5 stars

We have suffered in a space with too few pieces of short fiction in YA, and those days are coming to a close thanks to collections like this one!

This is an outstanding anthology filled with heavy hitters in the genre, and those big names are what drew me to reading this. They all come through. Each story begins with an identified trope, and there's a solid flow of diverse perspectives and experiences running through the group. If you're drawn in by the authors, you'll be pleased. If you're drawn in by the genre, you will also be pleased.

*Readers who are able to access the audiobook SHOULD. I started reading the e-arc, and it's obviously great, but when I was approved for the audio arc, I switched over to that version. Since the authors voice their own pieces, listening to this one is pretty magical.

Folks who enjoy YA, romance, short fiction, and/or one or more of these authors will be quite fulfilled by this one. Recommended.

The best book I could have chosen to read during the hectic holidays and me coming down with someone has to be Serendipity. Full of all things joy and happiness that will surely boost your serotonin levels right up!

For me, it’s hard to rate and review a collection of short stories, especially fairly but I completely enjoyed every story packed into this book. There are tropes featured that are definitely fan favorites but also a few you might never have thought of and could quickly become a fan of!

Every story was written so well and thoroughly, not a single one left me wanting for me. Like seriously, for how short the stories are, I really thought there was no way I would be satisfied by the end but I really was! They also had a way of making me chuckle and really think while reading them that I was shocked by the end!

Something else I’m excited to point out was how diverse every story was. There were a few different ethnicities, there were LGBTQ stories, straight stories, stories about finding a friendship instead and just so much love to go around that I really do feel all warm inside!

This book was like a big hug and something I really wasn’t expecting, so I’m hoping you give it a chance and really find something you love in it!

Also, I thought I’d point out my favorite story of the bunch, In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg. So so cute, I loved all of the London talk, and it genuinely made me laugh!

My heart! This was so sweet I got a cavity. I loved these but my favorites were Marissa’s (of course), Julie Murphy’s, Caleb Roehrig’s, and Elizabeth Eulberg’s.

If you love cute romances, tropes galore, and anthologies, pick this up!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this. 5/5 stars.

I'm a sucker for YA anthologies. I'm also a sucker for romance tropes. This was that combination of them. I loved all the stories. I will be honest though, I was not able to read the comic-styled one due to reading it on my kindle HOWEVER all of the stories were adorable and represented the tropes well -- with some unique twists.

Most of the stories left me going AWWWW at the end and wanting to read more about the couples. I also LOVED how it had diverse characters and LGBTQ stories that normalized being LGBTQ -- especially those focused on being in high school.

I wouldn't say I had a favorite, but I also wouldn't say there wasn't one I enjoyed. Pick this up to read -- especially if you're a sucker for the tropes like I am and need some happiness from romance in your life.

Ok, the subtitle says it's tropes transformed, but it's definitely not. It's just tropes with teens, which are still tropes.

It's 10 short stories about teens falling in love, which are just average. Nothing super exciting. Just average. 🤷‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for providing me with an e-arc for review.

What a sweet collection of romance YA stories!

I needed something light and heartfelt while cuddled up in bed tonight and this book delivered on being the exact shock of serotonin I was craving. Each story in this collection centered around a specific popular romantic trope. While reading, I enjoyed getting reacquainted with some of the more popular tropes (one-bed, fake dating, etc.) while also being delighted to be introduced to lesser known tropes and even new tropes I hadn't considered (class warfare, for instance, as well as creative retellings of the secret admirer and matchmaker tropes). I could tell that the authors had fun writing this! Almost all of the stories were funny and a pure delight to read.

Like with most collections, however, I had some favorite stories and some stories I just didn't resonate with. Out of the ten stories, the clear standouts for me were Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy, The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen, Shooting Stories by Marissa Meyer, and Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant [I usually despise the fake dating trope so special kudos to Julie Murphy for getting me to actually enjoy a fake dating arc]. I thought these stories were funny, had excellent pacing, and the characters felt well rounded (which I know can be hard to do in so few pages).

Overall, if you'd like a quick, romance filled read that you can finish in one sitting, chockful of grand gestures and long awaited love pronouncements and first love- I would recommend this one!

"Love is in the air in Serendipity, 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, 10 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 fall for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.

Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen."

I love it when tropes are reimagined to become something more.

Age Rating: 13/14+

<i>Special thanks to FierceReads and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.</i>

I have never read an anthology before. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Serendipity is a YA romance anthology edited by Marissa Meyer where each story follows a favorite romantic trope. Sounds cute, right? It definitely was. There are 10 stories by 10 authors, most of which I’d heard of, maybe half of which I’ve read before, and a couple that were totally new to me.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to review this, because each individual story is unique and I had differing opinions and ratings on each one. In the end, I decided to give a mini review of each story (no spoilers—promise).

