Home Renovation Novels to Revamp Your Reading

Book Summary

Sara was the head housekeeper at a posh London hotel in 1884. Based on her background, this is more than she ever expected and the highest station she could rise to in life. But then she meets an American visitor, Theodore Camden. He is building the most luxurious residential building in New York, The Dakota, and invites her to come to manage the property. The job brings her to highs and lows she never could have expected.

Sara’s story is told in conjunction with a 1985 storyline of Bailey Camden, who is returning from rehab and gets the opportunity to start fresh with a job overseeing the renovation of an apartment in The Dakota.

The novel goes back and forth between these perspectives, weaving together a story of love, betrayal, and the quest for success within one of NYC’s most famous residences.

Book Summary

Kat and Blake first met at summer camp when they were just 12 years old. They had an instant connection, but their friendship was shattered when they learned that they were not just besties, but also half-sisters.

Fifteen years later, following the sudden death of their father, Kat and Blake discover that he’s left both of them the family beach house in Destin, Florida. This joint inheritance puts the sisters at immediate odds. Blake desperately needs the money (after being demoted from nanny to dog nanny) and wants to sell the house. Social media influencer Kat, on the other hand, desperately wants to hold onto the house because it holds so many happy childhood memories.

The two agree that they’ll spend the summer renovating the run-down beach house, and then Kat will buy Blake out. They immediately begin butting heads when Blake’s renovation plans don’t align with Kat’s artistic vision. As the summer goes on, the two will have to come to terms with their shared past and learn how to become sisters.

Book Summary

Freya had been working as a bartender in Maine, but after an emergency left her short on cash, she headed back to her hometown of Somers, New York. In Somers, she could at least stay in the house she inherited from her estranged parents without worrying about rent.

She’s shocked to learn that her 15-year-old niece, Aubrey, has been living secretly in the derelict home. While she intended to lay low in Somers, Freya is not only reconnecting with Aubrey, but also encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames around town.

Throughout the story, Aubrey and Freya begin to repair both the home and their relationship, and readers slowly learn the difficult reasons Freya initially fled from Somers.

Book Summary

Secrets told in the church ladies’ room are supposed to stay in the ladies’ room (like Vegas… but in Oklahoma). But what Trudy overhears there during her great-aunt’s funeral will change the rest of her life.

Trudy’s life is already complicated enough, between her cheating husband, her rebellious daughter, and caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s. The last thing she needs is a crumbling old house. But that’s exactly what her Aunt Gertrude leaves her – along with a man to help. It turns out that she left the house to Trudy, but she left the funds to fix it up to her next-door neighbor, Billy Lee Tucker.

Billy has been in love with Trudy since they were young kids, but he never dreamed he’d actually get to spend time with her. As they work together to rebuild Gertrude’s old house, they might just be building a relationship as well. But is Trudy too scarred from what she heard in the ladies’ room to see a future with Billy Lee?

Book Summary

Megan is a young historian and a pregnant widow. Despite her grief, she is eager to restore a landmark hunting lodge on Virginia’s Eastern Shore that was built by her great-great-grandfather, in hopes that it will help attract much-needed tourist revenue to the town of Cape Hudson.

As the renovation progresses, Megan discovers a collection of old letters in Spring House – the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds of the lodge. Through the letters, she is drawn into the life of the woman who wrote them a century ago. Like Megan, this woman had many secrets. As the past and present weave together, Megan learns more about her family and herself.

Book Summary

Spanning the Gilded Age to the present day in three different timelines, this novel is set amongst the summer mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.

In the present day, you’ll meet Andie, the producer of a reality show called Mansion Makeover. She’s in Newport to renovate the once fabulous but now slowly crumbling Sprague Hall. However, she has more than construction problems. The mansion comes with a reclusive heiress who still lives in the house but insists that no one speaks to her and that no one touches the boathouse.

In 1958, you’ll meet Lucia, aka Lucky, Sprague, who fled Mussolini’s Italy with her grandmother. They return to her Nana’s Newport house, which she hasn’t seen since 1899. One night in the boathouse, she uncovers a shocking truth that changes everything she thought she knew.

In 1899, mining heiress Maybelle Sprague was taking singing lessons from Ellen, who had been hired to help polish Maybelle for her entrance into society. Maybelle’s stepbrother has just purchased a home among Newport’s elite and hopes to marry Maybelle off to an Italian prince. However, Ellen has a checkered past that the family doesn’t know about.

