Every time she meets a new man, Daphne Bell receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake. But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful.

Thank you @netgalley, @rebecca_serle, and @atriabooks for the ARC! Serle has a penchant for tying romance together with some of life’s tragic and more heartbreaking moments, and I love how real all of her characters and stories are because of this. There was a major reveal about 60% in that really shocked me and made me enjoy the book more than I did for the first half. The first half of the book was a little hard for me to connect with, and it think that was because Daphne’s character felt a little more detached until the plot reveal, which really explained a lot about her character and her motivations. The book heavily explores the theme of choice versus destiny. I loved Daphne’s bluntness and her ability to overcome adversity. I didn’t really care for most of the male characters and felt they were a little underdeveloped (perhaps due to the expirations dates), but overall the story had a happy and heartwarming ending. The book was a super quick read and Serle lovers should definitely pick this up when it publishes in March!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

It’s 4.5 stars for me. Another book by Rebecca Serle that I couldn’t t put down! I loved the flashbacks and relation to the present. Great great read.

Another Rebecca Serle book that I enjoyed.
I flew through this one, I couldn’t wait to see how it ended. There was a bit of twist I didn’t see coming, and the ending was a little predictable besides that. The main character was very fleshed out and I understood, even if I didn’t agree with, the decisions she made in her life. I would have liked a little more character development for the side characters and a little more of what happened “after”.
Overall would recommend this one, especially if you enjoyed her others. Some really great hightlightable quotes in here!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for this eARC.
More of my review on my instagram- @bookish_starry_skies

This book wasn’t written for me. I didn’t resonate with any of the characters but that doesn’t mean this is a “bad” book by any means. It flowed well, the dialogue was great between characters.

I love Rebecca Serle. The melancholy vibes that center around what it means to be human with a touch of magic really resonates with me. I adored this book and will be purchasing a copy for my shelves.

I really liked the concept behind the book, but didn't really connect with the romance driving it. I find the premise of knowing how long a relationship would last before it started fascinating because I wonder how much this would affect the character's behavior in the relationship. But while I think there could have been a cool opportunity here to watch the character test these boundaries or act poorly because she doesn't think it mattered anyway, instead we mostly see her accept the situation without question. I wondered why she didn't question the situation more and why no one else she knew didn't question the situation more. Surely someone would have thought she was making this up or suggested that she was self sabotaging by ending all of her relationships at the deadline? While I think we moved in the directions of these questions with the ultimate conclusion of the novel, I would have loved to see it explored more throughout the whole book, where instead we spent a lot of time exploring relationships that weren't really important to the plot. I guess overall I'd say I really liked the concept and plot of this book but it felt like the story took a lot of segues away from the plot into anecdotes of past boyfriends that didn't really drive the story forwards or show the characters journey progressing in any way than through the passage of time.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for an arc in exchange for an honest review**

2.5 stars that I’ll round up. I liked the feel of this book. The narration was comfortable and flowed easily. It felt safe. The author made the reader feel cozy. Unfortunately at times it also felt like a nonfiction/memoir… like the author was writing about their own experiences so they had to make them sound interesting no matter how dull they were. But this is fiction, it could have gone anywhere. It just… didn’t. The concept was there I just wish it had been expanded upon more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is an interesting story, with an unusual concept. Not unlike Serle’s previous book, One Italian Summer, there’s a bit of fantasy in this love story.

Daphne is a young woman, searching for her perfect partner. She seeks complete and lasting love.
Every so often, she receives a mysterious, anonymous note, with a name and a number.
The name is a man she has recently met, the number is how long the relationship will last.
However, Daphne has a secret- she has a serious heart condition, that might end her life at any time.
Throughout the book, we see her many relationships flourish, and ultimately fail, exactly as predicted by the timeline in the notes.
We watch her struggle with the pressing reality of her illness, as she lives within the boundaries of her “ expiration date”.

This book was very thought provoking, as it reminds us that nothing is forever in our lives, and every day should be relished.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A classic Rebecca Serle novel. Deep, complex, female lead, a splash of romance and a thread of magic driving the plot. I love the small element of magic Serle uses in her novels, it's the perfect amount of fantasy if you are not a big fantasy reader because it feels believable in context or reality. I enjoyed the main character Daphne, and could see how this "gift" of knowing the expiration date of her next relationship impacts her life in a variety of ways. Does she live her life because of what the notes tell her or does she live in spite of it? I felt like I was able to really get inside Daphne's head while reading this book and felt like I understood who she was as a character and the decisions she made along the way. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys women's fiction, romance and a bit of the fantasy elements.

This was a weird one for me. The premise was very interesting and the book moved along quickly. I did appreciate that Serle was trying to do something more than the usual with her concept and got very philosophical about what it all means. But the execution was lacking for me. The plot was very predictable and while Daphne’s inner torment was drawn out in extreme detail, I never really understood her or her motivations. The pacing and plot twists came at odd times. And I felt like the whole thing was too self-conscious. I never stopped being aware of the writer and that prevented me from getting fully absorbed in the story. Close, but not quite there for me.