So, starting with the first story:

<b>Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy</b>
4.5 stars
Trope: Fake Dating

One of my favorite tropes, an author I know and love, and a great start to the anthology.
I loved the characters; I loved the story; I loved the writing. I wish it was longer. Like, if this story were turned into a 3-400 page novel, I would read it. That said, I do think Julie Murphy did a good job of taking this trope and writing such a short story. From the start, I was skeptical. Fake dating didn’t seem like it could be accomplished successfully in like 30 pages. But the chemistry was there, and I got into it. I want more, but I don’t feel like it <i>needed</i> more like I did with some of the stories.

<b>Anyone Else but You by Leah Johnson</b>
4 stars
Trope: Forced Proximity

Leah Johnson is an author I’ve so many good things about, but have never gotten around to reading, so I was excited to get a taste of her writing in this anthology—and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Another trope I can’t help but love, but the fact that it takes place over one night did make me apprehensive. I am not a fan of instalove. But the characters had enough history and chemistry that it felt more like the acknowledging of feelings than them just poofing into existence. The little epilogue at the end was also adorable and I thought it was a great touch.

<b>The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen</b>
2.5 stars
Trope: Class Warfare

I read Abigail Hing Wen’s debut novel, <i>Loveboat, Taipei,</i> and really enjoyed it when it came out, so I was really excited to get to her story in the anthology… but unfortunately it disappointed.
To start off, I didn’t know what class warfare was. All of the other tropes were ones I was very familiar with and were all prevalent in YA romance, so I kind of assumed it meant academic rivals? I realized pretty soon that was wrong, and eventually I realized it meant <i>socioeconomic</i> class. I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a YA romance where that was a major trope, but that wasn’t the main problem I had with it; it was just a confusing piece. It just didn’t feel romantic. The girl the character spends the whole time trying to win back was kind of rude and stuck up. There’s no chemistry, nothing making me vote for them. With the way it ends up, maybe it would have been more enjoyable if it were a full novel, giving the reader more time to grow to care for the characters and build chemistry between them, but as it is, it was my least favorite of the stories.
I also thought it was weird that it was in 3rd person when everything else was in first person.

<b>Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig</b>
3 ish stars
Trope: The Best Friend Love Epiphany

I really liked the plot. I really liked the characters. The writing style was… not for me. I don’t know if it was objectively bad, but there was just something about the narration that bugged me, and I couldn’t get into it like I wanted to. But the romance was cute, the characters were relateable, and I think that it worked well as a short story. Also I dont know what “auld” means but thats irrelevant.

<b>Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer</b>
5 stars
Trope: One Bed

Marissa. Freaking. Meyer. AND ONE BED TROPE?? Enough said.
But I will say a little more. This was my favorite (although I did rate another of the stories 5 stars) story. I adored the characters. I adored the writing. I love this so much. More Marissa Meyer contemporaries please and thank you.

<b>Keagan’s Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle</b>
3.5 stars
Trope: The Secret Admirer

ITS A GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC!!! I was super excited to see this, because I wasn’t expecting it and I love a good graphic novel. Plus, the drawings were stunning. I liked the characters. I liked the idea behind the story. I just needed a bit more. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters and events seemed to jump around too fast. It just needed a bit more. But it was still fun, and I enjoyed it.

<Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant</b>
4 stars
Trope: The Grand Romantic Gesture

This one was really well written and I fully enjoyed it. It just wasn’t really a romance? At all? But I loved the main character and her friends and the events of the story were tons of fun. I think it worked really well as a short story. And again, the writing was so good; it swept me in immediately. I haven’t read Elise Bryant’s debut, but it is sitting on my shelf, and it just jumped to the top of my TBR. Despite the fact that I didn’t think this was really a romance at all, which is weird for a romance anthology, it was still one of my favorites.

<In the Blink of an Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg</b>
4 stars
Trope: Confined Spaces

So again, this one wasn’t really a romance? Yes she ends up in a confined space with a person, but it’s about friendship, not romance. The other character is her best friend’s boyfriend. But it was another of my favorites. The writing style was <i>so much fun</i> and I absolutely adored the characters. I’ve never heard of Elizabeth Eulberg before, but I’m definitely going to check out some of her books, because I really like her voice.

