Clean Out of Luck

An Only Magic in the Building Standalone

By: Carina Taylor

Narrated by: Stephanie Rose, Lee Samuels

Six months to find love. One overprotective menace (who's way too handsome for his own good). And a building that might have the final say.

Scarlett Fernsby holds the world record for shortest relationships. Mostly thanks to overprotective parents and an interfering brother, every attempt at dating has been a disaster.

When her whole family is out of town for six glorious months, she knows it's time to find love.

What she didn't count on was Wade Hendrix. Her older brother's best friend.

He's even worse than her brother. He's soon crashing every date of hers, and Scarlett's beginning to wonder if he's made it his life's mission to annoy her.

Wade is a firefighter with a hero complex; she doesn't want to be his pity problem. Especially when she's starting to misinterpret those fiery looks of his.

Scarlett doesn't know what to do with this newfound attraction to him, and though she'd like to scrub him out of her life, the building she lives in has a very different plan.

Wade Hendrix has a problem. His best friend asked him to keep an eye on his little sister. But Wade has trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

What starts out as a favor for his best friend soon turns into pure torture: watching Scarlett date other men right in front of him.

Wade would love to tell her how he feels—but he knows she doesn't feel the same.

Or does she?

After an especially disastrous date that Wade ruins—and with the help of a very special mop that likes to grant wishes—Scarlett tells Wade that he owes her a goodnight kiss.

But one kiss isn't enough. Wade wants forever. Now he just has to convince Scarlett that just maybe, love has been right in front of her all along.

Clean Out of Luck is a standalone book in the Only Magic in the Building series. These closed-door, whimsical romance books are all set in the same historic building, which has a habit of playing matchmaker with its residents. There are light magical elements, but no spells, shifters, or dark magic of any kind.

©2025 Carina Taylor (P)2025 Podium Audio

A kind story, very easily resolved.

Less magic and plot than the others in the series. Left a number of unresolved story points. Simple character development, and easily resolved conflict; simply about two people maturing and becoming aware in some cute ways. An easy romance that will not stress you out except for the whole fire alarm in the basement…did they ever fix it??? And the author needed the reader to connect some dots on their own.

So much fun

Scarlett has a chance to get out from under her family's well meant protectiveness, and she intends to do all the dating she can during that time. But her brother deputizes his best friend to watch out for Scarlett. The problem with that is that Wade wants Scarlett for himself, but she is thoroughly annoyed with him. The magic of The Serendipity wants these two to be together though, and some wishes begin to be granted. This is a very funny and touching story. The narrators do a great job with all of it.