I picked up Expiration Dates because the premise caught my attention: everytime Daphne meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on - signifying the exact amount of time they will spend together. But on the night of her blind date with Jake, the paper contains only his name.

I enjoy contemporary books that have love/romance/relationships at their center but are not romances. I’m drawn to them because they tend to have more emotional depth. I like books that make me feel something and don’t necessarily have a happy ending. Expiration Dates falls under that category as the primary focus is Daphne and Jake’s relationship but it is not a romance. There are flashbacks to Daphne’s previous relationships and how they ended. It reminded me of The Husbands, which I also rated 4 stars. Both have magical realism elements that I was drawn to. That said, I had a few minor issues with Expiration Dates. Some of the emotional beats felt heavy-handed and the ending was predictable and a bit cliché. But it was an overall enjoyable read.

Wow Rebecca Serle has truly done it again!! With being such a huge fan of One Italian Summer, I had high expectations going into this book, and it definitely did not disappoint. This book was truly such a beautifully emotional story that had such a unique premise from anything I’ve ever read. I loved the magical realism aspect that paired so well with the romance, and it was truly so thought-provoking and heartfelt with its delivery. I thought the writing was so well done, and I can’t deny that the ending gave me butterflies. While I felt that there was just something missing from this story to give it a 5 star, this book was truly so easy to get through and just very fast paced, and overall I really loved it.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my copy of this book!

I always enjoy the magical realism in Serle’s stories, and Expiration Dates was no exception. In this novel, the protagonist, Daphne, receives a note revealing how much time she’ll have with each romantic partner who enters her life, a premise I found really intriguing. However, despite the compelling concept, the characters felt somewhat one-dimensional to me. For those new to Serle’s work, I’d recommend One Italian Summer as a better introduction to her writing.

Expiration dates reminds us that we actually don’t want all the information to enjoy the journey. Another author that has never disappointed me!

What would it be like to know exactly how long you would date a guy for? Encouraging? Heartbreaking? That's Daphne's life. Every time she meets someone new she gets a slip of paper with his name and number (exactly how long she'll date him for). Until one day the paper only has a name. This is what she's been waiting for, her soulmate. But as time goes on she finds it hard to be completely truthful and committed.

While I really enjoyed the magical storyline of the date cards and the friendship between Daphne and Hugo, I found myself getting bored rather quickly and was not impressed with the ending. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC!

Once again Serle does it! I adored this book. It is the perfect amount of magical realism. The concept itself I was somewhat skeptical of but it was executed perfectly. Can’t wait for the next one!

I absolutely devoured this book and enjoyed every single page. The premise was so unique, Daphne receives mysterious notes from the universe, each with a name and a length of time, predicting the duration of her next relationship. It was such a fun and intriguing concept, and I often found myself wondering: are the notes truly fate, or do they only feel real because Daphne believes in them? Overall this story captivated me and have me questioning how her story would play out until up until the very end.

This book had a lot of potential. I’m a little surprised she didn’t go all the way with it. It kind of fell flat and didn’t really excite me. I don’t know, just something about it annoyed me

This is my 1st time reading Rebecca Serle and I really enjoyed the book. Expiration Dates is a nice short romance with a touch of magical realism and a little twist in the middle that keeps the story interesting. I will definitely be adding Ms. Serle's other books to my TBR!

Once I got over the magic realism part part of Daphne receiving notes/postcards with expiration dates of each man she meets being so unrealistic, I actually thought this was super cute. I adored Hugo. This was an easy to read, feel good book, which I was able to binge in one sitting. If you are looking for something light-hearted, fun, and a little different, I would recommend

Daphne gets little notes telling her how long her relationship will last. Does Daphne let the notes dictate her life or ignore them and live her life as she wants. This is my second Rebecca Serle book and I really enjoyed it. I like how she writes stories about women but puts some magical realism into it. This one was an entertaining and through provoking story. Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for an advanced copy.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle is a contemporary romance novel with an interesting premise…Daphne Bell has lived her life guided by mysterious slips of paper, each one detailing the exact amount of time she will spend with a man. From brief encounters to lasting connections, these papers have shaped her relationships—until a blind date with Jake changes everything. For the first time, there’s no number on the paper, just his name. As Daphne’s feelings for Jake deepen, she grapples with the uncertainty of the paper’s prediction and the burden of secrets she’s keeping. Torn between honesty and protecting Jake’s heart, Daphne must confront the complexities of love and fate.

