This was super cute!
An Irish mmc YES PLEASE

I loved the banter and tension between the characters. Like others have said the pacing was weird at times, but ultimately this was a quick little romcom read.

Dealbreakers (eARC) — 3 ⭐️

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
🧲 Opposites Attract
🔐 Closed Door Romance
😏 Witty Banter
💗 Contemporary Romance
🥊 Rivals to Lovers
🔒 Forced Proximity
💼 Workplace Romance
😂 Plenty of LOL Moments

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🍽️ You’ve been on countless first dates
🏺 You enjoy pottery classes
👠 You have high standards
🎮 You’re very competitive
👧 You want a big family

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 & 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: After adoring Fixer Upper, I was stoked to get my hand’s on the author’s newest book, Dealbreakers! Compared to the first book, this standalone novel fell short for me. I felt like the characters were hard to connect with as a reader. While I enjoyed this new take on “fake dating” which was more of a workplace rivals to lovers romance, I was overall disappointed in the lack of deep conversations. Everything just felt more surface level than I wanted or expected, but the witter banter was top tier. Overall, it was a quick, easy read, and the book cover is gorgeous!

𝐓𝐖: profanity

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The constant push-and-pull dynamic between the two is a true highlight, and also their banter and button -pushing are equal parts frustrating and heartwarming; which makes this a very enjoyable and an angsty read!

Lucas and Marina’s story completely captured my heart. I am not the biggest fan of workplace romances, but I thought this one was amazing!! The tension between Lucas and Marina on the dates had me swooning. I love the way Lauren Forsythe writes about women in STEM & I enjoyed that she explores the pressure women feel to be at a certain place at a certain time in their life.

The characters and style of writing were okay and the story line kept me intrigued. The cover is absolutely what drew me in but some of the storyline aspects had me a tad confused.

What a precious meet cute. It’s very predictable but isn’t that a part of all of these romance novels that we read?!? But hey, I love a main female character that thinks she knows what she wants, because that’s relatable. I thought I knew what I wanted in a man and found someone who’s perfect for me but isn’t who I expected at all.

Love enemies to lovers. Also love the idea of technology having a play in what determines someone’s future because I hear NOTHING but horror stories from real dating apps. So, I love having a book about an app that actually works out in love. And the fact that they were going fake dating to see what types of dates work out and what types don’t, yet they had SO much fun (secretly or not), is such a unique spin on the fake dating. A cute story overall with fun banter and unique ideas. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Workplace rivals to lovers? Women in STEM? Commentary on confirmation bias? Seems like a dream of a book. I absolutely loved the premise of the book. The story itself could have been executed better in a lot of places. But overall a great read!

Marina and Lucas are competing for the same promotion. Marina has also based all her opinions on men on her app, Dealbreakers. When she finds out that Lucas has the worst rating on the app, she forms a very negative opinion of him. They spend more time together when they are forced to work together to get their promotion. It's an interesting romance about biased opinions and how they affect relationships.

I enjoyed this but it felt like it lacked depth in many moments. And many of the actions of the characters frustrated me throughout the book.

#Dealbreakers is a work rivals to lovers contemporary romance. There is fantastic banter, lovable characters, and a lot of cuteness. The smut isn’t there so if you are reading for spice or are offended by the F word this isn’t for you. If you are looking for a lot of character growth in a slightly romcom contemporary romance this is definitely the read for you.

Really enjoyed these down to earth characters. And the fun idea of the deal breaker dating app. I also really liked that it was a workplace romance. Always my fav

Marina Spicer has her wholelife planned out. What kind of husband she wants, how many kids she will have, what her flat will look like, and the promotion at work she is going to get. When her bosses decide to make her compete for her promotion, Marina is stuck with Lucas Kennedy, her nemesis. Although they have never met in person, Marina has had plenty of annoying e-mail interactions with him. Lucas is always correcting her work or making outrageous suggestions. So when they have to go on "fake dates" together as research for the company, it doesn't exactly go as planned. The sparks start flying and Marina's whole life plan is upended. Does she settle for her perfect list, or go for what will make her happy in life?

