I received an ARC from NetGalley for this book. I've also read One Italian Summer and In Five Years, but this is my favorite of the author's so far! It's one of those books that you can't put down because you're thinking about it when you're not reading it (I read it in two days.) I thought it was going to be a normal love triangle romance but there were several unexpected twists that made it much more interesting. And both of her love interests were great but I was always rooting for Team Hugo! Highly recommend!

4 ⭐️
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Rebecca Serle for digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book follows Daphne throughout her years of falling in love, falling out of love, and learning to love herself. It is a heartbreaking, emotional, amazing journey.

This story has a touch of magical realism that some of her other stories have that I always find interesting. It adds a unique touch to her books. This story tugs on all your heart strings in the best way possible. I definitely recommend adding this book to your spring TBR!
Publish date: March 5, 2024

My favorite Rebecca Serle book to date. I must admit, while I loved her book - In Five Years- the ending had me stewing and I almost boycotted her but her writing is creative and beautiful and I could not resist. This book flew by and I finished in two sittings. Love the plot, the characters and the CA setting. This would make a fabulous movie or Netflix show. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall, the story was really good. It was an amazing story about finding freedom in the unknown.

It was almost a 5 star read for me, but I felt like the jumps in time were really sudden. It was a little bit confusing until I got a couple paragraphs into the change and realized. Of course by that point, I had to go back and re-read the paragraphs I had just read.

A sweet story of trusting yourself and finding the courage to be vulnerable. Daphne receives slips of paper detailing the length each relationship she has will last. Over the years, she has begun to rely on these messages and not herself. Are these slips of paper the truth or have they become a self-fulfilling process?

(Deep breath out as I try to find the words to describe a well written book with great plot and a happy ending that still made me upset and unsettled)

Let me start by saying how excited I was to receive this book. I had bragged to my book club and blocked off a day for just this read. I thought I won the lottery of advanced reading copies. But…If I weren’t such a staunch completionist, I may have DNF’d this book around 50%. I was very upset that the reader was along for the journey this long before finding out Daphne’s “big secret”. If it weren’t on my kindle, I may have thrown it.

Sure I’d read the description but by this point I had stopped trusting myself as the reader and figured perhaps I had misunderstood. That perhaps the “big secret” was that she knew their expiration dates which implied a fate that kept her paramours from having a hand in on the relationship’s destiny. When I found out about her true secret I felt betrayed as the reader.

Did the book end well? Yes, of course it did. Would I consider this to be a romance? Most definitely not. I really dislike love triangles, and while technically it isn’t a love triangle, there are some very blurred lines that gave me the same distaste as a love triangle plot. This book is self discovery. It is women’s fiction. I liked how it ended. But the journey to get there was a bit painful.

I am giving the book a 4/5 because it is well written. My not liking the plot twist doesn’t make it a bad book, just not a good match for me. I don’t mind a little heartbreak, but there wasn’t enough romantic reward for the full book of Jake to be blown up at the end and him left like a homeless puppy in the rain. Was it “right”? Yes. Do I like Hugo? Hell yeah, I even like his deceit and bad parts. He is the shining beacon that makes the book worth finishing, but it all just left me feeling empty instead of full and that’s not how I like to leave a book.

The premise of this book is a woman who gets letters from the universe stating how long her relationships will be. It is a story about love, coming to terms with yourself, and it unpacks the ideas of living and love. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would rate it 3.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed the concept of the story and love Serle's ability to incorporate magic with reality. The characters were likeable and relatable. And the ending was truly beautiful and left me very satisfied with Daphne's journey. However, I did have a hard time getting into the book at first. I felt like not much happened in the beginning and it was a lot of stage setting. I would have liked to see a little more action in the beginning. The first half was a little slow and I felt like the story wasn't progressing. But the second half I flew through and would have enjoyed experiencing more of the story after the plot twist than before. The plot twists were unexpected and I really loved how the story unfolded!

This is my second time reading Rebecca Serle and I’m honestly not sure why I haven’t picked up more of her books!

