4.5*
I spent a lot of this book thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it. Ultimately, in the end, I really did! My initial feelings were because I compared it to other books, constantly! That was until the bombshell and the comparisons stopped. If I'm being honest I also really didn't like the main character for a lot of it! I'm not sure if that will be a common feeling among readers because Serle wanted it that way, or if it was just me! Again, by the end, I liked her, so common theme with the book!

It's a little bit One Day in December with a side of Something Borrowed, until it's neither of them. It's a book filled with love but not exactly that of the romantic variety. I mean that's in there too but this is a book about friendship, you see even the couples have this underlying friendship that sort of exists above the surface, rather than below it! There was one major plotline I didn't see coming... well maybe 2 and the final little reveal was something I had been hoping for!

It's really well written and incredibly atmospheric! For someone like me that hasn't been to New York, it was like being in the city. I could see, hear and practically taste the city, well taste the food mentioned throughout and not the actual city!

Thank you to Simon & Shuster Canada and NetGalley for a copy of this lovely novel in exchange for an honest review.

nothing short of incredible.

i was originally going to give this book 4 stars, but as soon as i finished it in its entirety & put everything together i realized it actually even deserves more than 5.

i really didn't expect this. this book is emotionally hard to read at times, but it honestly reveals the truth about life itself & how the clock keeps ticking & time doesn't stop no matter what happens, even when you think it should. rebecca serle reveals the truth of life in an awakening stance & as a reader it really opened my eyes.

the plot twist was huge & i never saw it coming at all.

the main characters in this novel are strong. their habits, the way they are, & their personalities reveal more than what they say amongst themselves. i think it's really difficult to establish multiple characters with secure personalities, but rebecca serle really did that. for example, david & dannie's dynamic allowed readers to experience who they were as people & to infer the underlying truths of it all. the characters are all so powerful & add a lot of support to the story. i really felt for every character because they were all trying to sort through their own emotions & lives & you could see that even though the story was told through dannie's perspective.

there are many passages & conversations in this book that i hold dear to my heart & to be able to connect a reader so deeply to the story is a true talent.

the ending of this book was one of the strongest i've ever read, it really illustrates how dannie has grown into the person bella always knew she was/could be. the dialogue revealed lessons i think i needed to hear for my own life & i 100% respect this piece of work.

IN FIVE YEARS is a contemporary love story. The story begins with Dannie Koran preparing for a job interview wth the law firm she has dreamed about working for quite some time. The interview goes well and Dannie meets up with her long time boyfriend thinking he is going to propose which he does.
Everything appears to be on with Dannie’s five year plan until an incident occurs. Not sure if it is a dream or what is happening Dannie finds herself in another apartment, with a man that is not her fiancé and it is five years in the future. Dannie comes out of her fugue state to find herself back in her own apartment with her fiancé. Dannie is shaken up by how real her dream felt. She decides to try and forget the dream and the man by absorbing her time and energy into her career as a corporate lawyer. Five years go by and Dannie’s plan is on track. Then Dannie meets the man she dreamt about all those years ago. I am not going to spoil what happens next because that is the best part of the novel.
I really liked IN FIVE YEARS. The story is suspenseful and well paced. The characters were well developed. I found the novel engaging and easy to read. As the reader gets towards the end it would be wise to have tissues close at hand. Even though there are sad moments I found the novel refreshing. It contains romance, drama and suspense.
I think IN FIVE YEARS could be recommended to fans who like Taylor Jenkins Reid.

In Five Years is my first book by this author. I would categorize this book as Women's Fiction.

This book was fantastic. I would recommend not reading the book blurb right before reading this book. As it gives away a lot of the story IMO.

The narrator is Dannie (1st person POV). The story is set in NYC. She is a very ambitious lawyer. The story starts in December 2020 (and moves forward until we reach five years later).

There is romance in this book. However to me this was not the main focus of the story. The book is more about friendship. Dannie has a best friend, Bella. They have been best friends since they were children. And their relationship is such a focal point of this book.

In Five Years had such a strong beginning. I was completely hooked right from the start. The book begins with Dannie at an interview. She is asked "where do you see yourself in five years?" So it would seem like that is where the title of the book came from. But it is more than that. Dannie goes to sleep that night. And something happens that changes the whole foundation of her world.

I liked getting to see what happened for myself. So I'm glad that I didn't read the book blurb. This book was so different. And at times I was not completely sure what was happening or what was going to happen. But I was interested in the story. And I could not stop reading. I could tell right away that this book had the potential to be something exceptional.

The author surprised me at the one quarter mark. I was not expecting the story to go in the direction that it did. But that was what made me love this book even more. How many books do we read that are so predictable? I love that this book was constantly surprising me.

The book does contain some heartbreaking moments and some shocking moments. And I kept trying to figure out how one certain thing was going to happen by 2025.

