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Restoration Channel #1
Domestic Do-over
A Restoration Channel Novel
Can a prickly carpenter build a reality TV host a way out of the closet?
Real estate guru Brandon Chase knows what “family friendly” means in the biz, and it’s not being open about his sexuality.
The end of Brandon’s marriage is still making headlines when the Restoration Channel makes him an helm a show about flipping houses in New York City’s risky market. Still smarting from the bad press, Brandon is reluctant to get involved—until he falls in love with an old Victorian.
Except the house isn’t the only thing that catches his eye.
It’s contractor Travis Rogers’s job to enumerate every way a renovation could go wrong, which leads to a lot of on-set sparring and mutual frustration between him and Brandon. But when the simmering attraction underneath boils over, the show and their relationship hang in the balance.
Travis hates the media attention that follows Brandon, and the network has a history of firing LGBTQ personalities. Like the houses Brandon makes over, this relationship has potential. But if Brandon can’t convince Travis to take a chance, their chemistry might stay on-screen only.
Can a prickly carpenter build a reality TV host a way out of the closet?
Real estate guru Brandon Chase knows what “family friendly” means in the biz, and it’s not being open about his sexuality.
The end of Brandon’s marriage is still making headlines when the Restoration Channel makes him an helm a show about flipping houses in New York City’s risky market. Still smarting from the bad press, Brandon is reluctant to get involved—until he falls in love with an old Victorian.
Except the house isn’t the only thing that catches his eye.
It’s contractor Travis Rogers’s job to enumerate every way a renovation could go wrong, which leads to a lot of on-set sparring and mutual frustration between him and Brandon. But when the simmering attraction underneath boils over, the show and their relationship hang in the balance.
Travis hates the media attention that follows Brandon, and the network has a history of firing LGBTQ personalities. Like the houses Brandon makes over, this relationship has potential. But if Brandon can’t convince Travis to take a chance, their chemistry might stay on-screen only.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2021
7 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Kate McMurray
55 books348 followersKate McMurray writes smart romantic fiction. She likes creating stories that are brainy, funny, and of course sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities. She advocates for romance stories by and for everyone. When she’s not writing, she edits textbooks, watches baseball, plays violin, crafts things out of yarn, and wears a lot of cute dresses. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a bossy cat and too many books.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 19, 2023
DNF @ 34%
This was a new to me author and a lot of her book blurbs appeal to me and she's been publishing MM romance since 2011 so I was wondering why I haven't heard this author's name before and why most of her books have surprisingly low rating averages despite the blurbs seeming tailormade to attract the usual MM contemporary romance reading crowd. I realized after a few chapters that it's probably because the stories aren't well plotted or well written. This felt like a paint-by-numbers MM romance and while I would normally write a short review and move on, I'm pissed because I had been looking for a book with this exact premise for years and this was the first time I found it, so having it be a boring, lackluster mess was even more disappointing than it would otherwise be.
The premise of this enemies-to-lovers story was interesting. I love home renovation shows and I've spent way too much time watching HGTV over the years. Having two MCs where one is a grumpy contractor and the other is a recently-divorced uptight realtor/celebrity house flipper should have been a great setup. Unfortunately, the author didn't take advantage of this to create something interesting.
The first problem is that the 'enemies' aspect is forced and lackluster. What's the big conflict between Travis and Brandon? What do these two 'enemies' intensely fight about? Well, Brandon (who is apparently a dumbass) is dead set on removing all historical/character details of the Victorian house they're renovating because he claims that buyers want fully modern and 'neutral' (ie bland) homes. He's never worked with a historical home before and he's never worked in that part of Brooklyn before, but he's very sure he knows what he's talking about. Never mind that what he said isn't true anyway. Every home reno show I've ever watched that deals with historical homes has everybody (realtors, designers, contractors, buyers) going gaga over the period details. That's exactly what Travis points out. Brandon eventually accepts that Travis is right, but the point is that this 'conflict' was stupid and I couldn't believe that the author couldn't come up with something more interesting. Never mind that this 'conflict' was stretched out and repeated over and over again to the point where I skimmed their conversations. That leads me to my next problem.