<b> Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore</b>
5 stars
Trope: The Makeover

Did “the makeover trope” play into this story, like, at all? No. I think a better trope would be Celebrity Crush or something. But still—it. Was. So. Freaking. Good.
I love Anna-Marie McLemore. I’ve read several of their books and enjoyed every one, but I actually think I liked this more than I liked any of their novels, simply for the plot of it. They should write a whole contemporary romance novel. Maybe… they could write this into a novel??? Pretty please???
But seriously. I adored this story. I loved the characters, the plot, the way it handled some seriously tough issues in such a short story and did it so well. And I think it worked really well as a short story. Nothing felt too rushed. Nothing felt missing. I just want <i>more.</i>

<b> The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon</b>
4 stars I think?
Trope: The Matchmaker

I liked this. It was solid, it was fun, and I’ve always liked Sandhya Menon’s writing. It was just one of those where it felt a little rushed. It just needed a little more fleshing out in places. But regardless, it was still fun and I did enjoy it.

All in all, this was tons of fun, and a great first anthology! I highly highly recommend!

This was a really fun anthology! Ten YA authors take popular romance tropes and spin them into really fun stories, and I can't wait for this to be out so everyone can read and enjoy them! There is such a variety of diverse stories, fun tropes, and a group of fun rom-com stories by beloved YA authors. If you're expecting a ton of development, this isn't really the one for you because the stories are about 40 pages each (that's not exact because I read it on a Kindle, but still) but they're still quick, enjoyable reads.
Marissa Meyer's "Shooting Stars": Marissa Meyer is one of my all-time favorite writers, so it's no surprise that this was my favorite story! It's kind of a slow-burn, one-bed trope, and she did it so well!
Julie Murphy's "Bye Bye, Piper Berry": This one is a dual-perspective fake-dating story and the two characters splitting page time made the development incredible for such a short novella. Really sweet!
Abigail Hing Wen's "The Idiom Algorithm": I loved Wen's full-length novel so I was hoping to love this one, and I did, but it was a very elaborate take on the class warfare trope. Still fun though!
Sandhya Menon's "The Surprise Match": This was custom fun rom-com for Menon and I enjoyed the tech-based matchmaking trope!
Elizabeth Eulberg's "In a Blink of the Eye": I enjoyed this London-based, confined space story, but it really was a major twist on the trope and I won't spoil it, but it just wasn't what I expected, though it was good for what it was.
Caleb Roehrig's "Auld Acquaintance": The friends-to-lovers trope isn't always my favorite, but the one between Garrett and Ollie was developed really well and I enjoyed it!
Leah Johnson's "Anyone Else But You": This was an enemies-to-lovers stranded together theme, and it was fun! We got background on the girls and their relationship which really fleshed them out well.
Anna-Marie McLemore's "Liberty": This makeover trope was body-positive and really fun to read. I enjoyed following Camila and Ximena during their cheerleading practices and their romance. We didn't see a lot of the makeover though, unfortunately.
Elise Bryant's "Zora in the Spotlight": I loved her debut but I was really let down by this one; the romance in this particular grand romantic gesture story didn't sit right with me.
Sarah Winnifred Searle's "Keagan's Heaven on Earth": This was a graphic novel and I don't know if the formatting on my Kindle was messed up or what, but I couldn't follow the story; it seemed all over the place. It's not content related necessarily, I was just confused.

I’m SUCH A SUCKER for a good trope, and you know these were no exception.

So many great stories and I am looking forward to picking up other works by a lot of these authors!!

Special shout-out to Marissa Meyer’s “Shooting Stars”, Elizabeth Eulberg’s “In a Blink of an Eye”, and “The Surprise Match”. My all time favorites, but I truly loved them all. 🖤🖤🖤

*Thanks to the folks at NetGalley for an eARC*

This anthology collection was so much fun! If you love various romance tropes this is definitely the collection for you. Featuring some of YA's bigger authors you will see your favorite tropes flipped upside in this new collection of romantic stories.

I’m a sucker for romantic tropes, especially when they’re not exactly what we’ve come to know.

This book is packed full with diverse stories, different races and background, and different sexual orientations. It really shows that everyone deserves to be happy.

Definitely pick this book up as it’s written by some fantastic authors and for the sweet stories that are inside.

this was so cute and fun!

this literally has all of the best tropes in one book, it’s amazing. it was interesting seeing each author’s take on them! one bed trope?? enemies to lovers? confined space?? pls i loved all of it.

this got my out of my reading slump because it was so fast paced and adorable. i would read a full length novel about each of these short stories!!

thank you fierce reads for sending me an arc!

