Destiny (Serendipity, #2)

by Carly Phillips

[Rowena]

This is the second book in the Serendipity series by Carly Phillips. It’s also the middle Barron brother’s story and the one that I wouldn’t have thought I’d like after meeting him in the first book. This is Nash’s book. We met Nash in Ethan and Faith’s story and I wasn’t a fan. He was such an ass and he had such a huge chip on his shoulder where Ethan was and I wanted him to get over himself and move on with the rebuilding of their family. Of course, I was reading the story from Ethan’s point of view and I didn’t know the extent of what Nash went through after Ethan took off and reading this book put all of that into perspective.

In this book, we get to find out how things turned out for Nash. The Barron brother who went to the rich family. There was a whole lot of grief, a whole lot of secrets and a whole lot of betrayal going on in Nash’s life and it affected Nash. All of it did and after reading this book, I got it. I understood why Nash was the way that he was and like Holly knew I would, I fell like a rock for him. Nash was such a good guy that went through some pretty rough stuff (the death of his parents, his brother’s abandonment, secrets, etc…) and yet, at his core, he was still a really good guy.

I thought Kelly was the perfect heroine for him. She was soft in the places that Nash was hard and she was just the person to help him mend the broken fences with his family. I loved how she helped him develop a relationship with Tess and I loved seeing the dynamic between Tess and Nash change, loved seeing Tess thaw in her feelings for Nash.

I thought I would feel funny about the close relationship between Nash and Kelly (they share a sister) but I didn’t. Not at all. I really enjoyed getting to know them both and thought they were a good fit for each other.

My one gripe with this story was Kelly’s secrets. I wish she would have come out and told Nash the truth about Ryan sooner than she had. It was such a big waste of time, hiding it from him, knowing what she did about Nash and secrets. I wish she had been more open and honest about that part of her life since she had such big feelings for him.

Aside from that, I thought the story moved at a great pace and the romance was steamy enough to make me sit up and take notice. I enjoyed watching Nash and Kelly’s relationship grow stronger and stronger with each day and when they did it in Kelly’s boss’s office? I loved it. It was an overall well written, entertaining story and I’m so glad that I finally read it.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5