4⭐️ STAR READ
Firstly I would like to to thank Emma St.Clair and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Tropes :
Billionaire MMC
Baker FMC
Age gap
Grumpy and Sunshine
Portal Closet
A Magical building
Closed Door

WillaArcher's Song :
Willow by Taylor Swift

Favourite Quote : "You didn't ask, but I'm telling you yes - you can kiss me."

Review : The Serendipity by Emily St.Clair is the first book in the multiauthor series Only Magic in the Building. The story revolves around Willa and Archer who bave the most interesting and perhaps magical😉 meetcute.
This was such a sweet and whimsical book. I loved the concept of the portal closets and the humour with the opossums and Archibald.
Their love story was very well written. I loved how soft Archer was with Willa and their dynamics was so fun to read.
If you're looking for a sweet, clean romcom with a touch of magic this is a great book. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series now.

Yours truly,
A🌸

In Emma St. Clair's new novel, The Serendipity, we find Willa who is minding her own business looking in her closet for a sweater when she's suddenly in a different closet, in a different apartment and has no idea how she got there. Archer, the new owner of The Serendipity, thinks she's a squatter and wants her gone!

Willa and Archer are a fun couple - she's cheerful and he's a grump, he's a billionaire, and she definitely isn't. What shouldn't work between them does and Ms. St. Clair's fun banter between the two make this book a joy to read. Between the magic apartment building and the foundation that is being laid for the series, it's a winner.

I can't wait to read the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A slight magical element to this story makes it fun and interesting. Very well-written. I loved Archer and Willa. Bellamy was the greatest sidekick. There are no swears, a few mentions of alcohol, and level 2 kissing only.

3.5 stars, rounded up

This is a sweet magical realism rom-com featuring a closet that keeps acting strangely, a grumpy billionaire, and the sunshine-y baker that shakes up his life.

Some things I loved about this book:
- A dog with the same name as the MMC
- Magical, matchmaking building
- Mental health representation
- Archer and Willa's dynamic

While I enjoyed reading this one, there were a couple of instances where important conversations happened off-page. The lead-up would happen, then it would cut to immediately afterwards. Both times, I felt that the conversations would have been important to see as a reader. I also struggled to believe that Archer would truly not know certain words or what certain things are, even if he grew up sheltered and without many friends his age.

Thank you so much to Emma St. Clair, Create If Writing LLC, and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely loved it! The mix of romance, comedy, and a bit of magic makes the perfect story. Willa and Archer may not have started off on the right foot, but they ended up bringing out the best of eachother. I loved all the funny and sweet little interaction between them two, and wish that The Serendipity existed in real life. I mean who wouldn't want to be teleported to a millionaire's closet??? I can already tell that I am going to love this series and cannot wait for the next book to come out!

I was so excited to read The Serendipity by Emma St Clair because the premise was very intriguing. I mean, who wouldn’t love to read a romance that takes place in magical apartment building? I think where the story fell flat for me were the characters. I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. Plus there wasn’t a satisfying buildup to the actual romance. One second, they are not together and then the next, they are. Their relationship wasn’t believable. I also didn’t really like Archer. With that being said, it was a somewhat cute story.

The Serendipity is the first story in the Only Magic in the Building series, a connected series of stand-alone closed-door whimsical romances by various authors. Each story takes place in the same historic building, which has a habit of playing matchmaker with its residents. Each Wednesday in March and April, 2025, an author will release their book.

Billionaire Archer Gaines spontaneously purchases The Serendipity, a historic apartment building far from New York City and the scandal erupting around his father. Archer is a very practical and controlled businessman, so this act is very uncharacteristic for him. He is shocked when he gets a tour of his new building and learns from the seller, Galentine Valencia, that she has never raised the rent in 25 years. He plans to immediately increase the rent while eventually renovating the building into luxury lofts to bring in higher end residents.