The story barely had any plot. Instead, characters have the same conversations over and over again while the renovation process slowly moves forward. The topics were always the same: the stupid bland vs keep-historical-details argument, Brandon worrying about the reno budget getting out of hand, Brandon's relationship with his ex-wife and how Brandon and Travis are attracted to each other. It got so repetitive that it almost felt like a joke. Each day Brandon and Travis come to the house, the author describes what they're each wearing and that's followed by them thinking about how sexy the other person is before they wind up in the millionth discussion regarding design, finances or Brandon's ex-wife. By the way - the situation with Brandon's ex-wife was so unoriginal that I couldn't believe the author was drawing out the 'reveal' until the 25% mark. Does the author seriously think that readers are so dumb that they didn't realize that Brandon's wife is obviously his beard?? Maybe that would work if this book is somebody's first MM romance ever but it was silly.
Another ridiculous plot choice was to have Brandon's fear of coming out be a major source of conflict. Like the designing conflict, this was dumb and didn't fit with reality. Brandon is out to his family but he's worried that the network will fire him if they find out he's gay. You're telling me that a show focusing on designing homes that's airing in 2021 would have a problem with a gay host?! Especially a host of a show that's airing in New Jersey and now in New York?! A quick google search tells me that HGTV has 6 (SIX!) hosts that are part of the LGBT community. Like the design issue, this conflict was lackluster, unoriginal and didn't make any sense.
What kills me about the boring storytelling is that I've been looking for a book with this premise for years. I love enemies to lovers and I love home renovation shows and based on the great chemistry I've seen between hosts on various shows, I couldn't wait to read this. There are so many sources of good conflict and interesting plotlines that the author could have included but didn't. For example - have them be actual enemies due to being ex-partners either in a romantic or business sense or maybe Brandon's ruthless father forced Brandon to screw over Travis' construction company during a project they did years ago. As for the in-story conflict - it's a construction site! There are so many built-in opportunities for accidents, forced proximity and other situations.
My last issue was that the writing wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible and I've read much worse but the lack of plot and unoriginal character dynamics made the bad writing stand out. One example of this was that every conversation was drawn out, overly detailed and felt unnatural. The MCs would go out of their way re-explain things a hundred times, add unnecessary details and in general, the way they spoke didn't fit with their characterizations or how normal human conversations go. This is a result of the author forcing the MCs to say the words she wants them to say because she's convinced that readers need to reminded for the millionth time about XYZ. You can even feel how badly the author strained to force the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go when the MCs were pulling it into a different direction. That's Bad Writing 101. Let your MCs talk the way they want and if they end up pulling the story in a different direction from where you wanted it to go, that means your original story idea didn't fit those characters.
Another example of the author forcing her own voice into the story instead of telling the story through the perspective of the MCs was how both MCs used the word 'flipping' as a synonym for the word 'fucking' (in terms of an adjective; ex. these bags are really flipping heavy). First - it's jarring to have the word flipping being used in place of profanity in a book that heavily focuses on house flipping. Second - that's a very odd word choice so the chances of two random guys using it are slim to none. Again - this is because the author was inserting her own preferences into the MCs' dialog instead of figuring out what their in-character dialog should sound like.
I know I'm being extra salty in this review, but I'm pissed because the author says in her bio that she writes smart romances that are brainy. So I got all excited and I ignored the low ratings and I put multiple McMurray books on my TBR because the blurbs really appealed to me. In particular, all four books revolved around topics that aren't often written about in MM romance and they were ones I was particularly interested in. I thought I'd found a new author who writes sports romances and about blue-collar MCs, which is exactly what I love. Unfortunately, the author's storytelling abilities and writing abilities aren't my cup of tea so I'm going to move on.
