First, and most importantly: this was a page turner. I couldn’t put it down. That is important to me because I like to be consumed with a book rather than having to force myself to open it back up.

And I enjoyed the story. I love a good supernatural hook, and receiving a note with the name of each guy you will date and for how long is a great one. That is why I wanted to read this book so badly (and I loved the author’s book In Five Years, for that same reason).

A few things fell flat for me though. I don’t want to have spoilers in here but I’ll say that the male characters other than her father didn’t feel fleshed out or real. One was just not believable as a person and the other, well I didn’t really understand the conflict with the other.

Don’t let that stop you. Expiration Dates is a fun read, a quick read, an entertaining read. I enjoyed it! It just isn’t a book is read again or even think much about after finishing. And I liked it more than One Italian Summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Net Galley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited to get this one as an ARC from Netgalley. I have read all of Rebecca Serle’s previous novels, and loved a few, but wasn’t crazy about her most recent, One Italian Summer. Being single and dating, I was hopeful that this book would redeem her for me, and that I would love the relatable aspects of it. It honesly fell a little flat for me. I felt the story was slow and kept waiting for a big moment to drop. It is really hard for me to write negative reviews, but this one just wasn’t for me. It did have a touch of magical realism, if you are a lover of that!

This was such a heartwarming feel good book. I loved the magical premise of the plot, and Daphne was such a likable character. I always am excited when I see a new book by Rebecca Serle and this book did not let me down. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Rebecca Serle. In Five Years, is in my top five favorite books. I was thrilled to be chosen to read an advanced copy.

This book follows Daphne’s journey to find love and her happily ever after. We find out Daphne is special and she receives a note every time she starts or is about to start a relationship. The note contains the prospect’s name and the timeline of how long the relationship will last. She carries on her whole love life by these dates, knowing when it’s going to end.

What would have happened in any of these relationships if she didn’t know ahead of time?

I loved that this book really made you think about soulmates, destiny and if our paths are predetermined. How would you live your life if you knew the expirations dates of your relationships?

Highly recommend if you love any of the author’s previous books.

Thank you to Net Galley, Rebecca Serle and Atria Books Publicity for letting me read an early ARC of this book.

I have read other books by Rebecca Serle. This one is her best yet! I found it a little slow to get into, but once I did, it was a great read! Likeable characters and a fun plot. I would recommend to book clubs, as there is a lot to talk about!

This book moved slower than molasses and I was just bored and got really tired of Daphne by the end of this.

"Expiration Dates" follows Daphne Bell. Daphne has a secret, for some odd reason since she was a teenager, a piece of paper will show up with the name of a guy on it and how long the relationship will last. At first Daphne thinks it's just a weird thing, but over the years the papers have been correct about the "expiration" date of her relationships. Daphne goes out on a blind date with a man named Jake, and Daphne gets a piece of paper with his name on it, and no date. Daphne wonders what does that mean, does that mean she's found her soul mate? The man she's supposed to be with forever?

Too bad that the interesting premise of this book did not live up to the hype at all. First, I honestly wish if Serle is going to stick with magical realism, she does a better job explaining things. By the end of the book, we don’t know why Daphne gets notes about her relationships ending. And frankly it makes zero sense why she decides to trust the notes at all. If it was some weird family tick or something maybe that would have worked. But nope, it's a thing that happens, that she hides from everyone but one person in her life. And the person she chooses to let in on the secret makes zero sense.

Second, Daphne is just not enjoyable to read about. I didn't get what was going on with Daphne and it felt tiring of reading the book through her voice and her explaining all of her clothes, her crammed apartment (for the 20th time), her dog, etc. Daphne just felt like a half baked character that wasn't given enough of a voice for me to be rooting for her happily ever after. Then Serle throws in a last minute "medical" thing that once again makes zero sense, but feels crammed in to try to explain things.

Third, the love interests in this book were terribly written. Hugo was the absolute worst though. I don't know if Serle did it on purpose since we have Daphne keeping herself at a distance from the men she's dating cause of the notes or what, but there's no freaking depth there outside of the character of Jake. And what we get of Jake is not that great either.

Fourth, the writing style just didn't work. Serle decides to have Daphne in the present dating Jake, but you go back and forth between the "present" and her prior relationships, but we for some reason go back multiple times between her dating and ending things with Hugo. The whole book's flow was terribly off because of that.

Fifth, that one scene. Or as one reviewer called it, gaslighting at it's best. There was so much mess towards the end of this one that I can't talk about it without spoilers.