I gave this book three stars primarily due to its pacing. The story started off slow, and I struggled to feel the chemistry between Jake and Daphne at first. While I’m usually a fan of the "nice guy," I found myself rooting for a different character early on. Daphne’s backstory also felt disconnected from the plot at times, and I was frustrated by her reluctance to question the situation she found herself in. That said, I think the theme of free will in the story would make for an interesting discussion in a book club. I’d recommend Expiration Dates to fans of the genre.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Uplifting and sweet, but the pace was a bit too slow for me. I wish the characters had been more developed and given more room for their chemistry to grow. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Atria Books and Rebecca Serle for this ARC. Took me longer to get to it, and I apologize as I was battling vertigo. This book was just what I needed to get back into my reading phase. Her books are always so uplifting and fun to read. Grab this one, head to the pool or the lake, and enjoy! Who wants to be Daphne?

Daphne Bell is a young woman who finds that she is sent a postcard (in the beginning) or slips of paper show up with a man's name on it and a number. She discovers the number corresponds to the amount of time she will date a particular person. The story, through flashbacks, shows us those relationships and how she feels about them and, particularly, how she feels when they end. She decides that she is not going to get attached to any of these people, as there is always an expiration date on the relationship, and the endings are so painful for her. One of the men she dated, Hugo, becomes her best friend. He also is the only man who knows the secret about the pieces of paper she gets.

Jake is the latest name to arrive on a piece of paper. However, this time, there is no date on the paper. Finally! The things she has been dreaming about comes true. She can let go and love, because there is no prescribed end. In many ways, she loves Jake and proceeds with the relationship but there does not appear to be a lot of spark between them. Nonetheless, she does love him and continues as if. However, how successful can a relationship be if a person is not completely open about things with their partner?

This is a cute novel, without a tremendous amount of substance. Some questions this writer would have liked answered were not answered by the end of the novel, which was a bit disappointing. At times, the flashing back and forth from present to past were a tad confusing, as some character names were similar. In the end, though, things became more clear as the story proceeded.

A fun beach read or a quick weekend read, if you are looking for something light and easy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Starting this book sucked me in pretty quickly. The idea behind the story of expiring relationships was something I hadn’t read before. Unfortunately I did start to get bored . I could have just been the mood I was in. I may give it another go in a few months.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

I moderately enjoyed One Italian Summer by this author. Unfortunately, this one did not land for me. I expected a whimsical, romantic magical realism story. This was not it.

The FMC, Daphne, is in her mid 30s and is about as immature of a character as I've ever read. I did not think she had any personality whatsoever, other than being "not like other girls." Her best friend, whose name I've already forgotten, also had no personality. The dialogue with her friends had nothing to do with anything except her dating life. And with that, these slips of paper she keeps getting...I'm not sure why it was necessary to go through every single relationship or sexual encounter since ever. It was so unnecessary. So many of these interactions had absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever. I mean, I get the element of redundancy for the sake of the notes, but that could have been scaled back so much or combined into one chapter.

The writing also did not work for me. Most of the characters are vapid and one-dimensional. The amount of minor things that were described in MAJOR detail was hard to read. We got to hear about everything everyone was wearing in detail and everything everyone was eating in detail. And much of the time, that's all we know about them. And the constant LA drops were rammed down readers throats, how LA is the best and greater than every city that has ever existed in the history of time, and no one understands unless you're from there. I actually hated that.

The last third of the book threw in this "surprise" element, which I think was intended for the reader to gain sympathy for the character. I just didn't care. The ending was predictable and unsatisfying. The only character I really liked was Murphy, the dog.

This was a quick read for me.

I really enjoyed Daphne and Hugo’s relationship and was a little disappointed with how their relationship developed.
I struggled to feel the chemistry between Daphne and Jake.
Overall it was a good read with an interesting twist that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I thought this book had a unique and delightful premise and I zipped through it, eager to see where it would go.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I didn't realize how short this book was and was hoping for more. This was a cute book and was great overall.

I suggest reading this one.