This was a unique and fun concept with depth and twists I did not see coming. I loved watching the way Daphne’s life evolved through relationships and the way the time made things impactful.

Beautiful story with such a beautiful message!

3.5 stars, rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Rebecca Serle’s latest, Expiration Dates. This book follows Daphne, a woman who receives an “expiration date” for every relationship she enters, until finally she doesn’t. But is this man truly who she’s supposed to be with? How can one know?

This book was just fine to me. Not great, not bad, just fine. I felt like it was paced well, and I enjoyed the side characters. The way that Serle tries to combine Daphne’s heart condition (her personal expiration date) and the notes she received felt very clunky and forced to me. That being said, I did like this book better than One Italian Summer!

Rebecca has quickly become an auto buy author for me. I’m a big fan of magical realism though and so her books give me enough magic within a contemporary setting to fuel my imagination.

Since she was young Daphne has always received a slip of paper telling her how long her relationships last. She doesn’t know why but she’s lived and not lived her life with the expectation that her relationships had an expiration date. That is until she receives a blank note with nothing other than Jake’s name on it and no date. She’s convinced he’s the one but will her secret let her open up and let him in?

I wanted to love this book, and I did! At least for 75% of it. Without adding spoiling anything, I just couldn’t with Daphne’s ‘secret’. As someone who has dealt with much of that and knows all too well what comes with something like ‘that’, I just don’t understand Daphne’s secretive nature about it. She’s letting ‘it’ and these notes dictate her life, and while I really loved the concept of the notes, her commitment to not being her own person and taking the reins irked me.

If the secret would have been something different, I’d probably be writing a much different review and would be 100% praising this story. So while the concept and writing are five star worthy, the irritation I felt at that one thing knocks this down to a 3.5 stars for me. I’m still a big fan of Serle and still think her writing has a peaceful, magical, and floaty feeling to it, I just didn’t like the how it ultimately played out. This book is still a fast paced and a perfect beach vacation read, but the ending just didn’t work out for me.


Expiration Dates comes out March 5, 2024! Huge thank you to Atria Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

In true Rebecca Serle fashion, the reader is given the opportunity to become fully immersed in the characters and story development of this novel. In "Expiration Dates", we are introduced to Daphne, that for some strange reason constantly gets papers to tell the expiration of her relationships....except this latest one has no expiration date.
What can be appreciated about this story, is that while the premise is wholly magical, Serle doesn't throw it at you, but instead it's peppered into the story line so that you can appreciate it, and not be turned off by it.

I think this book will be pretty decisive to those that read it. I find that I was thoroughly entertained by the book, the writing, the concept - this is a unique book, written uniquely, and just interesting overall. I spent the day with the book, not wanting to put it down. However, the characters aren't what pulled me along. I didn't really get Daphne, or Jake, or Hugo - I don't feel like I ever really got to know them fully. I felt like I was to somehow understand them by the differences in their homes aesthetics. I think if you need to like, respect, and understand your main character in order to enjoy the book, this book may grate on your nerves. I never felt liked I understood Daphne's behavior entirely at all, but for me I was so engrossed by the concept and sort of the thought exercise, it didn't bother me. Overall very enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This book was so good. These characters were great but also made me SO MAD more than once. I didn’t want this story to end!

My favorite Rebecca Serle to date, set in a world that’s highly realistic with one big magical difference (as so often happens in Serle's novels). Serle poses an intriguing “what if?” premise, engaging characters, and a strong sense of place.

Wow - drop what you are doing and read this book right now! This book is about a girl who knows how long each relationship will last because she receives a note of some kind with an expiration date each time she meets someone new. When the book begins, she has gotten yet another note, but this one doesn't have a end date. Is this the one? I'm just going to say that this book is so so much more than that description above, but anything else I say will give away at least one of the twists I did not see coming and which made this book a new favorite of mine. So well done!

A wonderful story of self discovery, love and self acceptance. Daphne takes you on a relatable journey as she deals with what life throws at her in all aspects.

Daphne Bell has a unique perspective on her relationships: She knows how long they'll last before they start. Daphne receives a slip of paper with a name and time frame each time she starts a new relationship, and each time the relationship ends after that length of time. So when she receives a name with no time frame, she assumes this is the one. THE one. But does the "universe" really know all the answers?

Okay, so this book was not for me. Not only could I not connect with Daphne, by the middle of the book, I really disliked her. This made it impossible for me to empathize with her situation, so by the end of the book, I didn't really care who she ended up with, I just wanted it to be over. That said, books are such a personal experience, I am very sure there are people who will totally sync with this character and love this book! It's just not me.

This was such a completely unique storyline. I actually loved the element of magical realism that was added. It was subtle and still made the story feel authentic. Daphne’s journey broke my heart a little and I loved reading about her story, but the timelines did get a bit confusing to me at times. Her relationship with her best friend was one of my favorite parts!

I do have mixed feelings over the ending because I wanted more. It was kind of frustrating to me the way it played out for a few different reasons, however I really did enjoy the overall storyline if it was executed a bit differently! I also feel like as I was reading her past relationships, it wasn’t as impactful as it should have been since we already knew it wasn’t going to last.

Emotional and heartbreaking, this book looks at finding your truth and what love really looks like and I did enjoy the themes presented in the book.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

I read Expiration Dates pretty much in one sitting and just gobbled down the story. It was an effortless read and I really enjoyed the style of the writing in that the lead character told about the past while adding perspective to the stories, so while being dual timeline (I suppose), it didn’t altogether feel that way.
It was a lot deeper of a book than I expected it to be, and I found myself thinking a lot and asking what I’d do if I were in Daphnes situation.