There were things that I did not expect. Like the ending. Wow.

This book moved me so much. It was such a powerful and beautiful story. This book was emotional. And unpredictable. And I loved it!

3.5 Stars

Dannie Kohan is a woman who goes to sleep one night and wakes up five years in the future living a life she most certainly never imagined for herself, with a man who is not her fiancé. She is a woman who believes in living by numbers, so she writes that experience off as a crazy dream and moves on with her life. Then, four and a half years later, she ends up meeting the same man from her vision.

Where do you see this story going?

Wherever it is, initially, I think you will be wrong. The beginning of the book did not feel like a love story to me. Thanks to that vision Dannie had, I think I was struggling “knowing” where she would end up, as she herself was struggling. I didn’t agree with where she was going to end up, but everyone knows you can’t change fate.

Some flaws with the book: I didn’t feel there was any chemistry between Dannie and the man from her vision, and the other characters weren’t fleshed out. If I really wanted to nitpick, I could probably think of another flaw or two, but I won’t because somewhere along the way, as I was reading the book, I realized that yes, yes this IS a love story, and it moved me to tears.

In Five Years is an emotional, and beautiful love story, just not the one you’re expecting.

Thank you Netgalley, Rebecca Serle, and Simon & Schuster Canada for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Five. The number of stars I give this book.

I devoured this book. Kept turning pages. Read while doing my pre-workout stretches, read while I brushed, while I waited for water to boil, while I waited for a meeting to start.

This story was refreshing. Heartbreaking and raw and oh so good. I couldn’t help but think of Love Story by Erich Segal while I read this book. The pace, the tone, the mood, all made me think of Love Story, and then of course the big twist.

Though I thought this was a Romance Read when I started reading, after having read it, I also think it’s just as much Women's fiction and New Adult fiction.

I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC.

5/5

"So be it. So let it be…"

My heart is still pounding after being taken on this unexpected, heartbreaking, albeit beautiful, journey.

This isn’t the love story you expect it to be, it’s better than that. A reminder that loving is a journey we cannot plan for...we just have to embrace it and enjoy it.

4.5 stars!

Big thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So i might be in the minority here but i am not sure that the story was about. Was it about Dannie and her fiancé or dannie and her best friend or Dannie and her best friends boyfriend? Or was is just about Dannie's life. for 5 years? It was well written but I dont see the whole picture. I fell like it was bits and pieces of many stories mashed together. I can't wait for other people's reviews maybe ill get some clarity.. :)

I gave it 2 stars due to my confusion and not sure what the point of the story was.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, for release March 16, 2020

Type A, lawyer Dannie has her life planned out to a T, including where she sees herself in 5 years with her fiancé and her career. One evening, she falls asleep and wakes up 5 years in the future in a completely different apartment. She’s madly in love with another man who is not her fiancé. She only gets a glimpse of this life until she wakes back up in her normal life. However, she soon comes face to face with the man from her dreams and is left wondering whether her premonition will come to fruition.

So let me just say, I was I was hooked from the first 2 chapters. I loved the premise and desperately wanted to know how the heck Dannie and Aaron were connected. I kind of expected it to be a romance, but it was really about Dannie and her journey of finding different types of love in life.

Even though it wasn’t a romance, I was kind of confused by dannie and Aaron. Even by the time I got to the end, I didn’t clearly understand this weird spark between them. Maybe there wasn’t supposed to be? Either way, it didn’t work for me. But maybe I’m bias because I’m partial to the romance genre.

I did appreciate the portrayal of friendship between Dannie and ethereal dream girl bff Bella was beautiful though and unlike how most friendships are portrayed. Part of me wondered if it was purely a friendship love, or if she loved her romantically as well? Any thoughts?

Overall, this book is beautifully written...but maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it. I definitely enjoyed it, but I’m left not quite knowing how to feel. I think I’m just thrown off because I expected it to have a different conclusion.

Massive thank you to netgalley and atria for access to this ARC.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for a copy of this book!

I enjoyed this book but I agree with others that the blurb was misleading - it read like it would be a romance, but I would say the real story is in the friendship of Dannie and her best friend Bella.

The book is really about the power of friendship, and how relationships change over the years as we grow into different stages in our life. It also touched on the power of love and how we each love in different ways. Read with kleenex for sure and be prepared to tear up a few times.

I loved this book! It wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought maybe it was going to be maybe comedy chic-lit novel, which I would've been more than fine with. But it's so much more! It has that Beaches feel, or Firefly Lane feel to this novel. A book about, life, friendship, sacrifice and loss. If you could know only a small moment of your life, five years from now, would it be enough to know what your future would hold? Would you want to change the outcome? Could you?

Book Review: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

If you’re looking for a quick book to read in one sitting, to facilitate a good cry, and don’t mind your heart strings being purposefully pulled, In Five Years is for you.

