Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Really wonderful, interesting read.

Okay this started off with a very unlikeable main character, honestly she annoyed me with her unrealistic expectations but I have to say that she had some great growth throughout the story and I ended up really rooting for her and the male main character, This was cute and a fun read.

After her boyfriend of fifteen years breaks up with her, coder Marina Spicer has come up with a list and a plan to get her love life and goals for the future back on track. Frustrated by online dating, she creates an app called Dealbreakers, where women can anonymously share intel on how prospective men stack up. Her plan for a promotion and a step towards her dream future is interrupted when Lucas Kennedy rudely derails her presentation on a new idea at work, and the two find themselves paired up to test different date experiences to determine whose idea is better. Marina uses her app to look up Lucas—and learns that he’s a walking red flag according to the other women on Dealbreakers. Lucas and Marina argue their way through ax throwing, cocktail making, and an escape room, and Marina finds herself having more fun than she has in years. Marina has to decide whether she should stick to her list and first impressions, or break her own rules in the quest to achieve the life she dreams of.

Thank you @netgalley, @putnambooks, and @laurenforsythe_author for the ARC. Finally got around to this one over the weekend. Marina and Lucas’s characters were total opposites and definitely challenged each other in the best way! The things that I did f like in each of them were really worked out in their relationship with one another. They balanced each other so well and helped each other get over their flaws and shortcomings. At first I was a little annoyed by Lucas’s lackadaisical attitude, but as we got to know more of his backstory I liked him more and more. The fake dates and activities were also so fun! This was a quick and fun read, definitely recommend if you’re a fan of second first impressions, fun banter, and a reverse grumpy/sunshine! Dealbreakers is out now!

if you are looking for a palate cleanser after reading dense mystery novels, this one is great. the premise and the plot, i left a little disappointed. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Marina is over online dating but still desperate to find love. She creates an app, Dealbreakers, where women can review the guys they went on dates with for others to reference. Then she meets Lucas Kennedy, the one standing in the way of her big promotion at work. The two agree to go on fake dates around the city - Marina trying to prove the activities are better for groups, Lucas trying to prove the activities are better suited for dates. The two argue their way through the dates but end up truly opening up to one another.

This is a cute enemies to lovers rom com. I just found myself wishing for a little more steam. Thank you Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

Dealbreakers was a fun quick read that approached dating in your 30s in a cool and interesting way! Marina's last relationship ended abruptly and we see her trying to find her way in the world of dating apps and men with varied intentions all while she is deep in a workplace rivalry with the sexy Lucas. Marina has created an app to pair with dating apps called "Dealbreakers" that allows women to review men they have gone out with and she easily becomes swept up in other's people opinions and perceptions of Lucas as they engage in some friendly competition to prove what is and isn't first date worthy activities. The chemistry between the two of them is great from start to finish (even if Marina can't see it) and watching the characters grow together was tons of fun!

I thought this sounded interesting and to be honest, I was drawn in by the adorable cover. Unfortunately, it really wasn’t working for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and PRH audio for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

A cute workplace, enemies to lovers read!! I liked the adventures Marina and Lucas went on for their work competition. I loved the progression of their friendship to feelings and in general absolutely loved Lucas. But Marina's list of dealbreakers and her must stick to plan attitude felt a little tired and a little over the top. As much as she wanted to move forward she was so far stuck in the past that it kind of felt like it hindered the moving of the story line a little bit. While the epilogue was perfect, the third act resolution felt a little rushed and I wanted just a bit more at the end!

This is a perfect summer read for when you want to commiserate on your online dating woes! 😊


Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my review!

An app that gives all dating app participants the option to share with other users the potential dealbreakers their prospects possess. How has this not been done in real life?

Things I really loved:
- The premise. I loved how our FMC had this extra information though things can always been deceiving.
- That these two MCs were fighting at work but also fake dating at work.
- The dates were so much fun and the banter between the two was great.
- How Lucas really tried to get Marina to open up and have fun. I think that is what drew these two opposites together.

What I didn’t like:
- Marina’s mom. While I get the whole meddling thing, it was a bit too much. I wish Marina’s dad would have told her to calm down and back off.
- Adam. He gave me the ick. I wish that Marina would have had told him off!

Great modern day dating read! Just the right amount of sweetness and spice.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠
Spice Level: 💋⁠💋💋
Genre: Contemporary Romance⁠
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, dating app, workplace romance, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, dual POV, great banter
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
Goodreads Rating: 3.9 ⭐️⁠
Amazon Rating: 4.0 ⭐️⁠
Available Format: 📖📱⁠🎧
KU Option: NO

* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dealbreakers is a cute workplace rivals romance. It started a little slow for me, but I was ultimately pulled in by the creative approach to "fake dating" by having one person be trying to convince the office that their outings are dates and the other that they are group hangouts for a work project. I also like the women in tech leadership representation! The book seems to realistically address the current online dating environment with both the pros and cons. I would recommend this book for fans of Shipped and The Hating Game.

