I've been a fan ever since I read In Five Years, but this one just wasn't my favorite. I absolutely love magical realism and was very intrigued by the premise of this book! In the end, I wanted more answers regarding the notes that Daphne was receiving. Who were they coming from and why? But on the other hand, maybe the beauty is in not knowing. I won't give anything away, but I do want to add that the twist took away from the focus of the book for me.

It was hard at times to find someone to root for because I just couldn't feel any chemistry between Daphne and her love interests. I will say that I did enjoy Daphne's character and her inner monologue! It felt very relatable to me. I loved the descriptions of LA and it made me feel as if I was there myself!

Thank you to Atria Books, Rebecca Serle, and NetGalley for my gifted ARC.

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

Cute story. Something I'm sure all of us wish we knew... how long a relationship would last. Kind of wish it was chronological instead of jumping back and forth within her timeline.

Ever since I’ve read In five years I’ve been looking forward to RS novels. One Italian summer did not quite hit the mark but this one I loved! It gave me more In five years vibes and I was hooked. I was so invested that at some point I had no idea where the story was heading and how it was going to play out! So I was completely blind sided by the reveal at the end. Truly enjoyed this!

Someone remind me to never ever ever skip a Rebecca Serle book. If I do I am only doing a disservice to myself. Thats all. read the book. it was good.

This book was good, but I found the twists (while slightly unexpected) to be fairly manipulative. I didn’t love this as much as some of her later novels, and I’m annoyed that it ended where it did. I did enjoy the main characters and thier relationships.

Thanks to the publisher and author for the wary copy of the book!

Expiration Dates

“Learning to be broken is learning to be whole.”

Such an interesting premise! Daphne starts every relationship in her life by receiving a mysterious paper - a name and a time period. This tells her how long she will be with each man. Until suddenly one arrives with no time, just a name. A name of a seemingly perfect guy.

I did not see the two twists coming and one of them seemed to take the book on a significantly darker turn than I was expecting. If you’re looking for a cute and light hearted romance, this one has more depth than that. It will make you think though.

Expiration Dates
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Rebecca Serle

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Atria Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake.

But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.

My Thoughts: The premise of the book intrigued me. However, I don’t think the book reached its full potential. That is not to say that this was a bad book, quite the opposite, I really enjoyed reading it. Daphne has believed that the universal has a plan for her. Every guy she has ever dated, a note shows up shortly before the relationship begins with the time that she will be with him. This note has always been spot on true. She does not know how or why these notes show up. So when she gets the latest one for Jake, it only has his name with no date span. She presumably believes that he is the one that she will spend the rest of her life with. When Daphne starts to doubt the paper when the relationship with Jake doesn’t progress as she expects, does her whole universe begin to crumble? This follows a mixed trope, women’s lit with magical realism and a sprinkle of romance.

The story is narrated by Daphne in her POV. The characters were well developed, witty banter, chemistry (in other ways), engaging, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, unique, slight humor, and kept me invested in the storyline. I love how Serle does the flow of her books, the plot is not circled around a romance, but is still heartfelt. i felt a lot of emotions reading through this story, from happiness, to sadness, and even silent yelling at the characters for their behaviors and choices. Daphne had a tremendous amount of growth throughout the story. Her self-discovery, relationships with other women, her relationships with business colleagues, and her acceptance of life as it is was just embracing and pulled me on this emotional rollercoaster reading journey that no other book has been able to do recently.

While I wanted more, this was still a beautifully written story that touched my heart. I really love the message that this story sends. To take control of your life and don’t allow circumstances dictate your life. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers.

Expiration Dates is a beautiful book that is hard to put down!

Little pieces of paper have let Daphne know her entire dating life of when, exactly, each relationship will end. Until one day, she receives one without a date. What does that mean? Is this THE ONE?

I loved the glimpses back to Daphnes previous relationships, and lessons she learned along the way. As the story progresses, we also learn more about her family history and hers.

If the universe put an expiration date on your relationship, how would you treat it?

This was a very thought provoking and heart warming story that I truly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 05 March 2024

EXPIRATION DATES is beautifully written, enchanting, heartwarming, and magically realism-infused. The author's winning style hooks you from beginning to end.

✨Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle (Out Now)✨
My favorite of Serle’s yet! This book was such a quick read thanks to the intriguing plot and short chapters. I thought the premise of knowing how long each of your relationships was going to last was so interesting and unique. This was a perfect light read for summer!

