The premise of EXPIRATION DATES was very interested— a woman has been getting notes throughout her life with a name and an amount of time, which indicate the length of the relationship she will have with the man named. Then she receives on with no time frame and navigates thinking this will be her forever person. I struggled with this book because it was just too surface level. We don’t get to know who the MC is very well and so many partnerships are introduced. I also wasn’t a big fan of her former lover/friend and his actions especially toward the end of the book. The overall concept was cool, but I was not invested and it fell pretty flat for me.

Short synopsis: Anytime Daphne meets a man, she receives a slip of paper from the Universe telling her just how long their relationship will last. When she meets Jake, there’s no number listed.

My thoughts: I was immediately completely enthralled with this book. I couldn’t put it down!

The time flashes from Daphne’s past relationships, to her friendship with Hugo, and budding relationship with Jake had me completely captivated. I definitely had a male character I was rooting for the entire time!

The narration by Julia Whalen was amazing, I will almost always pick up audio of anything she narrates. She told the story flawlessly and really helped me as the reader feel the tender feelings Rebecca wrote into the story.

Read if you love:
- Romance mixes with a little magical realism
- Time flashes
- Jewish rep
- Self discovery

3.5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this was not a bad book, but it simply wasn’t amazing either. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the novel. Since the fifth grade, our main character, Daphne, has been receiving surprise pieces of paper. Nothing is written on them aside from a name and a length of time, as the papers are providing expectations for her romantic relationships before they even occur. When a sheet a paper arrives with a name only and no duration, does this mean she will finally be meeting her soulmate? The blank must mean forever, right? In my opinion, the book was too short for me to develop any connections with its characters. While at times it was not overly special, I think I would still encourage people to read it (unless you hate love triangles… then don’t 🤣). I don’t feel like I wasted my time; I just think I wanted more substance. A so-so book with a nice message to always follow your heart.

I love the way that romance isn’t the most important part of her plots but they still manage to give me all the feels and have me cheering the couple on. I was really happy when Daphne found herself and her one true love. The best part, for me, was when Daphne stopped letting the pieces of paper dictate her life and she took control of her choices herself and remembers you only have one life so live it to your best ability to be happy no matter how long or short it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy

Every since she was young, Daphne Bell has received a piece of paper when she meets a new man that has his name and the amount of time they'll be together. For 20 year's she's been taking the numbers in stride and experiencing the relationships as they come while secretly wondering if she'll ever find a relationship that will last. When she goes on her most recent blind date, the paper just says "Jake".

The paper has told her that Jake is her one and only, but as she gets to know him better and their relationship progresses, she starts to wonder if the paper got it right and if they're really meant to be. Will she ever really be able to trust her fragile heart?

This is the first time I've read a novel by Rebecca Searle as all the others I've listened to on audio and it was still a wonderful experience! This story didn't go quite in the direction I anticipated, but that was a good thing as the story line I expected would have likely had me sobbing. My only regret is reading it so fast that I now have that much longer before I get to read her next book!

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a ebook copy to read and review!

I loved this book. I can't say much without giving the story away, but in true Rebecca Serle fashion, She grabs our hearts and holds on to the very end. This is a book about living. Choosing. Love. What will we let dictate our lives? How much weight will we give the universe in mapping our story?

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I love romance mixed with magical realism! 💞And Rebecca Stele’s romances have been some of my favorites!

🗓️ OUT MARCH 19

Expiration Dates has so much depth and emotion while also being sweet and hopeful for love. Also love the twists / reveal!

Thanks to @netgalley for my advanced copy!
.
.
.
#bookstagram #booklover #kindlebooks #expirationdates #rebeccaserle #netgalley

Daphne's story is so unique and I loved it. We learn that she knows how long she will date each person, there is her current timeline and also flashbacks to her past dating experiences. I suggest going into this book blindly as it's a beautiful and wonderful book. I am thankful that I am married and out of the dating scene, but I enjoyed reading about Daphne's experiences and the different people she meets along the way but also her support group (parents, friends, coworkers etc.)

Solid 3 star read – It wasn’t my favorite book of Serle’s but worth a read as it is quick and entertaining. Daphne receives a note with names and time frames on them, which indicates how long the relationship with that person will last. The story follows Daphne’s current relationship as well as revisits past relationships. The character development was lacking – the only character that I felt anything for was Jake. I figured out where it was going in the last half, but I did like how the book ended. Overall, worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the advance readers copy!

Rebecca Serle has done it again. Daphne, our protagonist, receives a slip of paper whenever she meets a new man she’ll have a romantic connection with. The paper tells her how long they will be romantically involved. That is, until she meets Jake, whose slip of paper has only his name.

I absolutely love the way Serle incorporates the littlest bit of the fantastical into an everyday narrative. It makes for such captivating stories. I loved that there was no justification for the expiration dates in Daphne’s life, they simply were. Her relationship with Jake seemed so effortless and heartwarming and I believed in their chemistry. I also appreciated the way the story explored her past and her previous relationships, illustrating how the expiration dates came to be correct.

This is a short book and a very quick read, but it made my jaw literally drop multiple times. They were twists I would never have guessed were coming and moved the story along in such interesting ways. I will say I was not 1000% happy with the ending, but I loved the rest of the book so much that it still gets 5 stars from me.