This was a new to me author and a lot of her book blurbs appeal to me and she's been publishing MM romance since 2011 so I was wondering why I haven't heard this author's name before and why most of her books have surprisingly low rating averages despite the blurbs seeming tailormade to attract the usual MM contemporary romance reading crowd. I realized after a few chapters that it's probably because the stories aren't well plotted or well written. This felt like a paint-by-numbers MM romance and while I would normally write a short review and move on, I'm pissed because I had been looking for a book with this exact premise for years and this was the first time I found it, so having it be a boring, lackluster mess was even more disappointing than it would otherwise be.
The premise of this enemies-to-lovers story was interesting. I love home renovation shows and I've spent way too much time watching HGTV over the years. Having two MCs where one is a grumpy contractor and the other is a recently-divorced uptight realtor/celebrity house flipper should have been a great setup. Unfortunately, the author didn't take advantage of this to create something interesting.
The first problem is that the 'enemies' aspect is forced and lackluster. What's the big conflict between Travis and Brandon? What do these two 'enemies' intensely fight about? Well, Brandon (who is apparently a dumbass) is dead set on removing all historical/character details of the Victorian house they're renovating because he claims that buyers want fully modern and 'neutral' (ie bland) homes. He's never worked with a historical home before and he's never worked in that part of Brooklyn before, but he's very sure he knows what he's talking about. Never mind that what he said isn't true anyway. Every home reno show I've ever watched that deals with historical homes has everybody (realtors, designers, contractors, buyers) going gaga over the period details. That's exactly what Travis points out. Brandon eventually accepts that Travis is right, but the point is that this 'conflict' was stupid and I couldn't believe that the author couldn't come up with something more interesting. Never mind that this 'conflict' was stretched out and repeated over and over again to the point where I skimmed their conversations. That leads me to my next problem.
The story barely had any plot. Instead, characters have the same conversations over and over again while the renovation process slowly moves forward. The topics were always the same: the stupid bland vs keep-historical-details argument, Brandon worrying about the reno budget getting out of hand, Brandon's relationship with his ex-wife and how Brandon and Travis are attracted to each other. It got so repetitive that it almost felt like a joke. Each day Brandon and Travis come to the house, the author describes what they're each wearing and that's followed by them thinking about how sexy the other person is before they wind up in the millionth discussion regarding design, finances or Brandon's ex-wife. By the way - the situation with Brandon's ex-wife was so unoriginal that I couldn't believe the author was drawing out the 'reveal' until the 25% mark. Does the author seriously think that readers are so dumb that they didn't realize that Brandon's wife is obviously his beard?? Maybe that would work if this book is somebody's first MM romance ever but it was silly.
Another ridiculous plot choice was to have Brandon's fear of coming out be a major source of conflict. Like the designing conflict, this was dumb and didn't fit with reality. Brandon is out to his family but he's worried that the network will fire him if they find out he's gay. You're telling me that a show focusing on designing homes that's airing in 2021 would have a problem with a gay host?! Especially a host of a show that's airing in New Jersey and now in New York?! A quick google search tells me that HGTV has 6 (SIX!) hosts that are part of the LGBT community. Like the design issue, this conflict was lackluster, unoriginal and didn't make any sense.
What kills me about the boring storytelling is that I've been looking for a book with this premise for years. I love enemies to lovers and I love home renovation shows and based on the great chemistry I've seen between hosts on various shows, I couldn't wait to read this. There are so many sources of good conflict and interesting plotlines that the author could have included but didn't. For example - have them be actual enemies due to being ex-partners either in a romantic or business sense or maybe Brandon's ruthless father forced Brandon to screw over Travis' construction company during a project they did years ago. As for the in-story conflict - it's a construction site! There are so many built-in opportunities for accidents, forced proximity and other situations.
My last issue was that the writing wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible and I've read much worse but the lack of plot and unoriginal character dynamics made the bad writing stand out. One example of this was that every conversation was drawn out, overly detailed and felt unnatural. The MCs would go out of their way re-explain things a hundred times, add unnecessary details and in general, the way they spoke didn't fit with their characterizations or how normal human conversations go. This is a result of the author forcing the MCs to say the words she wants them to say because she's convinced that readers need to reminded for the millionth time about XYZ. You can even feel how badly the author strained to force the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go when the MCs were pulling it into a different direction. That's Bad Writing 101. Let your MCs talk the way they want and if they end up pulling the story in a different direction from where you wanted it to go, that means your original story idea didn't fit those characters.
