I stayed up til past midnight on a school night to read Dealbreakers and woke up with massive a book hangover. All throughout my workday Lucas and Marina are still living in my head. It was that good. Can I live inside your books, Lauren Forsythe?

Marina Spicer has a five-year plan. Thanks to her ex-boyfriend of 15-years deciding he didn't want kids, she's now behind. To prevent more time being wasted she's developed Dealbreakers, an app for other women to rate the men they date so as not to waste other women's time.

The problem? Her self-described nemesis, Lucas. He ticks off all her dealbreakers, and reviews on her app confirm this. He's in it for a good time, not a long time. Yet, after both of them are forced to compete for their respective work promotions, they find that life is what happens when you're best making other plans.

Forsythe brilliantly captures the reality of dating with a looming biological clock, as well as the loneliness, grief and loss Marina carries after her ex-boyfriend strung her along (and continued to string her along. His ending was sadly realistic and boy did my heart break for her).

Having kids is a dealbreaker, and for women who want them, its a minefield to find a guy to have and want kids with within a time where they can still conceive. Yet, for men, its unfair to be pressured to undertake a huge life-changing commitment so early in a relationship, or to know if you they do want that with someone.

This book is like an onion, layer upon layer Forsythe examines the important questions. Should we be single-minded in what we want from a potential partner and not deviate from it? Why do we want to, or expect people to have kids? What happens if the things we desire are out out of reach, but in its place could be something more wonderful?

I adored Marina and Lucas. Marina is goal-oriented and single minded, while Lucas is a lot more laid back but quietly supportive and possessing all the qualities in a partner. Together they have a palpable chemistry full of fireworks with smart and witty banter. Both characters undergo their own journey to find a beautiful compromise - Marina learning to let go and be who she is at present instead of clinging onto old plans, while Lucas learning its okay to be in it for a long time and that he's capable of doing so with the woman that sparks fire in him.

I also loved Marina's best friends, Bec and Neera were also the best friends. I wished I could take a pottery class with all of them.

Importantly, the book also addresses the consequences of making instant judgements. While the app has a use for women to warn each other, its not the full story. Marina saw what she wanted to see in Lucas because he was on paper not her 'one' and the app confirmed this. Yet, in action, she felt the flutters of chemistry with him, and the men who has the same goals she had no chemistry with. Lucas also learnt a lesson about how his own past actions hurt women and even being only in it for a good time does get old after a while if you've met someone who spark with.

I do have some quibbles though, the premise for the two to go on dates for work seems a bit like a HR nightmare, but given the type of bosses they worked for I'll buy it. I also think both their ideas should've been combined as the website would be targeting everyone to book via them! And maybe just maybe let the epilogue jump a bit longer in the future for the events to happen? It just seemed a bit soon. I'd have loved to have seen I guess Marina being okay for a few years to go by given how in a rush she was. But these are minor, and didn't take away my enjoyment of the book.

After a gangbuster of a debut with The Fixer Upper, Dealbreakers should cement Lauren Forsythe as the queen of the high-concept rom com. I adored this book. Buy it. I 've pre-ordered this (and getting the audiobook).

Thanks to Putnam/Penguin Group and NetGalley for the ARC.

I love these kinds of work place romances and this one did not disappoint. In fact, I think it was paced well and wasn’t too long or too short.

I loved this one!! A rom com that is going to blow up for sure!! A unique story of work enemies to lovers as they compete for the same promotion at their jobs. Life lessons learned throughout - expect the unexpected and definitely expect plans to change. The story of Marina and Lucas is a great one and their family and friends storylines are an added bonus throughout.

Really cute, really fun. I honestly didn’t expect the story to go the way it did, but I was so pleasantly surprised.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

I liked this book by Lauren Forsythe a lot more than I was expecting to. The idea behind the story was good grumpy/sunshine competing for the job they both want and have to "date" each other to prove the other wrong about the app they work for. I liked both main characters and could relate to Marina feeling like you aren't where you thought you would be by a certain age and having to adjust when life doesn't go as planned. I ended up giving this one 4 stars thought it was a solid 3 star book but I really liked the character development Marina goes through by the end and the growth she showed and on a personal level went through pretty similar experiences and things have turned out pretty good. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was ultimately a lame book. I wish it stayed more in Womens Fiction or General Fiction, the romance was low grade at best when it could have been much more central to the story with better plotting.