I love a good romance trope, and I especially love when there's a unique twist to that trope as well. These stories were all so well done and really gives something for everyone. It doesn't hurt that so many of the authors were already familiar to me, being big names in their genres.

This was delightful. The first story was cute and funny but followed the plot of the movie Drive Me Crazy rather too closely. Other than that the stories were wonderful and I loved all of them. The romances were cute, often surprising (hence the twists on classic tropes), and delivered swoonworthy romances which is hard to do in a short story. It's hard to pick favorites, though I did love Anna Marie McLemore's and Marissa Meyer's the best. The twist on stuck in a small space was also quite lovely.
If you love YA romance, romcoms, classic tropes, or twists on classic tropes, definitely give this one a shot.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends for providing an e-arc for review.

When I saw Marissa Meyer's name on the cover, that was all I needed to persuade me to read this book! It is a fun, quick read with a lot of feel-good stories about falling in love or finding the right person at the right time. The stories in Serendipity are very diverse, which is a bonus feature. This wasn't a life-changing book for me, but it was a great book for relaxing and enjoying some down-time. I felt like some stories were fleshed-out a little more than others, which led to a deeper connection with it, but all of them were fun to read. My personal favorite stories were by Sandhya Menon, Elizabeth Eulberg, Marissa Meyer, and Julie Murphy. Being a story collection, there's something here for everyone!

I loved this collection. I'm definitely a sucker for a great short story collection, and this was such a nice one to read. I especially enjoy when the collection has a theme, but the stories are distinct and separate enough so that there feels like a range of narratives. All of the stories in the Serendipity anthology are based on romantic tropes; the fake boyfriend, only one bed, trapped in a room together (etc, etc). What I loved is that a) all of the stories had happy endings that felt right and not forced and b) that the takes on each trope felt new and different! The characters in the 'only one bed' story don't actually share a bed (they share a tent), 'the makeover' is also about being true to yourself, and 'the secret admirer' is a comic! I like too that the stories are diverse in a way that feels totally natural. It shows the reader that these stories, these tropes, are absolutely for everyone! These are stories that I'll be excited to read again and again, and to share with my students! Highly recommend.

Before we get into the review, a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Feiwel and Friends for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Serendipity is an anthology of romance short stories featuring the tropes we all love--One Bed, The Grand Romantic Gesture, Trapped in a Confined Space, The Makeover, Fake Dating. This book has it all. There are ten stories from ten well known and loved YA authors. Serendipity comes out on January 4th and is available for pre-order now.

I have to start out this review by saying that I think this is the highest rated anthology I’ve ever read. There is so much to love in this collection. The first story--Bye, Bye, Piper Berry--was my favorite. Probably because it’s my favorite trope (fake dating). I ended up rating that one 4.5 stars. I think the one and only reason it didn’t get a higher rating is that I was longing for more of the angst. But since it’s a short story we only got a few glimpses into the pining. It was so good I just wanted more. Not a bad complaint to have. I also loved the diversity and inclusion in this set of stories. I believe every other story was an LGBT+ story and it all felt so authentic. We also get different ethnicities and we explore in one story differences in classes. So, there’s a ton to love here even if you aren’t a major romance fan. But seeing as I am a romance fan there was just even more for me to enjoy.

I think my rating makes it look like I enjoyed this one less than I did. I had one story that I rated 2.5 stars and I think that drug down my rating a bit. That was The Idiom Algorithm. It was such high drama and so over the top that I couldn’t look past it. I think if this was written as a full blown novel then it could have added some less dramatic scenes and really made everything more believable. But the author had too little space and that was really to its detriment. But all the other stories got a 3 star rating or higher from me which is pretty rare when I’m reading an anthology.

Overall, I think this is going to be the perfect thing to get people ready for Valentine’s day in the New Year. I also think it would be great for people who like certain tropes more than others and they can pick and choose which stories to read based off those tropes. I definitely think they’re all worth the read no matter what, but especially if you’re a fan of the Romance genre.

This is the perfect read for any romance lover who finds him or herself in a busy season without the time to commit to an entire novel or series or anything who loves a bit of fun and fluff and something light.
Serendipity takes all your favorite tropes and lets each author tell us about one. From fake dating to being stuck in one bed, these high school interpretations of these tropes are so romantic and sweet.

I loved reading these short stories and getting just a taste of my favorite tropes before I moved on to the next one. These are are some of my faves and some I've not read before and I enjoyed them all! Get ready and dive in!

I was surprised how enjoyable most of the stories were. It was an easy read and perfect for anyone who wants to read about cute tropes in YA.