Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is a novel about a woman who receives slips of paper that let her know who her next relationship will be with and how long it will last. It also deals with illness. I thought it was a very easy and short read. I do wish we found out about the illness earlier on instead of it being used as a twist of sorts. I liked the ending and how that all worked out. I don't really think this book has much magical realism. If that's what someone is reading it for, they will be disappointed but it definitively is a sweet romance.

In all honesty, I have mixed opinions about EXPIRATION DATES. On the one hand, this is a supremely entertaining story that kept me turning the pages. The premise drew me in immediately. I liked the characters and I was curious to see what would happen next. On the other hand, it's simply not my favorite of Rebecca Serle's books. The ending is a bit predictable in my opinion.. More importantly, something about this novel felt a little like the author was going through the motions. However, it's still a great read and I'm eagerly looking forward to her next book.

I received a complimentary e-galley from the publisher in exchange for my review; all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this quick and addictive romance. While In Five Years is still my favorite of Rebecca Serle's books, I thought the writing was incredibly similar, and it scratched my itch to get lost in a story. The main character was believable, and the details of her LA lifestyle seemed well-researched. At the same time, there were some unexpected twists and turns, nothing out of left field that left me questioning or hating anyone. I thought the first half was slow, so I didn't give this five stars. But this is a four-star read, and I recommend it if you're looking for something to pull you out of a reading slump!

Quick recap without spoilers:
Starting with her first boyfriend, Daphne soon came to expect a letter including her paramour's name and the relationship's duration delivered at the onset of the relationship. It wasn't until Daphne received a piece of paper with Jake's name and nothing else that she realized her future and happy ever after had finally come. With flashbacks to previous loves and exploration of her present friendships, this book keeps you reading until the conclusion.

Not exactly what I was hoping for in a romance book. It was blah to me didn't really keep my interest or attention it wanting to continue and finish it but I did. Daphne apparently has a talent that will tell how long each relationship will last or is it really that she has commitment issues and the cards are an excuse as to why the relationships don't work. When she receives a card showing no date for her current relationship she wonders if this the lasting one she will marry. Then finds out that the card was left by an ex-boyfriend, Hugo who is know her best friend, to show that she can get past the expiration date. There was no wow factor, I thought Jake was boring and their relationship was boring seemed like the author was going for a three way love triangle with adding Hugo into the mix , . The chapters go between her past relationships and current one which I found to be unnecessary. Daphne's health issue she has was brought late in the book and Jake's obsession with writing down in his notebook when he saw someone wear Doc Marten's was a little off to me.

No real excitement in this book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review, release date March 2024.

I will say that this one was slow for the first 30-40% and I wasn't sure how it would turn around but it turned out to be such a great read! Tugs at the heart strings like all of Serle's previous work. Stick with it and it's worth it!

It has an interesting premise and I think it developed well. You'll even get a couple of plot twists along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

DNF - this was a difficult book to read, not to mention it was never brought up why she has expiration dates attached to her relationships… who was sending her them? It made the book unable to read. Additionally, I didn’t finish the book but I can guarantee you she ends up with Hugo. It’s hard to read a book that is so obvious there is no excitement or magic.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

I enjoyed the premise of this book up until the midway point when the author shifted the entire plot and focus to Daphne’s illness. Before that, I really enjoyed the various love/dating stories Daphne experienced throughout the book. They were endearing!

The handful of plot twists in the last 30% were surprising and had me on the edge of my seat, but ultimately left me with the ick by the end. If you can look past some of the selfish behavior and take the story at face value, it’s an entertaining and emotional read.

tl/dr: 4 stars - if Rebecca Serle has never been for you, check this one out! If you've always loved her, I think you'll love this one too

I am so so excited I think I have finally found a Rebecca Serle book I enjoyed! Her covers are always the most gorgeous & draw me in, but sadly I have mostly strongly disliked her other books - until now! Expiration Dates is such a fun unique idea written in her classic beautiful writing and is both heart breaking & uplifting. Told in a past and present kind of timeline, we meet Daphne who, because of random slips of papers, always knows how long her relationship will be. But she just got a slip of paper with a name & no end date, so could this mean this is her forever man?

If you like Rebecca Serle, bittersweet romance books or thinking what would it be like if we could have a peek into the road map of our dating lives, pick this one up. I really enjoyed it.



Slight SPOILER ahead
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I think one of my biggest issues with her books is her endings are often not happy & leave me feeling so sad which is not what I want from a Romance book (I'm looking at you In Five Years), but this book ended in a way I just adored!! So if you are wanting to make sure it has a mostly happy ending, this one delivers.

