What do you get when you put two people with very different but equally severe anxiety issues together??? This story!
Our MMC seems to lean to a need for order, for alone time, quiet, alone time and then not being around people???? 😂 With his trusty side kick, his version of Alfred (the only person he can stand) Bellamy, he moves to a small city to buy an old building to renovate.

Inside are a bunch of quirky people. The building is barely holding on and everyone living there is nutty in some way! From birds with anger problem, to a grandma you wouldn’t wanna mess with, they are all living in bliss. Cheap rent, fun neighbors and even a roof top garden.
But when the rich snob from New York buys it, determined to turn a profit, all their lives become chaos and the building isn’t gonna let that happen.

Imagine you are in your closet looking for your favorite sweater, when you blink and are suddenly somewhere else, an empty closet and you’re not staring at the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. What the heck are you gonna tell him that with end somewhere other than the back of a police car???

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!

this was so cute!! i didn't realise this was part of a series when i requested it so now i'll have to hunt the rest of it down. this was short, yes, but it was also such a cozy romcom with magical building shenanigans, and i absolutely loved the characters!! ahhh i haven't read a good grump x sunshine romance in awhile and this was it.

i have to say i love the setting of the story in the Serendipity. the whole kookie, financially struggling baker and the jaded billionaire cynic who bought the building really was very cute. i loved reading the interactions between Willa and Archer. their banter was so cute, and truly that is all i can say. through cookies and experiencing life (ie grocery shopping and attending a kid's birthday party), it is nice to see them grow as people first and as a couple later on. i just wish we got to see more of how they dealt with (spoilers!!) Willa's agoraphobia and Archer's anxiety other than just plonking in therapy.

i am very interested to see what happens with Sophie and her UFO (unidentifiable floral object), or even Bellamy (the mvp of this book).

I really like how our two main characters come together for this one. I appreciate an authors talent all the more when tropes(don't get me wrong we love them) are done better or done without the "oh this again" I got none of that here and just soaked it all up.
It was a talent too to make the length of books like this still a success in showing depth and growing romance between our two main characters.
The whimsical edge has me stumped at first. I went into it unsure. But shame on me! This was done so well. No,no better than we'll. Brilliantly. It added more to it infact.
I also can't wait to know more of the others in the building and think it a gem of an idea to do s series with each book revealing each of the residents stories via each book.

Absolutely adorable and fun!!

I have enjoyed every Emma St Clair book I've read so far! She makes all her characters fun and relatable and draws me right into the story.

I think this series is such a unique idea! The magic building aspect could have been so corny BUT it was handled so well and was so clever! I enjoyed the Narnia type aspect. Willa and Archer are so cute I just couldn't stand it.

I'm very excited to see where the series goes!

This book was such a fun and magical read! I absolutely loved the idea of having a magical building bring people together. The concept was perfectly executed.
The pacing was fast but not too fast and I felt like it hit everything I could possibly want. I really loved the depth we got from Willa and Archer. I enjoyed how the growth they had not only together but personally. They were characters I could relate to very easily and I enjoyed that a lot.
I honestly loved this book! It was an easy five stars for me!

Such a cute, heart-warming story about two protagonists who are navigating life with hardships in their past, but brought together through the magical building, The Serendipity, a historical building in Serendipity Springs. Archer buys the building and attempts to bulldoze his way in, without realizing the history or inhabitants of it. I adored Willa, and her ability to see the good in Archer despite his grumpy demeanor. The details in the building are so magical, which makes sense as the first of a building series. The magical realism felt cute and well done, as a hard-to-believe magical element bringing the two together. The inclusion of anxiety and deception were an added bonus and I adored Bellamy, the foil to Archer. Hoping Sophie and Bellamy get a story in the series!

One thing about Emma St. Clair is that she'll make you fall in love with romance. There's just something about her books that make you feel giddy. This book took that giddiness up a notch. The description of the book is definitely accurate. It is ✨️ Magical ✨️

First some details about the book:
It is a cute rom-com with no spice but lots of swoonworthy moments
It is grumpy×sunshine with a touch of magic *wink*
It is set in a small town
It is a standalone but there are more books to come which will probably be set at the same place

Now let's get to how much I'm obsessed with it.
The book was a perfect blend of emotional, swoony and funny. If you know me then you know that I love me a grumpy man whose soft at the inside and Archer was absolute perfection. I loved him so much and him along with our sunshine girlie Willa were a match made in heaven. I loved everything about this book from plot to characters to side characters (yes I'm especially talking about Bellamy) to setting to literally everything!! I ate this book up, right from the dedication down to the acknowledgement I couldn't stop, I was hooked that's why I'm calling it Magical, it sucked me right into its world.

I'm really excited for more books to come in this series I have huge expectations after this gem of a first book.