The ending was ridiculous and no I didn’t see it even a little as a HEA, just to be nice, I will toss out a HFN, though I doubt the long-term sustainability of the relationship.

EXPIRATION DATES
BY: REBECCA SERLE

I'm thrilled that finally this warm heartfelt novel by Rebecca Searle, called "Expiration Dates," has finally managed to officially relieve me of my reading slump. I really loved this light and fun reading experience. I think that I enjoyed this one as much as her prior one which has remained my favorite called, "In Five Years." This one is every bit as great.

Personally, I don't know quite where I stand on the subject regarding soulmates. In that, I'm on the fence not quite sure whether they exist or not. I'm sure that if you ask others they are pretty much going to have their own opinions--which is okay. In this light but also philosophical gem Daphne who is thirty-three years old has been given preordained answers arriving on slips of paper, post cards, etc., since fifth grade how long a romantic relationship will last. Is this a self fulfilling prophecy, you may wonder as I did?

So starting since she was in fifth grade when Daphne discovered written on a piece of paper on her desk: "Seth, eight days." She didn't know what that meant so she asked her parents and they didn't know what it meant either. She grew up with two loving parents who gave her stability and although frugal, a well above average lifestyle. Her parents lived within their means in a glamorous town that pretty much dictated *keeping up*. Daphne grew up in the smallest house on the best street which enabled her to attend a great public school, where she received a great education.

All that mattered to her very down to earth Mom was that she had space for her garden in which she grew legendary roses in Southern California that continuously bloomed from March straight through to the month of October. I loved this novel because it takes place in California. It seemed that when Daphne was an adult she was able to frequent the trendiest locales, even though her hobby was a thrift shopper. The novel has mentioned that she grew up in Brentwood and the Palisades. I know that Brentwood is a ritzy town in California.

Daphne has two long term relationships that both men seemed in my opinion to be great husband material. This gives the reader an intimate glimpse into her romantic life with terrific character development. I also appreciated the concise and compact short length novel that can be savored in just a couple of hours. It's pacing is fast with snappy dialogue which warmed my heart and after two previous sluggish novels I enjoyed this one all the more. Honestly, this was a pleasure from the very beginning until the final paragraph. It held my interest from the start and never had me checking what percentage I was at during reading this gem.

It has all lovable characters and it depicts the beautiful aspects of California. This worked very well for me as I needed something light. Sometimes a novel is greatly appreciated more due to the timing when one is reading it. For me this came around at exactly the right time. It examines love in a romantic partner as well as loving family members. Sometimes we choose to set someone free because we want the very best for them. After examining what a romantic partner has suffered or endured pain it is altruistic to let them go when we realize that we cannot give them what would truly make them happy. Even if in the short term they don't want to end the relationship, the kindest thing is to let them go. With good intentions so they can get their needs met by someone else who can give them what we are not ready to give.

I think that if you loved Rebecca Searle's novel, "In Five Years," you are going to love this one. This doesn't have the time travel element. There is some magical realism involved in that Daphne receives ahead of time how long a specific romantic partner is going to be in a relationship with her. It's delightful because it has a HEA ending that goes against what the theme is. So it turns out to be a satisfying albeit unpredictable ending. Read this for pure enjoyment when life disappoints you in some way and you want to read a fantastic and great reading experience that I'm confident will lift your spirits. Especially with what is going on in the news. Five Sparkling Stars! Highly, Highly recommended!

Publication Date: March 5, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Rebecca Searle and Atria Books for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#ExpirationDates #RebeccaSearle #AtriaBooks #NetGalley

This book is Rebecca Serle at her absolute best - it was my favorite of her books so far. This book is so perfectly concise. There is no unnecessary fluff or side story and it made the message of this book come across so strongly. I couldn’t stop reading. This book wasn’t exactly what I expected, and because of that I feel going too into detail with a review would take away some of the twists that other readers deserve to experience when reading this. As far as writing, creativity and originality, and storytelling - I couldn’t ask for much more.

As with One Italian Summer, Expiration Dates had a smidge of the supernatural which I loved! Plenty of heart wrenching moments that made this a page turner for me. Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for access to this arc.

In the manner of Rebecca Stele’s other novels, romance and magic are woven into a delightful story. The premise was interesting and the movement between timelines was done well.

This fun romance novel follows a young woman's dating life in which she receives a mysterious note delineating the length of new relationships when they begin. When she finds a note without an expiration date, she assumes she's found her match only to unravel the secret of the notes.

