This is my fourth book by Rebecca Serle and she never disappoints, I love how she mixes women’s fiction with magical realism. I thought this one would be a light, fluffy romance but boy was I wrong…this book was so much more than that. It is such an intriguing concept, little notes tell our main character, Daphne, how long her relationships will last.

The author throws in a couple of surprise twists that I did not see coming and I thoroughly enjoyed being surprised that way. 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.

I liked the way Serle writes, it isn’t too flowery or wordy and her books are always so unique. The style is easy to read and so engrossing I managed this one in a couple of sittings. 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. The book is short and very emotive and was such a gut punch a couple of times. I was really happy when Daphne found herself and her one true love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne Bell receives notes every so often with the name of a guy she’ll soon meet and the length of time they’ll be together. Sometimes it’s one night, others for three weeks, or six months. Daphne feels the Universe is sending these notes and who am I to question her belief.

I loved this booked.
It was just a sweet happy romance. There was definitely some twist and turns along the way in this short read but I couldn't put it down. I was constantly wanting to find out where the next note was going to turn up and hear the story of the relationship that goes along with it.

This books publishes Mar 2024 and would be perfect for a quick spring/summer read.

Just okay for me. I usually breeze through her books but I struggled with this one.

Personally, I didn't love the ending and the route the plot took. It wasn't bad, just wasn't for me.

Rebecca Serle’s newest book does not disappoint. I started reading before bed, and next thing I know it’s 2 am and I’m invested. It is a heartwarming and clever story following Daphne’s life navigating work, dating and her friendships. I enjoyed all the characters and the magical realism Serle weaves into the story. Loved the twists and turns, this book was a fun read.

When I saw Rebecca Serle had a new book out, I was so incredibly excited to get my hands on it because The Dinner List and In Five Years, both by her, are two of the books that I recommend to absolutely everyone. Needless to say, I went into this with extremely high hopes. One continuous theme throughout the majority of Serle's books is magical realism, and she does it incredibly well. Her books are always enjoyable; the writing is good, chapters are short and they're always easy to fall right into. The premise of this book was amazing, however there were a lot of times throughout the story that it just felt unfinished. I would've loved to see these characters a bit more fleshed out- Hugo, for example, felt very surface level to me yet we're supposed to support this ending? Despite a few flaws, I enjoyed the plot and Daphne a lot, I just wanted a bit more. Again, this might be a result of my insanely high expectations (sorry, Rebecca, I hold you to a high standard) so would still recommend it if you're a fan of Serle's!

Thank you for this ARC! If you enjoy romance novels with some magical themes, then this is for you. It has likable characters and a happy ending. Unfortunately, there is little character development which made it fall a little flat for me. It is a great escape romance and I think many will like it!

Daphne gets a slip of paper with a name and number every time she meets a new man. The number gives the exact amount of time they will be together. Finally, she meets a blinid name Jake and there's no number on the paper. She wonders if he's the one?

A little of magic/fantasy element in this book. But either than the magical slip of paper, everything else is a realistic description of dating issues. A very unique plot with lots of emphasis on love, friendship and heartbreak. Keeps you wonder what will happen at the end. Really enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This book was so cute! I loved the friendship between Hugo and her. I liked the writing and I loved the story. Everyone deserves love and a happy ending.

hank you NetGalley for the advance preview of this book!

I LOVED it. So good. My favorite Rebecca Serle book. This one dove deep, made me feel all the things, and in the end I was smiling. That’s what I call a winner! For once I was not bothered by the chapters that went back in time, I looked forward to them!

just reviewed Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

If this book had been twice as long, I still would have wanted more! Such a fun, original concept, with a balance between beautiful life lessons and twists I never saw coming. I haven’t fallen in love with so many characters in one book in a very long time; I highly recommend this one to anyone in a reading slump, it’s impossible to put down!

3.5 ⭐

Read if you like light magical realism, romanticized fiction, and second chances.

Daphne has always known how long her relationships last. She always find a slip of paper with their name and the length of their relationship around the time it starts. Until one day there isn't a determined length of time on the paper. Just a name.

Hugo and Daphne dated for 3 months, but they've been best friends for 5 years. He is the only person she has ever told about the papers.

When Daphne finds a paper with the name Jake on it and no amount of time, she isn't sure what to think. She goes on a date with him and thinks he's seems nice. He's genuine and kind, he's a widow and has a depth and maturity to him that's refreshing. But is he her soulmate or does the blank paper mean something else?




Honestly, I had a hard time getting into the premise of this book. I think I'm just not a fan of this writers storylines and I didn't love love the last book I read from her either. But if you liked her other books, I think you will love this one just as much!

