Unfortunately I just couldn’t get on board with this book, which is so disappointing as I was really looking forward to it after reading Rebecca’s previous titles!

I found it a little unnecessary to explain in so much detail what each character was wearing? Like even the side characters, I really didn’t need to know about their whole outfit? And also name dropping so many locations, like okay you’ve done your research but I don’t feel like it was necessary to have SO many “trendy” places mentioned?

I enjoyed Serle's previous novel, One Italian Summer, and have heard nothing but good things about her other work, In Five Years, so I was quite optimistic that I would enjoy Expiration Dates - and that was mostly true! I really liked the concept of this, as I felt it helped it to separate itself from other romances - this felt like a truly unique aspect and I really enjoyed how Serle interspersed previous relationships that Daphne had experienced, while also taking readers along the story of her present day and current relationship. However, I didn't love how her final relationship came about; the manipulation and secret-keeping that led to them being together left a bad taste while I was reading, and I found it hard to root for them even though it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, as I really enjoyed her relationship with Jake, and found it hard to believe it would end as abruptly as it did.

Expiration dates ARC Review

4/5 ⭐️

This was my first book by Rebecca Serle and one of my most anticipated reads of 2024.

I heard about this book through a booktok video of someone talking about 2024 book releases and loved the idea of the plot.

This book follows Daphne who receives a random note every time she meets someone she is going to get romantically involved in with details of how long their relationship will last. So she already knows the expiration date on their relationship before it starts. Just as she is about to meet Jake for their first date she receives her standard note but this time it has no details of the expiration date.

I really enjoyed this book but the ending felt like a bit of a letdown. I felt like the ending left the book feeling unfinished in some ways.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Jesus Christ, did I love this book. I could not put it down. I enjoyed One Italian Summer and the magical realism element of it but I wasn’t immensely gripped by it. This was in a whole other league. Ever since she was a child, mysterious postcards have appeared for Daphne which only state a man’s name and the length of romantic relationship she will have with him. She always knows how long each relationship will last at the beginning, until one day she receives a postcard that simply says a name with no length of time - does this mean this the one? It will last the rest of her life? She begins the relationship knowing this is it.

I just could not put this down and know I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. It will be an intense book hangover. It was perfection. And the twist was just ✨gasp✨ It’s a must read.

Imagine being able to know how long you'll be in a relationship with someone from the start? This is exactly how Daphne has been navigating her love life for years! A slip of paper with a name and duration and off she goes but what happens when the name you receive doesn't have a duration?

I really enjoyed this book. I instantly warmed to Daphne and enjoyed how she explored the unknown with Jake. I thought the concept was different to others that I've read so that kept me intrigued but I also loved that it didn't try to explain the papers she received, they were just there. I found the ending a little predictable but I was also rooting for it so I think I may have been disappointed if it had gone in a different direction.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the eARC. I'll look forward to more from this author.

A different type of love story, a quick, easy to read book. I enjoyed it and liked the characters too.

2.75⭐️

“When do we stop believing in the things we do? And why does it happen so slowly instead of all at once?”

First of all, this is not a story of THEIR relationship, this is a story of HER life. (which was unusual to me.)

I think there was a lot of unnecessary text in the beginning of the book. Yes details ARE important, but if you are planning on putting random details in a book, drag them out at least. If you dont have enough to say about it - remove it! Use those extra words to build a better connection between the characters. Speaking of the main characters, I was really not connecting with them. It feels like Rebecca Serle skips the parts where we would see them grow and instead describes different types of comedians and how well they’ve performed.

Before the main character told us about her medical condition, I had ZERO clue that she was sick. Yes, I understand, it was supposed to be a surprise to us too, but how come before the knowledge of her condition she was described as perfectly fine?

What I didn’t like about our main girl (that was also acknowledged at the end) was that she was following the papers and despite having strong feelings towards the guy, she ended it because of the paper. But i’m glad that we got to see it resolved!