Daphne has a universal gift of knowing exactly how long her relationships will last; sounds amazing right? Skip the heartbreak - you know exactly how this will end … sounds great in theory but, far too complicated in real life. We follow Daphne as she ventures through a new relationship with a blank ending. There’s no end date, no expiration, what does that even mean… As Daphne allows herself to let go and let love we see her world expand, collapse and rebuild.

I truly felt like I was watching a romantic comedy unfold before me. The emotions were so raw and real. I found myself cheering her on, as if she was a real life friend. Of course her romantic life is a massive piece of this storyline but, her friendships are so pure and kind — a real girls girl kind of thing.

Cannot wait for the world to grab this book!

I think the concept of this book was very interesting and something that hasn't been done before (at least that I know of) and I was excited to dig in. I do agree with some of the other reviewers that the concept was never really explained and there wasn't much talk of it after the 70% mark or so. There were a couple of unexpected reveals throughout the book (toward the end) that I wasn't exactly happy with but I will say I still like how the story ended. It's hard to say what I didn't like about the book without revealing spoilers so I'll just leave it at that.

It was a quick enjoyable read and I will continue to read Rebecca's work even if I wish she would add a bit more depth to the story without adding extraneous details. Overall I still recommend for a quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and Rebecca Serle for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

not gonna lie, i don’t really know what i read lol i don’t think i really processed it?

this book is told in a then/now timeline. then being the men daphne used to date and now being jake. the idea is that every so often, daphne gets a piece of paper with a name and a time length on it and that’s how long she’s meant to be with that person. i like that idea, it’s unpredictable because every one of her relationships will be different, yet predictable because she knows it’ll end and she won’t be marrying them.

i think because daphne kept living that way, she has a lot to work on before she properly commits to something more than a few years with a guy. she has this constant fear of long term commitment because she’s never had to commit to a man for longer than two and a half years or so. but she did keep in touch with hugo! hugo seems like a good guy for her. he gets her. they should get married.

Serle has a way of making my heart just crumble. 😭 What a heart wrenching, beautiful, amazing story!

One time is good for the word heady. Twice is okay. Anything over 4 is a bit much.

I think this book was just okay. Serle wrote a soft novel about love that will sell really well and people with a very easy palate will like this book. Its kind of like the butter noodle dish of books. That said, I read it quickly, it was fast paced and moving, and I feel like it'll appeal to the masses.

All said, I'm absolutely team Hugo.

Personally this book was not my cup of tea! That doesn’t mean that it won’t be yours though so I definitely encourage you to read it ! The plot was just a little too slow to get in to for me.

“Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.”

Personal review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so cute, emotional and moving, with such a neat concept, as her other novels, a bit of whimsical charm. Daphne Bell is a lovable character who receives full warning, by way of paper clues, of how long her relationships are going to last, until she meets Jake, and the note just says his name. She is left to wonder if this means forever, or something else. This story has a nonlinear plot that takes us back and forth through her previous relationships and her current one. At times this novel got a bit heartbreaking, but I fell completely in love with the plot and characters. Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. 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.

Title: Expiration Dates
Author: Rebecca Serle
Genre: magical realism, netgalley arc,
Format: ebook
Length: 272 pages
Start: October 7, 2023
Finish: DNF
•••
1- Characters: 7
2- Atmosphere/Setting: 8
3- Writing Style: 3
4- Plot: 7
5- Intrigue: 2
6- Logic/Relationships: 7
7- Enjoyment: 1

CAWPILE Rating System: ⭐️⭐️.5
Spice rating: 0x🌶️
•••
Thoughts:
The blurb really caught my eye and I thought it sounded really interesting. However, I was struggling incredibly hard to stay interested. I found it so hard to pay attention and understand what was going on. There are too many unnecessary details that didn’t add to the story in anyways. For example “he placed down a 20 and a 10”. Why is that necessary? Why couldn’t he just place $30? Even so, I don’t think the price of the bill really matters.

I also found the writing was a little confusing… it wasn’t clear if it was time jumping? The way I took it was we were time jumping between past and present… but I’m not 100% if that was the case. I think if the chapter titles explained if it was like 8 months back, or present day, ect.

Also, the fact that we know all these dates mean nothing.. and that they’ll break up, doesn’t give us a reason to connect to this characters. I makes me not care about reading or paying attention to them if it’s just for a few pages.

