Review – Serendipity by Carly Phillips

Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: September 6th
How I got this book: NetGalley

Faith Harrington was the classic girl of privilege–until her father was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and then her marriage crashed and burned.

Now Faith is back in her hometown, hoping for a fresh start. But her father’s betrayal has rocked Serendipity – and not everyone is ready to welcome her with open arms. Then she runs into her teenage crush — the dark, brooding Ethan Barron. Ethan, no stranger to scandal himself, never imagined he’d own the mansion on the hill, much less ever again come face to face with Faith–the princess he once kissed senseless. The chance meeting reignites the electric charge between them.

Still, when Ethan hires her to redecorate what was once her childhood home, Faith is sure that getting involved with the town’s notorious bad boy will only lead to trouble. But her heart has other ideas. And so do the townspeople of Serendipity …
*Blurb from author’s site*

I have been a big Carly Phillips fan from the moment I first started reading contemporary romance. The Chandler Brothers and Hot Zone Series are two of my all time favorite series! When I heard the news that she was heading over to Penguin to start a new small town series, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the books.

Ethan is back in his home town of Serendipity, hoping to prove to his younger brothers (and himself) that he finally has his life back on track. he’s bought the biggest house in town, runs a successful company, and wants to make amends. When he runs into Faith, the rich and beautiful girl from his past, he is rocked at how strong the attraction is between them still.

Faith is back in town as well, her marriage was a shame and between that let down, and the media storm surrounding her father’s betrayal, she isn’t exactly welcome. But Faith wants a fresh start and is willing to work hard for it. When she and Ethan start to rekindle what was once between them, a teen-aged half sister is dropped into Ethan’s lap. With everything going on, will he and Faith be able to start their life in Serendipity, or will everything fall apart?

I loved loved this book! Both Faith and Ethan were such wonderful characters. Faith struggled throughout dealing with her own insecurities of how people look at her now that her father is in prison and she is no longer the rich girl in town. She has a hard time getting people to see her separately and as her own person, and my heart broke from her every time someone lumped her in with her father. Watching her gradually take back control of her own life was so great!

Ethan is my newest book boyfriend. I fell head over heels for him. He was the bad boy as a kid, and because of his actions, has suffered his whole life thinking his actions caused his parents death. Then, he left town and his two younger brothers to their own fate and the foster care system. Now, he has his stuff together, runs a successful company, but can’t seem to get people to see his changes, only his mistakes. While he can’t seem to get his brothers to accept him, the younger teen-aged half sister Tess helps him bridge those relationships, helps him realize so much about his own past and troubles, and really brings out the protective instinct. I loved that he was so accepting with Tess, and did everything he could think of to bond with his sister. Their relationship was probably my favorite in the entire book.

I was a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to get any sexy time in with Ethan’s new responsibility, and although it took awhile for Ethan and Faith to get to that point, Phillips came through with some great and steamy scenes. I was glad that to see Faith be the one to really struggle with the future, and how Ethan was the rock in their relationship. I’ve seen more and more contemporary romance books have them man as the solid partner and the woman struggle a bit more, and I have to say I love it! It worked perfectly for this story and I believed every single moment of it.

I’m so excited for more books in Serendipity, mostly because the secondary characters were all wonderful as well. Ethan’s brothers Nash and Dare were, at times, jerks and a little self-centered. I think that the two of them really need to redeem themselves with Ethan, and hope they can get past the tragedy and move forward as a family.

All in all Phillips has another masterpiece on her hands with this small town romance. The town itself is a great character with amazing people. I loved the romance and the story and history with the Barron brothers. I can’t wait for more!

I give Serendipity an A!

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