I wanted to know where these papers were coming from and I wasn't a fan of the twist thrown in about Daphne towards the end. 🤷

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5. Daphne is 33, and has always lived a quaint life in LA, except she has a secret she has kept tight since her first crush. Every time she meets a potential crush, she receives a slip of paper with their name, and how long the relationship will last. She’s had slips of days, weeks, years. When she finally receives a slip with a name only, and no timeline, has she met the one? This book was so adorable, thought provoking, heart breaking, hopeful. In typical Serle writing, if you’ve read In 5 Years, or One Italian Summer, you will whisked away to another place by her writing. You will be mesmerized of where the story takes you, and won’t be able to think about the parallels to your own life reading her characters stories.

Every time Daphne begins a new relationship, she finds a note with the mans name and a length of time, 6 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, 1 day. The notes are not consistent, fortune cookie, parking ticket, someone handing her a dropped paper. But what is common is that it seems to be accurate.

And then there is Jake …

I wonder where Rebecca Serle comes up with her novel ideas? So creative!

I’ve enjoyed other Rebecca Serle books, In Five Years, The Dinner List and One Italian Summer. I enjoyed Expiration Dates as well. I was hooked. I see this as being a book club book about 6 months after publication, people are going to want to talk about this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read the advance read copy of Expiration Dates in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Atria Books for approving my request for the advance read copy. Kudos to Rebecca Serle for another thought provoking novel.

272 pages in the advance ready copy, publication date is March 5, 2024.

This book is a very sweet read with a unique concept. Very predictable guy and girl are meant to be, but who doesn’t love that.

This was a good one! Loved Charlotte and her over-achieving personality and pure heart. I made me remember my high school expectations with an added twist.

Man, this chick’s books frustrate me. OK, so I’ve only read one other, and it pissed me off because what I thought would be a high-concept romance was instead a friend-dying-of-cancer story. But I could get a copy of this from NetGalley, so why not give it another shot.

And again, yeah, instead of a high-concept romance, it goes off on a tangent but then kind of comes back?? Either way, it’s still incredibly frustrating. And while I’m sure some people will love it, it mostly just pissed me off and made me wonder what the point was and I did NOT fall for this.

I love a book with a good gag: Chick gets random pieces of paper with a man’s name and period of time on it. Then she has a relationship with that dude for that long. Until one day a piece of paper only has a name on it….

IDK, it’s definitely nice and short, which was the compliment I had about her other book too. So at least she doesn’t drag this shit on. But I didn’t care about the characters here either, there wasn’t much development to them. For being so short, there’s a lot of random descriptions of things that fill up a third of the space. Ugh. It’s too frustrating and I want to stop thinking about it now.

I guess I don’t know what the point was — or if I do, then it wasn’t all that interesting. Was it supposed to be the question of “Are the notes a self-fulfilling prophecy?” If so, OK, I got it.

I Voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced copy of this book. All Thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book was amazing I could not put it down. Rebecca has done it again. I am still smiling at the thought of this book.

How can such a big story live in such a small space of pages and chapters? This book is your average size novel, yet it feels so much greater than that. It has beautiful elements of the supernatural (you’re always asked to bend the mind in some small way with a Serle novel) and the mundane, but never boring, story of dating and finding love. This novel has its share of surprises as well. I won’t even give an inkling of those as they’re too precious to read about before you meet them in the book. Beyond the lyrical story and beautiful prose, this book also feels like a bit of a love letter to Los Angeles. A part of me wants to go back and write down every nuance of every neighborhood and use it as a guidebook on my next visit. It almost feels like a good friend is taking you on a tour of “their” Los Angeles, and it’s an extra treat I wasn’t expecting. Lastly, being Jewish, I absolutely loved how some of the characters were Jewish. Not in a way that the story was about being Jewish. They just were. Thank you, Ms. Serle, for that. Five stars. Highly recommend.

I love love love the concept of this book and think the author is genius for coming up with the idea behind this book. But after reading the last page it was hard not to have the thought, "really? so what was the point?" I feel like the whole book had us investing in certain characters for no reason. And I continue to have unanswered questions behind the expiration dates the main character received. I liked this book and I would definitely recommend it to people who are looking for a romance with a unique plot. But I was let down and feel like the whole book and storyline led to nothing. To sum up my thoughts I'd have to say that it's a fantastic idea but a flat ending.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE I LOVE REBECCA SERLE!!!!!

I could go into a crazy deep dive of how much I love this book and why but we would get spoilers galore in my review. But let it be known, if Hugo has 1000 fans I'm one of them, if he has one it is me and if he has none I am dead.

READ THIS!!