In this moving story about love and loss, Rebecca Serle delivers a compelling twist on the classic question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" When successful Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan gets a peek five years into her future, she's shocked to wake up in a different apartment with a different man. When she wakes again, she realizes it was all just a dream -- or was it? In Five Years is a poignantly affecting reminder that love doesn't have to be romantic to be meaningful and that friendships sometimes lead to the deepest heartbreaks.

Man, this book really got me. I didn't love Serle's YA book(s) but seriously enjoyed THE DINNER LIST. This book, her next foray into adult contemporary fiction, was another hit for me. I was expecting this to be a little like YOU WERE THERE TOO - a book where the MC has dreams about a man (while married) and then meets him in real life. Similar premise here - the MC, Dannie, wakes up for an hour one morning five years later and there's an engagement ring on her finger and a strange man (not her fiance) in an apartment. She inevitably meets this man and her life speeds by, nearing closer to the day she woke up living. Both books ended up surprising me and keeping me on my toes. You think you know exactly how things will end, but the author is more clever than that!

I loved that Dannie unapologetically loved her work as a lawyer, even when the days and weeks were incredibly challenging and long. She made it a priority in her life no matter what. We also meet her fiance David and best friend Bella, who immediately starts going through a very tough time. I'm trying to not spoil the book because the synopsis very vague. I think it works much better not really knowing what goes on.

This book seriously surprised me and I'll tell you it leans a lot more heavily on the friendship themes than romance. I wouldn't consider it a romance at all, really. I loved getting to know Dannie despite my initial first impression that she was a bit bland (very numbers-focused and no personality off the bat). She grew on me and I loved her protectiveness over Bella.

It was genuinely exactly what I needed at the time; there's something to be said for reading based on your mood instead of living and dying by the TBR. I was struggling in February to read all the things I needed to read, so when I finally took a moment to read something I WANTED to read, I blazed through this in basically two sittings. It was refreshing, surprising, and wonderful. I can't wait to continue to read books by Rebecca Serle.

Here I come after not having reviewed a book in – well a really long while – and this is of course the hardest kind of review to write. I really enjoyed this book but am afraid to say too much because what happened over the five years in the story was nothing I expected and I cannot bear the thought of giving something away! I loved Dannie, even when I was frustrated by her, and I loved that friendship was at the core of this book. I’ve been reading a lot of romance, which is delightful, but there is something so wonderful about reading about great girlfriends.

I flew through the second half of this book because I wanted so badly to know what was going to happen when Dannie woke up in 2025. I was shocked that nothing I predicted was was happened in the end! I will have to go back and read this again one day so I can relax a bit while reading.

I was similarly moved by Serle’s last book, The Dinner List. I still think about the tears that book pulled out of me!

When you’re ready for a book that will make you feel all of the emotions and make you ignore life to read Rebecca Serle definitely my recommendation. So don’t look anymore into what might happen to Dannie and her fiance or her mystery man and just get reading!

Thank you so much Atria Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion!

This novel is getting alllll the buzz right now and was recently chosen for the GMA book club. I can see the wide appeal of the story, but I have conflicting feelings overall...
On one hand, I flew through the story of a woman who gets a fleeting vision of her life five years into the future. I love a little fantastical element in novels, and I kept wanting to know how it would unfold. The chemistry with Dannie and Aaron was compelling, which also kept me hooked. Are they destined to be together?
There also were many aspects of Dannie and her best friend Bella’s lives with which I could identify. But it’s also where things started to break down for me. Much of their personalities seemed cliché, the type-A lawyer (Dannie is totally Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle) and Bella is an ‘adventurous free spirit’ of the spoilt trust fund variety. There wasn’t much beyond flashbacks of sleepovers or post grad trips abroad to reinforce their bond.
I’m all for some misdirection and a ‘big twist’ ending – but I felt as if there wasn’t a foundation there to support it, and it didn’t pay off emotionally for me. It’s definitely worth a read if you are looking for fast paced and thought provoking - I just wouldn’t go so far as prepping the tissues for an ugly cry. Though, it definitely seems as if I'm in the minority on this one - so your mileage may vary!

I was looking forward to this one, since I really enjoyed Serle's previous book The Dinner List. Corporate lawyer Dannie Cohan has her whole life planned out. She is about to get the job of her dreams and is engaged to the perfect man. She falls asleep one night and wakes up in a different apartment, engaged to a different man. She realizes that it is five years later and her whole life is different. After a confusing, intense hour, she wakes up again in her old life. Is she on the wrong path? How did things change so drastically in her future? As Danny makes her way forward, she realizes you can't always plan everything out and some of the best things are unexpected. I really enjoyed this book.

