This book is a love letter to singlehood, friendship, and loving ourselves. It is about putting yourself out there and enjoying life for as little as we have it to live. I loved it. Rebecca Serle is and will always be one of my favorite authors and I will automatically buy anything she writes.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

From the first glance at the cover of this book, I knew I was either going to have my heart broken or be inspired to live every day to the fullest...

This story managed to do both.

Expiration Dates follows our heroine, Daphne, through her lifelong adventure of knowing when something is coming versus when it will end (i.e. love). There are secrets hidden that only her best of friends, Hugo, could hope to know. When she receives a sign that maybe her journey is finally reaching its destination, suddenly the end doesn't look as promising as she'd hoped it would be.

Through trials and obstacles and many lost-loves, Daphne learns to live with the circumstances the universe has dealt her to carve her own way through life and choose who she wishes to love.

While I had hopeful expectations for this book, I was not expecting such a simple story to touch my heart to such an extent. Rebecca Serle captured the essence of our struggles as human beings trying to find our place in the world when so many around us already have a grasp on their own futures. She takes you through dips and turns so you aren't expecting the plot twist that slaps you in the face right at the peak of revelation, which was a refreshing surprise that I was fully in support of.

Reading this was like going through a shorter, more simplified version of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue for me, with the timeline structure jumping back and forth (though maybe not so far back into the past) and the themes of choice and finding yourself. A solid 4.5 out of 5 stars, in my opinion! A definite must read for the young adult looking for encouragement to carve their own destiny, write their own fate, and make their own choices in life.

Thank you to Atria Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of Expiration Dates.

One of the easiest five stars I've ever given. Rebecca Serle is a beautiful writer with the most poetic prose. More than that, this story had me hooked. I loved everything about it, all the characters and the plot. I couldn't put this one down and was so happy about how it ended. I wished it could go on forever. Already looking forward to her next book, she's an immediate "add to cart".

This was such a sweet concept romcom! The idea of knowing how long each encounter and relationship will last was new. I loved the main character. She was so funny and relatable. It was a quick read, and very enjoyable.

Daphne Bell is a woman who experiences something special: every time she dates a new man, she receives a paper with the exact time they will be together. The papers are always right for over twenty years they told her she would spend five weeks with Noah in San Francisco, three days with Martin in Paris, and three months with Hugo.

And one evening she has a blind date with Jake in her favorite Los Angeles restaurant. The note she receives only has " Jake '' written on it, no time frame this time, and she wonders what the universe, who in her eyes sends this notes, is meaning with this.Does this mean Daphne has met her forever love?

This is a book with a quite confusing and not so thrilling storyline. The main character is the type of woman that goes from one relationship to the next, and somehow I couldn't help to picture it in a The Bold and The Beautiful tv show kind of setting, with the Los Angeles backdrop and everything. The story is meant to be romantic and somewhat supernatural because of the notes Daphne receives, but the romance was just about going from one relationship to the next, without any depth or further development, and as a reader, I truly didn't care any moment about the main character, and I truly wondered what the point of the storyline was, as it lacked also any interesting plot twists and turns.

I truly expected more of this book, but it didn't live up my expectations.

I can't say that I didn't see where this story was headed with the expiration dates, but I did find that a few things throughout, and the big reveal, really did not seem evident to me. And that's a good thing.

All in all, this was a very quick read and short book, but I have found that Serle can pack a lot into not too many pages and I appreciate that. Not much of a fan of anything that goes much over 350 pages these days. Probably because I can't hold the book when it's to massive.

Daphne is a generally likeable character, although she is definitely very abrupt to the point of being rude at times. And I do think she gets stuck in her head with the end dates on the papers to the point where she doesn't really live in the moment, which is really the crux of the thinking piece here: is it better to know or not to know? And if it's better to know, how can you enjoy something if you have an end date.

Jake is a great romantic lead. He does everything right, and he is such a likeable person. Hugo is also a great best friend. Her parents and the other characters are all very real, and it was kind of fun to see how she and her boss were more equals than assistant and boss. I was rooting for her to end up with a HEA despite all the things she did to quasi sabotage herself.

This is probably not my favourite Serle book, but it's certainly a good one and definitely an interesting plot. All in all, worth picking up if the plot seems intriguing or you have read and enjoyed Serle's previous books, especially the more recent ones.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Rebecca Serle’s latest book!

Although I am a loyal thriller/suspense reader for the most part, I have enjoyed In Five Years and One Italian Summer, and was excited at the concept of her most recent book. While I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as the others, it was still a good read. Each time Daphne encounters a new love interest, she mysteriously receives a note with the name and length of time the relationship will last. She is faced with accepting her fate or making her own destiny. Do you trust your instincts or accept that the universe knows better?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, which I devoured in one afternoon and evening. If you’re a fan of Rebecca Serle’s other books, you’ll like this one as well. In fact, it’s my favorite so far. I loved the premise of this one: the combination of frustration, hope, sadness, sweetness, and a little bit of supernatural whimsy work well together. I felt invested in Daphne, although I wish there had been a bit more emotional character development.

