This is the very first time that I have received a free advanced copy of a book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. “Expiration Dates” was very intriguing to me as it contains a unique story component where the main character, Daphne Bell receives mysterious pieces of paper that say a guy’s name and timeframe (which indicates how long she will date them). It took awhile for me to get into the book as I felt like Daphne kept herself from letting anyone get to know her, including the reader. She revealed a secret about herself halfway through the book and it made me feel betrayed that I didn’t know sooner. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if I had connected with Daphne. Overall I did enjoy the book and thought it was a really interesting storyline. It made me appreciate the unpredictable aspects of life. I just wish there was an epilogue as I would have liked to have read how everything played out. I didn’t like how the story cut off.
This was my first Rebecca Serle book and I want to read her other books now.

I saw where this one was going from a mile away and loved every minute. Also, loved that the concept was different and not explained away. We all need a little extra magic in our lives sometimes.

Another fabulous read from Rebecca Serle. I absolutely loved how she wrapped this gem up. It really made me think about how I look at love, and I appreciated that. So often rom-coms follow the same basic equation, but this one threw a fun spin in.
I would definitely recommend this quick, light read. Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read and review! It was just what I needed! ❤️

I love that I could see into her mindset and read exactly what she was feeling when she thought out situations. Her thoughts flowed well and moved the book along very quickly. Cassandra's narrative voice is wonderful. She is serious at times, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read.

This is my second Serle book and my favorite of the two,( the first was In Five Years.) I’m not a regular reader of romance but what I like about Serle’s writings are that she doesn’t just write about romance, her books always deal with so much more plus I love that she always includes magic or fa fantasy aspect!

The premise for this book is a girl named Daphne receives anonymous notes with the names of men she will meet soon and the number of days, weeks, months or years that relationship will last. There are some great twist and turns to keep the reader on thier toes but it was the contemplation of living your best life no matter the circumstances particularly what we owe ourselves and those we love when making those decisions that really hooked me in about half way through the book. I became invested in Daphnes future and the people close to her. Overall it was a fast fun read but also made me think about those important decisions we have all faced when deciding what comes next.

If you enjoyed John Greens The Fault In Our Stars or Jodi Picoult’s Wish You Were Here than I think you would enjoy this book, especially for book clubs, as the deeper subject matters it explores beyond themed romance will promote lively discussions.

This book left me happy to anticipate Rebecca Serle’s next piece of work! A solid four stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC and the opportunity to do an early review.

I will read anything Rebecca Serle puts out. There's something so captivating about her writing - I always fall so madly in love with her female protagonists. And that's certainly no different in Expiration Dates! But this time, I felt this was a 3.5/5 star read when normally her books are a 4.5/5 star read for me. I just felt like I was left wanting more at the end. Wanting more from the characters, from the plot, from the ending. Also this was the first book of hers where I wasn't left a complete blubbering mess by the end.

Wow! I am at a loss for words. What a beautiful book that pulls your heart strings. Rebecca Serpe never misses!

Oh my gosh I loved this book!!!! This was beautifully written and the plot was so unique and creative. I read Expiration Dates in literally a few hours because I simply couldn’t put it down! The story is set in California and follows Daphne who receives notes with the length and name of her relationships. I loved reading about her journey to find love. The characters were well developed and so relatable. Rebecca wrote such a raw and emotional story with secrets, twists, and reveals.

Read if you like:
📝 magical realism
📝disablity representation
📝 well developed, lovable characters
📝past and present timelines

I loved this story. What is fated and what do we control? Does knowing when love will end make it easier or just harder to love in the first place. Lovely.

After being a huge fan of the magical realism in Serle’s “In Five Years” I was excited to pick up “Expiration Dates”! This is the story of Daphne who gets a slip of paper with every new relationship telling her exactly how long it will last. At the beginning of the book she gets a first, a slip of paper with the name but otherwise blank! Could this guy be the one? What follows are vignettes of her past “expired” relationships, and how they shaped who she is today, woven into the present day timeline of her navigating this seemingly meant to be forever relationship. The book explores the interplay of fate and personal volition that will have you rooting for Daphne to finally find her true purpose, passion, and perfect-for-her person. Looking forward to adding more Rebecca Serle titles to my list!

This was such a unique story!

It followed Daphne and her journey to find love. Along the way, the universe would send her slips of paper that had a name of a man and how long she would be with him. She lives her life in this predictable world, where she never gets the joy of being spontaneous. Watching her overcome that was so enjoyable!

This was one of my favorite reads of the year! It was definitely a 5⭐️

It was so beautiful and emotional and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I can’t express how deeply I connected with the character and the world.
Hugo, her best friend, was such a great character. That plot twist too!!

I would say my only “criticism” is sometimes it was confusing when it would go back and forth in time. It wasn’t always super clear when we jumped back.

This felt like such a cozy romantasy book to me.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so disappointed. I was really excited for this book; the premise is entirely unique and I couldn’t wait to jump in and figure out what was behind the mysterious notes Daphne receives and how she allows them to shape her life (or not)! And…it just wasn’t that. The expiration date notes have almost nothing to do with the plot, somehow?? The notes are kind of just in the background, they are not a main focus and neither Daphne nor the book ever seem to really question where they’re coming from or try to mess with them, which to me felt like a missed opportunity to write something new and exciting. Instead we just follow Daphne as she plods through life, generally letting outside forces control where she ends up (even at the end when it comes to her new role at work! She has zero agency!) I didn’t feel connected to Daphne at all; much of the book is dedicated to descriptions of her outfits, her meals, and the city of Los Angeles. The writing was heavy and borderline beautiful at times, but shallow and empty at other times.

