Flipping Hearts and Homes follows Maia, a radiologist that moves Ashlake to live with her aunt after finding out her fiancee was cheating on her. While settling into the town and figuring out her next steps, Maia runs back into Rowan, the local handywoman, and a former schoolmate of Maia's when she lived with her aunt in her teens. As Rowan and Maia get reacquainted, they both help each other find their way to their next chapter.

This book has been a long time coming. I loved Zett's first 2 books, Irregular Heartbeat and Heart Failure, so I was super excited to see another book come from her. I really enjoyed this book. It is promoted as a low angst book and the romance was wonderfully low angst. There is still some exciting moments, but they are everyday moments and not relationship oriented, which I greatly appreciated. I really liked Maia! She was funny and passionate, and I really like how she took what life gave her and rolled with it. There wasn't a lot of angst in the decisions and life changes that came her way. There was uncertainty and doubt but not angst. I would love to have the same level of grace when facing changes. Rowan was also wonderful, but I will leave her story for, you, dear reader to enjoy when you read this book. Which I would definitely recommend.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Zett's other works as well as fans of contemporary romance with minimal angst.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Handywoman Rowan is rooted in her small-town community, accepting every odd job to keep her family’s hardware store afloat. When she inherits an old house, it’s the perfect opportunity to flip it to pay off her mom’s debt.

She never intends to get tangled up with beautiful, adorably nerdy Maia, a visiting big-city radiologist, staying at her aunts’ place to mend a broken heart. Evenings at a nearby lake, renovation projects, and a wild storm keep throwing Maia and Rowan together, and an undeniable attraction sparks.

Lovely, Hallmark-esque realistic slow burn romance. While this felt a little slow at times, I really appreciated the characters unique realness. It was a delight to watch them move from friends to more. If you enjoy warm fuzzy stories and want to read about lesbians in a low-angst way, you will love this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute quick read! I love a small town read and this was a lovely one. The relationship between Maia and Rowan felt really natural which I always appreciate. How they talked and resolved their issues was great too. All the side characters were amazing as well!

My biggest issue with the book was how repetitive everything started to feel. Coupled with the long chapters it dragged on a bit at times.

But I still had an enjoyable time reading this book!

Flipping Hearts and Homes by Chris Zett is a lighthearted lesbian romance that intertwines love and home renovation. The story follows two women as they navigate their budding relationship while working on a house-flipping project. With its low angst approach, the book offers a refreshing take on romance, focusing on the characters' chemistry and the joy of building a life together. While the plot may follow familiar tropes, the warm and cozy atmosphere makes it an enjoyable read for fans of sweet romantic stories.

What a delightful read. Great characters. Small town, kind hearted Rowan knows falling for the wrong type of woman will only bring her more pain, financial and emotional. Enter Maia, big city radiologist, recently found out her soon to be husband was a serial cheater. Maia is staying with her Aunts until she figures out her next move. The pair become friends but could it lead to more, only if they can resolve their small town/big city dreams

This was a very good read. I enjoyed the MC’s interactions and eventual romance. The scenery was described beautifully, and other characters added to the enjoyable story. I’ve read the author’s other two books, and was happy with them as well.

That was a nice surprise, Chris Zett hasn't published much since and I was very eager to read what she has to share with us, and I am happy to conclude this was a quality read. A slow pace and low angst romance set in picturesque town with adorable fur babies lurking around, two mc who were never in the same circle back in high school now begin their friendship and more as they get to know each other more. I especially like the fact they talk it out with each others, miscommunication trope was typical in a romance with one of them set to leave to another place soon but not in this book, they acknowledge their attraction, discuss the challenges they may face in the future such as the possibilities of LDR, and went into it with wide eyes open which was a refreshing change of pace. All in all a fun read and definitely can't wait for more from this author to come.

Sweet f/f small town romance
After a failed relationship Maia reluctantly has to go back to the small town in Upstate New York where her aunt lives. It’s only temporarily until she figures out her next step and goes back to New York City. Fortunately as radiologist she can work remotely.
Rowan, the local handy woman (tool belt alarm!), is stuck. She knows what she doesn‘t want: to take over her parent‘s store with all the paper work she can‘t handle. Romantically she has been burned. Where to go forward is a mystery.
The two keep meeting, but are hesitant to start something before they know where to go. So a unhurried dance and slow burn starts with a great mix of summer in Upstate New York, lazy evenings, good friends, cute animals and small town life.
I loved the small town, lazy summer vibe. The book read like a coming-of-age novel and at the same time the characters were quite mature, just at the cusp of their lives finding a new direction. I enjoyed this relaxing read and the development of the romance. I appreciated that Zett got the medical part and Maia‘s nerdiness spot-on.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

rowan is very good with her hands and is the one that the town calls for any repairs.... she also owns with her family the local hardware store, her one time dream was to be a professional swimmer but her injury put paid to that idea...

maia is a radiologist, she was engaged to be married but found out just as she moved to a new city that her boyfriends was a first class cheater in the worst way....

she was now home with her aunts wondering how her life had ended up like this... she was remote working from home and was trying to think on how to improve her life....

rowan and maia had both gone to the same school as each other but never went around in the same circles.... but things were about to change....

an enjoyable quick read... love a good butch with a tool belt and this story had all the elements that i love

Disfrute de la lectura. Es un romance entre dos mujeres que están centradas en sus vidas profesionales. Rowan lucha por mantener la ferretería de sus padres, mientras que Maia busca empleo en un hospital de la ciudad.