Dealbreakers was a quick, easy to read. Marina and Lucas have good chemistry and although it's predictable, it was still a fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Lauren Forsythe's tone and writing style but the plot felt slow. Because of this I had trouble keeping interest and never really connected with the characters. Overall, it was a cute, easy read that is perfect for those times when you don't want to be bogged down in a 400+ page slow burn.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

<b><i><u>please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers</b></i></u>
<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>
<b>HEA:</b> yes
<b>spice:</b> closed door fade-to-black
<b>TWs:</b> parental/societal pressure to get married and have babies … other than that I don’t recall anything TW/CW worthy in this book
<b>standalone:</b> yes
<b>final thoughts</b>: this book was cute and had a lot of great banter and tension. The characters were likable, and the storyline was fun to follow. I will admit that even though we don’t get the dual POV that I desperately CRAVE in a rivals/enemies-to-lovers (<i>and any romance to be honest…</i>), I felt more connected to the MMC than I did with the FMC. I didn’t <i>dislike</i> the FMC but I did find her unreasonable a lot of the time. She read to be younger than she was portrayed with her list of “must haves” and “deal breakers” but overall it was a quick and easy read

read this book if you love

🔀 opposites attract
🤐 miscommunication
🏝️ forced proximity (working together)
💓 slowburn
🤜 rivals-to-lovers
💼 workplace romance
💌 clean romance

I loved the premise of Dealbreakers. The enemies to lovers, workplace competition, and the forced proximity.
I enjoyed the banter between Marina and Lucas. And the forced dates for work made them spend time together and lower the animosity. I enjoyed the banter and thought the different dates were fun. I just did not connect to the main characters separately or as a couple. I thought the pacing was a little slow until the end where it seemed to wrap up quickly. I would recommend if the premise sounds like something you would enjoy or you’re looking for a quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Putnam Books for the watch.

The Hating Game, but make it How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. There were a few things I really enjoyed in this book, but they sort of make me a hypocrite when I try to put it together with what I didn't like.

I loved the idea of not trusting your first impressions, aka the app that the plot revolves around, but I also dislike that females constantly have to apologize for those first impressions. It halts the idea of growth and doesn't allow either party to move on. I think if the ending didn't revolve around that, the book could've been so much more than what it is.

I don't take comparing it to two of my absolute favorite rom coms lightly. I really enjoyed their dates, their minds, and honestly, the friendship they built together as well. I love that Marina isn't left to having only Lucas, but a group of friends that support her as well.

I really did love this story, and I absolutely want to search up more from this author.

There’s just something so refreshing about Lauren Forsythe’s books that make me glad I decided to pick one up. This rivals-to-lovers workplace romance was the perfect way to start a week. Marina Spicer thinks she knows what she wants in a future mate and has zero time to waste with the wrong men, so she creates the Dealbreakers app, where women can sound off on why their dates just didn’t meet their expectations. When her work puts Marina in competition with flirty Irish Lucas Kennedy for a job promotion, the two sparring adversaries find themselves having to do “research” on great dating locations. It isn’t long before the attraction between Marina and Lucas turns more NSFW, but can Marina ignore all of Lucas’s dealbreakers?
This was a perfect romcom. I found the dates Lucas and Marina went on highly entertaining and loved their banter that always bordered a little bit on the spicy side. This is a closed door romance where we learn about their escapades after the fact, but for someone who likes spice, this didn’t bother me in the least. Marina and Lucas have chemistry and Marina’s reasons for not wanting to actually date Lucas seemed very valid. I loved that Marina’s career was in a tech savvy market and thought the ideas behind her app were really interesting. But as we learn, there’s one thing that’s true about people: they lie and not everything you read on the Internet is the truth. This was such a thoughtful way to look at dating in the modern day and couple it with a workplace romance. Lucas won me over from the start with his accent and inability to tell Marina anything other than the truth about his feelings towards her. I’ve come to realize that Lauren Forsythe will consistently tell entertaining stories with heart that make you think about live in ways the genre hasn’t quite explored before. I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This tumultuous romance by Lauren Forsythe will grab you, wrap you in, and won’t let you rest until and unless you’re finally done reading it because this for sure was unputdownable romance read for me.

Dealbreakers is an enemy to lovers story with also a coworker competition sprinkled in. I liked it and read it relatively quickly but it wasnt as engaging as I had hoped. It is a closed door romance but it heavy on the banter and innuendos. I enjoyed the banter a lot between the two characters and the situations they found themselves in on their fake dates was a lot of fun. I do think I liked her friends better than I liked the main character which does make it difficult to love the story and root for her as much. But it was enjoyable and an easy read.