The book had great ‘twists’, but they were not expended or explained enough. (e. c. how Hugo wrote the note. How did he do it, where did he put it and why did we forget about it later on?)

I don’t really have a lot of good things to say about Expiration Dates, all of the bad overrides the good.:(

A different type of love story, a quick, easy to read book. I enjoyed it and liked the characters too.

I was looking forward to reading this having enjoyed In Five Years, however, unfortunately this didn't quite meet expectations. This book offered an interesting premise where Daphne receives a note with a man's name and a time indicating how long her relationship will be, until she meets Jake where no time is given leaving Daphne to wonder if she's finally met the person she is meant to be with forever. The book explores her past dates as well as following her relationship with Jake. Unfortunately I found the focus on her past relationships detracted from the story, and found it hard to connect with the present day characters as a result. Having said that it was an entertaining, light read with an unexpected twist part way through the book, although a rather predictable ending. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.

What an amazing concept for a romance novel - what if every time you meet a love interest, you receive a slip of paper telling you how long your relationship will last?

I loved the sound of this plot going in to the book. It really makes you think about your own life - would I react differently if I knew my time with that person would be finite? What if happened with friendships as well as lovers?

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. I loved the back stories of the past relationships that Daphne had. I just couldn’t get on bored with the current day events. I found two of the three main characters really unlikeable. This meant I couldn’t root for them and get invested in the ending like I would hope to in a romance novel. I didn’t enjoy the open ending. I understand why it had to be that way, but it felt really unsatisfying.

Read this is you are a fan on romance reads and unusual, mystical plots. Just don’t expect a fun, upbeat read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't a fan of One Italian Summer but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel that I found cute and entertaining.
It’s well plotted, the pace is even and neither too fast or slow. The likeable and fleshed out character were a plus and I enjoyed the well plotted story
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

super interesting concept and highly readable, i'd recommend if you're just looking for a quick read. but other than that, not much to praise in my opinion. the writing is extremely simplistic and at the same time super densed up with unnecessary descriptions of everyone's outfits and what everyone orders in restaurants. the dialogues between the characters are so stiff and fail to make me believe there's any chemistry between any of the characters at all. it didn't help that none of the characters felt developed at all, even with our main character daphne i struggled to understand her motivations, and completely despised how she started acting like a 'victim' of the cards. girl.
the interesting magical realism plot just fizzled out in an anticlimactic -- and gaslighting -- scene, and was completely overshadowed by a the plotline that suddenly appeared halfway through, which felt cheap.
serle's previous book 'in five years' pleasantly surprised me, but after this one, i think her books just aren't for me.

thank you to quercus books and netgalley for this early digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Imagine having a piece of paper given to you telling you the name of the person you'll be in a relationship with and the length of time. This is what happens to Daphne. Until one day, she gets a name with no expiration date.

I had high hopes for this one and while it was a decent read, I can't help but feel a little conflicted about it as well. The book started out with a bang, then slowed down for me around 30% until the big twist was thrown in at 50%. I was then all in and couldn't stop reading until the end. But that ending, I just don't know how I feel about it.

Expiration Dates follows Daphne's journey as she navigates her love life guided by the relationship expiration dates. It’s a blend of romance, magical realism, and philosophical inquiry. I don’t think that this one will resonate with every reader but I found it to be an engaging read - not as great as In Five Years, but still a good read.

Daphne has been receiving postcards, letters and notes since she was a pre-teen giving her a name and a length of time - the name of her next boyfriend and how long it is going to last. Until one day, she receives a card with the name Jake, but no length of time. She takes this to mean that he is the one she will spend the rest of her life with so when she meets him for dinner, she goes into it thinking this will progress.

Throughout the story we hear about the other relationships she had and the reasons they broke up, leading her to her time now with Jake. It seems like the letters were all correct, they all last the time Daphne was given and not a moment sooner or later. When Daphne introduces Jake to her best friend Hugo, who she had previously dated for 3 months - just like the card told her she would, he told her after that he didn't mind Hugo's rudeness as he was clearly still in love with Daphne.