Marina needed to be fleshed out a little more for me to be on her side. Lucas kind of put me off at the beginning (a little too enemy for this enemies to lovers) and then it seemed like there were suddenly no obstacles for their romance.

This wasn’t a bad book I enjoyed it I wouldn’t say it was a favorite but I enjoyed reading it and think everyone should give it a go

This was a fun, heartfelt, romance between two people who couldn’t have been more different.

I enjoyed Marina’s character and related to her, always wanting a plan and holding out until things are perfect. Watching her realize life is hard enough without trying to make everything fit in a box was enjoyable. I felt like she grew quite a bit by the end of the book.

Lucas was enjoyable too. He’s not the typical MMC I read about and his charm was a nice change of pace vs every MMC being broody and grumpy. I loved how he showed Marina his true self.

I’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a shorter, fun, laughter filled experience

This was my first Lauren Forsythe book and I couldn’t be more happy with it! I’ll definitely be picking up The Fixer Upper in the near future.

Marina has a life plan. She knows exactly want she wants in life and in a man. After wasting so much time on bad dates, she creates an overlay for dating apps called Dealbreakers where people can post comments about men they’ve been on dates with to help save other woman in the future. Enter Lucas Kennedy, a context creator and Marina’s newest work nemesis.

I freakin loved the crap out of this book. It was so cute and fast paced and the romance was chefs kiss! I really enjoyed the fake dates aspect of the story. It made the reading experience even more fun. I don’t read a lot of closed door romances but out of the few that I have read, this one is in my top 5.

If you’re looking for the perfect romcom to read by the pool or at the beach, I highly recommend checking this one out on August 1st!

Thank you so much to Putnam Books and Netgalley for the e-arc!

Enjoyed it! I liked the growth of the characters and that the book still had some surprises. Thanks to the publisher for my arc copy. Opinions are my own.

The Fixer Upper was a book I thoroughly enjoyed last year, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read an early copy of Lauren Forsythe’s follow-up. This was another win for me.

Marina isn’t dating just to date and have a good time. She’s dating with an end goal in mind. She’s even developed a dating app add-on that allows women to provide feedback on the men they match with to ‘warn’ other women in advance about potential red flags called Dealbreakers. Lucas is a self-proclaimed “here for a good time, not a long time” kind of guy. When they engage in a mini competition to prove their idea is the better direction at the startup they work for, Marina finds herself drawn to a little more flexibility and Lucas finds himself considering what sticking around might look like.

The banter between the two of them is so good, and their chemistry jumps off the page. Marina was really relatable in her struggle to reframe her views of the future when everything she had planned on was lost to her and trying to find it again proved to be increasingly difficult. Lucas was every bit as charming as Marina accused him of being, but far more sincere than she was ready to give him credit for. To be fair to Marina, when it came down to their conflict, I don’t think he was as clear about certain things as he believed he was being. However, she also put too much faith in and relied too heavily on who Dealbreakers said he was even after spending weeks with the real man he showed her.

I enjoyed the secondary characters of Marina’s friends and her dad especially. While I don’t usually like spending a lot of time focused on the ex in a storyline, I actually wish this one had been a little more fleshed out, if only to understand how he went from one side of things to the other (I think this is the Marina in me who wants black and white answers rather than living in a gray area). I would have also loved to see some scenes with Lucas and his niece.

All that to say, Lauren Forsythe is 2-for-2 in books for me and will be added to my “must read authors” list.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to read an Advanced Copy of Dealbreakers by Lauren Forsythe.

I LOVE reading about girl bosses and women in STEM, so that was a huge plus for this book because it is such an underrepresented theme. I digress. This book was such a fun, sweet, and quick read!

Marina is a very Type A person who believes every part of her life has a checklist, or in the case of a future husband, Dealbreakers. Things a future husband will not have, but what do you do when the man you want has all your dealbreakers? Also add in a little bit of interoffice competition and banter, YAS.

I feel like this book was so relatable. Marina spoke my internal thoughts out loud especially when it comes to career growth and starting a family. Forsythe did a great job in portraying these feelings into words.