In this story we follow Dannie, a lawyer with a very itemized life plan. She has worked hard in her professional life, and applies the same careful logic and planning to her personal life. When asked at an important job interview where she sees herself in five years, she doesn’t even have to think, she’s so sure of her plan.

Her carefully constructed plan is thrown into question when she has a dream of herself five years in the future, so real she can’t help but know it’s more premonition than dream, and her future reality looks nothing like her plan.

This book is about friendship, love, choices, and learning to roll with the messiness of life. I think the author did a great job of writing an emotional, compulsive page-turner story, and I love how friendship love was the focus over romantic love. I appreciated what Dannie learned throughout the novel.

I wish that Dannie had more character growth earlier on. She had multiple opportunities to change the course of her life, but steadfastly stuck to the plan, wool over her eyes. My main other complaint is that most of the supporting characters were like stock characters; they didn’t feel fully realized. David, Aaron, Bella’s parents, ... I wanted to be interested in them, but they didn’t seem all that deeply written. A gripe here, but the ending was somewhat unsatisfactory to me! I personally would have enjoyed it more if a certain event hadn’t taken place at the very end.

Overall, this was perfect for a lazy evening wrapped in a big quilt, hot chocolate in hand and some tissues for my leaky eyes. It had a romantic drama feel to it, with a focus on friendship. 3.5 stars for me.

4.5 stars. I thought this was a beautiful book about love and really enjoyed the writing style. I felt that the author let us into the protagonist's head wonderfully and I was able to feel what the character was feeling. Lovely message and I enjoyed the end. Not what I expected.

I liked In Five Years way more than I expected — especially as the story develops. Dannie is a serious type A. She’s a corporate lawyer in New York City and she happily calibrates every minute of her day. She has a five year plan that includes being a partner at her firm and marrying her corporate finance boyfriend. The only part of her life that is a bit less controlled is her strong bond with her childhood friend Bella. Then a dream or premonition shakes her up — she sees herself in 2015 with a man who isn’t her boyfriend. This part seemed hokey. But the story doesn’t end up going where I expected. This is really a lovely emotional story about friendship. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. But Kleenex is a must! Short and powerful and worth the read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Quick read just not my style. Not much romance like I expected. Friendship, cancer and grief are central themes.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc for review - this has in no way influenced my opinion.
When I read the premise of this book - an hour long glimpse 5 years into the future of the MC, I was intrigued. I thought this would be more of an exploration of fate vs free will and the implications of that - instead it was a story populated by paper thin characters that tries to handle serious things but is so surface level that it hurts my bones to see the amount of potential wasted.
Cancer, work-life balance, friendship, societal expectations - all of these topics are present - offer a rich well of plot line possibility, but are either handled poorly or tossed aside in favour of a super fun cheating story line. Imagine Something Borrowed with a few extra wrenches tossed in, and you have In Five Years.
That said, I read it in one sitting (mainly while internally screaming "we're not doing *this* are we?"), so I think this book will find its audience, much like Something Borrowed before it. Also, shoutout to the female friendship - at least that relationship was fleshed out some.

I went into this book thinking it would be another dramatic romantic book, but this truly made me feel a whole range of emotions. It is a story about love, not just romantic love, but the love between family and friends. The blurbs put out compare it to me before you, but I liked it more.
If you're looking for something a little different, pick up this book.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved the author’s note and the note from the editor that set the tone for the novel. I think this was different than I expected, and I love that about this book. I love when books take an unexpected journey instead of the typical storyline. This book is really about love at its core and that means love in all forms, not just romantic love. I appreciate that it highlights the idea of love not always being forever, and that romantic love shouldn’t be put higher above other relationships. This was a beautiful read, I definitely shed a few tears, both of sadness and beauty/happiness!

IN FIVE YEARS was not quite what I expected and I think the jacket copy is a bit misleading. I definitely felt there was an abrupt tonal shift I was not expecting, much like the end of ONE DAY. Yes, IN FIVE YEARS is about Type-A lawyer Dannie and the dream/vision/experience she has of her life in five years that she can't stop thinking about. But if you're looking for a love triangle or star-crossed love story, this is not it — this book is much more about Dannie and Bella's friendship. I appreciated that things were not quite as they seemed (to be vague and not spoil anyone) but unfortunately I don't think Bella was enough of a character for their relationship to ring true. There are hardly any scenes of the two of them together before some of the twists are revealed, so it's hard to believe that they have this beautiful, intense friendship. In general, the supporting characters were underwritten.

What a powerful ending! Gut wrenching. In Five years is a story of friendships and loves that end and begin in surprising ways. Life is not for the squeamish .I highly recommend this book and a box of Kleenex. Can definitely see this as a Oscar winning film.