Book Summary

Gabby’s dad abandoned her and her mother when she was just a baby. Twenty-nine years later, the last thing she expects is to meet him on the day of her mother’s funeral. Not only does he show up wanting to get to know her, but he also wants to give her a house. Gabby is not ready to forgive him, but she really needs the money, so she accepts the house under two conditions. The first is that she can sell it whenever she wants. The second is that accepting the house doesn’t mean she accepts him.

Gabby hires a contractor to help her prepare the house for a quick sale, but things quickly get more complicated. As she becomes acquainted with the town and with these two new men in her life, she begins to learn more about herself than she thought possible.

Book Summary

Thirty-five-year-old Claire has been devastated twice over – first when her husband died, and the second time when she found out that her late husband was a liar and a cheat. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of him, Claire decides to redesign her Upper East Side brownstone to make it reflect only her aesthetic.

She hires a gruff and often cantankerous contractor named Scott. Scott has been working primarily on corporate offices and high-end hotels, and he’s looking forward to a residential project for a change of pace. But he’s quick to let her know that he has no patience for the pampered princess type that he assumes her to be.

But soon, Claire and Scott develop a mutual respect that borders on attraction. Scott helps Claire realize that not all men are scumbags. And Scott finds himself dragging his feet on the finishing touches because he’s not quite ready to move on to the next job.

Book Summary

At 35, Mallory’s life is not going according to plan. She caught her soon-to-be ex-husband cheating with his paralegal, she lost her NYC apartment, her job, her money, and her dignity. And she also just lost her beloved great-aunt, Maggie. 

Aunt Maggie left Mallory her house in the suburbs, which provides her with exactly the fresh start she needs. But it’s not a smooth transition. The house is a hot mess, and the grumpy (but swoon-worthy) next-door neighbor, Nick, and the HOA are none too pleased!

In fact, the house has no fewer than 47 HOA violations that she’ll have to remedy if she wants to make a go of her new life in the burbs. Fortunately, she’s got wine and YouTube DIY videos, which make anything seem doable.

Book Summary

Opposites attract in this fun Idaho renovation romance! Maggie is a house flipper and YouTube star who needs to restore a crumbling Victorian mansion in four months or less. She arrives in the small town of Kinship, Idaho, with her to-do lists, her blueprints, and her team.

Her local landscaper, Silas, is laid back but also an outrageously sexy flirt. While she doesn’t have time in her busy production schedule for a long-term romance, she could handle a short-term fling. However, steamy nights with Silas begin to break down her long-standing emotional walls. When the end of her renovation looms, she has some big decisions to make.

Book Summary

Sawyer is used to creating the perfect love story since he’s a romance screenwriter. Sadly, his real life doesn’t look like the stories he shares on the big screen. As he stands watching his best friend marry his ex-girlfriend, Sawyer feels the uncontrollable need to escape. He abandons his best man duties and makes a run for it, eventually landing in the small town of Canoodle, California. 

He finds a place to stay at Canoodle Cove Cabins, where he meets the owner, Fallon, who is struggling to make ends meet. She’s overwhelmed with trying to remodel the cabins in an attempt to save the family business and take care of her grandpa, who is struggling with Alzheimer’s.

Despite having no experience, Sawyer throws himself into the renovation process. As they work to restore the cabins, Sawyer discovers a passion for fixing more than just buildings – he’s rebuilding his own life, too.

Book Summary

As the owner of Lowcountry Lost, Avalee spends her days in hot-pink Carhart overalls and a tool belt. Although she seems unable to put the pieces of her life together, she pours her heart and soul into rebuilding neglected properties in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Her latest project takes her to the tiny, long-abandoned town of Somewhere, SC. The last person she expects to bump into on the job site is Rowan Murray, the one man she never wanted to see again. But he’s the structural engineer that the investors have hired to oversee the redevelopment of the town, so there’s no escaping him.

As they work together to refurbish the town, they might just be able to fix what was broken between them six years ago.

Book Summary

Rowan is a talented architect and a single mother. She’s received a new, high-profile commission restoring a long-empty historical mansion for a very powerful family in Maine. Determined to bring the property back to life, Rowan throws herself into the renovation project, working with contractors, managing design decisions, and documenting the transformation of the once-grand home.

While she should be one hundred percent focused on her work, she keeps getting distracted by tracking her ex’s phone. She knows that following his comings and goings all throughout Portland is not the healthiest way to deal with their breakup, but she can’t help herself. Seeing him out to dinners around town while she sits home is enough to drive her crazy, but when she sees him parked at their favorite spot on the waterfront, she snaps and goes to see who is in the car with him.