Unfortunately, this is the 2nd book I’ve read from Rebecca Serle, and I’ve DNF’d both books. I don’t think her writing style is for me.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

5/5 stars

This book is a fabulous piece of literary fiction as well as a love story. The premise is that a young woman receives slips of paper prior to a relationship beginning. The papers let her know the expiration date of said relationship.

There are lots of twists and turns in this book so I’m not going to say much more. However, this book is not just for the romance reader. It is also for those who love literary fiction.

Rebecca Serle is one of my holy grail authors. Her books are some of my favorite that I've ever read - over my entire lifetime, over thousands and thousands of books, her's continue to be top of mind when I'm thinking of my top ten or what I'll recommend to a non-reader just diving in to reading. I love the magical realism, the way they make you feel, and the way the characters are relatable because they feel like actual flawed humans.

I loved Expiration Dates. Some other reviews have mentioned the bomb drop that was Daphne's heart condition, as well as the way that they feel Hugo screwed up in ending their relationship and how that couldn't have been the guy for her for that reason. Here's the thing: the notes don't say the relationship ends because of something on the other person's part. One relationship ends when someone moves - why didn't Daphne go with them? When the relationship ends because of cheating, sure. But there were several described instances where the relationship didn't necessarily have to end, and I think the first time around with Hugo was one of them. She could've chosen to hear him out after the big revelation that she had kept her condition from him, and they could've worked through it. Just like she *CHOSE* to go all in with Jake because the note told her to (even though we later find that the note was fake). I'm just saying - we all make choices. I don't think a bad reaction to major, life changing news necessarily says relationship ender, especially because we've seen Daphne self sabotage more than one time throughout the book.

Additionally, I didn't mind the heart defect popping up partway through the story, and I don't agree with the narrative presented that she was using it to be a victim. I don't have a condition, so I can't relate to the concern that I'm not just dying like everybody else, but have a thing that could kill me at any time - surprise! Daphne finds out about it well into her life, so why wouldn't that be revealed to us part way through the story? This is a pattern of her's, as she doesn't reveal it until she absolutely must, and I think it aligns perfectly with who the character was. Because people are flawed, and they don't always do what we want.

I love love loved the idea that Daphne let go of that last note. Her deciding not to chase after it showed that she had learned from her experience with Jake and that maybe, the note didn't matter as much as the choice that we all have to make to love someone day after day even when shit gets hard or is scary.

This falls at a solid 4.5 for me. I loved it, and will reread closer to pub date!

REVIEW
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
Format: eARC
4/5
Okay-when I received this ARC I was so excited! Serle has a way of painting such a vivid picture. I like how she mixes in some magical realism within her books.
I loved the concept of this book. I thought it was creative and fun-but still hitting the serious notes. The main character receives notes that tell her how long her relationship is going to last. There were some surprises I didn’t see coming-and some I did.
Serle has a way of writing unique books-and this one just might be my favourite yet.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.
Expiration Dates will hit shelves March 5th, 2024. I recommend picking up a copy!

After loving In Five Years, I was excited to have the chance to review this one early! While I was used to the long descriptions of IFY toward the beginning, I had a harder time getting into this one - I felt like the descriptions kept going on and on to the point I almost put this one down. Despite that fact, I pushed on and it was an enjoyable read. I'm not a huge fantasy fan, but I love how Serle adds just a touch of magical elements to make it creative and unique. While I felt the ending to be rather predictable, I enjoyed the relationship between Daphne and Jake even though they lacked a bit of depth and development. IFY still stands on a pedestal, but I'd still recommend this to any romance lover!

I have really fallen for Serle's books--they're full of magical events, yet they're grounded by the realistic characters. Yet this one was hard for me to get into. I've always been a reader who appreciates descriptions of foods/clothing and all those details that make a scene more vivid for me, but in this case, I felt the plot sagged at the start, laden with previous relationships/details. By the ending, things were rolling faster and the reader could guess which way things were going (which was part of the issue for me--I guessed the ending early on, thus losing some interest in it). This one just didn't pack the same punch Serle's previous books (In Five Years and One Italian Summer in particular) did for me. I'm sure some will love it, and I'll continue to read her books, but this one just fell a bit flat for me. Still a solid read, though.