12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies, September 6, 2011
This review is from: 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
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
entertaining contemporary romance, September 7, 2011
This review is from: Serendipity (Mass Market Paperback)
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
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Serendipity, September 6, 2011
This review is from: Serendipity (Mass Market Paperback)
Ethan's back in Serendipity, after leaving years ago following his parents fatal car crash. He was young and not able to deal so he took off, leaving his 2 younger brothers and didn't look back. Well, he's back now and his brothers want nothing to do with him. Each brother was raised separately in foster homes, Nash on the right side of the tracks, Dare on the wrong, and now Ethan's back to try and make amends and bring his family back together again. He's made a good career for himself and as way to reestablish himself in the community, he buys the "mansion on the hill" and needs a lot of help trying to turn it into a home.
Faith is also back in Serendipity, her life doing a complete 180 from where she was the last time she lived here. Her father's in prison for running an investment scam that ruined many residents and businesses in Serendipity and his guilt is put upon Faith and her mother by many in the town. Faith's not sitting around moping though, she's determined to make a life for herself and puts out her shingle for her new interior design business. After being caught at her old family home by the new owner, Ethan, sparks still fly between them, proving that their attraction from high school is still there and Ethan convinces her to take him on as her first client and redecorate his new house.
This was such a fun, easy read about two people trying to make lives for themselves surrounded by a town, in Faith's case, and brothers in Ethan's, that are hesitant to give them a second chance. They find friendship first, rekindling what they once felt for each other as teens, only it means so much more now and the feelings are just that much stronger. There's no denying they have chemistry and while Faith may be the more skittish of the two, wanting desperately to be independent, something she lost when she was married to her controlling ex-husband, Ethan's determined not to let her get away again, or ignore what's building between them.
**********
Ethan grinned. He hadn't realized his little tigress had teeth and he found himself wishing she'd use them on him, not to reprimand him the way she had her judgmental mother, but in bed.
**********
I loved this couple - it was a nice slow build up, with a lot of fun banter between them and incredibly sweet and sexy scenes all throughout their relationship. When Ethan gets the shock of a lifetime dumped on his front doorstep, Faith is there for him and helps him deal with this new development in his life. He also has problems relating to his brothers who are none too quick to offer him any forgiveness. I see their side, absolutely. Ethan ran away, he had no other way to deal with the tragedy that happened in their family and at 18 he was as lost as his brothers were, only they didn't have the choice to run. While I felt for Ethan as he tried to mend their relationships, I couldn't fault the brothers for being stand-offish and hostile, and it takes a young teenage girl to be the common factor in all their lives that starts to bring them back together.
Teenage Tess was really a nice addition when she came on the scene. She's a smartass, sassy and incredibly vulnerable. She hasn't had a stable life to this point and when she's dropped off at Ethan's, she's angry, confrontational and wants nothing to do with anybody. She shuts herself off from opening up to anyone until she overhears the brothers fighting about their past and brings it up to Ethan:
**********
"Man, you really were a screw up, weren't you? Guess we have something in common after all," Tess said, sounding pleased with herself and him.
He bit the inside of his cheek. "Does that mean you'll give me a break and behave from now on?"
"Hell, no." She burst out laughing, taking him off guard.
**********
When she realizes that Ethan had issues himself growing up, they find some common ground to build on and she slowly starts coming around. She bonds with Faith and it was charming to see her go from that insecure, covered head to toe in black clothes, hostile girl to acting like a teenager who's comfortable with her life and not so worried anymore about things outside her control.
This was a great start to what's sure to be a fun series centered around siblings in a small town. I enjoyed the sexy, easy (with a few bumps along the way) romance between Ethan and Faith, and look forward to Nash's story next, which we get a little taste of at the end of this book.
Blog Rating: 4/5 stars
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