Daphne moves in with Jake and agrees to marry him when he proposes but it doesn't really seem like her heart is really in it, but it must be right because that's what the letter said. Then she finds out it was Hugo who left the note, he'd found the original one saying "Jake - 3 weeks" and he left one without the time frame, he wanted to show her that it was up to her how long she spent with someone, not the universe. He was in love with Daphne and always had been, but when she got sick 3 months into their relationship and she told him she as an incurable heart condition she never gave him a chance to be there, she ended it when she told him - fulfilling the prophecy.

I really enjoyed this book because it really made me think what would any of us do if we knew the outcome of any relationship? Is it destined to last that long or do we allow ourselves to end it because that's what the note said? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy really and had there not been a time limit on her relationship with Hugo, maybe they would have lasted, maybe not, but she could have had someone she was really truly in love with. Thankfully there is a happy ending and I think eventually Daphne realises that she needs to take her life in her own hands and not let these prophecies from the universe dictate her life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

DNF at 50%.

Daphne gets an anonymous note every time she starts dating a guy, letting her know how long the relationship will last: one day; four weeks; five months, and its always accurate, even if she has no initial interest in a guy. Until one day she gets a note with a name and no expiry date.

I loved the premise of this novel, unfortunately the story just didn't grab me. There seemed to be continuous descriptions of what she was wearing, what she ate, what her dates ate, what they were wearing. The story seemed disjointed flipping between dates and place randomly, one minute she's on a date, then she's working in Paris, then she's back in the US. Also, I quickly lost sight of which name had no expiry date and then I was floundering with all these dates trying to work out who he was.

I stopped reading at about 30%, then gave it another good try but at 50% in I don't really care about Daphne or who the mysterious date with no expiry date is, or what secret could torpedo their romance, sorry.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I think this did a lot of things really well!

The narrative was really compelling and played a lot on what we choose to believe and how much of ‘fate’ dictates our lives vs. how much we allow it to become our story.

The deeper themes of safety were done really well too. I think there’s a lot to be said about human nature and how we reject the things that make us feel good for something that is safe.

You really see this play out with the two main love interests. They were the epitome of safety vs. fun. Protection vs. love.

I had two main issues with this story and it’s what makes it so hard to rate.

I think the twist dropped in the middle needed just a little more omph. More foreshadowing and a better lead in. I had difficulty suspending my disbelief. From there, I also had difficulty understanding the notes of time. I think had there been more of a spiritual understanding for the FMC as to why she’d received these dated letters, I might have believed in the magical realism a little more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this quick and thoughtful read and would recommend it to anyone who loves magical realism and romance.

I could not put this book down at all, it was such an original and fun concept to me, could you imagine having full knowledge of your 'expiration date' with each person you meet? I don't think i'd like that. I enjoyed the writing style and where the story was going but at the end it felt a little flat to me? I still had some questions or just wanted a little but more i suppose. Still very enjoyable and happy to have read it.

This book is a mix between women's fiction and magical realism. It’s an interesting concept considering this is my first book from this author.

Daphne gets little notes that tell her how long her relationship will last. There were some sweet moments, some emotional ones as well, but the story felt so slow for me… I did enjoy the cute ending and definitely liked who she picked at the end but we have no clue how it happened. Also the whole plot is about Daphne, her relationship and the letters and during majority of the book I was expecting to get a answer on who sends those them and why but that never happens which makes the story feel unfinished.

Overall, I enjoyed the cute love story but I expected a little more. 3.5* stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a digital ARC copy.

#ExpirationDates #NetGalley

I went into this with so much anticipation, I absolutely love the concept behind it and was really looking forward to it. I love a bit of magic realism 🙏
However the execution really let me down- I don't know if it was Serles writing style or because my netgalley copy appeared to have a few glitches and sometimes I couldn't even finish the chapter because of issues with the proof. For this reason I found myself struggling to read on and not inspired to pick it up 😭