Gretchen Hanover is a thirty-something kindergarten teacher whose fiance dumped her just before their wedding. After 18 months of consoling herself with ice cream and HGTV, she decides she needs to do something with her life. Her solution? To flip a house, just like it's done on HGTV. She convinces her dad to co-sign on a short-term loan and she purchases a disaster of a house. Gretchen's dad, in a bit of matchmaking, convinces her to hire his carpenter friend, Noah, to help the project along. Predictably, Gretchen learns a lot about herself and her relationship with God and, along the way, falls in love with Noah.A light, easy read with lots of little details about renovating, decorating, ex-spouses and best friends. The moral of the story? Life doesn't always go as planned, but trust in God and He'll take care of it. Carlson has a descriptive way of writing and it's easy to visualize her story. The title is a cute play on words. A charming, funny book: perfect for escapist reading. ( )

It’s been a year and a half since Gretchen was jilted by her finance and she’s spent much of that time sitting on her couch watching HGTV. What finally motivates her to get out of her slump is the thought that, just like all the folks she’s been watching on TV, she can get out of her tiny apartment that’s filled with bad memories (not to mention still unopened boxes of household goodies she was planning on using in her married life), by “flipping” a fixer-upper house. Somewhat unwisely it turns out, Gretchen thinks that just because her dad is a retired contractor and she’s spent hours watching others succeed, she’ll be able to take an old wreck of a house and turn it into a desirable property in six short weeks. When her dad has a heart attack at the beginning of construction and the house turns out to have a lot more problems than first anticipated, Gretchen begins to have doubts about her scheme. But when things looks darkest she says her prayers and puts her faith in God – as well as in the hands of the handsome and experienced contractor, Noah, with whom her father had been trying to set her up. Carlson has a light Christian touch and can turn a quick phrase. Realists might balk at the speedy results of the enormous construction tasks that are accomplished in such a short period of time, but Christian romantics will enjoy the characters’ strong faith and the speed at which the happy ending arrives.

I am a fan of chick lit so when I saw the cover I picked this one up.

This is going to be a difficult book for me to review because I actually had a love/hate relationship with it.

First off, I am a little annoyed that this is a christian based book and NOWHERE on the cover or back does it say this. I have no problem with christian based books at all - actually I have read quite a few, but I don't like being deceived and I feel as though by not indicating this anywhere on the covers that is what happened.

I did enjoy the book alot. The main character, Gretchen (or Greta as she is sometimes known) was actually smart and a great character. She did get annoying at times with her "I am woman hear me roar" attitude - all the while knocking down the electricity and breaking pipes. Still, she was quite likeable and not portrayed as a helpless female.

I also liked the storyline of flipping a house. Actually, I am quite impressed with anyone who can do this - so the storyline was one of personal interst to me.

What also worked for me was the great relationship between Gretchen and her dad. It felt wonderful to read about a daugther - father team that was not at each other's throat.

Now, what did not work for me.

First of all, as soon as the name of the male character was introduced you just KNEW where this book was going (which is about page 20). But that's okay, its chick lit and its fun when the girl gets the guy. What was great was the fact that the book does not become all about the relationship and nothing else - so this was a big plus.

However, the whole Gretchen pulls back as Noah is Mr. perfectly wonderful and accepts her wholly because of God was a huge stretch for me and kind of made this book a little cartoonish for me. I mean, Gretchen walks around either clueless about Noah or telling herself that he is not interested and then bam! they have a moment where they gaze intently into each other's eyes and he drools (I added the drool part). Yet, he is there to help her with her dog, her house and everything in between and she STILL remains partly clueless. Nah, this did not work for me.

The other thing I did not like about this book is the last 15 pages or so!! Somebeody gimme a break!!!! If that happened to me, my mother would be locking me in up in my room until I regained my mind!!!!

The writing is fun and an easy read and I have to say that I am now reading Carlson's YA series - which I think will work better with her conservative type of writing.

As I intitially mentioned, I liked this book, but really had to leave my logic at the door. ( )

Not my usual book. Not horrible, but kind of bland (read: a little too wholesome for my blood). Good choice for people who are looking for a "gentle" read with lots of God mentions. ( )