In Five Years was one of my favorite books of the year and Ive come to find that Rebecca Serle is a consistent author for me. The premise of this book was thought provoking and it was fun to think about how I would feel in the main character’s situation. I was sucked into the story and didn’t want to put it down. Thank you to the publisher and net galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you knew how long each of your relationships would last, how would it impact them? Such an interesting and unique premise. This is a beautiful book about fate, love, and hope. Rebecca Serle is being added to my must read list.

I loved the story of Daphne and her men. I really enjoyed how the story was told with some of the love cards aligning to Daphne’s backstory. It provided an entertaining and relatable way to tell the story. Daphne is incredibly lucky to be surrounded by great friends and family. There are definitely some twists to the story but it all flowed very naturally.

Expiration Dates is such an interesting storyline, but one that I really enjoyed reading through. It floats a similar idea as the question of “when will I die?” While you think you want to know, you actually don’t because then you feel like your time is expiring. I really enjoyed reading through this one and I’m not sure why it doesn’t have a higher overall rating because I didn’t find anything bad about it. A great Rebecca Serle read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book.
Daphne received magical paper about her dating life, and she lived by that. Until the paper changed and she met Jake. But do the paper are alway right ? Or did she let the love of her life go ?
This was a great story about how we can be influence by small thing. I like seeing her previous relationship, and her friendship with Hugo.
It just miss an epilogue to be perfect !

How would you respond if you knew the exact length of every romantic relationship in your life? In Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle, Daphne receives mysterious slips of paper or cards or notes every so often with names and timelines. She eventually figures out, after the first few, that these notes represent the name of the person she’s going to date and how long she’s going to date them. There’s Martin for 3 days and Josh for 6 months and Tae for 2 years… And then one day Daphne receives a note with ONLY a name. Jake.

Is that supposed to mean that Jake is Daphne’s forever person? That no expiration date exists for their relationship? But Daphne has secrets that she’s kept buried from most people in her life and is now keeping from Jake. Does the lack of an expiration date on a piece of paper finally mean that Daphne is in control of her own fate?

If you’ve never read a Rebecca Serle novel (and I’ve only read one other one), she likes to straddle a few different genres. This book, in particular, is contemporary women’s fiction meets romance meets magical realism. Daphne is a character who I found hard to understand or empathize with in the first half of the novel. She’s entirely bearable and not unlikeable but feels… off. During the primary climax of the novel, we learn why. And it’s a compelling enough if not slightly shoehorned reason.

I liked Daphne. I liked her relationships with her closest friends and her boss and especially her parents. The more I knew about her actually, the more I liked her. But I think the plot and that primary climax are going to lose some people.

All of that being said, if you’ve liked any of Rebecca Serle’s novels, I do believe you’ll like this. If you’ve never read her work, give this one a try when it comes out. However, if you already have an established meh or negative opinion, I think you can skip this one. I read In Five Years, a fairly popular book here and on BookTok and enjoyed it enough to request this ARC and I’m happy I did. I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience and I actually do like how the novel ended. This is a pretty easy 3.75 stars, teetering on 4, for me.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster (Atria Books) for this advance reader copy. #netgalley #expirationdates

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Rebecca Serle's books are like an Aperol Spritz- they go down easy and make your head spin! She is a master at writing a light read with a deeper message and her latest novel is no exception. Enjoyed it!

I like the bit of “magic” that Rebecca Serle adds to her books. The main character Daphne always knows when her relationships are going to end, until she meets Jake. I struggled with dynamics between Daphne and Jake and felt that they lacked chemistry, especially in the first half of the book. all the secrets come out it brought everything full circle and it was an enjoyable read. I struggled with some of the relationship dynamics in the story, especially wit, the one with no expiration date. At times I could not decide if I liked Daphne or not. Once all the secrets come out it brought everything full circle and it was an enjoyable read. Throughout the book there are chapters scattered throughout that touch on her past relationships and give insight into

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria book for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a sweet story of Daphne, a young woman who receives "papers" stating who her next boyfriend will be, and when the relationship will "expire". We read about her past loves and her current love, while treading through her experiences with Hugo, her very best friend and also, past lover. Daphne always knows how long she will date each man, except on the final paper with Josh's name on it. She learns what she really wants in life, and how to deal with the expiration dates.

This book is brief, with fairly short chapters making it a great vacation read. The story is light and easy, and I was compelled to finish the book in record time. I loved the ending, though I found it a little predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Expiration Dates.

Serle is hit or miss for me and unfortunately this one fell into the latter. It’s got magical realism but it didn’t feel like it was explained very well at first and then just kinda dropped off. I didn’t love the main characters and while I don’t love large books, this one felt too short for all that was going on. Neat concept but missed the mark for me