3.5 ⭐️

I always go into Rebecca Serle’s books excited to read because of the plot, but they tend to fall a bit flat for me.

I didn’t love the main character (never really felt like she had much emotion) but the plot line was fun to follow and that kept me reading.

I was a bit annoyed with the name dropping of locations in and around LA, like the suburbs, coffee shops, and restaurants. There were just so many and for someone that isn’t familiar with LA, those were not at all interesting to me.

Overall was a fun, quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early reviewer copy.

Expiration Dates is a short novel but packs a solid punch! Before every relationship in Daphne's life, she's mysteriously received a piece of paper telling her the name of the next guy she'll be with, as well as long as the relationship will last. With this knowledge in her arsenal, she's learned to be very pragmatic about relationships, while still holding out hope to find her person. And when she receives a note with the next man's name and no expiration date, she thinks she's found him.

While I liked the concept of the story from the beginning, going into the book I was a little wary I'd find the magical realism of it a bit too far-fetched. Why is she the only one to receive these notes? But it actually didn't end up bothering me at all. I really liked how it immediately started with Daphne meeting Jake, the man without the expiration date, wasting no time getting into the story. Exposition and past relationships of hers were sprinkled in out of order, which was a little confusing at first, but once the "twist" about halfway into the book hits, it suddenly made a lot more sense why she did it like that.

And boy, the twist was good. It's hard not to compare this book to In Five Years, because I had gone into it expecting a romance and came out with a heartbreaking story about friendship. This too is more than just a romance; really, it's a character study on Daphne and how the two boxes she keeps under her bed define so much of who she is (iykyk). The only critiques I have on the book were that they really set up Jake to me this Perfect Man that it was hard to take him seriously as a person. That, and despite being happy with how the plot concluded, I wanted more from it.

Overall, this is definitely a quick read and a rec! Big thanks to NetGalley for sharing this with me.

I always love how Rebecca Serle is able to entwine beautiful stories and relationships with a little bit of fantasy. Expiration Dates is no exception. A story ultimately about not putting a time stamp on life and love, I couldn’t put it down!

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle, (publishing date March 5,2024).

From the beginning of the novel, the expiration dates are explained as the elapsed time of every one of Daphne’s relationships. These mysterious notes started when Daphne was in 5 th grade. The notes always had the guy’s name and the amount of time the relationship would last, except her last note with Jake’s name and no time frame. This begins the story. The novel is written so every other chapter is about Jake and the ensuing chapter is about one of Daphne’s interests. I hesitate to call them relationships as some last only 3 days to a week. And let’s not forget best friend,Hugo, that pervades the entire book. A best friend, a past lover, a keeper of secrets for Daphne. I will say the ending was sweet.

As a fan of Rebecca Seattle’s book, this was my least favorite to date. Never really grabbed my attention like her other books did. Long winded, if you can be “long winded” in written word? 3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Expiration Dates.

This was a one sitting book for me. The concept was so unique, and the growth that Daphne experiences was so fantastic that I just couldn’t put it down. Jake is also just sooo incredibly swoon worthy. My only qualm is that I wish it were longer! March 2024 needs to hurry up and get here so I can tell everyone I know to go read it 🫶🏼 Thank you to Atria and to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

•Plot: 5/5 (A woman goes through life knowing exactly when her romances end.)

•Characters: 5/5 (Daphne is the absolute BEST and Jake is swoon worthy.)

•Writing: 5/5 (I never highlight passages when I read on my Kindle…this book looks like an Easter egg with all the things I want to remember.)

•Ending: 3/5 (I know, I know and I can’t say too much without spoiling things.)

4.5 ✨ rounded down

How would you live life differently if you knew exactly how long your romances would last? For Daphne, the answer is…pretty much normally. A little closed off, but a sense of security in never being caught off guard. Until she gets a piece of paper with the name “Jake” written on it and no expiration date on it. I truly adored this book. It’s a quick read (I finished it in under two hours, mainly because I couldn’t put it down), the characters are relatable and warm, and the hope in finding your love story (whatever that might look like) really resonated with me. My only complaint was the ending: I know why the author went the way she did, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it (HA!). All my romance era girlies, this is a can’t miss. Special thanks to Rebecca Serle, NetGalley, and Atria Books for the ARC.

•Expiration Dates ✉️•

📚Genre: romance
🤔Rating: 🍺🍺🍺🍺.5(4.5/5)
#️⃣ of pages: 272
👯‍♀️ read if you like: magical realism, feel good stories & a happy ending
🗓️Publishing Date: March 5, 2024
@rebecca_serle

👍🏼:
•super short & easy to fly through
•I love non-linear timelines
•just the whole idea and premise of this story was so entertaining to read! And I LOVED the characters

👎🏼:
•I loved it. Not negative but I just wanted more at the end! I wasn’t ready for it to be over!

Overall…
Okay the premise of this book is like nothing I’ve read before! I am definitely in my *magical realism romance era*. I loved this. If you’re a fan of Rebecca Serle, you’ll love it too. This is now my favorite by her. At first, it seemed just like another romance with some magical realism thrown in and then about 50%, she drops a BOMB & the story becomes a lot heavier and more serious. It was so sweet and there was so much character depth with the main character. I feel like this would make an excellent movie!

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review!