Another example of the author forcing her own voice into the story instead of telling the story through the perspective of the MCs was how both MCs used the word 'flipping' as a synonym for the word 'fucking' (in terms of an adjective; ex. these bags are really flipping heavy). First - it's jarring to have the word flipping being used in place of profanity in a book that heavily focuses on house flipping. Second - that's a very odd word choice so the chances of two random guys using it are slim to none. Again - this is because the author was inserting her own preferences into the MCs' dialog instead of figuring out what their in-character dialog should sound like.
I know I'm being extra salty in this review, but I'm pissed because the author says in her bio that she writes smart romances that are brainy. So I got all excited and I ignored the low ratings and I put multiple McMurray books on my TBR because the blurbs really appealed to me. In particular, all four books revolved around topics that aren't often written about in MM romance and they were ones I was particularly interested in. I thought I'd found a new author who writes sports romances and about blue-collar MCs, which is exactly what I love. Unfortunately, the author's storytelling abilities and writing abilities aren't my cup of tea so I'm going to move on.
February 12, 2021
I liked this story, despite finding house flipping to be an odd capitalism phenomenon. I loved seeing Mike and Sandy from the Stars series. And I had a few tiny grievances:
So, the mention of gentrification hit me as "oh, that's a racist way of looking at housing." (For me, saying something is racist isn't a value judgment; it just is.)
Ugh, "his daughter is adopted." Adoption language issue...his daughter WAS adopted. It was something that happened, not something she is. (Personal soapbox item, can you tell?)
So, the mention of gentrification hit me as "oh, that's a racist way of looking at housing." (For me, saying something is racist isn't a value judgment; it just is.)
Ugh, "his daughter is adopted." Adoption language issue...his daughter WAS adopted. It was something that happened, not something she is. (Personal soapbox item, can you tell?)
March 14, 2021
mostly liked this, but the writing was a bit... dry? for me. like, at first, i thought it was just a character thing, y'know, no-nonsense and right to the point or w/e, but i think that's just the author's writing style.
but mostly the last third of the book kind of fell apart for me, plotwise, which was why i couldn't give this anything more than three stars.
but mostly the last third of the book kind of fell apart for me, plotwise, which was why i couldn't give this anything more than three stars.
December 19, 2021
I enjoyed it although it was nothing special. It was very repetitive and the constant talk about money got annoying.
March 25, 2021
I love watching home improvement shows and the house flipper shows with a couple who bicker their way through budget and design decisions make the shows fun to watch. Kate McMurray takes the essence of those shows and uses her imagination to bring readers along for a first-hand look at a show in the making. The switch is that the original couple divorced so only the guy remains and he and the good-looking contractor do the bickering and eventually realize they have more to their relationship than the house they are working on.
The home improvement and show production information was interesting. I’m not sure if it was fiction or based on fact but it seemed realistic and it was really fun to watch how the show developed and how the couple progressed. Told in both POVs, readers have a chance to learn the emotions behind the characters’ actions and by the end I was rooting for an HEA for Brandon and Travis.
The downside is that in the first half there’s such a huge info dump that I was overwhelmed by the narrative at times. Of note, there was much less dialogue than narrative, so there were pages upon pages of long paragraphs with background on the show, on Brandon’s first marriage, on Travis’s love of carpentry, and of his family memories. I found Brandon, the show host, to be “pretty” but insubstantial, somewhat one-dimensional—until the last quarter of the story. On the other hand, right from the beginning, Travis was solid, well-rounded, and likeable. Secondary characters were interesting, diverse, and added to the story without detracting from it. In fact, Brandon’s ex-wife was an unexpected upbeat character who gave me a better perspective on Brandon’s past and what makes him tick.
