I needed to wait a few days after finishing this book before I could review it as I wanted to reflect on it.

From the blurb:
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.
That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It's the same night - December 15th - but 2025, five years in the future.
It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real... Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream...

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book but it wasn’t this!! I didn’t expect the love radiating from it nor the heartbreak it brought. I laughed, I cried and I prayed. It is a wonderful wonderful book. I loved all the characters, some more than others and I loved the book. A must read for everyone.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

At first it was a bit odd, but gradually the strands pulled together into what turned out to be a heart breaking story - was so not what I expected.

No longer have kindle access- but thanks for my physical copy!

I really went into this thinking it was going to be a sci fi read with a touch of romance (think Recursion) I couldn't have been more wrong!
In Five Years was a true romance, and focused on friendship and love and everything that happens in-between. I loved Dannie and Bella's characters, their friendship, their loyalty to each other.
The story was so well crafted. I hadn't expected the plot to go where it did, and it was truly heartbreaking Serle really managed to take us on such a ride with this one!
I am sure it's going to be a massive hit in 2020! Watch out for it ... and let me know what you guys think Out in March - available for pre-order now! Thanks to @quercusbooks for my advance copy

This was an interesting book.

On the night she gets engaged, Dannie falls asleep and wakes up five years later in a different apartment, with a different man.

You think the book is a love story, but it’s actually about friendship and loss. I loved Dannie and Bella’s friendship. It felt very real to me and both characters were well written and grounded. There were some unexpected twists which really tried to rock their bond, but they always cane through in the end.

This was a nicely written, light read with some emotional content and it is sure to do well when published. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

One word... WOW!
Seriously didn't see that coming and I love it! It has every kind of emotion you can think of. I felt as if I was on an emotional roller coaster, it overwhelmed me and left me speechless by the time I'd turned the last page. I read it in one sitting because I just had to know how it all ended. Just when I thought I had guessed all the twists in this novel, but wow I was very wrong and totally misleaded. The author delivers a punch to the stomach with a final heart-wrenching twist which made the book even better for me.

This story is also about an incredibly deep friendship between two women (Dannie and Bella), best friends who would do anything for each other and that relationship is the real gem here. I will not get too much into the plot as I will struggle not to give too much away. But I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Women's fiction. It's a masterpiece of the best kind, one which I will be thinking about for a long time.

A big thank you to Quercus books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book that I don't even know where to start so i'm just going to type and then reorder my thoughts once I am done!

This is a great love story that shows that whole-heart consuming love can come where you least expect it. It explores themes of relationships of convenience. love, friendship and grief. The writing was superb, I could completely picture the locations and venues Serle described.

I do feel like the main character was cold and hard to connect with but as you read on and get an insight into her life you come to understand and accept that and eventually end up felling for her (not necessarily liking her though) I didn't love this book like I was expecting to with with all the hype that surrounded it but II felt a whole new type of love for it, almost like in the book, I think it will stay with me for a while.

Wow, friends since the age of seven, soul mates as friends but total opposites. Danielle, lawyer, engaged and control freak. Bella free sprirt, kind whimsical and enjoys spontaneous actions.
Dannie falls asleep on the night she gets engaged and dreams a glimpse five years into the future. Taken as gospel it shakes her world to the point she speaks counselling. Putting it to one side life continues, then she meets the catalyst but not everything is how she perceived it to be.
Not what you expect and left me crying. Friendship lasts through life twists and turns.

It takes a lot for me to get through a book fast, but this one I read in less than a week. Unusual in that you know the possible ending before the book really begins, but a great juxtaposition that sends the whole book careering in a different direction. There’s a girl, life stable, secure, planned out, and she likes it that way, but a vision of what could be sends everything careering off course, maybe the way she secretly wishes it could. Set over five years, but mainly at the beginning and the end of those years, it’s a New York story of listening to your gut in the most challenging of circumstances.


The city was as much a part of the story than the characters themselves, which I always love. I’d recommend In Five Years. It wasn’t the book I thought it was going to be but that’s not a bad thing. Four stars.

Thanks to netgalley for a chance to read this book.

Dannie has a dream/premonition about where her life will be in 5 years and it’s not what she wants or expected. She thinks that this dream/premonition will come true and she tries everything to change the outcome. A brilliant book about love and friendship and how things can change and dreams/premonitions can come true but not in the way we expect.

Read within 24hours, couldn’t put it down.

On the night Dannie gets engaged she has a dream or a vision about waking up in a different apartment in five years time with a man who is not her fiancé. Bewildered by this experience she puts it behind her until one day she meets the man she saw in her dream. Determined not to break up her relationship (or his) she tries to avoid the inevitable but then fate intervenes in a heartbreaking way.

