Holly‘s review of Destiny (Serendipity, Book 2) by Carly Phillips
From New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips comes her second novel set in Serendipity, the quaint upstate New York town where love, fate, and fortune are intertwined…
Nash Barron may be cynical about love, yet even he likes a good wedding. But the only good thing about his brother’s wedding is Kelly Moss. Nash can’t help but admire her confidence and beauty, but he’s forced to keep his distance because getting involved with Kelly could destroy his relationship with his newly discovered half sister, Tess…
Kelly came to Serendipity to give Tess–her half sibling as well, thanks to an illicit affair–a second chance at life. She learned long ago not to rely on anyone but herself. Besides, she doesn’t want to upset Tess’s life by pushing for a fling with Nash. Except the more she gets to know him, the more vulnerable she becomes to the kindness beneath his gruff exterior, and the less she’s able to stay away. But she has other reasons for keeping her distance. Like the secret from her past she knows Nash will never forgive…
I was a little hesitant going into this book because I didn’t care for the hero in the previous book. He was harsh and judgmental and I wasn’t sure how he would be in this novel. Phillips did an excellent job with him, however. He showed major growth. I was frustrated with him during the first half of the book, but he really changed over the course of the second half.
Oddly enough, it was Kelly that really frustrated me. Nash isn’t the only one with leftover baggage from his past. Kelly has a large share as well. Her mother abandoning her younger sister to her care is only half the problem. The other half stems around an affair she had with a married man. She fell into the old “it’s over” scam – until the wife turned up pregnant. Only it didn’t last and they’re going through a messy divorce. Kelly is afraid she’ll be called in to testify on behalf of the soon-to-be-ex wife. The problem? She keeps this a secret from everyone in town – including Nash.
Nash has a hard time trusting people because of his childhood. He’s trying to let go of his issues, but every time he opens up he gets dumped on. He feels Kelly is the one and only person in his life being completely honest with him. Kelly wants to tell him, but she’s afraid of adding more to his already full plate. I understood that in the beginning. I got frustrated the novel wore on and the secret grew bigger and bigger. It ended up being the ax hanging over their heads.
Aside from that, she was a likable character. She was responsible and caring with her younger sister. She wanted to make a new life for herself in Serendipity and she did her best to make that happen. Although I was frustrated with her, I was able to let it go because Kelly’s reasons for keeping her secrets made sense.
I really liked Kelly and Nash together. They had a lot of sexual chemistry, but more than that they had friendship. They talked, shared joys and sorrows and really got to know each other.
The romance was well done and the secondary characters fun and interesting. Another great entry in the series.
4 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I can’t wait to read this one. I’m anxious to see if Nash will be redeemed in my eyes.
I have the first book in this series out from the library at the moment. Will have to see what Nash is like to see whether he will be redeemable or not.