All in all, if you are a reader who enjoys these home improvement shows, don’t hesitate to pick this up—a lovely romance and an insider’s view of house flipping as a bonus. **3.5 stars**
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
The home improvement and show production information was interesting. I’m not sure if it was fiction or based on fact but it seemed realistic and it was really fun to watch how the show developed and how the couple progressed. Told in both POVs, readers have a chance to learn the emotions behind the characters’ actions and by the end I was rooting for an HEA for Brandon and Travis.
The downside is that in the first half there’s such a huge info dump that I was overwhelmed by the narrative at times. Of note, there was much less dialogue than narrative, so there were pages upon pages of long paragraphs with background on the show, on Brandon’s first marriage, on Travis’s love of carpentry, and of his family memories. I found Brandon, the show host, to be “pretty” but insubstantial, somewhat one-dimensional—until the last quarter of the story. On the other hand, right from the beginning, Travis was solid, well-rounded, and likeable. Secondary characters were interesting, diverse, and added to the story without detracting from it. In fact, Brandon’s ex-wife was an unexpected upbeat character who gave me a better perspective on Brandon’s past and what makes him tick.
All in all, if you are a reader who enjoys these home improvement shows, don’t hesitate to pick this up—a lovely romance and an insider’s view of house flipping as a bonus. **3.5 stars**
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
February 16, 2021
I really liked this book, it was low on angst and not too rushed on the romance. It was a well-balanced story set in the world of the realty shows (which I personally don't like) but has realistic people at the center stage.
I can't say I understood much about house flipping drama but day-to-day issues and woes were very convincing and the relationship between Brandon and Travis that started as a hookup turned romance was very entertaining.
I like the writing style and will continue with the series.
I can't say I understood much about house flipping drama but day-to-day issues and woes were very convincing and the relationship between Brandon and Travis that started as a hookup turned romance was very entertaining.
I like the writing style and will continue with the series.
February 16, 2021
I love renovations stories especially with real contractors who know what they’re doing and care about getting it right (yes I’ve watched a lot of Mike Holmes).I really liked the dynamic between Travis and Brandon, they fight just enough to show they are their own people without being annoying or destroying the dialogue and story. It was fast-paced, hot, sexy and super adorable. I totally recommend it and I can’t wait to read the next story in the Restoration Channel series!
January 5, 2022
It was kind of neat the read a story set around a house flipping show on those home reno/diy channels. I used to love those shows but after a while they all seemed the same and even a little staged. But this house flip was for real, they didn't need to invent a newly discovered disaster for the camera, they already had plenty for real. This was a great read, wonderful mix of characters, some sexy moments, some scandal, and some drama, a perfect mix.
February 21, 2021
Strong writing, developed characters and balanced plotting. I liked the DIY elements, I liked having hope about this pair, and I wasn't sure they could make it work with the TV stardom as a plot obstacle.
But yeh, it worked well. Not sure where it will go next if it's a series. That will be interesting.
But yeh, it worked well. Not sure where it will go next if it's a series. That will be interesting.
February 23, 2022
3.5/4*
Easy to read, engaging, no angst, 'does what it says on the tin' story that I enjoyed.
Googled the area to see what we were dealing with - v nice!
Brandon had lots of hang ups about 'his public' and what they may think - we didn't really get to find out when the poo hit the fan.
Travis wanted to maintain his privacy - you're on TV dahling, no chance!!
Easy to read, engaging, no angst, 'does what it says on the tin' story that I enjoyed.
Googled the area to see what we were dealing with - v nice!
Brandon had lots of hang ups about 'his public' and what they may think - we didn't really get to find out when the poo hit the fan.
Travis wanted to maintain his privacy - you're on TV dahling, no chance!!
February 14, 2021
** 3.5 Stars **
dnf
February 18, 2021At 13 percent I am still reading about plumbing and asbestos.
Where is the romance?
I'm noping out.
Where is the romance?
I'm noping out.
November 14, 2021
I absolutely loved this book. It was an emotional story that was really awesome.
💕❣💕❣💕🔥❣💕💕❣💕❣💕❣💕
💕❣💕❣💕🔥❣💕💕❣💕❣💕❣💕
February 18, 2025
Travis and Brandon had great chemistry! I enjoyed watching them fall in love while working on the house! We also got a cameo from her other characters.