Ambas tienen claro que no buscan el amor, pero cuando se encuentran, surgen chispas inesperadas, deberán esforzarse por no enamorarse y ser solo amigas.

Lo que más me gustó de la historia es que ambas son muy claras acerca de las cosas que quieren y lo que no. Hay comunicación.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was too slow-paced for me and didn’t hold my interest. I’m sure others will enjoy it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This charming romance brings together Rowan, a small-town handywoman, and Maia, a big-city radiologist, in a story that blends heartwarming moments with the challenges of mismatched life goals. The setting—a picturesque town with a nearby lake and a house renovation project—adds a cozy, feel-good vibe to the book. The chemistry between Rowan and Maia is undeniable, and their blossoming relationship feels genuine and sweet.

Despite the way it starts, this book is surprisingly low-angst. The two main characters both have great honest communication and a wonderful friendship that leads to more.

I really enjoyed Rowan and Maia getting to know one another, they had so many cute moments. In addition, I thought it was great how they both supported each other so well even when they didn't think they'd be together. If I had to describe this book in just a few words, I'd say it's very sweet. Rowan in particular was my favorite character, and definitely stole the spotlight for me personally.

Overall, I think this is another great novel from Chris Zett, and I recommend giving it a read! 4.8/5 stars.

I enjoyed this low angst book set in upstate New York about former swimmer and now odd job/renovation specialist, Rowan, and radiologist, Maia. Maia has just relocated to Seattle to be with her boyfriend, Scott, and start her new job at the same hospital where Scott works. She is having lunch with her new colleagues when she learns that Scott has been cheating on her via office gossip. She promptly decides to leave Seattle and heads to upstate New York to stay with her aunts for a while and do online radiology work. This is where she meets Rowan. They begin a friendship that eventually turns into more.

The book is a slow burn romance that also focuses on real life and the things that make people feel truly fulfilled and happy. I’d recommend this Chris Zett romance to other readers who are looking for a low drama yet satisfying story.

I received an ARC from Ylva Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, heartwarming story. Maia life blows up on the first day of her new job and not knowing what else to do she moves in with her aunts to a small town that was her prison when she was a teen. There she meets a slightly aimless handywoman Rowan, who helps her rediscover the small town she used to dislike and falls in love with not just Rowan, but the town as well.

I really enjoyed this story, it was light and fluffy and 100% feel good. Very low-angst and a wonderful story. I would recommend this book. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me begin with that I enjoyed this story, for the most part. I am a fan of Chris Zett, so I didn’t bother looking at the blurb, I knew I would enjoy it. So I was a tad surprised at the way the story began. It felt like it took quite the leap in its time line with Maia. I felt like there needed to be some sort of interaction between her and future husband, not just gossip to end the relationship. Then to quit her job after one day and move again….it didn’t feel realistic.

I know this is a romance story but I guess I like to believe that things can be realistic. So I had a hard time with Maia being able to design a wed site so easily for Rowan and get it up and running so quickly when she was snowed under with work. There were other aspects that had me questioning if I believed people behaved like the characters. Perhaps I needed this story to thrash out some of the scenes a little more. Such as the ending. It felt like it stopped so abruptly. This all sounds like I didn’t enjoy it, however I did and read it also at in one sitting. I think it’s probably a three and half story, it lost a half star because of the first and last 10 percent didn’t quite work for me.

I would recommend this story.

I'm not the biggest lover of male writers for romances but this was good! I like the idea of a new concept of a house flipper being the love target for the book

This was a sweet and angst free book I enjoyed reading. Always nice to read a book like that every now and then and this one warmed my heart. Rowan and Maia were cute couple so great to see them getting their HEA with each other. The book would have been even better with a little more prologue about their past issues so possible to get to know them better but overall, a good read.

Chuckle, smile and 'awwww' your way thru this sweet romance
If you're looking for a low angst romance with endearing main characters you can't help but root for, fabulous secondary characters and some adorable animals this is a solid choice. There's a bit of drama and at least one intense scene but it's mostly oh so sweet romance between two women who know what they want and don't want, show a maturity you'd expect from much older folk, and communicate all of that without the usual misunderstandings. Set in a small town that possesses a genuine sense of community where people help each other out without keeping score, Flipping Hearts and Homes delivers plenty of feel good content and some steamy moments as well. I read thru it quickly wanting to see how mains Rowan and Maia found a way to be together without having to sacrifice what they each wanted individually. They have wonderful chemistry and they're easy to get attached to. If you're a fan of Easter eggs in lesfic, there is at least one character from another beloved author's stories that gets a mention.
If you need mental and emotional relief from the real world, give this book a read and get caught up in a romance that has all the good feels.

This was a sweet read.

I understand why many readers enjoy its sweet, low-angst charm, but it didn’t quite work for me. The slow burn pacing was fine, but I struggled to feel the chemistry between the characters. There was plenty of physical attraction, but the emotional connection didn’t come through as strongly as I’d hoped.

The characters were cute, but I found it hard to get invested in them. One positive detail was the inclusion of a character with dyslexia, which added a nice layer of representation. Overall, the writing was decent, but I wanted more depth or a stronger hook to keep me engaged.

If you’re looking for a light, feel-good romance, this might be enjoyable. It just didn’t fully resonate with me, but I’d still recommend it. It might just not be the right trope for me.