I loved The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle so I wasn’t surprised at all to fall in love with this book as well. I read this book in one day and couldn’t not put it down. I loved all of the characters, loved the story and couldn’t wait to see what would happen to them. This story has it all and will no doubt be a hit.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Where do you see yourself in five years? While this is a question most encountered in job interviews, it’s safe to say that you’ve probably been asked (or asked yourself) this at least once before. Rebecca Serle’s latest adult fiction offering In Five Years is inspired by this question, centering around type-A protagonist Dannie Cohan. Dannie’s life has continued to follow the trajectory she planned for herself. But when she falls asleep and wakes up five years into the future in circumstances vastly different from what she expected, it leaves her shaken to the core. She wakes up in her own recognizable life again, and readers are invited to experience how the next five years of Dannie’s life plays out for the rest of the novel. In Five Years exceeded any initial expectations I had. It did take me a few chapters to get hooked, but once I was in, I was all in. The novel isn’t a romance, nor is it a time travel story. At its core, it is about a woman getting to know herself better, and learning to navigate life, love, relationships and everything in between. Her character journey is so relatable (even if you aren’t experiencing the exact circumstances Dannie is) and is absolutely the highlight of this story. Despite the novel’s brevity, Serle really manages to hit her emotional story beats in a way that really worked for me (and had me feeling all the things). Honestly, I can always appreciate a very character-driven story, particularly when it manages to emotionally rock my world the way that this story did. In Five Years was well-written and compelling; I’d absolutely recommend adding it to your TBR.

I was expecting this to be a lover story -- and it is -- but not in the way I thought! It really is about friendship and knowing yourself and knowing how love might fit into that. I tried this author's previous work and didn't care for it but I absolutely loved this book. I felt that the story, the pace, and the character development were excellent and despite dealing with melancholy and serious topics, I loved reading this!

In Five Years comes out next month on March 10, 2020, you can purchase HERE! I really loved this one and definitely recommend it -- I am still thinking about it!

I have to admit: I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. For a brief moment, I thought this was just going to be a repeat of One day in December and unlike every single other person, I hated that book. This book was NOT your typical love story. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this book focused more on the friendship between Dannie and Bella. God, I adored their friendship. It was so amazing and so many scenes between the two of them just made me want to cry.

I also thought this book would be a bit predictable in terms of what happened. Dannie is such a planner - I could completely relate. She has her life planned out and doesn't like to deviate. When she gets her dream job and a proposal from her boyfriend, she has a dream or a premonition about a life five years into the future, where she is in a strange apartment with a man who was not her fiancee. I loved Dannie's growth throughout the story and one thing I absolutely loved was that there was virtually NO cheating. God, cheating irks me. But Dannie loves her friend and she tries to stay away from Aaron, who is the man from her dream AND Bella's new boyfriend. This book took on such a different path than what I thought it would take and I just loved it so much. What a wonderful book!

4.5 ⭐️ Thank you Atria Books for an ARC of another engaging and surprising read from Rebecca Serle. I almost finished this in one sitting. I loved her last book The Dinner List so had been eagerly awaiting this one. It was worth the wait. This is a love story — but it’s the love between two friends. I also enjoyed the relationship between the main character and her boss. I could lists several books that if you loved, you’ll love this one too, but just when you think you have this book pegged, it surprises you right up until the last page. Put this one on your TBR. Publishes mid-March.

Dannie Cohan is living her best life about to have everything she has ever wanted career-wise, romantically, and personally. Then one night she falls asleep where her dream takes her to 2025, five years in the future. Everything she knows has changed including the man she is in bed with. When she wakes up, she is back in 2020 as if nothing has happened, but she can't get the dream out of her mind. Life goes on until 4.5 years later when she meets the mysterious man from her dream. What happens in the next 6 months will change her life as she knows it.

This unique and fun concept will keep you reading to discover if Dannie's dream will come true and how in the world it ever could. This story about romance, friendship, fate, and living in the moment is one to savor.

Things couldn’t be going better for New York lawyer Dannie Cohen. When we first meet her, she rocks an interview in the morning, and then gets engaged to her boyfriend later that night. Things are going well…and then they take a turn. That evening, Dannie goes to sleep and wakes up in a strange apartment she doesn’t recognize—with a strange man who she doesn’t know but who certainly seems to know her very well. She soon realizes that she has suddenly been transported five years into the future.
When she wakes again, she is back in 2020, safe in her own apartment, but very, very confused. Had that been a vision of her future?
Life pretty much returns to normal until four and a half years later when Dannie finally comes face to face with the man from her vision—and from that moment, nothing will ever be the same.
I loved this book, and don’t think I have ever read anything so fast in my life. I literally tore through it in just a couple of hours! It deals beautifully with fate, friendship, destiny, and love. I was surprised, delighted, and so moved. I had tears by the end, and absolutely adored every page it took to get there.