The writing is witty and sharp and the main characters were fun to get to know. The book was even a little inspiring, encouraging (via the characters) people to try new things. All in all, a perfect little romance. This was such a fast pace read and I couldn’t put it down. I will definitely be recommending this book.


Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

✨ Review ✨ Dealbreakers by Lauren Forsythe; Narrated by Fiona Hampton

First, and most importantly, the characters in this audiobook have amazing accents -- especially Lucas's Irish accent (10/10 would recommend)

Marina, a coder, and Lucas, a copy writer, at a start up are forced into testing different locales for fun events (axe throwing, cocktail mixing, escape room, etc.) to see whether they'd be better for group events or dates, which will settle a debate at work and lead to one of them getting promoted. It was a great fake dating premise but without them actually pretending to date!

I thought this was a fun read with lots of great banter as they argued and got to know each other. I thought the premise that these locales would be better suited for groups vs. dates was a little bit of a false binary (why not both?), but still really enjoyed this all around. The audio was engaging and relatively short, and perfect for a summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (rounded up for Irish accent)
Genre: contemporary f/m romance
Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
Setting: London
Pub Date: Aug 1, 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ enemies to lovers
⭕️ feisty banter and competition
⭕️ "fake" dates (not pretending to date but testing different possible date locations)
⭕️ workplace romance that takes place out of the workplace

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons, PRHAudio and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

The cover for Dealbreakers was a bit misleading as it only represented a small portion of the story. I feel like it could have been done better.
Despite the cover being a bit misleading, Dealbreakers was a good read. Marina knows what she wants and what she doesn’t. She’s ready to settle down and to find someone that meets her strict requirements.
Lucas doesn’t meet any of Marina’s requirements, but their playful banter and undeniable chemistry has her changing her tune. And Lucas thinks that staying in one place might not be so bad if Marina is with him.

Hello new book boyfriend!! Cheeky, tattooed, Irish content creator stole the show for me in this latest from Lauren Forsythe. He loves giving straight-laced, no-nonsense, coder Marina Spicer a hard time while CONSTANTLY trying to get her to let go and have fun.

This was so great on audio with all the accents and it just felt really relatable and realistic the way Lucas calls Marina out on trying to make guys fit into her strict list of ideals. She gets so fixated on 'dealbreakers' and the reviews that people leave on her dating app about potential mates, that she fails to see the guy right in front of her wanting to be there for her.

If you can get over the sometimes frustrating rigidness of Marina's expectations you are in for a swoony treat. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: kissing only

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story! The banter between Lucas and Marina was perfect! I really liked seeing their relationship develop and I loved that it was a workplace enemies to lovers romance.

The only thing I didn’t love about this book was Marina. I found her to be slightly annoying and that made it take me longer to get through this story than I normally would, but overall it was a cute read.

"𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮."

LAUREN 👏🏻 FORSYTHE 👏🏻 DOES IT 👏🏻 AGAIN 👏🏻👏🏻

I am oh so in love with this book.

The Enemies to Lovers. The Workplace Competition. The Witty Banter. The Lessons Learned. The Closed Door Lovin. The Tension. and, of course, the Grand Gesture!

Absolutely relatable for those of us who were 30 and feeling the "tick tock" of our internal clock!

Thank you @putnambooks, @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for this review!
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #dealbreakers #laurenforsythe #whatsnikkireading #book53of2023 #enemiestolovers #fakedates #workplacecompetition #friendswithebenfits #changingyourperspective #gpputnamssons #ebook #penguingroupputnam #netgalley

I liked the concept of this book and I liked the banter! I think the app that Marina created was creative.

Due to the pacing of the book I am DNF at 48%. I’m just bored and not interested enough in the characters to continue. I think someone could really love this book though.

I didn't love this one as much as The Fixer Upper, but I did enjoy it. The concept was neat and I loved the women in coding angle. I think Marina was a little TOO uptight for me. Lucas was very likable, and I did ultimately enjoy them together.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

A cute romcom with an enemies to lovers vibe. I liked this book even more than The Fixer Upper. Marina has designed an app overlay called Dealbreakers to rate dates so she can find a mate easier. In the meantime, she is also working towards a promotion at her day job in a competition with her “nemesis” Lucas.

Lucas, a tattooed goofball, is Marina’s opposite and sparks fly while they participate in activities to get more traction for their company’s event site. Lucas falls first and is so self effacing, it’s adorable. Marina tries so hard to not crumble against him, but the chemistry and banter is so good.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. Dealbreakers is out now.

This book is full of witty banter and such a cute concept. Marina just got out of the relationship she had for over a decade with her childhood sweetheart and Lucas is everything she hates. He makes her work life terrible as a remote worker but when he's brought into the office that all changes. A challenge for a promotion becomes a challenge to break down Marina's checklist for a man and to open up to someone she never expected.

Highly recommend this read.

This review is available on my GoodReads account.