After the last ARC I read that I did not like, I was happy to get a cute rom-com this time around. As always, thank you for sending me this ARC, I feel forever grateful. This story follows Marina Spicer, who is a coder for a small start up. She has no time to waste when it comes to love, so she creates an app called Dealbreakers where women can write all of the red flags and deal breakers that men they go on dates with have (and compares what they're dating apps say verses how they are in real life).
And then she meets Lucas Kennedy, the Irish content writer who's been a freelance writer for their company. He's the only person standing in the way of her promotion. Unfortunately they're paired together on a project where they have to test out date ideas. Right before the start of their dates, she takes a peek at Dealbreakers to see what red flags other ladies says Lucas has. She finds that he is one of the worst rated men on the entire app.
But if he has so many red flags for everyone else, why is she having so much fun on their "fake dates". After all, if Dealbreakers says he's Mr. Wrong, he can't be Mr. Right, right?
This story was super easy to get into, was funny, and just overall a really fun read. I have never read anything by Lauren before, and look forward to reading some of her other stuff! This book officially comes out in August, so you should check it out. It's a perfect summer read! 3.5 Stars.

Grumpy sunshine and a perfectionist. I loved this book. Forstyhe is a great writer, and I will eat everything she writes up! Such a cute read that is relatable.

I thought this one was cute and I liked all the different dates that we saw our two mc’s go on but I preferred the authors first novel The Fixer Upper a lot more. Something just felt a little flat for me on this one. 3.75 stars!

This was such a cute book! I absolutely loved it! The story moved along well without any big gaps or slow moving sections. I really liked the characters, I thought they were well fleshed out and were believable as a couple.

Book: Dealbreakers
Author: Lauren Forsythe
Format: Digital
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Change/Self-Discovery
Places Featured: London, England, United Kingdom
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: After learning that her boyfriend of 15+ years no longer wanted the same thing, Marina goes back to the dating scene and tries the online thing. As a tech developer (love showing a woman succeeding in STEM), Marina decides to create an app to enhance dating apps and make them more efficient—women share dealbreakers for men they’ve met on dating sites, so women can know in advance if their potential date is not going to be a match. When a promotion at work becomes available and Marina is forced to go on dates/activities (some fun ideas here) with her nemesis—the always charming Lucas—she turns to her app to learn more about him…especially since she’s noticing he’s making her feel a certain way…. While the plot is predictable, the character development is fantastic—the chemistry between Marine and Lucas is some of the best I’ve read in awhile and the supporting characters are fun to get to know. It’s also always enjoyable when characters learn helpful lessons and change and grow. It’s a very quick fun read!

I failed to hide my smile, tapping my lips with my fingers. “I always see it, you know,” Lucas said, and I kept my eyes on the menu. “It’s a shame to hide a smile like yours.”

*4.5/5
oh i loved this. lauren forsythe didn't miss, i loved the fixer upper and dealbreakers was even better. i loved reading about marina and lucas, their chemistry and banter, going on fake dates together, the book just flew by, i finished it in less than a day, and it left smiling like an idiot (the ending was just perfect). i will definitely be reading any novels the author will write in the future!

arc provided by netgalley and penguin group putnam in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very cute and sweet. It's workplace enemies to friends to lovers with a type A heroine against manic pixie dream boy. Marina is living in her freshly married best friend's spare room because her boyfriend of 15 years broke up with her. Marina always saw herself having a family, and he said he did not want kids. As a side hustle, Marina created a site called "Dealbreakers" where women can submit the names of men they plan to date on the apps and they get a list of all the reviews from his dates on the other apps. Marina has list of dealbreakers for herself:: no tattoos, don't smoke, and he has to want get married and have babies. She has a five year plan: be a boss at work and have the perfect little family and dog and picket fence.

Then Lucas, her virtual work-nemesis, shows up at her office in person. He will be working there for a couple weeks. After she gave her big presentation that she hoped would manifest into a promotion to her bosses and colleagues, Lucas publicly dismissed her idea for their company. I;m till a little hazy on what they do, I guess it's like Yelp for business that do fun events and activities., but I digress, She thinks they should be targeting friend experiences, Lucas things it should be for dating experiences. So, of course this being 2023 and something that would totalllllllly be ok with HR, the bosses tells them to go on these experiences together and report back. Whoever is the most convincing that the experience was perfect for a date or for friends, wins the promotion and job security forevvvvver.

Um, sure, whatever. But it was cute seeing these two "will-they-or won't they"s banter it up in mixology classes and ax-throwing bars.. (side note: can we stop with the escape rooms? So over those.)

This was fun and breezy, a nice amuse bouche for my next read. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC for my honest review.