It’s a sweet story about finding true love. It had some surprises to it that I didn’t see coming that helps give the story a little more depth than your average romance. It has a touch of magical realism with the notes that Daphne gets that tells her, who will be her next relationship will be and how long they will be together but it doesn’t really explore too much into that. The story is very steeped in LA and that’s fun. For me it was a little predictable, a little saccharine but I think if you like the romance genre your would enjoy this book. It’s enjoyable.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This was an interesting concept. Is it better to know that a relationship has an end date or let it play out organically? Daphne gets random notes when she meets men that she's going to date that tell her how long the relationship will last. Daphne also has a heart condition that she also lets dictate her decisions. The story takes place in the present day, but flashes back to previous relationships with their expiration dates. Currently, she has her best friend and ex bf Hugo and a date her friend set her up with, Jake. For the first time, she receives a note with just a name and no expiration date. Convinced that this person is the one, the relationship forces itself forward. Jake is a great guy and I truly felt for him. He was already a widower and an overall sweet guy. Daphne didn't disclose her heart condition to him until they were already moving in together. That wasn't fair to him, although he was understanding and didn't flinch. They didn't seem to have chemistry, but Jake loved her enough to keep the relationship going as long as it did. They got engaged and Hugo confesses to writing Jake's note. The original note said 3 weeks and wanted to prove to Daphne that she was letting this dictate her life. He was still in love with her and their 3 months wasn't enough. She didn't tell him about the heart condition either and she broke up with him when she told him and he hesitated to know how to react, which honestly is fair since she didn't tell him and then lied when she had surgery. I was a little surprised with the ending because I thought it was headed in a different direction, but I still enjoyed this read. This wasn't my first book by the author and it won't be the last.
I was provided an advanced copy of this book and I'm providing my honest review.

I love the magical realism that Serle works into her books - imagine getting a slip of paper with an end date every time you met a new love interest? This feels both liberating and paralyzing to Daphne, who is also grappling with a pretty heavy secret beyond the mysterious slips of paper. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, although I wish it were a bit longer and dug deeper into some of her relationships and developed other characters further.

Daphne Bell is a single woman who is looking for that special someone. Sounds pretty normal right?.... Not so fast!

Each time Daphne meets a new man she receives a slip of paper with his name as well as the exact number of days that they will spend together. Whether it's Noah in San Francisco, Martin in Paris, or Hugo who eventually became her best friend- Daphne always knows exactly who and how long to expect. Until her blind date in LA with Jake, the only man without an expiration date...

This was a really fun read! I loved the unique concept of the story and it kept me totally invested on Daphne and Jake's relationship and how it would play out. The unexpected twists kept me turning those pages and of course I'm ALWAYS a sucker for a little magical realism!

*Thank you so much Atria Books, NetGalley, and Rebecca Serle for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

GoodReads Review Posted: 1/27/24-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6211471288
IG Review to be posted: 1/31/24-https://www.instagram.com/the_books_we_love_/

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review!

I really really liked this book! The storyline was so original and grabbed my interest right away. It’s a little bit of a slower read and a slowwwww burn and I would of liked a little more to the ending but all and all I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend!

This is such a cute romance with a unique premise. It ended up being more emotional than I anticipated. It was a little bit predictable toward the end, but it was so sweet I didn’t mind. If you’ve enjoyed Rebecca Serle’s other books, I think you’d enjoy this one as well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is only my second book by this author, but I love everything about her writing. The story flows so easily that I just wanted it to go on forever. The touch of the magical without stepping over into PNR makes it a completely delightful read. Daphne had moments where I didn't completely love her... and then that shoe dropped, and I was all in for the journey. While it may seem that everything is predetermined, sometimes you need to follow your heart to something truly magical.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle is a love letter to women on their journey to fall in love. It read like a comforting hug that I devoured in less than a day.

Rebecca Serle’s writing is filled with magic and warmth that I can’t find from other authors. Her story’s all have deep messages about life while still managing to be quick reads.

There are no notes for Expiration Dates. I thought it was absolutely perfect with the Acknowledgements being the perfect epilogue. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, I cheered and feared for Daphne. And the twist!!!

Pick this one up in March. This will absolutely be one of my top books of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Artia Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Expiration Dates does not have an earth-shatteringly unique premise. It doesn't have twists that will make you gasp. But somehow Rebecca Serle never fails to capture my interest and keep me coming back for more.

Maybe it's her familiar main characters - I feel like I know them, or that I can relate. Daphne is an intelligent, kind, and hardworking person who I care about right away. Her life seems similar to mine and she does things I would do (most of the time).

Maybe it's the familiar plot lines, with a unique. magical twist. Daphne is single and not worried about it. She doesn't feel a lot of drama about her dating life, but it turns out, that's because she gets notes with each guy's name and the length of time he'll be in her life. This allows her to understand in advance how much to invest, and she's rarely surprised when the relationship ends.