Archer acaba de comprar el Serendipity, un edificio de departamentos y espera convertirlo en departamentos de lujo. Para lograrlo, tendrá que sacar a todas las personas que viven allí. Wilma tiene un negocio de repostería que no está siendo tan exitoso como esperaba, y, por si fuera poco, Archer quiere cobrarle por usar la cocina del edificio. Desde el primer momento en que se conocen, sus personalidades chocan, y aunque intentan mantenerse alejados, el Serendipity tiene otros planes y hará su magia para juntarlos.


~

Necesito saber la historia de Bellamy.
Aprendí algo nuevo: siempre creí que solo existía un tipo de agorafobia, pero en realidad hay varios.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet and easy read! The relationship between the two main characters felt a little rushed but I still adored them together and really appreciated how well they cared for and understood each other! I would've loved to have seen more depth to the characters and how they worked through their respective struggles (separately and also together). I enjoyed the touch of magical realism in this book; it always brings a fun element to stories. I couldn't stop giggling and laughing out loud!

Thank you so much Emma St. Clair and NetGalley for the ARC!!!

Review posted on Goodreads 2/28

When I saw that the series "Only Magic in the Building" was coming out, I was thrilled!
8 books written by some of my favorite authors, sign me up!

I was even more excited to be able to read the ARC for The Serendipity from NetGalley & the publisher!

Archer & Willa are such fun & lovable characters!
I wanted to hug Archer and grieve with him over the childhood he missed out on & sweet Willa with a heart of gold made me wanna go punch that ex in the face.

I love this idea of a magical building, but not like wand & wizards sort of thing! Its more of a feeling that something is out there trying to help love flourish!

I can't wait for the release of this Emma's book & the others!

This is another amazing work of Emma St. Claire that I loved reading. The plot, the characters, everything is well written and the story kept me hooked to the pages.

This was such a cute and light romance read. Set in the magical Serendipity Springs, our broody (but big softy at heart) MMC, Archie purchases the Serendipity—a renowned apartment building known for its magic and luck in the heart of the city. He meets our FMC, Willa, a resident of the building, when she stumbles out of his closet.

The characters were so likeable and quirky, I instantly liked everyone.

I wish the author had let the magic the building holds be more prominent in the story. I was looking forward to all the ways a magical building could help our MCs with development their romance.

This book was magic! I am now obsessed with Serendipity Springs and want to move into The Serendipity as ASAP as possible! Willa and Archer are two of the sweetest protagonists, ever. I loved everything about them including their imperfections which were, in all honesty, charming. I enjoyed the magical elements of the story and was drawn into the entire concept of it. This was a read in one sitting romance and has me thirsting for more! I’m giving THE SERENDIPITY the judy.ann.loves.books stamp of approval, TBR and Enjoy!

i adored this read from Emma St. Clair! I cannot count how many times i laughed out loud! I love love love love the grumpy x sunshine trope! and this one had an age gap too! I couldn’t get enough of this story!

“The Serendipity” is the warm hug I needed! Archie, the billionaire, just bought a historic apartment building in Serendipity Springs despite the rumors of it being magical. On his first night living there, he hears someone in his closet. Willa has somehow magically appeared in his closet, when she was only just in hers. Even though neither of them want to believe in magic, the building may have other plans for these two to fall in love. This story was the perfect mix of fun magic hijinks, friendship, a sweet romance, and character depth!

For those who love:
🩵Magical Realism
🩵Grumpy/Sunshine
🩵Billionaire + Baker
🩵Sentient Apartment Building
🩵Closed Door
🩵1st in a Series

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

this was such a cute story. I liked the little bit of magical realism and I loved all of the baking details. I have ran a home bakery. I dont do sugar cookies, but I definitely know the effort that goes into those details. I appreciated that a lot of those details about drying and icing consistency were included.

I plan to share this title on Wednesday, March 5th on my instagram.

www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

This is an ARC Review. I want to thank Emma St Clair and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me the chance to read this book ahead of release day! This book had me chuckling out loud often enough it caused my dogs to give me the head tilt to see if I was okay. Continuing to show up in someone’s closet by magic could for sure cause serious issues! Even if it’s to push them to be together. This was a light and funny book which was extremely refreshing. I truly enjoyed Willa (the person) and Archer’s slow burn romance. Reading them purposefully push each other’s buttons was just so good! I truly enjoyed the easy to read writing format the author wrote the book in and the small tux bit amounts of information to normalize mental health disorders. I cannot wait to purchase the book on release day as this is a book I will gladly reread again!

“How long do you think it will take to christen the whole building?” “Guess we’ll have to find out”

The Serendipity is a delightful blend of grump-meets-sunshine romance and playful magic, where the real matchmaker isn’t a person—it’s the building itself. Archer, a no-nonsense billionaire, and Willa, a free-spirited baker, are at odds from the start, but Serendipity Springs has other plans—like magically rearranging their lives (and closets) until they can’t ignore the sparks. With humor, heart, and just a dash of enchantment, this novel is a cozy, feel-good escape that proves sometimes, love finds you in the most unexpected places—like inside someone else’s penthouse closet.

Thank you so much to Emma, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!