Serendipity [Mass Market Paperback]

Faith Harrington grew up in the lap of luxury and never left it...until her father being sent to prison for running a Ponzi scheme was followed up by finding out that her husband was a cheating jerk. Faith needs a fresh start, and she's determined to get it in her home town of Serendipity where she wants to start her interior design business. Unfortunately, some people in Serendipity are putting the blame for the sins of the father on Faith. What's more, the mansion Faith grew up in is now home to notorious bad boy Ethan Barron. What's a woman to do? Well, when Ethan hires her to redecorate his home, a woman like Faith takes the chance. But will she also take a chance on the scoundrel who's always sent her heart racing?

Author Carly Phillips starts off her SERENDIPITY series with a bang! SERENDIPITY is passion and fun, past mistakes and new beginnings all rolled into one.

Faith is a woman who is determined to claim her life as her own, and she'll work her butt off to make a success of herself. Faith is beautiful, intelligent and wealthy, but what makes her a fantastic heroine is her hard work and likeability. Ethan, in turn, is a former bad boy who has returned to Serendipity to make amends and reconnect with his family. Sadly, his past makes it hard for people - especially his brothers - to see the man he has become. I flat-out adored Ethan and not only did I want him to find love with Faith, I wanted him to get the acceptance he craves. To her credit, Ms. Phillips doesn't make it easy for Ethan. I was every bit as invested in Ethan and Faith's individual journeys as I was in their romance.

Ms. Phillips could have easily fallen into one of the well-known contemporary romance patterns with SERENDIPITY - ex-bad boy falls for good girl/princess. But Ms. Phillips takes the best parts of that romance archetype and then spins her own unique story from here. There are twists and turns in SERENDIPITY that I didn't see coming, and I LOVED them. I finished SERENDIPITY with a smile on my face, delighted by Ethan and Faith's utterly charming romance. Bring on the next SERENDIPITY novel, DESTINY!

Lily
Reviewed for Romance Junkies

In Serendipity, New York, former wealthy Faith Harrington disowned her father Martin when he accepted a plea bargain after a Bernie Madoff level financial fraud; she also divorced her womanizing husband Carter Moreland who knew all before dumping her. She and her family are broke having to sell everything including the mansion on the hill through an SEC auction to pay back investors.

After a decade away Ethan Barron returns home too. He owes his younger brothers Nash and Dare having deserted them to foster care when their parents died and he couldn't cope; he knows he will need to be patient to win them over as they no longer need him like they did when he ran. Although the victim of her father's crime the townsfolk refuse to hire interior designer Faith; that is until Ethan hires the Princess on the hill to renovate his new purchase, her family's former mansion. Back in high school, they had a heated moment, but that seems tundra compared to how the former princess and the entrepreneur feel today.

The first of the Barron brothers' contemporary romances is an entertaining tale starring two strong obstinate protagonists and a powerful mostly extended families' support cast. The lead couple and their siblings have realistic issues including family dynamics that may keep them apart. With a nod to the headlines and some late suspense, Carly Phillips opens her upstate New York tale with a strong entry.

Harriet Klausner

When her father is convicted of running a ponzi scheme and her marriage implodes, Faith Harrington heads back to her hometown of Serendipity to regroup and find herself. Along the way, she also finds Ethan Barron, the sexy bad boy from her past who has a few skeletons of his own in his closet.

Serendipity has a decent enough plot (even if things with a certain teenager are resolved a little too easily). It has pretty likable characters. It has some nice sex scenes (aside from the use of the words 'penis' and 'member', which are just not sexy to me at all).

What it does not have is good writing, and the problem can be summed up in this simple statement: Show, don't tell. God, it was frustrating! This book could have been so much better. Why did Phillips' editor not sit her down and tell her? As Anton Chekov once said, don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. If you like having everything artlessly shoved down your throat, this is the book for you. Such a shame!

Phillips and her editor also would have done well to pay closer attention to grammer. Too often we were confronted with mistakes like turning two sentences into one, i.e. "Though hopefully Nash and Dare would bury their real feelings for Tess's sake, he was about to find out."

Phillips can do better.