I was immediately drawn to this plot from Rebecca Serle and I have already loved all of her books but this one felt really special. Lately, magical realism has been really special reading for me and I couldn't put this one down! I immediately loved Hugo and rooted for him and the way this was written was beautiful. I wasn't disappointed with his characters were transitioned and the little twists were so cute. I would recommend this to all romance readers because it is just such a feel good read!

Daphne’s life is full of uncertainty. She’s not sure what she wants to do career-wise, her home is always cramped and a mess, and her life has thrown her one major curveball that affects everything else. One thing she knows for sure - for every romantic relationship she’s in, she’ll get a note from the universe with the name and how long it will last.

I thought this concept was super fun, but the execution fell flat for me. I wanted more depth of feeling out of Daphne, but everything felt rushed. This includes the MAJOR plot reveal that we get about 3/4ths of the way in. This surprise personally felt unneeded to me and more just served to add forced heartbreak that didn’t really add much to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of Expiration Dates is that Daphne, the main character, receives a mysterious slip of paper at the start of every romantic relationship that lists the name of her romantic partner and the time period that the relationship will last.

At the beginning of the novel there is a twist: the most recent slip of paper has a name, but no time period listed. Is he her last relationship? Will it mean marriage and a happy life? Will she be hit by a bus and die? What does it mean?

The concept was an interesting one and I enjoyed the chapters that described her past relationships, including the short one with her current best friend and former boyfriend Hugo. The present day chapters focus on her current relationship with Jake, who is boring in every way, but has the benefit of that undated slip of paper in his favor. The premise was a lot of fun at first and I was breezing through the book, but after a while it just felt like a revolving door of men, food they ate, clothes they wore and name-dropping restaurants and other locations in LA and San Francisco. The constant descriptions became tedious and the actual relationship development was a lot of telling and not showing. And I’m still left with a lot of questions about the expiration dates and I wish that had been explored more at the conclusion. The wrap-up was a little too quick.

Rebecca Serle just keeps getting better! Every book is so good and difficult to put down. And every one leaves me feeling better than the one before.

For the last 20 years every time Daphne meets a new guy, a piece of paper shows up somewhere with a name and a length of time for how long their relationship will last. Until she gets one the night she first goes out with Jake, that just has his name. No timeline. Does this mean he’s the one?

Jake is perfect for Daphne. As their relationship grows Daphne realizes that she has to tell Jake everything, all her secrets. And some of these things might break his heart.

I absolutely loved this book. Very well written and I love how the author can always create a believable story with such an abstract and impossible concept. The characters are all extremely likable and it’s really hard to pick my favorite part.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Atria books for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. publication date March 5, 2024

I really enjoyed this book. It has a unique premise and I was enthralled all the way through it. You're rooting for Daphne to find her one, true love. As she journeys through each relationship, whether they are long or not, each provides a way for her to learn more about herself, as well as, a closer step to THE ONE. At first, I was unsure of her interspersing some of her more casual relationships in between chapters of her relationship ship with Jake. But, it actually made me want to keep reading to see how her and Jake's relationship progressed. I would definitely recommend this book! Thank you to @netgalley, @simonandschuster, and @rebecca_serle for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.📚

Her best book yet!!! So much emotion and depth to each character! This book is really about making your own destiny and choosing to make your life what you want it to be. Serle made it seem believable and not silly to receive mysterious notes and still make the story feel relatable. I cried, I cheered, and I read this book so fast! Definitely recommend it 10/10

If you are a fan of Rebecca Serle and her style of writing - you will also love this book. It is full of heart, humor, learning to live in the present, taking chances and finding true love. She has a unique ability to include a magical, mystical element to her books while keeping the reader firmly on the ground in every other way. We suspend our belief easily and never give it a second thought. I became invested in Daphne’s happiness. Loved this book from start to finish.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC - Expiration Dates will be out March 5, 2024 and I highly recommend. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Rebecca Serle knows how to pack an emotional punch. This story is about Daphne, who receives slips of paper with a name of a man and the length of time they will date. Interwoven in her present day are glimpses back to these different relationships. Daphne meets a man who seems to be 'the one' and from there, the story takes a turn. By the end of the novel, I was sobbing. This is part love story, part friendship story, and part family story.

LOVED this book. Such a delightful read. Enjoyed the characters and the whole storyline. If you received a note when you started dating someone that told you how long you would be with them, would you read it? This plot was totally my jam. Actually read it for several hours in the middle of the night because I couldn’t put it down. If you like fun romance (but not spicy), move this one up on your TBR pile!
Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the fabulous author for this ARC!