I wasn't sure at first, but this book was cute and comedic! Communication would have saved a lot of heartache but where is the fun in that? It was a fun book and had great characters!

A charming, feel-good romance with a sprinkle of magic! Archer, a billionaire trying to escape scandal, buys The Serendipity, a quirky historic building with a mind of its own. Willa, a free-spirited baker and longtime resident, gets caught in its matchmaking magic—literally—leading to a hilarious and unexpected connection with Archer.

The witty banter, heartwarming romance, and small-town charm made this such an enjoyable read. If you love slow-burn romance with a touch of whimsy, this one’s for you!

Big thanks to Emma St. Clair, NetGalley, and Create If Writing LLC for the ARC!

What a series kickoff! I love that Emma always writes the debut book for the collaborative series with other authors because her books always tell me what to expect with the others. She sets the tone from the beginning and introduces everything and everyone without being super obvious, while developing her primary characters.and telling the initial story in an enjoyable & engaging way. She has a way of wrapping up her story and making me also want to continue with the others. A+!

The Serendipity by Emma St. Clair

Rating: 3

Overview: Archer Gaines needs to escape his current reality in New York City, so leaves for a small town and buys a historic apartment building - The Serendipity. Willa, currently living in the so-called magical building, finds herself in the closet of the handsome new building owner. Both Will and Archer have an attraction for each other but disagree on the future of the Serendipity. However, the historic apartment building may have its own opinion on their relationship and magical interference!


Our Thoughts: There was a lot to like about the book - written well, bubbly characters, good plot line, natural progression of characters - but it was also just okay. I was hoping for something more. I would still recommend the book if they were looking for a similar trope. Also, I didn't love the magical element in the book, but that is a personal preference. #HiddenBillionaire

Thanks @netgalley for the eARC.

Perfect if you Like:
Magical Elements
Small Town Charm
Strong Family Relationships

#TheSerendipity #EmmaStClair #book #bookrecs #bookrecommendations #bookreviews #readwithushm #sisterswhoread #NetGalley #onlymagicinthebuilding

Goodreads :
3.5 ⭐️ - This book was a quick closed door romance! I loved the plot of the book, but I just felt like the writing felt a little choppy and rushed in some parts.

Pub Date: March 5th, 2025

Thank you NetGalley, Emma St Clair, and Victory Editing for my #gifted eARC copy.

I love an interconnected multi-author series and this was a fun one to start, Emma St Clair gave us an adorable story of Bring to two different people together. I love the aspect of magical realism and the location created for this series to be centered around.

I like this one a lot. I love the magical aspect. It adds a little to these stories and it just makes it fun. I wanted more of them dating but it was still a fun story.

Thank you so much to both NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

If there is one word that I can use to describe this book it would be adorable. It's adorable, it's fun, and it's just the perfect mix of whimsy, sweet, and grumpy. The characters are absolutely perfect in their roles, and the chemistry is unlike anything else. The Serendipity itself is full of magic and mischief and honestly it seems like such an ideal place to live! All of the history, and the stories - oh they probably are never-ending.

What I loved the most about this book was the honest take on anxiety. The on page anxiety and panic attacks, though not in full detail truly helped to make me feel seen as a reader with anxiety disorders. The mints that Archer uses - such a minuscule details to others, but to those of us that get it? Well, we get it, and I know that for me that little touch is very much appreciated. The on page therapy scene - where all of the reservations were also discussed was SO incredibly well done. It was fitting and it gave so much insight into real feelings and thoughts that occur around therapy. So very relatable!

I think I smiled while reading 80% of this book - and Bellamy? Oh my word, I need more Bellamy in my life! He just added so much to the story and was such a good friend to both Archer and Willa.

Overall this is such an amazing introduction to this new series and I love the list of authors that are all contributing! Highly interested to see where this series goes from here.

“You’re a little messy. Like me.”
“I like your mess,” Archer says.

* I’m calling it now, Bellamy’s my favorite
* Oh man… I totally relate to you, Willa
* I would legitimately pass away if that whole possum situation happened to me 😂
* Oh, Archer…
* Aww I love this softening toward each other
* I love him 🥹
* What a secretly mushy man 🫶
* Hehehehe
* This whole dinner with the parents is incredible
* Noooo
* Awww yay 😍

Okay, this one was so fun! And a good start to the series. The Serendipity is an apartment building that’s more like a community. It’s a place that readers will be excited to return to with each new story.

Willa was so silly and bright. I loved that even though she had some seriously hard things she was struggling with, she was still so upbeat. She was so good for Archer.

And oh, Archer. I loved watching that uptight, strait laced man come apart for Willa. He was really so tender and sweet underneath his gruff exterior. And it was so lovely getting to see him make progress in figuring himself out.

The story was so fun and silly and a little whacky, but overall so good.

“When I need my feet to come back to earth, I remind myself that he wouldn’t try my cookies. And can you really trust a man who refuses a cookie? No. You can’t.”

“Willa has become like my sun. Lighting up corners in my life I didn’t know were shadowed.”

“Archer reaches out, one big hand cupping my cheek with such gentleness that a whole-body sigh moves through me.”

