this book, the characters and the chemistry in this book. The unique situations they were put in made for an enjoyable read.

Such a cute and fun read! I loved the characters and genuinely miss them now that the book is over. I wish we could get more books about them!! Excited to read more by Lauren Forsythe.

This book was... fine. Good even! Just nothing groundbreaking. I thought her premise was cute - the female protagonist creates an app to let other women review men they went on dates on from dating apps. I just feel like it fell flat in the chemistry between the two. While she can be described as more "type-A" and he's more laidback (sometimes seemingly unfairly so), it didn't work for me. She honestly just came across as mean to him sometimes and not in an endearing way.

A enjoyable addition to Lauren’s library. After having read The Fuxer Upper I was excited to jump into this one. I love the workplace romance trope so this hit that dynamic for me. I enjoyed the chemistry and development of Lucas and Marina. i thought this also did a great job of illustrating the expectations around timeframes that woman place in themselves (as well as others place on them).

Dealbreakers | Lauren Forsythe
a deliciously competitive rivals to lovers

Marina Spicer has the rest of her life planned out. Find THE guy. Have some kids. Get the house, the job, the life she’s been working toward her whole adult life. She even streamlined the process using her coding skills to create an app that knocks dating duds out of the running by compiling data on where it all went wrong on previous dates. It is not only her love-life that is plotted out to a T – she is climbing the corporate ladder by creating an opportunity to expand into management. There is only one thing in her way and its muddling both work AND play: Lucas Kennedy. He is not only in competition for the promotion, but he is giving her the butterflies for all the wrong reasons. This tattooed, foul-mouthed charmer is taking up all her time and she hates it! Or, at least, she should… just when she thinks everything is falling into place, it quickly spirals out of control and into the loveliest mess she never wanted.

Oof. This one is full of the hard hits for us overachieving, organized, pick-me girls. It is impossible to balance control over getting everything we’ve ever wanted. And getting it doesn’t always hold the glow we expected! I loved watching Marina soften all the way up to her aha grand gesture and the slow reveal of the more intricate details of their back stories. I’m always digging to know more about my favorite characters and what makes them the way that they are, in all their dysfunctional glory. Finding the ‘why’ behind all the restrictive preferences she held tightly to is the exact brand of lighthearted deconstruction I love to see play out.

There is another layer to this novel that compares activities for couples vs groups and I loved the tension in this competitive element. Mr Dates contrasting with Ms More-the-merrier was even more interesting as Lucas was firmly in the social camp where Marina was more comfortable with her tiny group of solid friends – almost as if each was batting for the opposing team! Overall, the competition plays out well, the blogs as so endearing and the happily ever after is chef’s kiss! (Added bonus for every time I remembered to read Lucas’ dialogue with a Northern Irish accent *swoon*)

4/5 stars for this sweet and spicy competition
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC for review!