Archer discovers a woman hiding in the bedroom closet of his fourth floor penthouse apartment, claiming that she didn’t know how she ended up there. Willa/Willow was in her own apartment’s closet, looking for a sweater, before she was magically transported a lá The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Willa had heard the rumors about her “magical” building, but she enjoyed the low rent and use of the commercial kitchen for her baking business. Archer and Willa are immediately at odds, but soon fall for each other, balancing each other out.

I love The Serendipity and believe that it’s the best story by this author to date. All of her books are well-written with great plots and wonderful characters, but Archer has a greater emotional depth than previous characters that she has written. The story beginning from Archer’s POV also sets the tone for readers, helping them to empathize with this reluctant romantic hero. Willa is a jewel, an engaging happy-go-lucky sunshine heroine, who is perfect for Archer. This story is a must-read for clean romance fans; set aside a few uninterrupted hours because you will not be able to put it down!

All of the authors in this series write closed-door romantic comedies, so no profanity or romantic descriptions past kissing. The magic in these stories is similar to Freaky Friday, no occult elements or anything scary. The building has a mind of its own and is like a human character. I can’t wait to start reading the next story in the series by Courtney Walsh!

After I purchased a paperback copy of the book from Amazon, I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) e-book from NetGalley and Create If Writing LLC for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am so glad and thankful I got an ARC for this book. It lived up to the hype for this multi-author series (all of whom I love)! It was an age gap (older MMC) and grumpy/sunshine (she was the sunshine) and even slight enemies to lovers. The MMC struggles with anxiety (there’s a fade to black on page anxiety attack) and the FMC struggles with agoraphobia (can’t leave her small hometown). Emma BEAUTIFULLY handles both of these issues for them and even allows them to show how to be compassionate and loving to someone with them. The touch of whimsical magic is really fun too!

Willa steps onto HER closet on the 2nd floor and comes out of Archer's closet on the 4th floor. How fun! Archer is a type of Sheldon Cooper...a guy who is essentially clueless regarding social cues and mores. While Willa is all sunshine and happiness and friendliness. The irony is that both deal with debilitating anxiety. I do so appreciate the sensitivity Emma uses regarding their anxiety as someone who has experienced debilitating anxiety myself. It's a challenge trying to get anyone who hasn't experienced it to even try to understand...even a little bit. Archer and Willa are absotively posolutely adorable and I can't wait to see more of them throughout this series!!!

I received an ARC copy via NetGalley. I am providing my review of my own free will.

This book was as delightful and upbeat an all of Emma’s books. I have to admit, it wasn’t my favorite, but that’s like saying it wasn’t my favorite ice cream…it’s still ice cream! I couldn’t get into the whole magic concept, but that’s writing and story and wit and chemistry was unmistakable. I would recommend it a hundred times over, it just wasn’t my type of book. Kudos for keeping it clean….MUCH appreciated!

Thanks to @kikimojo and @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this book.

Rating: 4.25/5⭐️

"You are a wonderfully beautiful contradiction I never knew I needed, and I love you. I love you, Willa."

Summary: This is part of the series Only Magic in the building, in which the historical building The Serendipity plays matchmaker for its residents. The book is a closed-door romance with great mental health representation for anxiety and amazing banter between the grumpy MMC and the sunshine FMC.

"I'm starting to melt for a man I halfway hate."

My Thoughts: Awww, I loved the start of this series with this book. It was the perfect book to introduce the crazy antics of The Serendipity. Willa and Archer were very different people, except that they could relate to each other with their anxiety. I loved how Emma portrayed the anxiety throughout this book because it was very similar to my own experiences. The banter in this book was just so enjoyable, especially since Archer was very unused to having fun most of his life. Willa brought out a side of him that only one other person had ever really seen. I loved the closet portal and all the crazy tension it brought on between Willa and Archer throughout the book, at generally the most inopportune times. Finally, Bellamy was such a fun side character in this book, always pushing Archer and Willa toward more.

This was my first book of Emma's outside of the Appies world, and it was perfect!! I'm excited to see what else this series has in store. They can all be read as standalones throughout the series.