June 6, 2022
Pour moi, c'est une très bonne surprise. Je n'en attendais pas beaucoup (soit une comédie "sans prise de tête" sur fond de téléréalité) et d'une part, il n'y a pas d'humour, et d'autre part, l'évolution des sentiments est approfondie avec réalisme, conviction et intelligence. Surtout, le contexte est littéralement passionnant ! En effet, la réfection de cette grande maison victorienne constitue le troisième personnage du roman, rythmant de façon plutôt dramatique toutes les péripéties de l'intrigue. Merci aux notes explicatives sur l'urbanisation de Brooklyn...
Entre Brandon, extraverti, chouchou des ménagères, totalement dans le placard, qui pense jouer sa vie professionnelle, si son homosexualité était dévoilée, victime également de son éducation, et Travis, introverti, mais vivant sans aucun complexe son homosexualité même si son milieu professionnel est très "masculin", cela commence par une attirance. Et, c'est la réussite de cette romance qui joue sur le thème, le jeu en vaut-il la chandelle ? L'introspection est tout à fait réaliste. Le secret, mais aussi la progression de leurs sentiments, les avancées, les reculs, le questionnement, le fait de travailler ensemble, de trouver des compromis... Tout se mélange, et leur échappe très vite.
Très bonne histoire !
Entre Brandon, extraverti, chouchou des ménagères, totalement dans le placard, qui pense jouer sa vie professionnelle, si son homosexualité était dévoilée, victime également de son éducation, et Travis, introverti, mais vivant sans aucun complexe son homosexualité même si son milieu professionnel est très "masculin", cela commence par une attirance. Et, c'est la réussite de cette romance qui joue sur le thème, le jeu en vaut-il la chandelle ? L'introspection est tout à fait réaliste. Le secret, mais aussi la progression de leurs sentiments, les avancées, les reculs, le questionnement, le fait de travailler ensemble, de trouver des compromis... Tout se mélange, et leur échappe très vite.
Très bonne histoire !
July 13, 2024
This book combines two of my favorite things – romance and home reno shows. Brandon Chase and his wife were the cohosts of a popular house flipping show. When pictures of his wife kissing another man are published the marriage and the show are over. Brandon is offered the chance to do a show on his own flipping dilapidated Victorians in Brooklyn. Helping him with this new show is contractor/project manager Travis Rogers. Brandon is very attracted to his new coworker but feels the network only wants heterosexual couples on its shows, so he remains firmly in the closet. Brandon and Travis have great chemistry but obviously have a lot to work out to be together. The story ends in a very sweet HEA. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes mm contemporary romance.
May 7, 2022
3.5
Lecture sympa, la thématique est originale et plutôt bien exploitée. Travis et Brandon sont des personnages intéressants et j'ai aimé l'évolution de leur relation.
Par contre j'ai trouvé le livre un peu long et j'ai décroché dans le dernier quart.
Lecture sympa, la thématique est originale et plutôt bien exploitée. Travis et Brandon sont des personnages intéressants et j'ai aimé l'évolution de leur relation.
Par contre j'ai trouvé le livre un peu long et j'ai décroché dans le dernier quart.
April 2, 2023
Romance entre deux hommes sur fond de téléréalité imposant une surexposition de la vie privée du présentateur.
L'histoire est bien amenée et l'évolution des personnages est sympa.
J'ai dévoré ce livre.
L'histoire est bien amenée et l'évolution des personnages est sympa.
J'ai dévoré ce livre.
June 17, 2024
enjoyable
I love a good home flipped show so this was good for me. I loved watching them fall in love and argue over design. And Travis raging at Virginia was pure gold! I appreciated the epilogue as well.
I love a good home flipped show so this was good for me. I loved watching them fall in love and argue over design. And Travis raging at Virginia was pure gold! I appreciated the epilogue as well.
December 17, 2024
Just read this for a second time and liked it a lot more. Reading the second book in the series made me give this one a second chance and I'm glad I did.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews