Thank you to Putnam for the gifted copy of this ARC.

Aly is in the business of fixing people up - namely, men who need to kick it into gear in some aspect of their life to get to the place their girlfriends or wives need them to be. When Aly's next client is a high-paying social media influencer, she's EXCITED... until she finds out the guy she's supposed to fix up is her childhood best friend and love.

It took me awhile to get into The Fixer Upper - about 30%. Aly isn't the most likable character because, as her friends say, she is a "master manipulator" as she fixes those around her. I did really appreciate her character growth by the end, though, and her modern woman energy throughout the book. The friends (Ben!!, Eric, and Tola) were the best part for me. I love how they pushed Aly to be more authentic and vulnerable and to stand up for herself. The social media influencer, Nicki, was the WORST. Honestly, she was way more manipulative than Aly! Dylan, the love interest, grew on me by the end, but he definitely crossed some lines in the middle of the book while he was with Nicki. Overall, I really liked how this book had narratives on not letting people walk all over you, opening up and being vulnerable instead of trying to control everything, and communicating with honesty. This was a really solid debut from Lauren Forsythe and I am definitely interested in seeing what she writes next!