In one phase, I’d describe this book as a (massive) missed opportunity. It’s sad because now this premise has been used (read: wasted) so nobody else can do it justice. Ugh. I’m just disappointed. I wanted this to be so much more than it was.

3/5 stars. Can’t believe this.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Rebecca Serle is one of my favorite authors and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Daphne is a young Hollywood producer with a weird dating quirk – every time she meets a man, she finds a piece of paper with his name, any time frame, which indicates the length of their relationship. But before her first date with Jake, she finds a piece of paper with just his name, and no expiration date. What does this mean? Is he the one?

Serle’s lovable characters in Expiration Dates keeps the readers engaged and makes this book a fast, addictive read and sparks thoughts on our own relationships and how they might have been different had we known how long they were to last.

I really enjoyed the latest from Rebecca Serle. It spurred interesting philosophical debates for me on how much control we have in our own choices vs. a predestined future. It's one of the things I enjoy most about her books is that they get into deeper internal thoughts for me. I really loved Hugo-he was my favorite character in the book. Overall, one I'd recommend to many people.

This one had me hooked from the very beginning! The premise of the book was very promising, and I loved that it jumped timelines to keep you hooked. I wish we had a little bit better understanding of the notes themselves, where they came from, why she was getting them, etc. However, I think Daphne’s realization at the end when it came to the notes was a very nice resolution. The ending was slightly predictable, but it fit nicely and I wasn’t disappointed in it one bit! I would have liked some more character development from Hugo, or to see how he changed over the five years apart from Daphne. Plus, maybe some resolution for Jake because I genuinely did like him a lot.

Otherwise, this was a cute, quick read that I couldn’t put down. The perfect amount of twists and turns to keep you interested throughout.

* An ARC was provided by the author and publisher on NetGalley for an honest review

A touching story of the loves with expiration dates of a woman. Told in two timelines, it relates her current love set against the experiences with others. It is a time of acknowledgement of her life and her limitations. Deep and often heartbreaking.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a quick read. I am tired of really long books that don't need to be so wordy, so I was grateful it wasn't longer. The main premise is a woman receives a note for each romantic partner that tells her when that relationship will end. The novel cuts between past and present reviewing past relationships and focusing on her current relationship, which she perceives to be "the one" because there is no end date on the paper. There is a plot twist midway, which I wasn't expecting. That said, I don't know it needed to be a surprise. The ending was a bit predictable, but felt right. If you liked the Measure, by Nikki Erlick, this grapples with some of those some fundamental questions. What do you do if your fate is predetermined and how does that change your life?

Reading the promotion blurb convinced me to try this novel by an author I had never read before. It sounded like fun!

This story was like a kaleidoscope. You anticipate pretty colors, patterns and designs to ooh and ahh to. Then you discover the kaleidoscope is broken. And while the colors are very pretty, the pieces just never mesh into anything lovely enough to hold your interest. The author can write, and there are some funny bits between some characters, but hard as I tired, I couldn't get the kaleidoscope to turn into a beautiful motif.

The storyline is unique; beginning at a young age, Daphne receives pieces of paper stating a boy's name and a timeline (three weeks, six months, etc.). Girl meets boy, relationship lasts the allotted time, girl dumps boy. Repeat. This describes the first half of the book. The main characters are enjoyable but slight. I never felt like I really got to know any of them in depth, just a surface skim.

Second half picks up a bit. A relationship with one guy ends on schedule, but this time Daphne remain friends with him, and they are still in each other's lives. Then there is a life shattering secret revealed, and it changes the readers perception of the whole dating thing. A little. Again, the colors are mesmerizing but never meld into a cohesive shape.

Some of the chapters are specific to one man and the weeks he was given. Then we never hear about them again. They didn't seem to serve a purpose to the overall story. Just pretty pieces of cracked glass.

The ending was very unsatisfying. You could see it coming a mile away, plus (stop reading here if you don't want any spoilers) there is never any explanation of the notes. Who sends them? Why was she getting them? Will they ever stop? None of these questions are answered, even vaguely. Never play with a broken kaleidoscope, it's frustrating and unsatisfying, despite the initial pretty colors.

⭐: 3.7/5

Compared to In Five Years (written by this author), this could have been better. The beginning of this book was so boring and stretched out unnecessarily. I was getting impatient to get to the main plot. Also, reading this book felt like I was reading Daphne’s personal journal with random thoughts here and there and I don’t know if that was the goal. It just felt confusing at times as to what I was reading. Many times I went back to the beginning of that particular chapter to read it again because I didn’t understand what was going on. Sometimes I was confused as to whether the memory Daphne talked about was from her past or the present.

I love this book’s storyline but the execution was not up to the mark. The last couple of chapters were the best to read. Another thing worth mentioning is that I loved that twist at the end! I never expected a twist like that!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rebecca is such a talent. I loved this book right along with the others of hers I've read. Highly recommend this book!