The Serendipity by Emma St. Clair: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

He’s a no-nonsense businessman. She’s a free-spirited baker. But the magical building they live in seems to think they’re a perfect match…

When billionaire Archer Gaines needs to escape his father’s corrupt shadow and a related scandal, he purchases The Serendipity, a historic apartment building far from New York City.

He believes in bottom lines and big business deals, definitely not in the local folklore surrounding the town of Serendipity Springs. So he’s eager to move forward with plans to flip the building into luxury lofts.

But The Serendipity doesn’t particularly care what Archer believes, and the building has plans of its own.

Willa never believed in the rumors about her “magical” building. But that was before she walked into her closet looking for a sweater and found herself in another apartment altogether--in the penthouse closet of the grumpy and unfortunately attractive new building owner.

This is less of a meet cute than a meet ugly, and things only go downhill from there.

When Archer announces sweeping changes that include a rent increase, he becomes public enemy number one for the residents. And by charging Willa for use of the commercial kitchen, he puts her fledgling baking business at risk.

With his progress being (magically) blocked at every turn, Archer grows desperate for help.

But the bewitching woman he found hiding in his closet seems to present both the answer and a larger problem: because Archer never planned to fall in love or stay in Serendipity Springs forever …

The Serendipity is a standalone book in the Only Magic in the Building series. These closed door, whimsical romance books are all set in the same historic building, which has a habit of playing matchmaker with its residents. There are light magical elements, but no spells, shifters, or dark magic of any kind.

The Author

Emma St. Clair is a USA Today Bestselling Author who loves sassy heroines, witty banter, and love stories with heart and humor. Her books have sizzling chemistry while keeping the bedroom door closed. She has an MFA in Fiction and lives in Katy, Texas (go, Tigers!) with her hubby, five children, and Great Dane. Her favorite place to write is tapping on her phone while on the elliptical machine. No Emmas have been hurt in the writing of these novels. (Yet.)

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Book Review

To say that I'm completely in love with this book... would be quite an understatement. Obsessed might be more like it. Honestly, from the moment I heard about this series, I was hooked... I mean, a building with magical matchmaking abilities!? Yes, please! The Serendipity- book one in the series- absolutely did NOT disappoint! First of all, what a meet cute! The last thing Willa expects when she goes into her own closet is to find herself transported to that of the new owner's upstairs apartment instead... and he was certainly surprised by her mysterious arrival as well. Yeah, this definitely gave me a bit of a Narnia vibe, and being one of my childhood favorites, I was absolutely here for that! More importantly, I just loved Archer and Willa together. They were opposites in many ways, but they complemented each other well, and I loved seeing their support for one another. And my goodness, the chemistry! That first kiss was absolute perfection! As someone who struggles with both agoraphobia and social anxiety, I loved seeing both represented in this story. I thought it was done very well, and I found myself relating to both of these characters in so many ways. The magical element added so much fun to the story--- it was light and just made it feel whimsical and fun, especially when mixed with the humor that we've come to expect from Emma St. Clair (animal shenanigans included!). I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next in this series! 

The Serendipity is a closed-door romance with kisses only. As mentioned, the story does have some magical elements, but they are more whimsical than anything. There's no mention of spells or witchcraft or anything of that nature. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4khip90