3.5 stars on this one! The story was good but the characters didn't do it for me. I wasn't invested in Daphne until about 60% of the way through, when the typical Serle-emotional-twist reveal occurs, and even then I still wasn't particularly tied to her. Neither of the romantic love interests were developed in a way I was particularly rooting for either of them, though I did have a fondness for Jake because he just seemed like a good person.

With that being said, the story itself was intriguing and did keep me hooked. I wasn't sure where it was going to end up, and I was glad to see the way it developed. My one wish was that the ending had been a little more open ended, especially as I felt as though the story was leading up to that.

The magical realism is never explained, but if you're okay with that then you'll probably find this one enjoyable!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really only invested in the love triangle. I did not think the flashback relationships were necessary and just cluttered the story.

First thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Daphne has a secret. Whenever she starts a relationship with someone, she gets a piece of paper with the timeframe it will last. However the paper for her current relationship does not have a timeframe on it, just a name.

What I liked: I love the magical realism in Rebecca Serles books and this book does not disappoint. This book was such a sweet story. Daphne has a sweet side to her and love how her story is told through the relationships she had. She has a close relationship with her family. She meets Jake and finds that it doesn’t have a time period. This causes her to wonder if that means forever. Jake is a great guy but she also has her ex boyfriend turned friend Hugo. Hugo reminds me of the player with a soft side. No spoilers but really enjoyed the story and the layers that it had. It also made me think which is also an added bonus.

I will recommend this book to others as a live story with some added depth.

4.5 stars

An unexpected delight, this book did not go the way I thought it was going to and that makes me love it even more. Total surprise!

Daphne has been receiving notes since she was a teen. A name and a date. The notes correlate to her relationships, which always have an expiration date. When she receives a note with a name only, she wonders if this is finally the man she's meant to spend the rest of her life with. Told from both present day and the past, the author asks the question does having an expiration date affect the outcome or were all these meant to come to an end?

Daphne was a different heroine than I'm used to. She was very straightforward, not one to play games or beat around the bush and her honesty and candor were refreshing. I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters and felt like they added to the story and made it more. I was totally blown away by Daphne's secret(s) and when I realized where the story was going I felt stupid for missing it but felt like the author did a good job of disguising what was to come.

Really enjoyed it and will definitely read this author again!

I always enjoy the journey Rebecca Serle takes me on and the elements of magical realism in her books. However, this one left me wanting a little more than what I got...why no explanation for the notes? I also felt the twist (is that what you would call it?) kind of came out of nowhere and made me feel like I was reading a different book. When all was said and done I did still enjoy the ride - this one probably won't go down as my favorite of hers but I will certainly read whatever comes next!

I was grateful to read an ARC of Serle's latest book. I recommend it and, despite some tears, enjoyed the character development and was rooting for them!

Love some magical realism! Daphne is blessed/cursed to receive a note at the beginning of each relationship indicating how long it will last. The premise of the book drew me in. The story and split timelines were fine, both stellar but interesting enough. My biggest complaint was in the characters. I didn’t love Daphne and couldn’t see the appeal in either Jake or Hugo. This is not a bad book by any stretch but I didn’t feel particularly invested in the story. I loved the chronic illness rep but it felt “thrown in” to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!

1.5 stars.

When I first read the blurb, the idea of the magical papers was what drew me in. However, I don't think this idea is carried out well at all. This book frustrated me to no end.

I was hoping there would eventually be some kind of explanation to why she was getting the notes, especially since random people sometimes handed them to her. However, we get no explanation to the magical realism that comes with the papers and we also don't get much information on how Daphne feels about it. Does she want to be in relationships? Does she try to outlast the time written on the papers? There's a lot about this book that did not make sense and it didn't help that the characters were so flat, so boring.

It was quite confusing between chapters at times because the character jumps between her present relationship with Jake (who deserved better) and her past relationship with Hugo and it was very jarring at times. Also, considering how the characters are all flat and have no uniqueness to them, it was hard to differentiate and it was frustrating with the chapters bouncing around like that. This book felt like it was just about her dating history but there is no character development or depth to it. Even after finishing the book, I still don't know much about any of the characters. With all the relationships that we go through, they honestly seemed quite random.

Daphne was an incredibly frustrating character. She was kind of self destructive about her relationships and she solely relied on the papers, despite what she claimed, and I still wonder why. It would have helped to know more about her relationships and why they didn't work out, or even what they were like, but the author just summarizes everything for both the past and present relationships. Her actions towards the end was entirely predictable and though there was one tiny twist with Hugo, I knew what direction this book was going. I still don't know what the point of the notes was and who/what was sending them to her and the whole aspect of this was poorly done.

3.5 stars, rounding down

I really enjoyed two Serle's other books, In Five Years and One Italian Summer. This book, Expiration Dates, is true to Serle's style and I believe that most people who also enjoyed her other books will enjoy this one, however this was not my favorite (In Five Years holds that title).

This was surprising, adoring and heartwarming. The concept of the main character getting to know just how long any of her relationships will last is really interesting. I especially liked the plot twist at the end and was not expecting that.

While I liked the concept, I thought the characters felt a little flat. I feel like I didn't get a lot of chances to really know and like the men she dated, even Jake and Hugo. Not enough to really ship any one guy over another. And I usually like books in alternate timelines but the back and forth through me a bit.

In the end, I still enjoyed this and it was overall a quick and enjoyable read, but I didn't feel as moved as I usually do at the end of a Serle novel.

This was a good quick read. It was very well written and I really enjoyed it! The only thing was I guessed the plot and that made me so sad! But overall it was a great book that I would recommend!