Maybe it's Daphne's awesome best friend, who just happens to be a guy. I've always had guy best friends, so this aspect of the story resonated. Hugo is brash, successful, busy, and kind of a player, but you can see his affection for Daphne right away.

I won't give any of the twists away but, you'll see them coming if you pay attention. I enjoy Serle's handling of situations of family crisis - hard times like these come to everyone eventually, but they are treated with so much heart and love that I can't help but enjoy reading about them. If you liked In Five Years or One Italian Summer, I recommend you pick up Expiration Dates!

***Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved Rebecca Serle’s book “In Five Years” and was so excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC! Thanks @netgalley and @atriabooks!!
I loved Rebecca’s writing and how she gave us glimpses of Daphne’s past and present life. Daphne’s story was at times sad and I felt badly for her that she carried such a large weight constantly by not telling anyone of her heart condition. I’m glad she was able to open up to her friends at the end of the book and become more comfortable being herself. I loved her friendship with Hugo and I hope that one day we get to read more of their story!!

As a fan of Rebecca Serle, I've come to expect certain things from her books: a little magic and a lot of heartbreak. Check and check: Expiration Dates fits the mold. Quite like In Five Years and One Italian Summer, the book starts off with a character I just can't gel with; there is something a tad unlikeable about Daphne. But, like the other books, as this moved along, I found myself liking her more and understanding her. A couple of twists were thrown in and toward the end of the book, I actually took a pause to think about what was really happening and what I would do. I think that's the trademark of a good book. Even though I enjoyed it and thought the premise was wildly creative, it did lack a little something that I just can't quite put my finger on. In the end, I think Irina turned out to be my favorite character.

I was immediately excited about this book because of its fun unique premise but unfortunately I hated it pretty much immediately. The author has written a very pretentious inside LA type of book. I have no idea if the many restaurants are real but there is a boring litany of descriptions of places that is absolutely unnecessary. It’s especially ironic when she’s actually attempting to write a book with depth. Be warned this is absolutely not a fun romantic book with magic. This is very much a book about a single woman coming to terms with herself. About the only moving part was her relationship with her father. I absolutely loathe when the descriptions do not match up and that is absolutely the case with this book and what the blurb and cover have you thinking this book is.

I read In Five Years and went into it excited about reading a fun book with a unique premise but even though it was not at all what I expected the writing won me over in spite of its flaws. Unfortunately that is not at all the case here. This book feels like a huge step back from the way the other much older novel was written.

Overall, I enjoyed this read- however, the beginning was a little slower than I would have liked but I’m glad I stuck to it.

My favorite Rebecca Serle book! Loved the concept for this plot & enjoyed the different chapters of past relationships. Daphne is a great character that I’d absolutely want to be friends with. Wish the ending had a little more to it, but overall really enjoyed it.

I've read a couple of her books before, and I must say this one is the one I disliked out of them all. I found the story dragging and the previous ex boyfriends overall did not make a difference with her story other then when she developed the heart condition symptoms. I liked it was a quick and easy read, just wasn't for me.

Overall, this one landed on a solid 3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed it and read it fully in one day, but it wasn’t a favorite. In Expiration Dates, we see Rebecca Serle’s writing and how it is absolutely immersive and really places you into the story/story setting, which was my favorite part of her previous work, One Italian Summer. Unfortunately, Expiration Dates left me wanting more than we got, especially towards the end of the book. I understand the message that Serle was trying to portray, but for me the execution just wasn’t there. I did enjoy getting to know Daphne, however I felt like we only got the tip of the iceberg with her and that there was room for a deeper dive into her growth, journey, etc.

On a side note, I’m disappointed that we never figured out who or what or how Daphne was receiving the expiration date notes all these years. Did I miss this in the story? I just feel a little confused and I’m left a little sad, to be completely honest. I did enjoy the story and the premise is super unique and intriguing, but overall this just didn’t play out the way that I thought it would’ve/wanted it to!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have read a couple of this authors books now. Hey writing really gives a lighthearted feel, but smacks you with such emotion! I really enjoy her writing. This one can be added to the list of greatness.

Rebecca Serle's latest novel, Expiration Dates, has the heart, romance, small bit of magic, and of course emotional devastation we've come to expect from Serle. The universe seems to have a plan for Daphne Bell, every time she gets a new boyfriend, she receives a piece of paper with the name of the man and the length of the relationship. Three days, five weeks, six months- she is able to go into relationship with a finite amount of time predestined. Until she receives a paper with just the name Jake- no time line. Does this mean Jake is the one? Daphne leans on her friend Kendra, boss Irina, and ex-boyfriend Hugo as she enters this new relationship and discovers if this could last forever. Set in Los Angeles, which becomes a character in itself, Expiration Dates will leave you crying and smiling.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A nice little romantic ditty about fate vs freewill. As always, add one magical twist. A solidly enjoyable read.