Anthologies are always hard to review. And yet, I always read them and review them. But there was no way I could miss this one… with romance tropes and Marissa Meyer? Yeah, I had to have it.

So I thought with this one I would love my favorite romance tropes. but that wasn’t necessarily true. I LOVED the secret admirer story, even though it’s not something I usually enjoy. The comic was a large part of why I liked it also. The art was great, but it was a little wordy for a comic. But it was still really good. The others I liked were not only my favorite tropes, but they were also some of my favorite authors; Julie Murphy’s Fake Dating, Leah Johnson’s Stranded Together, Caleb Roehrig’s Best Friend Love Epiphany, Marissa Meyer’s One Bed, and Elise Bryant’s Grand Romantic Gesture. This was the reason I had to buy this. Yes this was an author name grab, but I knew it would be something that I love because of the topic.

On the flip side of that, there were some that I didn’t care for. Like the Idiom Algorithm, that was about Class Warfare. It’s one trope that I hate, but only because that shouldn’t be something that gets in the way of people falling in love. But what I most didn’t like about this was the way it ended. In an anthology about romance, there shouldn’t be a non-happy ending. I also wasn’t a huge fan of The Makeover trope story as I’m not a fan of that trope either. But even though I didn’t care for the story, it wasn’t all bad. (Besides the ending of that one story lol)

I thought this book would be a surefire win for me and it was! There were some that I liked and some that I didn’t so much like. So to come up with my rating, I took into account what I thought about all the stories. I rated them all and then averaged them together. I feel this is the most fair thing to do when there’s a lot of different things that have to come together for one result. And it’s oddly close to something I would give a Meyer book anyway lol

I guess what disappointed me a bit was that it felt like almost none of these stories “transformed” the tropes nor “turned them on their heads”. Since that’s what I was expecting from the cover and the synopsis, I was left feeling a little let down.

The majority of the stories were honestly fine, but not great per se. I’d still say they’re worth reading if you’re looking to add a bit of cuteness to your day.

I really liked this book of short stories. The authors definitely took the idea of turning a favorite romance trope on its head, and the results were sometimes sweet, sometimes surprising.

This is a collection of 10 stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by Marissa Meyer. I like reading anthologies and this one did not fail me at all. I devoured each story and they made my heart melt. I can only handle so much romance but these all balanced out being short and sweet. Highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me an eARC to read and review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the early copy to read and review! All opinions are my own.

Serendipity is a short story collection featuring different romance tropes. Many of us love certain tropes, but this story collection puts together all of the best ones (one bed is my favorite!). I really enjoyed reading all of the different stories. It didn't feel like they were too short to not get invested in the characters. Honestly, most of the stories were the perfect length that I could read one or two and then go about my day.

I had a few favorites out of the stories (Julie Murphy, Marissa Meyer, Elise Bryant, and Caleb Roehrig), but I honestly enjoyed all of the stories. If you're looking for a cute book about romance tropes, but don't have the time to commit to longer books, Serendipity might be a great choice for you!

Serendipity is such a sweet and charming young adult anthology — one that will leave a smile on your face and in favour of transforming romance tropes!

While I haven't read many young adult anthologies, I really enjoyed this one. Each story kept me turning the page, eager to find out what happened. Characters were fleshed out and the plots were all wrapped up in a delightful way, which can be hard to do for short stories.

I loved the mixture of authors in this anthology. They each brought their own style to their stories but also complimented each other's work to make for a really enjoyable reading experience. My favourite stories were by Julie Murphy, Marissa Meyer, Elizabeth Eulberg and Sandhya Menon. While these were standout stories for me, each individual story was enjoyable and made for a fun reading experience.

I definitely will be recommending this read to friends of mine. It's perfect for fans of contemporary romance and puts a fun twist on those romance tropes we all know and love!

You cannot go wrong with a romantic trope and this book has several of them! Each story is a different romantic trope written by a different author and I absolutely loved every single one of them! I also appreciate the range of diversity that each author brings to the anthology. I highly recommend this read!

I love romance and I love tropes, so I knew 'Serendipity' was going to be a great first read for the new year!

'Serendipity' is a collection of short stories that are inspired by romantic tropes. There are so many different tropes to appeal to every reader! From the one-bed trope to class warfare to the best friend love trope, there’s sure to be a trope that you’ve read about before. Each story is written by a different YA author and they all put a unique spin to their given trope. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection of short stories!

I don’t typically read anthologies because I’m a reader who enjoys character-driven books, but I went into this with an open mind and I’m happy that I did.

There were a few stories that I didn’t enjoy as much as others. Two of my favorites were 'Shooting Star' by Marissa Meyer and 'The Surprise Match' by Sandhya Menon. I felt like these two stories had the best set up, not only with delivering their given tropes but also with the characters. Their romance was believable and gave me lots of fluffy feels while reading!