3.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
I felt like the characters were relatable and the events could all happen in real life.
I enjoyed Rebecca Serle’s writing, but I didn’t love the ending of the book. Overall I would recommend this book because it is a quick, light hearted read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book.

I think that this is just not an author for me. This is the second book from this author that I have tried and I very much disliked the first and I couldn’t finish this one.. I felt that this book started off in an interesting way but it moved very slowly and the plot just wasn’t progressing.

I absolutely love the way that Rebecca Serle writes. What an interesting way to write a book. Daphne is a single young woman who is looking for Mr. Wonderful. Every time she meets someone a little piece of paper arrives letting her know when it will be over. She goes on a blind date and meets Jake but it’s just his name no timestamp. She doesn’t understand how that could be possible based on her past dates. She has a hard time believing love is hers. Follow Daphne on her journey to what could be.

Overall I really enjoyed this story, but I did feel like the first half was much better than the second half. I struggled a little in the second half but overall still good.

Rebecca Serle has done it again!!

So far, each of Serle's books has been exactly what I needed to read when I needed to read it, and Expiration Dates was no exception! I love her subtle and believable magical realism, the way she writes her characters are so real and easy to connect to, and the flow of each sentence is magic in itself (for me anyway!).

There’s a reason why Rebecca Serle is one of my favorite authors: the girl just GETS IT every. single. time. 
This book was a quick read, but not because it was to easy or simple to read, but because it was that good!! I really love magical realism in a book, and the elements of magical realism that Serle added to this novel was so lovely and thought provoking. I just wanted to know SO BADLY where these notes were coming from and how they KNEW.

I thought each character was so relatable and endearing, and so soooo believable, which is very refreshing when it comes to romance novels. I feel like a lot of romance novels have an issue with the characters acting and saying things that real people would never say or do (I know sometimes it’s fun to imagine), but it drives me nuts sometimes. BUT Serle doesn’t do that!! Her writing is just so good.

Anywho…I really loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a romance with some comic moments, but a truly endearing and lovely story to tell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My god did I love this premise and boy, was this a let down for me! The premise is that Daphne gets a paper telling her exactly how long each relationship she has is going to last. Some years, some months, some one-day 😏 I ABSOLUTELY loved it until the 50% mark when the author introduced something big and ruined the whole thing for me. It felt unnecessary. It felt like a cop out. It felt lazy. Ugh I’m still mad about it weeks later.

Hugo: barf.

Unexplained notes: barf.

The only reason I’m glad I didn’t DNF is that I loved hearing all the old ‘love stories’ and they saved the whole thing for me. Otherwise after the 60% mark it was lackluster.

This is an auto buy author for me. She does not disappoint! Is this my favorite book? No, that distinction stays with One Italian Summer, but that doesn't mean this book wasn't fantastic.
I love her incorporation of magical realism. It's present but not overwhelming.
I read this book with my book club and discussed afterwards - I have to say I was Team Jake, not Team Hugo (but my book club was split about half and half).
Daphne reminds me of me but in the worst ways. I too suffer from a lifelong chronic illness - and I have certainly had my own pity parade, but I hate that about myself. I wanted so much more for her. I wished I could shake her out of it so she could really grab life and make the most of it.
Overall, great book. I liked the pace. I was able to follow the back and forth between flash backs to old guys and present tense with ease. I loved Jake for Daphne. I loved Hugo too - but for different reasons, and not for Daphne.
Irina reminded me of Devil Wears Prada (if the devil had a heart, that is).
If you're looking for a romance, with a touch of magical realism, interesting characters and some real life issues - go grab a copy!

I absolutely adored this book. I read it on one very long flight and ended up sobbing by the end. The characters were engaging, there were plot twists I didn't see coming (in a good way), and it was just lovely.

"Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all."
Expiration Dates is about Daphne Bell and with every man she meets she also receives a piece of paper with his name, number and how long the relationship will last. She has been letting destiny which are the pages dictate her life for over twenty years but what happens when she receives a paper with no expiration date. This was my first time reading anything by the author and it did not disappoint. It was well written and I enjoyed the characters in the book. The book was a easy read that had me turning pages till the very end and one that I enjoyed reading. This one I would recommend to any romance reader. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this book in exchange of my honest review of Expiration Dates.