Written by Lauren Forsythe, The Fixer Upper follows Aly, a marketing guru who has been trying for the same promotion for over five years and takes herself on monthly dates to nice places. That isn’t to say she is sad, and she is fantastic at her job, just that after a chance meeting with an old boyfriend who has become so much more than when she knew him, and credits her for his change for the better, she can’t help wondering why her life isn’t what she wanted.
This novel is so wonderfully written, with characters I just want to keep interacting with and a plot that moves because you want to see what Ally is going to do next, how is she going to cope, and how is she going to grow as a person. And… will she find her person.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I have definitely had relationships, friends, and others, that months or years later I find that I had an impact in their lives, but I feel like I’m stuck in the same place or being left behind. This book let me experience a bit of a ‘what-if’ and also gave me a bit of insight into myself. Note: this is not a self-help book, but it is very relatable.
This is a novel that speaks to people, not just women. This looks at the people-pleasers and bridging old mistakes. This is a novel of humanity and love.
And Forsythe accomplished this without any explicit scenes. Not something necessary, but I’d be happy to give this novel to anyone. Really, anyone – unless you are only wanting action, adventure, and magic… then maybe I wouldn’t. Or if you aren’t open to something that has some sass and heart in it.
This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Alright, I am going to be talking about spoilers below.
Aly is an amazing, complicated character whom I adore. I’d love to see more of this character. Dylan is a great compliment to her, and I appreciate their friendship so much. I actually wish we got more of them together, and the only thing I didn’t like was the vague last page.
They have both hurt each other, yet still only want the other to be happy. That is true friendship, and being a decent human being.
The side characters are so vibrant, with the exception of Priya whom we didn’t get to see much of and I wanted to see more interactions with her as well. She is so calm and just seems like a really cool person.
