Did not finish this book. Could not get into any of the few stories that I listened too. I normally love anthologies but I guess romance ones are not my jam.

"Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes Reimagined" is a collection of ten interconnected short stories that revolve around different romantic tropes, such as "one bed," "the fake relationship," and "the grand gesture," among others. The book aims to subvert these cliches and offer a fresh take on the genre.

- the fake relationship
- stranded together
- class warfare
- the best-friend love epiphany
- one bed
- the grand romantic gesture
- trapped in a confined space
- the makeover
- the matchmaker

Overall, the characters are diverse and well-developed, and the authors do a good job of creating believable and relatable relationships. However, some of the stories feel rushed and underdeveloped, and I found some of the storylines to be a little predictable. But overall this was a really sweet collection and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance!

It’s a collection of romance short stories. It was good. If you want to see teenagers getting the person they thought they couldn’t get, this is something you will like

Note: I read this last year and when I checked my Goodreads just now my review is not there. I can only see the three-star rating.

This was so cute! I was worried that the premise of messing with tropes would make them all super sad so I was pleasantly surprised by the fun of each story. This was a great feel good book that I will recommend to everyone!

Here is a super fun collection of rom-com tropes written by some of the best YA authors currently writing. As with any short story collection of this type there were some hits and misses for me, as well as some new to me authors and old favorites. On the whole it is a diverting collection. The many different voice narrators on the audiobook helped me be sure when we were switching gears, lots of talented narrators here too! This would be a great collection to leave lying around to pick up whenever the mood strikes you.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ALC in return for a fair and honest review.

The first thing that enticed me about Serendipity was the author list. Whether it's an author I love to pieces - like Anna-Marie McLemore - or new authors to me - like Marissa Meyer - this anthology hit all the right spots. I was bewitched by the stories from authors I knew and loved. And the new voices made such an impact that I'll have to check out longer works from them. The next thing that instantly drew me in was the romance trope anthology concept.

Romance tropes are some of my favorite joys and discoveries. So to have each story themed around a certain trope, was such a fun experience. I loved that it gives you a sense of what might happen - almost like a blurb - and then totally turns what you would think upside down. And sometimes it doesn't, but there's a sheer sense of joy in either .Listening to this audio book was a delight. I adore multiple narrators in any story and having a whole cast of narrators was fantastic.

If you’re a fan of YA contemporary love stories and want even more short story anthologies, then look no further than Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes Transformed, a collection edited by bestselling YA authour, Marissa Meyer. The audiobook narrators for this one also were well suited for their stories and I loved hearing my favourite stories read aloud to me. So if you’ve liked listening to other YA short story collections, and don’t mind the misunderstandings and miscommunications that come with teenage romances, then this one is for you as there is something for almost every kind of YA romance reader!

I missed my chance to download and listen to this audiobook. It has a very quick date before it disappeared. I would have liked to listen to it.

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

Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Diverse. I was attracted by the great mix of YA authors and narrators. We all know that with romance/romcom tropes we pretty much know how it’s going to end. But still, some fell flat for me. There were only a couple that stood out, such as the one written by Marissa Meyer. The narrators were a hit and miss too: some just didn’t seem to fit or seemed exaggerated and a couple were just great, like Natalie Naudus. I did appreciate the diversity and representation in this anthology though. I wonder if it would have been better in a book format for me. But, as I’ve said before, don’t take my word for it, there are many positive reviews out there.

This collection contains a variety of romanticly-inclined stories with very diverse relationships. It was alright. Perhaps not my cup of tea exactly, but even so, the stories are fun.

Conservative readers: Please note these stories contain rough language and mature topics. I personally would say it is for ages 18 and up.

It’s been a while since I’ve read an anthology, so this was a really nice one to read; especially before Valentine’s Day.

The ten romantic tropes were: fake dating, stranded together, class warfare, best friend love epiphany, one bed, secret admirer, grand romantic gesture, trapped in a confined space, the makeover, and the matchmaker.

However, the audiobook only features nine stories because one of them (the secret admirer trope) was told in a graphic novel format. I’ve never seen a graphic novel in an anthology before, so it was quite refreshing to see.

I’ll share my rating and one sentence thoughts on each story.

Bye, Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy— 3 stars
Thought this was cute, and I liked how it was told in dual POVs; but this didn’t stick with me by the end.

Anyone Else But You by Leah Johnson— 3.5 stars
Again, this was super cute, but this didn’t make me swoon as much as I wanted it to.

The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen—2 stars
This just straight up confused me; though I’m happy the main character ended up with someone else.

Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig— 5 stars
Hands down my favourite story in this whole anthology; I was swooning the whole time.

Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer—4.5 stars
Close second fave; really loved this and this was super sweet.

Keagen’s Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle—2 stars
My only physical read. But I don’t think a graphic novel is the right format for a short story; it all felt rushed and there was no proper development.

Zora in the Spotlight by Elise Bryant—2 stars
Super annoyed with fact the protagonist kept talking about how invisible and insecure she was; also couldn’t stand Astrid’s character.

In a Blink of The Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg—3 stars
It was nice to read something by this author again, but this was too cheesy and corny for my liking.

Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore—2 stars
This was just okay for me, there was nothing truly outstanding about this one.

The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon—3 stars
Super cute, but wasn’t the most memorable.

I loved how diverse the stories were and the romances were very sweet. This is the perfect short story collection to read during this time of year.