Ambitious, hard-driving Dannie is living the life of her dreams when a real dream changes everything. In this dream, she is in a completely different romantic relationship in a place she has never been before. There is a date associated with this dream, five years in the future. Not wanting to blow up her carefully crafted perfection, she does everything in her power (sort of) to make sure this calamity does not come true -- made more complicated by meeting the romantic lead in her dream who is in love with her best friend Bella. Serle has written a compelling, highly addictive read that I wish I liked more. Some of the scenes ring absolutely pitch perfect true and others do not. Ultimately, the real love story is the one between Dannie and her best friend Bella -- and even that is not as believable and deep as I wish it were. So close and yet not quite there....I wish there had been one more draft, one more take on a very promising story -- and yet I am glad that I read it for the questions it stirred up for me about my own relationships and work. I appreciate the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher, NetGalley, and the writer in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thanks for my copy of this one, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I think what really made this book for me was the female friendship aspect; it really outshined the love story part of it in my opinion. This book was compulsively readable and I could barely put it down. I think it fed my TJR hangover a bit actually, which made me happy. And, of course I shed a few tears at the end, even though it did leave me feeling just a little a bit unsettled and confused. I guess the ending just lets you decide for yourself what the future might hold for the main character by leaving it a bit open ended. This is probably the only reason I’m not rating it a full five stars, but I still really liked it.

It's not in any way this book's fault, but In Five Years fell a little flat for me. I think it's because I'm reading it fairly soon after reading You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley, which felt very similar to me. Both deal with a potentially prophetic dream/vision and both are fairly dark and heavy for books billed as romances. Friendship is more the focus in In Five Years versus a romantic relationship, but this is unclear until the majority of the way through the book.

All in all, I'm confused about how to rank this book. I liked parts and disliked a lot of others. Dannie is a fairly unsympathetic character and although the book doesn't end how I predicted - which would have made me like Dannie even less - I still find myself sort of indifferent to this book. Sure, it tugs at your heartstrings, but mine seemed to be a little too strong for its pull.

In Five Years is a well-written, quick read. If you want a book about the importance of female friendships this will definitely resonate with you. But if you're looking for a light romance, I would head back to the bookshelf.

I genuinely can't describe my love for this book. It is definitely not the love story you're expecting but it is the one you need. The friendship is so strong and beautiful to read about. Just seeing how much they care about each other makes you wanna cry. Everything else also makes you want to cry. I will be reading this book over and over for the rest of my life.

I decided i’m not going to read this book because the main character has a vision and I don’t read things that have to do with future predictions, mediums or psychics.

Dannie Kohan is a high-powered attorney about to marry her perfect match. After landing her dream job and getting engaged to a partner who shares similar life goals, she feels that she has it all...until the night of her engagement, when she has a dream about leading a much different life, 5 years in the future.  She can't shake the feeling that the future she thought was planned out isn't actually right for her, and this realistic-feeling dream impacts her life on all levels.

I flew through In Five Years and loved it so much! The friendship between Dannie and Bella is very compelling and I love how they support each other so much throughout their lives. I had expected a love story, and was pleasantly surprised that the female friendship is a much stronger focus.  The premise of the book also makes you think about how you approach life and what is truly important.

This was a fast read that will stick with you!

This book was great, very slow and heartfelt and real. It was very grounded with just the slightest touch of magical realism. I enjoyed it.

2 stars / 5 stars

Thank you Atria Books so much for providing me this eARC from Netgalley.


Dnfed at 55 percent.
*will contain slight spoilers

Cue the disappointment.

Hotshot lawyer Dannie Cohan is haunted once she has an unexpected dream where her life is totally different from her seemingly set-in-stone plan. Flashforward almost five years later when she is puzzled by the reveal that her dream husband is real.

This was not for me. I really enjoyed the beginning of this novel and I thought it was going to be a great one to read, but ultimately I was so so wrong.

After Dannie has a dream of a life with a man whom she has never met before, she has some apprehension about her life with her current boyfriend. Time moves along and it is almost four and a half years later when she is introduced to her best friend’s new boyfriend, aka her dream guy. I can probably guess what direction this is going to take, and I am just not here for it.

There is some crazy stuff that happens as she bonds with her best friend and the guy from her dream. I found these inclusions to be frustrating and a turn off for me. Also, there is a reveal with her friend that kind of struck a personal note with me and made me uncomfortable as I read. It’s just a personal thing.

Ultimately, I do not like this direction it is taking and I just lost all interest. Not for me.