I received a copy of Five Years @netgalley and almost didn’t read it. Anyways, I have mixed feelings about this one! I hated the ending, but I enjoyed most of the book. (And no, the epilogue didn’t really help. I’m a big fan of a happily-ever-after epilogue, and this left a lot to be desired. Right now? If it doesn’t end with unicorns and rainbows, I can’t stand it.) The premise of the book is that the main character has a dream/premonition of something that will happen in five years’ time. She spends the next five years floating along - the book picks up about 6 months before the premonition is set to happen. Dannie can’t seem decided if she wants to make it come true or she wants to run from it. I think her indecisiveness was my main problem! Don’t get me wrong I liked a lot of things about her - mainly her loyalty to her best friend Bella. I guess I just need a sequel! 🤷‍♀️

I wasn’t ready for this one. I needed a netgalley read one night when I was up with Brynn and randomly picked it. I went in without reading the synopsis, not knowing what to expect. I do remember seeing it all over the gram when it first came out. By the time I put Brynn down I had read 30%. Serle just has this easy way about her writing. I definitely wasn’t prepared to feel all the feels. Go in without knowing too much, however, DM me if you’d like content warnings. Not one I’ll forget any time soon- LOVED IT.

A woman wakes up to find herself in a strange apartment with a man she does not know and it is 5 years later than she remembers.

Dannie is a successful lawyer in New York City engaged to the man she loves and with her best friend living nearby. On the night of her engagement she falls asleep and wakes to find it is 5 years later and she is in a strange apartment with a man she does not know but feels a connection to.

Was it a dream, a premonition? Dannie is not sure until her best friend Bella introduces her to her new boyfriend, who turns out to be the man in Dannie's dream. Dannie tries to make sense of it all but is unable to figure out what it means. The heart of the book is the lifelong friendship between Dannie and Bella. Ultimately this is a book about friendship, love., loss and grieving. It was not what I expected and yet it left me somewhat breathless by its matter of fact look at what it is to love and lose.

I really loved the premise of this book. Dannie, a successful young lawyer, falls asleep after being proposed to by her loving boyfriend only to have a really weird dream or vision of 5 years into the future in which she's living a very different life. She can't shake how real it was, especially her very different boyfriend in the dream. She tries to forget about it and moves on with her life, until years later when she runs into the man from her vision. Cool premise. Unfortunately the story felt flat to me. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or just that I never really connected with Dannie but I just didn't find myself rooting for her or really caring. Overall, I felt like I had read this story before. On the positive side, I flew through it in an afternoon so it's very readable

This book was I interesting. For me, it leaned more towards a literary fiction than romance. I can see myself recommending this to library patrons.

What a fabulous book. I didn’t know anything about this one when I started and assumed it was a love story, but the friendship story was so much better! I enjoyed the characters, the self discovery, the relationships and the ending that had me in tears.

4.5 Stars
In Five Years threw me for a loop, it was nothing like I expected after reading the blurb. It was so much more and full of twists and turns I did not see coming. I loved every minute of this story. Just when I would think I knew what was going to happen I was proven wrong. This story grabbed me from page one and I couldn’t stop until I finished it. Make sure you have a box tissues handy, you will need them. I highly recommend this story.

I heard many good things about this book prior to reading it and sometimes when that happens one is "let down" when it isn't as good as everyone says it is. Well, I wasn't let down. I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, the story moved very quickly even though it spanned 5 years, I loved the characters and the storyline. The blurb made it sound like it was a time travel book but it really wasn't. Even though it was a sad in places the friendship, love and life that it bought to the table was well worth it.

I will definitely read more books by this author and can't wait until her next book.

This was a story that grabbed me and didn't let go. Imagine being able to see your life five years in the future in a brief, one-hour glimpse? Would it comfort you? Would it worry you? Would it make you change your life or make you solidify your current habits even more? This book shows that even with planning, life may not work out what you've planned, so it's best to just enjoy every minute of it while you can. Definitely in my Top 20 books of 2020 thus far.

I absolutely love books that deal with different timelines. I'm almost sad I liked this book so much, because I read it so quickly that it was over too soon. I expected it to be more "chick lit" but was surprised at how moving it is. I will purchase this for my library and give it a staff pick recommendation!

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC and chance to review it.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
I’m sure you have been asked in an interview, “where do you see yourself in five years?” I dread and loath that question. It doesn’t matter how much time I’ve had to prepare for it. I never have a truthful answer. It’s so hard for me to think that far ahead in a realistic way. Life doesn’t need the pressure of my expectations. I prefer to focus on being where I want to be right now.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle tells the story of Dannie. Contrary to me, Dannie knows exactly what her next five years will look like, and there is no room for deviation.

Dannie’s plan
The story starts on one of the most pivotal days of Dannie’s life. She has an interview at the law firm she’s wanted to work at before she was even a lawyer, and it’s also the day she will get engaged. Dannie has worked hard for all of it, and her life plan is on track and on time.

But when Dannie goes to bed that night, she wakes up five years in the future sharing an apartment she doesn’t recognize with a man she’s never met before. THIS IS NOT THE PLAN! She then wakes back up back to her old life, but she can’t shake the uneasiness. It felt so real. Was it just a dream?

Four and a half years pass, and Dannie has kept that dream to herself, but she hasn’t forgotten. Imagine her shock when she meets the man in her dream! Will her dream (or nightmare) become a reality? She has the life she wants. Does this mean it might all blow up? Can she prevent it from happening?