This was a very interesting concept for a story, I was very intrigued in the beginning; but it didn't quite come together for me. I was invested almost immediately in Daphne's story and I felt like the significance of her relationship with Hugo from the start. But the story sort of unraveled in the middle and I didn't appreciate Daphne's full story and health status being revealed in the latter part of the book. I think it broke a bit of the connection with the character. The book explores all of Daphne's relationships through the years and notes which were significant and which were not so much. Ultimately, the ending of the book was quite predictable, which is not my favorite way to end a book, I like a little mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. Dahpne lives a pretty nice life as a production assistant in Hollywood, she loves her job, is close with her parents, and has a great friend in her ex-boyfriend. Her love life never seems to have relationship lasting power, though. She attributes this to mysterious messages with time stamps that appear each time she enters a relationship. When she meets Jake on a blind date, it appears that the unpredicability has come to an end. He is perfect on paper, but she has minor, nagging reservations about the relationship. The reader then finds out what may be holding Daphne back, and why she relies on the "expiration dates" a bit too much. Is it possible an expired relationship may be the one that will bring her the most happiness?

This was definitely a cutesy book to read but I didn’t absolutely love the book which I was disappointed with.

Daphne keeps getting these expiration date letters for the guys she is dating and basically letting it dictate her relationships/life. Did she really never once try and see what would happen if she dated them longer? I’m also a little disappointed in the character development of Hugo. We know/find out more about Daphne and Jake but not so much about Hugo.

I do think Rebecca Serle paints the scene of where the book takes place and what’s going on, time of year, what they wear which really puts you in that moment and I do enjoy that.

Overall this book was a meh… it was ok.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

Rebecca does it again. This was a fantastic love story that I was unable to put down. I enjoyed the 2 timelines that tied everything together

Rebecca has written a heart story about a girl named Daphne. She is more than an assistant, more than the boyfriend notes she gets - which by the way are so fun to read about. This story will touch you, will keep you turning the pages as you find out the secrets she has been hiding. I love this story, you will too. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. It’s a good one!

Rebecca Serle does it again! Her books captivate me from the beginning and I cannot out them down! This book really makes you think about ideas you may have but life has other plans. Expiration Dates was just another great book by Serle, she is an author I will always read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published March 5, 2024.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by this author, and it was my favorite. Although the premise is a bit far-fetched (how Daphne finds prices of paper that tell her how long her relationships will last) it was a quick and enjoyable read.

Halfway through I thought I foresaw an obvious ending but I was wrong. I was shocked by an unexpected turn and very pleased with the ending.

This was so heartfelt, and magical. Not my favorite of this author but definitely worth a read. I think Serle does emotion so well!

Dating can be wonderful, fascinating and heartfelt, but also exhausting and sometimes painful. But what if with every new romantic partner, the universe slipped you a note to let you know how long it would last…

This is Daphne’s experience in Expiration Dates. Whether it’s a few days or years, with each new man she dates she receives an inconspicuous note letting her know exactly how long the relationship will last.

The expiration dates prove to be a blessing and a curse - would you hold back your feelings if you knew the time together was limited? Or would you enjoy the finite amount of time whole heartedly whilst embracing the relationships impending end? In Daphne’s case it’s a bit of both.

I really loved this concept, enjoyed the romance, and how the stories of these past dates were interwoven throughout the book. I would have liked to have more character development and depth in Daphne, Jake and Hugo. They each felt a bit two dimensional, especially the men. I laughed and shed some tears, but the last part of the book wasn’t as satisfying for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Expiration Dates was a fun read for me. It was a different premise than your average romance and I loved it. I didn’t see the twist coming which is always refreshing in a book. Absolutely would recommend this to everyone.

Daphne has been getting little pieces of paper ever since she was in elementary school with the name of a boy/man stating how many days she would spend with him until she breaks up with him. But then one day, once Daphne is all grown up, she gets that slip of paper with just a name, no number! Who is this man, and what will the future hold? This is an interesting premise by Rebecca Serle, but then again her books always have a twist. I did not like this one as much as I did In Five Years or One Italian Summer (the Amalfi coast!) but I do recommend this for all public libraries!

This was a beautiful whimsical romance.
Los Angeles is the second main character. I liked the characters, I enjoyed that were just flawed real people. The relationship that I thought was the most beautiful was actually with Daphne and her father.
If you’re a fan of the author you’ll love this. If you’re not you probably wont. I think the writing was beautiful and easy to read at the same time. The book was on the short side but felt just right. The jumping timeline was easy to follow and enjoyable. I get the descriptions were sometimes unnecessary, it doesn’t really matter what everyone is wearing. But also some people like that visual and to me it didn’t take away from the story any. It went along with the detailed descriptions of the city and places. I don’t need to know the name of every place they attended, it all means nothing to me. But it worked.
Overall I really enjoyed this and would like to read more from this author.