Serendipity – Carly Phillips

Faith Harrington was the classic girl of privilege–until her father was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and then her marriage crashed and burned.

Still, when Ethan hires her to redecorate what was once her childhood home, Faith is sure that getting involved with the town’s notorious bad boy will only lead to trouble. But her heart has other ideas. And so do the townspeople of Serendipity. 

Ten years ago, an eighteen year of Ethan Barron dared sixteen year old Faith Harrington to take him up on his offer for a ride home.  For Faith, it was a chance to step outside the expected and be with the bad boy she was drawn to.  For Ethan, it was to prove something.  That he was good enough. 

Fast forward ten years and we find Faith and Ethan in very different places.  

Faith’s world have fallen apart with the conviction of her father in a Madoff style ponzi scheme and the end of her marriage to a man who was too much like her father.  She’s moved back home to Serendipity, NY hoping to rebuild her life and prove to people she’s not at all like the two men who let her down.  As a start, she’s going to open her own interior design business and hope that she can get customers despite what her father’s done.


Ethan moved back to Serendipity to prove a point.  He was back to put down roots and rebuild the shattered relationship with his brothers.  When he’d left town ten years ago, it was with the knowledge that if he hadn’t been desperate for attention and doing all he could to get it, his parents wouldn’t have been on their way to pick him up when they were hit by a drunk driver.  If that hadn’t have happened, he wouldn’t have run off, leaving his younger brother behind.


Carly Phillips creates beautifully flawed characters and she doesn’t disappoint with Ethan and Faith.  Both of them seem stuck trying to make up for past mistakes, some of which they truly don’t own, in hopes of getting the acceptance they both want.  In the end, they find it’s accepting themselves that makes all the difference in the world.


Fortunately for us, them finding this acceptance comes with a great story and secondary cast of characters (which set up the next books perfectly).  It was a great read which had me turning pages as fast as I could read them to see what kind of HEA Faith and Ethan would have.  You will not be disappointed!