In Five Years is chick lit at it’s best
I read In Five Years in one sitting. Rebecca Serle’s storytelling is engaging and fresh. Her characters are well rounded and lovable. Dannie, driven and ambitious but also caring and devoted. David, her fiancee, generous, warm and supportive. Bella, her total opposite, boy crazy, bohemian soul sister. And, Aaron the kindhearted and thoughtful gentleman of her dream. I loved my time with all of them!

I do need to warn you this is not a conventional girl in the city romance novel. This is a story about love but not the one you expect. It’s what makes this story special. Give yourself the gift of reading it. I promise you it is truly unforgettable.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle will be released on March 10, 2020.

Dannie is living her life according to her plan: dream job, dream apartment and dream fiancee. She is a firm believer in a five year plan... until the day her life takes a turn when she dreams a vivid dream in which she has a new apartment, new fiancee and new ring five years in the future. The book follows what happens in between, with Dannie and her fiancee as well as her best friend. Bella Makes you think about living a life more spontaneously or more planned out. Which is the better way? The book tells the story of fate, friendship and love in a beautiful way. Would recommend to fans of romance and women's fiction.

Have you ever met one of those people that prides themselves on being So New York and proving you are Not New York? Don't you love it when someone tells you all the cool places they go and expensive things they own? Things like:

Serendipity
Sarge's
Katz's
Apple
Movado
Banana Republic
Reformation
Rainbow Room
Bar SixtyFive
Spice

Those are the brands and restaurants and mentioned in the first two chapters alone, sandwiched between how perfect the soulless narrator is at her job, life in general, interviewing for jobs, and getting engaged. You also get to know what she eats and drinks at all times. She's the cliche overachieving Jewish workaholic lawyer, and her bff is the cliche free spirit blonde artist, and at 28, they apparently have endless funds for traveling, dining out, and gifting each other artwork and Tod's purses.

Maybe if this had come out five years ago, the materialistic lifestyle wouldn't feel so shallow as it does now, when stores, restaurants, and gyms are closed are we're all hoping that our mailman won't give us the plague.

Bumped up a star because I liked the framing of this story, of the dream and how it eventually becomes true in a surprising way.

I loved this right from the first page and it did not disappoint all the way through. I loved Dani's friendship with Bella, I loved the bits about her job, I loved the NYC setting. Basically it starts off with one chapter of her having a premonition of something that is going to happen in five years, and then the rest of the book is leading up to that date. I had a feeling about what might happen, and it was one of those times when I wanted to be wrong because I was sad. I'm so excited to see what Serle writes next!

The Life & Times of a Book Addict Blog

REVIEW:

I feel like this review needs to be a little bit more vague than normal because I really don’t want to say anything that spoils the storyline too much. I will say that as you can see from the premise, the story revolves around Dannie, whose life is super organized and planned out to the max. So much so that she even has a five-year plan for her life. She is determined and very practical. And never doubts for a second that her plans will not work out/come together. Dannie’s character was interesting. I didn’t really connect with her though and I thought she was just okay.

Bella I really liked. She is Dannie's best friend and is free spirited, strong willed, and a super kindhearted woman. I loved seeing the ins and outs of their friendship. They are complete opposites, but it was easy to see why they are friends.

In Five Years is definitely not your typical love story. I went in thinking I was going to get a certain story, but I ended up with something very different than what I was expecting. When I finished reading this book, I really did not know what to think about it. Did I Ultimately like it? Yes, I liked parts of it. There were a few things that I didn’t care for, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless about love and friendship. The writing was well done and effortless. The storyline never lulled; it had a nice flow to it. I would recommend it to people who enjoy non-typical love stories.



RATING: 3-3½ OUT OF 5.

Wonderful book and loved every single page. Really wish there was a sequel! I couldn't put it down. Best book I read so far in 2020 and kept me up for 3 nights!

This book was a sweeping story that didn't go in the direction I thought it would. The characters were very relatable and the story was incredibly readable. It left me heartbroken when it was over!

**Thank you to Atria Books for the free advance reader's copy!**

“Because this is what it feels like - to take a risk, to step out of line, to make decisions not based on fact but on feeling. And it hurts. It feels like a tornado raging inside my soul. I feel like I may not survive it.” ⁣
⁣
I haven’t gotten around to reading THE DINNER LIST by Rebecca Serle, even though it’s been on my TBR list for over a year and I’ve heard so many great things about it, but I’m SO, SO glad I picked up IN FIVE YEARS! This is definitely a favorite of mine, so far, this year. What a great story with such relatable themes, especially for those of us who think we can plan our way to control and serenity. (Who, me?!)

I think I would have appreciated this book more if I was under the age of 40, when I thought life was about the glamor of a prestigious job and would have loved the wealthy New York setting. The concept of having a dream about marrying someone you haven't met, when engaged to someone else was fun. I appreciated that there was a real commitment of friendship between the two women, giving the story more depth.

This was a complete delight and I have been recommending it to EVERYONE! The story structure was unique and the sharp writing style made it practically unputdownable. The dynamic between Dannie and Bella was what was most compelling to me. Getting a virtual visit to NYC was an added bonus -- the descriptions of the city and restaurants were wonderful too.

Thank you for the review copy.