Thank you the NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ALC and e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Based on Anna-Marie McLemore's short story, I would buy this anthology and proudly display it on my shelves.

I would like to thank Marissa Meyer and Netgalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Serendipity is a short story collection that took the ten most popular romance tropes and transformed them into 10 original short stories with some of the most talented authors. Serendipity was a real pleasure to listen to and enjoy. The stories were written so beautifully they could have been their own full-length novels but were still extraordinary in short story length. Serendipity was filled with stories filled with characters and representations of People of color, LGTBQ+, sizes, identities, and more. However, the real gem and the thing that shined out the most has to be a variety of stories, plots, and originality. Often when reading books that have things such as most popular romance tropes. That follows the same plot and path but in different words, Serendipity however is not like that. Each story is original and done wonderfully. One could describe them as appetizers. They are short but still are a full story but at the same time leave space for a full-length novel. I think that’s what sets it apart. They might be short but are just as fulfilling and if not more than a full-length novel. The narrators for Serendipity really made the story 3D. Each narrator had so much talent and made the stories all the more intriguing and enjoyable. Overall I recommend Serendipity to anyone who loves a good romance, especially around Valentine’s Day.

Take some of the best YA authors today, mix in some popular romantic tropes, shake lightly and … you get Serendipity.

The things with tropes is… you basically know what you’re getting before reading the first word. In this case, you know a whole lot before even opening the cover.

The stories were basically good, but it also felt like many were pretty unoriginal in the “retelling” - the only “update” being that the main characters were queer, or part of a certain minority group. I guess, for me, when looking at the outstanding list of YA authors I expected more “reimagining” and creativity and less same old, same old.
That being said, the stories are cute and innocuous and short enough to be used for nearly all my classes.
As for the audiobook, the inconsistencies continued here. Some of the the voice actors got the mark, others were droning or exaggerated or … again … uninspired.

This is a YA collection of short stories that reimagines common romance troupes. I was a big fan of the diversity and LGBTQIA representation in the stories, but like all collections of short stories, some are better than others. Some stories were 5-star for sure.

This anthology includes a diverse cast of characters both ethnicity-wise and sexual orientation-wise. Although many of the relationships seemed unrealistic to me (for example the downright nasty main character got the super fun and loving love-interest), I still found many of the stories cute.

Overall: I really liked the many narrators that are included throughout this audiobook as there was someone different reading each of the stories. The fact that a different narrator was used made it feel like these were all different stories as well as different characters. This is a great book for those looking for more diversity in romance stories in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. I was so pleased to find that these stories had LGBTQ+ characters in them and their stories were happy stories where they also got to fall in love. I really enjoyed that these stories were not just all about romantic love but we also get to see love through friendships.

Bye Bye, Piper Berry by Julie Murphy
Trope: Fake Dating
I loved that this story gives us a fat protagonist who thinks that he isn't deserving of love. I loved how his best friend points out how the reason someone wouldn't be interested has nothing to do with his size but all to do with how he views himself and how he instantly assumes no one would be romantically interested in him. This was a cute story overall.

Anyone Else but You by Leah Johnson
Trope: Stranded Together
I really do love a good enemies-to-lovers story especially one that is set in academia so this one instantly got my attention. I liked that these two characters were so different from each other which caused the constant bickering.

The Idiom Algorithm by Abigail Hing Wen
Trope: Class Warfare
This story had so much in it that it would have done better as a full-length novel. I have read books that address the differences in class when being in a romantic relationship but they always end successfully for both parties. I was surprised to see this go differently and show the reality of classism for some people especially when their family gets involved.

Auld Acquaintance by Caleb Roehrig
Trope: The Best Friend Love Epiphany
This one I wasn't too sold on and I kind of just had it playing in the background while not paying too much attention to it.

Shooting Stars by Marissa Meyer
Trope: One Bed
This was another one in which I wasn't too sold on the love story. I love friends to lovers and a one-bed trope but this one passed through too many days for me to follow it. Due to me not being able to follow the story it really made it so that I wasn't into the romance.

Keagan’s Heaven on Earth by Sarah Winifred Searle
This is told in storybook format and not included in the audiobook.

Zora in the Spotlight  by Elise Bryant
Trope: Grand Romantic Gesture
I really enjoyed this one but couldn't find where the romance was supposed to be. I just liked that this one has our main character learning to let herself be loved and to love herself.

In a Blink of the Eye by Elizabeth Eulberg
Trope: Trapped in a Confined Space
This one was great because it was about romantic love but also friend love. I liked that we get to see our main character having had feelings for Tyler and getting passed up for her best friend so she turns her feelings into hatred. I love seeing how she gets over that and they become friends because of how much Tyler loves his girlfriend and our main character loves her best friend.

Liberty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Trope: The Makeover
This was one of my favorites and not just because of the sapphic relationship but so much because of the main characters. I really enjoyed how this one points out how our main character feels like she doesn't fit in because of her Latinx characteristics and then we see how Camilla doesn't feel like she belongs because she is a Lesbian. It was great to see how their relationship develops over a short period of time and how that helps them learn to love themselves.

The Surprise Match by Sandhya Menon
Trope: Matchmaker
This one was just okay for me even if I felt bad for the character playing matchmaker as she puts everyone before her. This kind of tends to be a theme in a lot of these stories in which a friend is included.

This was a really cute collection of stories perfect to recommend to students who aren't big readers but enjoy romance options. I will definitely purchase for my library.