All's Fair in Love and Construction

by Zia Tyree, Kristen Sandmann

Iris O’Connor is perfectly settled into her event planning career in Boston. But when she gets a frantic call from her best friend, Sage Anders, she jumps at the chance to help create the perfect grand opening for Sage’s new vintage shop. Iris arrives back to their small hometown of Shelburne, Vermont and discovers the biggest hurdle isn’t faulty plumbing or unresponsive vendors. It’s Ren Anders- her childhood bully. The worst part? He’s Sage’s older brother and running point on the construction as its main engineer.

Will Iris and Ren let their past ruin Sage’s dream, or will the friction cause a spark they never expected? Find out in All’s Fair in Love and Construction.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 25, 2025

Reviews

[Zia Tyree]

Hi! I’m one of the authors of this book, and I have to say this was a labor of love! We hope you fall in love with these characters, this town, and everything in between. And if you don’t? That’s okay too! We wrote this in the hopes of having a good time, and that’s exactly what we did. So, without further ado, welcome to Shelburne. We hope you enjoy your very, very spicy visit. 🤍

[Aivy’s One More Chapter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

What’s not to love?
-best friend’s brother
-enemies to lovers
-close proximity
-spice
This made me tear up a bit with Iris’ insecurities, feeling left out and a bother to others kinda hit home a bit too hard. But it quickly went away with the spicy scenes! Definitely worth the read specially if you’re looking for something light yet spicy to make you feel better.

[Caytie Zotovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just fantastic. It was sassy, sweet and spicy 🌶️ just what I needed. I may be biased but I feel like this was a great debut book for these talented authors and I CANNOT wait to see what else these ladies can accomplish. I loved every minute of this book and couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and their development and the ending was just so sweet. 5 stars all the way.

[Lauren Beers · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to get this book as i work for a construction company. it was my first indie book and i loved it! it was a fun, easy read and loved the relationships between the characters. I only wish the editing errors were fixed and the convos between the MCs were a little more developed. Great debut novel!

[Tiffany Judges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book from two wonderful friends! The story flowed beautifully and it took me about 4.5 hours to read it start to finish. I love the way Iris and Ren finally get together after a rough young life and frenemy relationship growing up.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

All’s Fair in Love and Construction was such a fun debut novel and the perfect guilty-pleasure weekend read. It was engaging from the start, easy to fly through, and had just the right amount of spice to keep things exciting without overpowering the story. The characters were surprisingly well developed, making it easy to get invested in their journey, and the chemistry felt natural and entertaining. Overall, this was a light, enjoyable read that didn’t take itself too seriously — exactly what I look for when I want something fun and satisfying. 💕📚

[Lily Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book was not a huge hit for me. I found myself disliking both of the main characters 75% of the time. I really only liked Sage and Emmett's commentary throughout. I found the book to be riddled with grammatical errors that I could not stop thinking about. Also, there were times where the words used to describe things were incorrectly used. Some more proofreading and editing should have been conducted before the book was printed; these errors, while they may seem small, add up in the long run and can affect the reader's experience. On another note, the characters, Ren and Iris, seemed pretty immature, ignoring each other and pulling revenge pranks. It just wasn't my cup of tea. Iris did not stand up for herself when she should have. There were many moments where Ren should have groveled; however, she got over it almost instantly.
I was not very interested in the sex scenes. I found the lack of intimacy--only finding time to do things in public spaces--to be aggravating. For someone who wanted to show Iris that they had more than lust, Ren couldn't stop talking about their time [;)] together. I did like that the description of her mom's job was pretty accurate, which I would assume is thanks to Tyree's occupation.
I hope my comments come off as constructive. I only wish to see other authors making strides in their writing.

[Grace Xiques · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 30%

I don’t want to mean, but I’m really struggling to find a polite way to review this book. The best I can do is a short and sweet bullet point list of my criticisms:

1. Pretty sure the authors have no idea what being an event planner or a “Lead engineer” ACTUALLY entails.

2. The dialogue feels as far away from natural as possible.

3. Sooooo much unnecessary info is sprinkled throughout. Say it with me, “E-D-I-T-I-N-G!”

4. I am thoroughly confused about what is going on between the MCs. How did we skip childhood trauma and jump to lust without ever having a single conversation?

Well, that’s about as to-the-point as I can get. I’m super disappointed by the overall execution because the premise sounding so new and exciting.

[Kaden Phothivongsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way I DEVOURED this book on a 3 hour plane ride was unhealthy.
The tension
The yearning
The worship
Twas immaculate.
This was a great read. The detailed background building was amazing and didn’t drag.
My favorite part about this book was the relationship building. You could feel all the characters emotions, especially how they felt about each other, like you were right there.
I highly recommend this, especially if you are just starting to dip your toes in this genre of books!

[Zia Tyree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi! I’m one of the authors of this book, and I have to say this was a labor of love! We hope you fall in love with these characters, this town, and everything in between. And if you don’t? That’s okay too! We wrote this in the hopes of having a good time, and that’s exactly what we did! With that being said, welcome to Shelburne- we hope you enjoy your very, very spicy visit. 🤍

[Sarah Meltesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m honestly just a sucker for a rom-com and they have been falling flat on screen for years (historically not much of a reader), so I started looking to books. This was an incredible one to re-start my reading journey. It’s cheeky, surprisingly spicy, and you get a sense the characters in a way that makes them feel so real! Truly a great read!

[Melissa Brandle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome debut novel from two lovely authors! Hilarious and spicy! Loved the vintage store/coffee shop setting, and the wild hot older brother / best friend storyline made this such a fun read. Definitely recommend for people who love unhinged spicy scenes 🔥

[Hannah French · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! I loved the storyline and am already hoping for book two!!

[Luke Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy with a massive heaping of spice. Gilmore Girls meets 50 Shades. At the risk of spoiling, do NOT underestimate the sort of things that can take place on a double date at a diner.