One of the trigger warnings kind of threw me for a loop and made me more emotional than I expected to be, but I pushed through my surprise and overall was pleased with the story. This is my first book by Rebecca and now I want to read her backlist!

Thanks so much to Atria books, NetGalley and Rebecca Serle for the arc to read. All thoughts and opinions were mine.

Expiration Dates is the story of Daphne, a young thirty something living in LA who receives a piece of paper when she starts seeing someone new telling her how long the relationship will last.

Daphne lets that paper be her relationship guide and when she gets one with no time limit before a blind date she knows she's found "the one." But what does "the one" really mean? How can you find love if you don't love yourself?

Struggling to put into words how I felt about this one. Cool concept, liked the characters enough to be invested and it reads easily. It jumps back and forth between past loves and present day but some of the past relationships didn't really add much to the story for me.

It's hard to talk about this one without spoiling anything but I will say I enjoyed the ending and way that the story ended. There were parts of Daphne's story that I wish would have been talked about more but overall if you're a fan of magical realism you'll like this one too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 Stars

I truly loved Expiration Dates and I couldn’t put it down.

I read it mostly over the course of one day but was always actively thinking about it when I had to stop reading. I even told my husband all about it (against his will) when I was about 70% in, which speaks to how captivated I was.

Daphne is a 30-something year-old woman who has received notes over the course of her life with the name of the next person she will date & how long the relationship will last. It’s always been spot on & given her life a plan. What happens when she gets a note with a man’s name & no expiration date?

This was my first book by Rebecca Serle and it definitely won’t be my last. I had previously heard glowing reviews about her other books but had never taken the plunge—I’m so glad I finally did. I found myself with welled up eyes a few times throughout. Expiration Dates was deep, thought provoking and had great messaging about love, living life to the fullest. More specifically even, how we would live and love if we knew not only that our time was measured (of course we all know life is short) but if we knew the exact amount of time with each person? I loved, loved it!

Thank you to Net Galley & Atria for the ARC of Expiration Dates in exchange for an honest review.

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

Daphne’s journey throughout Expiration Dates is moving and beautiful. This is so much more than a love story, and I won’t dive too much further into it as to not reveal some aspects that are throughout the novel, but I loved the direction Serle took this story.

Are we destined to make the choices we do? What path would we find ourselves on if we steered the course differently than what we thought the stars had aligned? This is ultimately what Daphne grapples with as she receives the timeline for each of the love interests that enter her life.

By far my favorite Rebecca Serle novel. I love a touch of magical realism and the character growth in this is excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books.

I loved that you didn’t really know where this book was going. I loved the way it made me think about life and how every day is precious. I loved every part of this book.

Expiration Dates is about Daphne who finds pieces of paper that tell her how long each relationship will last - her relationship’s expiration date. Daphne has lived her life according to this expiration dates instead of maybe her heart.

I liked this book but I didn’t love it. It felt like a little something was missing in order for me to really connect (and honestly cry like I have at all her other books). It took me a bit to figure out how the book was set up. I thought the storyline was unique and I liked the characters although you’ll probably be screaming in your head for Daphne to see what’s right in front of her! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed you read it.

Every time Daphne meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and number on it. That number is the exact amount of time they will be together. She is waiting for the day. She will receive a piece of paper with just a name and no expiration date. The only person who knows about the pieces of paper is Hugo, her ex-boyfriend, and now best friend.

When Daphne finally meets Jake on a blind date, there is only a name, she wonders if this is her soulmate and how her other relationships would have played out if she didn't know the ending. She also knows that she is keeping secrets that would hurt Jake. Should she tell him the truth about the papers? What would happen if he knew the truth?

Rebecca Serle has written two of our favorite books from the past few years and every book she writes is more creative and unique than the last. This book did not disappoint. It looks at love from a different perspective with warmth and humor. #gifted

Let me first say I love Rebecca Serle's books! I love her characters and also her settings. In fact, her settings tend to become characters in their own right in each of her books. Her newest book, Expiration Dates, takes place in Los Angeles. In the story, the main character Daphne, has an unusual quirk in her life,. She receives pieces of paper with a man's name and the exact amount of time that she will be with that man. One day she receives a paper that just has a name, with no date. She thinks this will be the one. However, as the relationship progresses she begins to wonder if he really is the one for her.
I was hooked from the beginning. I loved all the characters, especially her best friend Hugo. It was fun to follow Daphne through her dating life. I can't recommend this book enough. It had all the emotions!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC

This is the first book I have read from Rebecca Serle and quickly fell in love with it. Daphne has a secret. When she starts a new relationship, she receives a piece a paper with the man's name and how much time she has for that relationship. However, when she receives a piece a paper with Jake's name, there is no timeframe on the paper. Does this mean she has found the one she will spend the rest of her life with?

I loved the premise of this book and the idea that you would know how long a relationship would last. I enjoyed learning about Daphne's previous relationships and how it led to her friendship with Hugo and her relationship with Jake. This book was full of emotions and found myself wanting more for Daphne. However, I was very happy with how this book ended and will be looking for more book from Rebecca Serle to read in the future.

Expiration Dates comes out on March 19th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the opportunity to review Expiration Dates. All thoughts and opinions are my own.