Devoured this. Rebecca Serle continuously pulls at my heartstrings with each book she reads. Heartfelt, never cheesy; couldn't recommend this one enough. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Expiration Dates is a sweet romance about lovers turned friends. They have a cute friendship throughout the novel with clever banter throughout. The novel has a whimsy feel with the main character’s expiration dates delivered to her informing her of the length of all of her relationships.

Rebecca Serle’s writing is unnaturally easy to read, especially for something created to make you reconsider your certitudes about love and life.
And cry, most definitely.

“Expiration Dates” has the same subject as hundreds of other books: fear of love. Is he/she be the one? Is he/she going to break my heart? How long will we have? Will I survive when, one day, I’ll be alone again? Is it worth it?
Even the ones that had their hearts broken will tell you that yes, it's worthy to love and be loved. But it's not easy and it's not always the most obvious choice, especially when you become good at being alone.

Well, if you ever wished for an answer straight away, afraid of the unpredictability of life, this book is for you.
Be aware, tho: its purpose is not to make your dream come true; it’ll make you see how wrong is for you to want something so stupid.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

p.s.: also, I feel you’ll love this book even more if you're not from Los Angeles. Everyone “knows” the city from so many tv shows and movies, but the way Rebecca writes about it will practically make you fall in love with it.

A 4.5⭐️ read and one of the best romances I’ve read this year!
Incredibly well written with great character development and an easy to follow storyline. Some parts were a little predictable but didn’t at all sway from the entertainment value. It definitely keeps your attention from the beginning and I didn’t note any “slow” parts as I was reading.
Such a beautiful love story but also an important story of the importance of finding and believing in yourself!

Rebecca Serle has a warmth to her writing which makes it easy to read and feels like a friend is sharing a tale with you. I loved the concept of this book, how much would you commit if you knew the expiration date of a relationship? It didn’t move me in the way In Five Years did but it was still a really enjoyable read.

Daphne has a secret- she knows the length of time she will date each man that comes into her life. She gets a piece of paper that tells her at the start of each relationship. Despite her fear of commitment, part of her wishes to find her true love. On the day of a blind date, only a name arrives. Could this be her happy ever after?

I was excited to read this after reading the author’s previous book, In Five Years. This did not disappoint! I absolutely loved it and could not put it down. The magical realism element of the notes was so unique, and I loved how they were used to explore Daphne’s past. Rebecca Serle knows how to break your heart and put it back together again. There were several points in the book where my jaw dropped, and the ending was every bit as perfectly written as I could have hoped for. At the heart of it, the novel explores the importance of choice and what real love truly is. Read this, and I’m sure you’ll fall under its spell just as I did! This is one of my favorite reads of the year.

Thank you to Rebecca Serle, Atria books, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Expiration Dates was a lovely story with great characters and a few twists to keep you on your toes. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and could not wait to see what happened next.

What would you do if you knew when your relationships would end, before they even began?

Expiration Dates is my favorite book by Rebecca Serle to date! It’s romantic, heartbreaking, hopeful, and earnest all rolled in one. I loved how Daphne’s previous relationships were interspersed among the present day timeline. It was easy to follow how each romance left its invisible, but everlasting mark. Highly recommend!

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

So I went into this book thinking it was going to be a romance, but I was wrong. This isn't a romance. This is a book about life. The uncertainty of life, the pain of life, the joy of life, the magical moments of life, and ultimately creating, living, and playing the life that you want.

One comment I did have is that I wish that this was two books. I feel like Daphne's story could have easily extended over multiple books. For example, book one could have been about all the slips of paper that she got and more backstory on each of the men on the slips of paper. Book two could have been more about her life journey and Hugo (her best friend). I just wanted more from each of the characters that Serle immersed us in.

Daphne is a young female working in Hollywood. She fetches coffee, creates production schedules, and dotes on her high powered producer boss. In highschool, she started receiving pieces of paper with a mans name and the duration of how long they would spend together. She lived a life dictated by little pieces of paper instead of the life that she wanted to live. One day, she receives a piece of paper with Jake's name on it with no time limit. She thinks this is it. Jake will be her forever, until she begins to realize that her life should not be dictated by a piece of paper and that these pieces of paper have been holding her back from creating the life that she wants to live.

I liked this book and it was a QUICK read (272 pages) just know you're going in to a book about life not love.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the ARC of Expiration Dates.

Wow, I really enjoyed the premise of the book, it just moves very slow at times. There is a bit of a twist toward the end that did get me reengaged, but overall I was somewhat eager to finish it up because it started to feel like it was dragging, unfortunately. That being said, I still enjoyed reading it overall, and it had the perfect type of romcom predictability that I love!