This book was magical. I could not put it down and I just needed to absorb every second. I loved watching Daphne’s growth in and out of relationships, with her family, her friends and her job. She was honestly a really likable character and I loved her story so much. I laughed, I smiled, I cried. This book was just amazing. It’s the perfect romance book to cuddle up with and has a unique twist!
Serle’s writing was done in a way that there was emotion and detail, but it wasn’t too overdone with cliches or overused phrases. The characters were all done in ways that made them relevant, but no one character took away from another. I liked the split between timelines as well but would’ve liked to see a little bit more of Daphne’s relationships. Overall, I did really love how despite being a romance book, the plot was so much bigger than just two people falling in love. I loved the development of the plot, the navigation of growing up as a 20 something year old, and the importance of all relationships, not just romantic ones.

Thank you Atria & NetGalley for a free ARC.

What would you do if you know the expiration date of every relationship you had from the very beginning. Daphne has received a piece of paper with a name and a length of time on it for every man she has dated. But this time, there was just a name. She knows the man she is about to meet is her soul mate and they won’t have an end. But that doesn’t keep her from holding back a critical piece of information about herself from him.
I loved In Five Years and @rebecca_serle has captured that same magic in this book.
I love the concept of this story, how would you approach love differently if you knew how long it would last. Is it better to know or to not know. I also love Daphne, she has to live with things other people have no idea about. Her character growth is subtle and wonderful to witness.
This was a joy to read.
Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for letting me review this book. Look for it March 5 2024.
#booklover #expirationdates #readers #readersofinstagram #igreads #readersofig #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #bookrecommendations #bookworm #booklover #reading #lovestories #cozyreading #readmorebooks

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from NetGalley for Rebecca Serle's newest book that is coming out in March 2024, Expiration Dates. This was a really interesting read! I've read two of her books, and I can't wait to read more. She does a great job of following a narrative and enjoys bending time in certain ways while still giving readers a heart-tugging, emotional romance. This is a very emotional journey with our protagonist Daphne. She receives notes with names on them, with a time that they are going to be together for (Hugo, 3 months, for instance) and she follows them to a T. Suddenly, she gets one for a man with no expiration date, and she has a huge coming-to-terms with her past, present, and future life decisions. It is a lot of emotion packed in less than 300 pages.
Huge trigger warning for terminal illness and medical discussion.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Fast easy read and Rebecca Serle fans won't be disappointed. I'm not usually on board with magical realism but this book had a light touch. And I didn't see the twist coming!

This book doesn't come out until March 2024, but you're gonna want to go ahead and pre-order and add this one to your TBR list. Every time Daphne goes on a date, she receives a piece of paper telling her exactly how long the relationship will last. When she meets Jake, the piece of paper is blank--is Jake "the one?" But these slips of paper aren't her only secret and she's not sure what this all means for her future. I love a story with a unique plots and this new release by bestselling author by Rebecca Serle did not disappoint! And the twist was one I did not see coming (I bet you won't either.) I think you'll love this love story.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me with this advanced copy!

Rebecca Serle does it again in Expiration Dates. Daphne gets notes about each of her relationships, with the name and an amount of time. She has lived her life this way, always knowing when the relationship is going to end. When she gets a piece of paper with no amount of time on it, she thinks “this is it,” and falls hard.

Serle takes us on an up and down adventure with Daphne that I did not want to end. Her writing is captivating and the story full of twists and turns. The flashbacks to prior relationships give us Daphne new dimension and the other characters are woven in through the storyline flawlessly. The 272 pages was not nearly enough.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if at the start of every relationship you received a piece of paper with that person's name and the length of time the relationship would last, whether it be one night or several years? Would you want to know the expiration date before you've even explored the relationship? That's the situation that Daphne Bell finds herself in, starting with the first piece of paper she received as a teenager for her first relationship. Each time the paper has proven to be an accurate predictor of how long the relationship would last. But then one day she receives a piece of paper with only a name and nothing more. Is this The One or is there some other reason why this relationship wasn't given an expiration date?

This story jumps back and forth between the present and flash backs to Daphne's various relationships and what she's learned from each. This was a beautiful story for anyone who has ever worried if they'd find "the one", who has struggled with a period of singleness, or wished that they'd know the relationship had an end date before investing in it.

Thank you to Rebecca Serle, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank yo to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. The main character was very unlikeable to me but once I kept reading about her I started to understand the way she was or thought. All in all it was an enjoyable read and will recommend.

Expiration dates is about a woman that receives notes with the name of her next boyfriend and how long they will be together. She always knows when their time together will be up so she's never surprised. The premise of the story is very interesting. You wonder if she will still be invested and happy in her relationships even if she knows it will only last a few days or weeks. With this author there is always more to the story than there seems so I was waiting for a twist to happen from the beginning. I could see where the end was heading but was still shocked by a couple turns the story took. It's. a very quick read that is hard to put down. Readers that have enjoyed other books by this author will also love this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Did not like this book as much as I liked In Five Years by the same author. This book lacked character and intrigue.

So the first half of this was (mostly) fine. I requested an ARC because I really liked the premise, but found out very quickly I didn't actually care about any of Daphne's past relationships (other than Hugo because you know right off the bat that he's still in her life) because who really cares about her past relationships? I kept wondering if we were just trying to stretch this story out. We then do a dumpster dive about halfway through that had me actually roll my eyes and question if we were going to go this route, because...ugh. I was pretty much over it at that point. This could have been so much more, but this is what we got.

1.5 stars, rounded up because I liked Daphne's boss and parents and other side characters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Super quick, enjoyable read. A sweet love story with a couple of twists. I usually don’t like fantasy/magical realism but I just love the way Rebecca Serle weaves it into the story. I did figure out the end well in advance and I’m happy I was right! My biggest complaint is that now I have a super long wait for her next book.

Thank you for the ARC! I adored this book, just as I do every book by Rebecca Serle. Her twists never fail!!!