Read if you love:
✨Magical Realism
🌤️Grumpy/Sunshine
💖Age Gap
🥰Mental Health Rep (Anxiety)
💰Billionaire MMC
👩‍🍳Baker FMC

This book is the first in a series of books that all take place in the same magical building. I love that in addition to getting to know these main characters, we also get to know the building and got to meet some of the characters who will feature in future books in the series. I love this author’s sense of humor and writing style, and I definitely had heart eyes as Willa and Archer’s relationship developed. Read when you want a light, sweet, romance series!

I absolutely adored this magically realistic book by Emma St. Clair! As book one in a series about the inhabitants of The Serendipity, St. Clair sets the sage for a series of books that I hope to be as fun and light hearted as this book was, while still tackling real life obstacles. Never before have a I read a rom-com that dealt with some of the very real struggles that the two main characters lived with, but I appreciated the way that St. Clair wrote their stories. The book was still filled with funny banter, ironic situations and moments that made me want to cheer out loud for the characters. But they also had very real lived experiences that made me root for them even more! This book goes down as one of my top favorites from Emma St. Clair!

4.5 out of 5 stars!

Brilliant, whimsy and magic. Super chemistry, laugh out loud funny at times and the best secondary character I have read for a very long time. And I mean come on, so funny the scene with both Willa's dad and Archer made my day.


I love everything that she writes, you cannot go wrong with any of her books.

I really enjoyed this book. Enemies to lovers, magical realism and it’’s an easy read. Characters are really lovable and a whole community.
I wouldn’t mind bit more details after they kissed.

In short, this book is fantastic, and I would highly recommend. In long, I really enjoyed the slow transformation of the characters, the openness as to their flaws, and the slow build romance. There’s nothing objectionable in this book, so you could safely recommend to everyone from your 12 year old niece to your 90 year old grandma. I honestly couldn’t stop thinking about it and was eager to get back to it when I had to put it down. 10/10 would 100% recommend

This closed-door, multi-author series called Only Magic In The Building is set in Serendipity Springs, where a legendary fountain brings good fortune. A whimsical romance with light magic, it follows a matchmaking building—no spells or shifters, just charm.

Emma St. Clair kicks off the series with The Serendipity, a fun and heartwarming read that perfectly blends romance, humor, and just a hint of magic. The grumpy/sunshine dynamic is at its best here, with a billionaire MMC and plenty of forced proximity to turn up the tension. Told in dual POV, the story gives us a deeper look at both characters, making their flirty banter even more enjoyable.

Between the sweet moments (hello, cookie decorating!) and the subtle magical charm of the town, this book delivers everything I love in a romance. If you enjoy lighthearted, feel-good love stories with a touch of whimsy, The Serendipity is a must-read!

Authors in the series:
Emma St. Clair, Courtney Walsh, Jenny Proctor, Savannah Scott, Julie Christianson, Carina Taylor, Melanie Jacobson, Katie Bailey

Thank you Create if Writing LLC and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was an adorable, sweet start to a new series set in a ✨ magical ✨ apartment building.

I loved Willa and Archer and how the building kept throwing them together. I especially loved a certain animal scene. 😆 There were a lot of fun and cute moments throughout!

I really liked the anxiety rep we got in this book, in a unique form as well! Not something I’ve read specifically about before.

Really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to continue this series!

Adorable, whimsical, grumpy/sunshine love story. This is the first in the Only Magic in the Building series. Willa is a struggling baker who lives in The Serendipity and uses the communal kitchen for her business. Archer is the new owner of the building and is temporarily moving in to figure out what changes he wants to make. The building keeps thrusting Willa and Archer together in magical ways while they help each other out. This is a chaste love story (only lots of kissing) and is perfect for those who want a dose of magic with your happy ever after.

Thank you Create if Writing LLC for providing book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Emma St. Clair makes whimsy romance with the serendipity!

I loved this cute take on a romance book with little magical aspects that made the story unique and different. I loved the cuteness and swoon of this. I thought they had great chemistry and had some angsty moments but it wasn't dragged on and you know that you will get a sweet romance with her books that will always leave you feeling warm and cozy and fuzzy afterwards.