I found this to be - as football commentators say - a game (book) of two halves. The fist part with Dannie focused on her job (high powered NY lawyer no less) was a little tedious. The second part where she comes face to face with loss is much better. In all honesty I didn't; think the device of the dream or vision was necessary or indeed worked particularly well. It seemed like a diversion from the main story. I also didn't really warm to any of the characters and felt that there was no depth to them. I didn't dislike the book but nor did I love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I'd seen this book on a list of 'books that will be big in 2020' - or words to that effect - so asked NetGalley for an advance review copy, and my wish was granted.
Here's the blurb:
"Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny...
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.
That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It's the same night - December 15th - but 2025, five years in the future.
It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real... Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream...
In Five Years is a love story, brimming with joy and heartbreak. But it is definitely not the love story you're expecting."

I LOVED this book. It twists and turns and is really emotional - but not in a typical 'love story' way. It is a love story - but with many different types of love. I don't want to say too much or give too much away, as you really need to be lead by the book. I devoured it in just a few days, as I was desperate to know what happens.
Right the way through you're on a timeline to see if the events of December 15th 2025 were just a weird dream or actually happened - so you kind of know what you're aiming for! And that just succeeds in building the tension significantly - SURELY it can't be true??

I liked Dannie as a character (most of the time) and empathised with her as being a coper - and when there is a massive crisis for her or her friends, turning into full on organiser / Monica from Friends control freak. That is exactly what I do too! It makes you feel like you're 'helping' (even if it can be seen as being bossy?!)

Also - I had one of those totally weird experiences whilst reading this which makes you feel like you're Mystic Meg (showing my age there!) or your brain is being tapped. Until a fortnight ago I had never heard of DUMBO in New York - but since then it's been EVERYWHERE. For those of you who are like me 2 weeks ago, this is the area called 'Down Under the Manhatten Bridge Overpass', DUMBO for short - in Brooklyn) So, first I spotted it tagged in a random Instagram #travelgram post, then BrummyMummyof2 tagged herself there in her Instastories on a trip to NYC with her gorgeous family, then the lovely Lucy from Lil's Parlour did the same! And THEN it featured in this book - where thankfully it was explained (as I hadn't been uncool enough to ask Emma or Lucy where it was!)

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It as an escapist, quick read, with an interesting premise. I won't give away the ending - but I really liked it. I will definitely look out for other books by this author in the future.

Thanks NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

I could not put this down and read it in one sitting ending at 2.30 this morning. Luckily it is quite short or I would not have got any sleep at all. I liked all the characters and their relationships with each other rang true. Danni does not know how to deal with the dream/vision/premonition she has of her future. She carries on regardless with the lifetime plans she has made with her fiancé Dave, but the vision hangs over her and she is on the lookout for signs that it may be turning into a reality. Then her best friend Bella meets Greg and starts to renovate an apartment. The man and apartment are the ones from her vision. Danni begins to panic and starts to plan her wedding with Dave when she is totally derailed by what happens to Bella. The ending was a complete delightful surprise as it came suddenly and was not what you are lead to expect. I do think the novel was a bit short and that a further sub-plot could have been added - the friendship scenes were a little too dominant. But I thoroughly enjoyed it .

Completely unexpected!

I was prepared for another typical predictable chick lit but this book was wonderful, unexpected and non-conformist! It is a page-turner and more often than not it felt like a good old rom-com starring Julia Roberts (think "My Best Friend's Wedding"). Is there a film in the pipeline?

"In Five Years" is a mix of all the good things and let me just tell you one thing - you think you know exactly where this is all going, But you don't! It's full of red herrings and twists and turns. And one other thing it is full of - love!

Loved it and will definitely recommend!

3.5 stars.

I was so thrilled to receive a copy of this, as it was a highly anticipated read for me in 2020.

In Five Years follows top lawyer Dannie Cohan, living in Manhattan with her long term boyfriend, David. The story begins on the night of her engagement to David, when she wakes unexpectedly in a different apartment, with a different man, five years in the future. Jolted back to present day, the bulk of the novel focuses on life after the premonition, and how her path leads up to that exact moment. As a woman who lives her life through facts and figures, the idea that she has seen into the future both scares and intimidates her, and she becomes transfixed on avoiding the moment that she has glimpsed.