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ebook. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! It almost gave me a “ seven year slip” vibe while remaining totally original! I loved the character development of our MMC and seeing him break out of his shell and hard exterior. When really he is just a giant teddy bear! Love me some magical realism and overall just had fun with this one!

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the eARC of The Serendipity! I was really looking forward to this series and am a huge fan of Emma St. Clair. I enjoyed The Serendipity but felt it started a little slow for me and took me a while to get into. The magic, while introducing the 2 main characters, also caused contention which sort of took away from the fun, whimsical magical aspect. In the end I loved their relationship, and moreso how Archer fit in with Willa’s family! And I’m curious to see how the other books in this series portray the magic and fit in with this one.

This one was different for me because as much as I love a rom-com, I wasn’t sure how I would like the “magical” aspect. However, this was a cute story where the building itself seemed to be another side character.

Archer, a billionaire businessman, has just taken ownership of an adorable apartment complex called The Serendipity. He of course has many ideas to get it updated and running more efficiently, including raising the rent that hasn’t changed for years. He has an all-business mindset but is about to be in for a ride when he meets Willa. Willa is a struggling baker who lives in The Serendipity. Through a “magical” moment, she finds herself directly in front of Archer via a portal from her closet - straight into his closet! After this, they have many different interactions filled with humor, tension, and charm.

If you are looking for something different in a rom-com, something more whimsical, this book has it along with all the usual clean, rom-com fun.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher- all thoughts are my own.

thank you for the arc! i loved this book so much! Archer and Willa are the perfect grumpy sunshine story. they are chaos meets order, two halves of one whole and it was amazing to watch them fall in love. with some help from The Serendipity that is 😉. I am so excited to read the rest of this series! if you haven’t yet, pick up this book! i promise you won’t regret it. once again, i love everything Emma St. Clair writes and this one was just amazing!

I'm a huge fan of magical realism romances. There's just something so fun about the whimsy that can come about in the sub genre and I find a lot of my favorites tend to fit in that category. So when the Only Magic in the Building books were announced, you could say I was definitely intrigued!

I've enjoyed every Emma St. Clair book I've picked up and this was no exception. This felt like a fantastic way to set up the scene for the next seven books and really gave the reader a sense of what they were getting into.

I loved the dynamic between Willa and Archer. I don't always love billionaire romances but I now have such a soft spot for Archer, a man who was born into a world he did not want and he's truly trying his best. Willa was a great foil to him in allowing him to let loose and explore his desires. Special shoutout to Bellamy, a wonderful side character who brings a lot of laughs and love to the story.

Another thing is that I think this book has some great representation for anxiety, agoraphobia and panic attack representation. And despite this book being closed door, Emma always writes the best tension and yearning for her two leads. There was a lot of love overall in this book and I truly had such a fun time.

I love a good love story with magical elements in the modern world. And in this story, the most unexpected character, is the magical building, it takes the spotlight completely.
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I was in a particular mood and had a lot on my mind, and I think that worked against me when it came to connecting with the characters. With Willa specifically, Archer-Archibald? …I was completely in love with him, and I would have stayed connected to the story better if it had been written solely from his point of view. He's the workaholic, grumpy who struggles to socialize and suffers from anxiety, but for the right person, he's everything and would do anything.
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I felt like Willa fell short, especially at the end; for me there was a lot of drama about the wrong things.
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I really enjoyed the other characters, especially her parents. I think Emma St. Clair is a magician at creating such unique and quirky characters that you can't forget, and maybe that's why I can't wait to see what the other writers bring to this wonderful building series.
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Thanks to Emma St. Clair and her team for give me a copy of this beautiful book inexchenge for my honest and voluntary opinion.

Charming book! I wasn't sure how I would feel about the "magic" building when I started it, but I think the author did a good job of including it without making it overpower the storyline. Archer and Willa are opposites, but they perfectly complement each other.

I enjoyed this book. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC.

This was very cute and definitely makes me want to continue with the series. Bellamy and Archer have major Niles and Maxwell vibes to me. Willa is freaking adorable I love her. There were names I recognized in this book, one being Worcester where I actually currently have family living. The Serendipity is a character in herself, yes I called the building her, she’s magical. Grumpy x Sunshine, no smut, and really had me craving cookies. I laughed quite a few times reading this, would recommend.

This book was such a fun and exciting read! I absolutely loved the characters and the chemistry between them. From the moment I started I knew they would capture me and made me root for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Create If Writing LLC for a copy of this book in exchange for honest thoughts.

I thought this book was so cute. Archer’s POV had me loving him from the start and Willa was a blast! I can’t wait to see the rest of the series. The side characters were also a blast and I can tell I’m going to love meeting some of them in the other books. I definitely understand where Archer is coming from in the beginning because his brain works more like my brain. Willa is so fun and I identify with her because I am also at a time of my life where everything is uncertain. Overall, the book was adorable and paced well.

this book was so dang cute!! Seriously enjoyed it way more than I thought I would! I’ve never read a book by this author but I def want to read more! Archer, the MMC, is so freakin adorable! The Anxeity rep from both main characters was really great to see. All the side characters were charming and funny and really added to the story. Also if youre looking for a romance book with no smut/spice, you should give this a book a read!