It’s a difficult task to write a short story and make sure that it sticks with the reader. For most of the stories I didn’t connect with, it was because I didn’t enjoy the twist on the tropes. I will say that they were all truly unique, though.

A great plus to this anthology is all of the awesome representation! There are characters of all backgrounds and there are LGBTQ+ romance stories included, which I absolutely loved. I think young readers will see themselves in these stories and know that everyone deserves a happily ever after.

Overall, I enjoyed 'Serendipity'. This book is for the readers who are like me: that love romance and tropes.

The fun thing about reading a great YA romantic contemporary is the fact that they are predictable. I love to know that when I’m feeling low, I can pick up an easy read and finish it with a smile on my face. That is what 'Serendipity' did for me. Even if I didn’t fall head over heels for each of these stories, I was always left grinning at the end.

*I won an e-arc via NetGalley from YallFest 2021. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing it. All thoughts are my own.*

I'm going to review this book as a whole instead of individual stories, but I will add my rankings for the stories at the end of this review. I'd also like to preface this with Marissa Meyer is my favorite author and even though she is the editor and only has one story in it, I was still very excited because her name was attached to this book.

I am a fan of romance and YA books, so this book was a no brainer for me to pick up. This book has many authors I have read and loved before as well as some new-to-me authors. I think I discovered some authors I would like to check out more from, but I also wasn't happy with every story in this book. I think the idea of being based off of different romance tropes is so fun to use as well.

Overall, I do recommend this if you are a fan of YA romance and anthologies. I think this book made me miss reading anthologies because it has been awhile since I've picked some up.

I'm going to add my rankings for each story down below. I didn't rate them so much as put them in loved, liked, not for me categories.

LOVED:
The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen (new to me, definitely want to check out more)
Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
In a Blink of an Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg (new to me)

LIKED:
Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson
Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig (new to me)
Keagan's Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle (new to me)
The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon

NOT FOR ME:
Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant (really bummed on this as I love her debut book)

Note: these are not ranked in each category, just listed out.

This title is a wonderful edition to diversity and the YA Romance shelf.

It has a multitude of stories that feature a romantic trope like locked in a store overnight or the fake boyfriend.

I enjoyed the book. I had fun with each trope used.

I'm definitely buying this for the library's YA collection.

This book was so cute, I loved the short stories! It was especially great since I have a few favorite authors in here!

I am not usually the biggest fan of short story anthologies, BUT these were really cute! A nice, light read for a day at the beach.

If there existed a serotonin boost in the form of a book, this would be it! It’s precious!

Goodreads synopsis:
Love is in the air in this is a collection of stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

The secret admirer.
The fake relationship.
The matchmaker.

From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.

I don’t read a lot of anthology-style novels, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I adored this one! While there are a couple of stories I felt needed more development and/or more length (considering every story is around thirty pages long), more of them were incredibly well-developed considering their length. Overall, every story had an adorable ending and some kind of theme that provided some depth despite the stories being so short, making them feel like little doses of happiness without the commitment of a novel haha!

Each story is based on a romantic trope as well, which is adorable! Some stories put more of a twist on their trope than others, but I loved getting to see each author’s take on the tropes we all know and love. No surprise here, but my favorite was Marissa Meyer’s, based on the “one bed” trope!! It was beyond adorable, and the timing was perfect for a short story! I also loved the last story by Sandhya Menon based on the “matchmaker” trope, which was a close second! It is also incredibly cute and super funny! And Elise Bryant’s story based on the “grand romantic gesture” trope, and Elizabeth Eulberg’s based on the “trapped in a confined space” trope - ok I’ll stop HAHA!! All these stories were little snippets of romance and basically serotonin in book form. I recommend this anthology if you love contemporary romances but are craving something a bit quicker!

*I received an e-arc from Fierce Reads; all opinions are my own! This book released on January 4th, 2022.*





If you enjoyed this review, you can friend/follow me on Goodreads or on Instagram and Pinterest @ashton_reads for more bookish content (@ashton.reads on Tiktok)!! Happy reading!

Short story anthologies are not usually my cup of tea, but this book was too delightful to pass over. Each story is based around a common love story trope, but they are each done in a new and fresh way that had me laughing and awww-ing and wishing I had a great high school romance.
Every story in this book was well done and completely satisfying. I couldn't put it down.

Serendipity was a fun, quick, and easy read! I don’t pick up too many anthologies, but every now and then there’s one that interests me and this one definitely did. I loved the idea of taking these well-known and beloved tropes, and making an entire anthology dedicated to the romance stories we readers love!

I read this anthology extremely fast, and that’s because the stories were so addicting! I found myself unable to put my Kindle down as I would finish a story, read the trope of the next one, and immediately need to devour it too! I think that this anthology is perfect if you’re coming out of a dense read, or even want something quick to pick up when you’re not sure what you want to read next.