The characterisation in this novel was spot on; specifically,. Dannie and her best friend Bella. Both of the best friends and their differences were executed so well, to the point that I could visualise both so clearly in my mind. The novel went in a different direction than I anticipated, with a heavier focus on friendship and found-family. This was not unwelcome, as these alternate conceptions of love are sometimes missed out from the romance genre. The over-arching message that you can't predict the future, and the paths that life will lead you down (even if you have had a sneak peek of the future) was brilliant. On the surface, this seemed like a predictable novel, but it quickly becomes obvious that it is anything but. I consumed this novel in a matter of hours; desperate to find out how Dannie's life would intersect with the glimpse that she'd seen. Whilst there were a couple of disappointing moments relating to her relationship with the man from the 'future', the final scene and message was the best outcome I could have hoped for. If anything, I wished this story could have been a bit longer.

I started reading In Five Years on my commute this morning and carried on reading as soon as I left the office. This is what I would class as an easy read in terms of having a fast pace and likeable characters, but unlike a standard romance novel, it takes the reader on a number of unusual twists and doesn't give you the ending that you would expect.

What made this story special for me was the friendship between Dannie and Bella - the descriptions of their relationship and love for each other really lifted this book out of the standard romance genre and made me shed a few tears.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

This book was so good. I read it in one sitting. One aspect that was so good is that I didn’t know what was going to happen.

So do as I did and go in blind to the story.

This is a book that has left me with conflicting feelings. Because whilst I very much enjoyed one aspect of it...another I really didn't. It's why my rating is squarely in the middle at three stars. I think Serle has slipped into something of a sophomore slump, but it's not as bad as I've seen other authors whose first book I really liked.

'In Five Years' is all about the distance between the past and the present; how relationships and incidents from our past affects our future. Intertwined with this are themes of self-discovery, grief, growth, love and a couple more that aren't hugely interesting. The central character, Danielle, whilst being a first person protagonist, is surprisingly passive throughout, though there were certain scenes I enjoyed and was excited that she did something within them.

The thing I liked: there's a lot of grief in this book and there's a certain poignancy to the way Serle moves her central character around in these scenes. The very ending has a beautiful moment, after the dust has cleared and it's just Danielle alone with her thoughts, and the writing is excellent.

The thing I didn't like? I struggled to see the point of the book. There were some very drastic time jumps and what begins as an intriguing premise begins to collapse when other events appear and take precedence. The book asks us to imagine what you would do if you knew what was coming in five years time - and yet Danielle doesn't do anything. She follows the patterns of her life, she does what she's supposed to. And whilst there are some twists and turns, it all feels...ordinary. Cliché, perhaps. It's a tale of two novels here: one about a woman trying to navigate a horrible incident with a friend, and another about a woman who has seen her future and doesn't know what to do with this information.

I read this book relatively quickly, but I wouldn't rate my experience of it very high. I think it was perfectly okay and people will enjoy it, but it lacks the charm and originality that 'The Dinner List' really had.

I was intrigued by the idea behind this book, and it didn't disappoint. I read it in one sitting as I was so drawn into the lives of the main characters. The book is compelling reading, and although it is sad in parts the ending is completely satisfactory (and totally unexpected). I will definitely be recommending this to all my friends.

This is an easy read but at times laborious. I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters as we found so little out about their inner thoughts and feelings. The emotional engagement came ultimately through Bella but again we were not privy to her thoughts and feelings. The best bit is the twist at the end.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has known her answer since she was able to understand the question. On the day she nails the most important interview of her career and gets engaged to her ideal man, she’s well on the way to achieving her goals.

But that night when Dannie falls asleep she awakens in a different apartment with a very different man. Catching sight of the news on the television, she sees it is the same date but 2025 - five years in the future!

She tells herself it was just a dream and is determined to ignore the experience. That is until 4 and a half years later, a strange twist of events has her bumping into the man from her dreams…

When I requested this title on NetGalley I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be for me. It seemed I would have to stretch my imagination into the realms of impossibility to get on board, but it had captured my attention enough to go ahead.

Two days after I finished the book, I sit here trying to write my review and still have absolutely no idea where to begin. Firstly, I got through it pretty quick, due for the most part to the shortness of chapters and the fact it is only 272 pages long. I was quietly intrigued and at no point did I want to put the book down, but I never felt truly connected to the story.

My main issue was that the characters seemed a little one dimensional, especially Dannie. As the main protagonist I felt she needed a little more depth for me to be able to identify and empathise with her.
On the other hand, there are some shocking and very sad moments in this book. Ones that I found did reach me emotionally, and shows that the bond of friendship is a love like no other.

I can see from other reader’s reviews that the overall feeling towards this book is mixed, and I can see why. Even as I come to the end of this review I am still torn, and I find myself thinking there just wasn’t time to love it. With another 150 pages this book could have been a winner for 2020.