She expects to catch her ex in a kiss, but instead she ends up witnessing his murder… and her proximity makes her the prime suspect. Soon she learns that her ex was also keeping close tabs on not only her, but also her renovation project.

As police begin looking into the people connected to the estate and its restoration, Rowan realizes that the house’s long-hidden history may hold clues to what happened. Old records, structural discoveries, and stories from locals about the mansion’s past begin to intersect with the murder investigation.

Book Summary

Julia dreamt of restoring her family’s home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, but she passed away before it could happen. Her daughter, Grace, an attorney in Washington, DC, decides to fulfill her mother’s dying wish and bring the decaying Chesapeake Bay mansion back to life.

Before Grace can even buy a can of paint, she’s uncovered a grave, a decades-old murder, and clues to her own hidden past. She still has some family in the area, but they aren’t pleased with her return to town. There are multiple mysteries for her to unravel as she tries to return the home to its former glory.

Book Summary

A former child star, Cilla has found a more satisfying career restoring homes. Her next project is restoring a dilapidated famous house that used to belong to her grandmother, a legendary actress who died of an overdose there three decades ago.

As Cilla plunges into this new renovation, she barely has time to notice the charming neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. She’s determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances.

As she works on restoring the property, she uncovers family secrets, hidden mysteries, and even potential danger. After discovering a stack of unsigned letters in the attic that is evidence of a mysterious romance in her grandmother’s life, Cilla is violently assaulted. Now, Cilla and Ford are trying to sort out who targeted Cilla and why before she is also cut down in the prime of her life.

Book Summary

This is the first of seven books in a cozy mystery series that follows the DIY adventures of Avery Baker.

Avery was working as a textile designer in New York City when she learned that her aunt in Maine had some secrets to share with her. Unfortunately, she arrived in Maine just barely too late. Her aunt passed right before she arrived, leaving her house and all its contents to Avery.

The house needs a lot of work, and with help from a hunky handyman, Avery starts to learn the ABCs of DIY. This leads Avery down a new career path in home renovation, but along the way, she uncovers clues that point to a missing professor. Can she finish the house without getting finished off in the process?

Book Summary

This is the first book in the Fixer-Upper mystery series, which currently includes eleven titles.

In the northern California coastal town of Lighthouse Cove, the best man for the job is actually a woman. Contractor Shannon Hammer operates a booming home renovation business.

Her personal life, on the other hand, could use some work. So much so that she was forced to whip out a pair of pliers on a blind date to keep a real estate agent from getting a bit too handsy. So when that same man turns up dead in a Victorian fixer-upper that Shannon has been hired to restore, it’s no surprise that she’s a suspect.

In order to clear her name, Shannon embarks on her own investigation with the help of her father, a couple of nosy neighbors, and a new-to-town, handsome crime writer.

Book Summary

Author Tahir Shah spent summer vacations in Morocco as a child and dreamed of escaping dreary London and moving his family to the sunny city of Casablanca. To put his plan into action, he purchased a crumbling mansion called Dar Khalifa, which was once home to the city’s spiritual leader, the Caliph.

On the surface, the exotic home fills everything Tahir dreamed of before the big move. But his reality of renovating the home was full of humorous and scary incidents.

The book follows a year in his family’s life, including their experiences in the home and in their new neighborhood.

Book Summary

In this memoir, told through a series of essays, author Erica Bauermeister (who you might recognize from fiction titles like The Scent Keeper) shares the experience of renovating a trash-filled house in the eccentric town of Port Townsend, Washington. Along the way, she invites readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces affect us.

This is a personal and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture and a tribute to the connections we forge with our homes.

Book Summary

When Frances Mayes began restoring an abandoned villa in the Tuscan countryside, she found unexpected treasures at every turn. Within her villa, she discovered faded frescos and a vineyard hidden beneath an overgrown garden. In the nearby hillside towns, she is welcomed by vibrant markets and delightful people.

Reminiscent of A Year in Provence, this memoir is written with the voice of a poet, the palate of a food writer, and the eye of a seasoned traveler. Mayes invites us to tag along to experience the pleasures of life in Italy.

Book Summary

In the late 1980s, author Peter Mayle realized his lifelong dream of moving into a 200-year-old stone farmhouse in the Provence region of southern France. Along with his wife and two dogs, he delights in French cuisine, experiences goat racing through the middle of town, and learns to live life measured by seasons rather than days.

This memoir has been described as “the next best thing to living in France.”