The reason why I’m rating the book 3.5 stars is because there were definitely a few stories that I didn’t like as much as the others. There were some that I just didn’t find myself swooning over, or stories that I felt were set-up a bit strange. A couple of the stories didn’t utilize the tropes as I had hoped, or had some relationships that weren’t developed too well. However, I did still enjoy a majority of the stories and the book didn’t put me in a slump (which is all I can ask for!) so it was still a lovely read overall!

Ultimately, I think that there’s something for everyone in this collection, especially for those like me who have a soft spot for adorable romance tropes!

My Favorite Stories:
- Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship)
- Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany)
- Shooting Stars (One Bed)
- The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker)

I love a great short story collection. The stories in this book flip traditional romantic tropes on their heads in surprising ways. I've been such a sporadic romance reader that this book made realize it's time I brush up on my tropes, even though I did recognize a few of them. There are all kinds of flipped love stories in the book. This is a great book for those in need of a short story or in need of a change from some of the typical romance novels.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review.
This collection is cute, if largely unmemorable. I liked the inclusion of a variety of tropes, and the way authors from diverse backgrounds were featured. And the mix of LGBTQ+ and cishet couples is great. And there are a few I tended to like, such as Sarah Winifred Searle’s illustrated contribution or Elizabeth Eulberg’s whimsical fairy tale-esque story. And each story is a nice bite that tells you a bit of what you can expect of the author’s style. There’s not a lot of time to really become invested, but that’s to be expected with a short story collection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Who doesn’t love a collection of cute rom-coms?!

If you follow my reading journey, you can tell that rom-coms are some of my favorite stories. They’re addicting. These ten stories each follow a specific rom-com trope, noted in the title, and put a cute, but realistic, twist on them. There is even a graphic novel thrown into the mix!

Not only are the authors in this collection amazing, but there is a great representation for women in STEM and the LGBTQ+ community. The variety that each story brings as whole is quite impressive and enjoyable. The stories don’t feel the same as one another.

This came out today and I highly recommend picking it up if you’re a romance fan like me.

AVERAGE RATING: 3.8⭐️

Like with most anthologies there will be story you enjoy and stories you don’t. However, the stories I loved stick out way more in my mind than the stories I didn’t love. My favorite stories were Marissa Meyer’s and Sandhya Menon’s!

Bye Bye, Piper Berry (The Fake Relationship) by Julie Murphy
• 5⭐️
The fake relationship trope is my favorite, but this was also a best friends to lovers trope and I can ask for nothing more!! My two favorite tropes in one story? Sign me up.

Anyone Else but You (Stranded Together) by Leah Johnson
• 3⭐️
I didn’t really care about the characters a whole lot. Also, I don’t think stranded together is a trope that I would die for.

The Idiom Algorithm (Class Warfare) by Abigail Hing Wen
• 3⭐️
This is definitely not my favorite trope, to be honest, I didn’t even realize this was a romance trope. I loved Tan and Winter, Rebecca not so much.

Auld Acquaintance (The Best Friend Love Epiphany) by Caleb Roehrig
• 5⭐️
Now this is how you do best friends to lovers!!

Shooting Stars (One Bed) by Marissa Meyer
• 5⭐️
I’m not surprised that I’m completely and utterly obsessed with this story. Marissa Meyer strikes again!

Keagan’s Heaven on Earth (The Secrets Admirer) by Sarah Winifred Searle
• 3⭐️
I did not expect a graphic novel short story! I really loved the art style. I felt like this one was a bit too fast paced though.

Zora in the Spotlight (The Grand Romantic Gesture) by Elise Bryant
• 2⭐️
The Grand Romantic Gesture is definitely not a trope I enjoy. I also didn’t really like the characters or feel a connection between the two love interests.

In a Blink of the Eye (Trapped in a Confined Space) by Elizabeth Eulberg
• 3⭐️
Of course the London setting is absolutely perfect. This story just missed the mark for me for some reason.

Liberty (The Makeover) by Anna-Marie McLemore
• 4⭐️
I loved this story because it wasn’t just about finding love, but also finding the way back to yourself.

The Surprise Match (The Matchmaker) by Sandhya Menon
• 5⭐️
WHAT A STORY TO END ON!! I loved everything about this. I love when characters are so techy and computer smart. This also had so many tropes in it that I love!

💙 Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes Transformed eARC Review 💙

First of all I would like to thank @fiercereads and @marissameyerauthor for sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

A beautiful collection of short stories about first love, heartbreak, and everything in between.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
This collection contains so many tropes and definitely transformed them like the title suggests. Every author in this short story collection did a beautiful job of creating diverse representation and writing an amazing story. There’s even a graphic novel in it! Overall it is a great collection and a definite 2022 must read.