Daphne has always known exactly how long each of her relationships will last. The universe delivers to her a piece of paper at the start of each new relationship detailing the name of the new love interest and the exact amount of time they will spend together. So is Daphne open to exploring love in each of these relationships or is she simply biding her time until the expiration date?

When Daphne meets Jake for a blind date, she finally receives a paper with no date on it. Is Jake the one? And if he is, can she tell him the whole truth? As time goes on, Daphne wonders if her fate is really tied to Jake for the rest of her life.

This book explores what it means to be single and part of a couple, what it means to be independent and truthful, and how all of those things change as life goes on. I liked this book, but I was about halfway through before it really got interesting. It's not my favorite Rebecca Serle book, but if you believe in love, true love, and the journey it takes to get there, you will enjoy it.

I really liked this one! Fun and def great for springtime/summer vacation reading this little romance with a bit of fantastical element is a delight. Daphne is single and the plot Serle weaves in order for love to come her way, and stay, is a unique one. I liked the deeper meaning of finding ones self and identity, with or without love connections.

Thank you so much @AtriaBooks for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 05 March 2024)

SYNOPSIS | Throughout her life Daphne sporadically receives notes which contain the name of the next man she'll date and how many days / weeks / months that relationship will last. One day she receives a note that just says "Jake" with no time period defined which leads Daphne to believe this man must be her forever person.

WHAT I LIKED:
- core themes that I think a lot of people will relate too (uncertainty in relationships, inevitability of morality and living with hope)
- this author is really good at writing contemporary romances sprinkled with light magical realism
- such an interesting premise for a story

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- too much page time was dedicated to relationships that ultimately didn't matter (I wanted more with the main love interest to understand why he was a good fit for her & make me root for them)
- introducing a serious medical condition more than halfway through the book felt like a copout (also this particular health condition is especially triggering for me)
- the ending felt really abrupt & unfinished
- the romance(s) felt overshadowed by the health condition

This one was a DNF for me. I'm sorry. I got 100 pages in and was just struggling.

There are a lot of good things. For instance, I love this idea of someone getting love notes for suitors. I love the premise. The characters are relatable. I loved that.

I feel like this wasn't cohesive enough for me. There were holes that I needed to be filled in for me. Perhaps if I had continued on those would be filled - but I have too many books on my TBR to struggle through a book that just isn't for me.

I will still continue to read what Rebecca Serle writes. She's a great author - this one was just a miss for this girl!

Entertaining read, but found the romance plotline to be predictable. I liked the characters, but overall found the plot to be underwhelming and didn't feel an emotional pull. The magical realism element was fun.

I thought the concept for this book was very intriguing. However, the execution of it fell rather flat. The character development was lacking and the pacing was slow. I do appreciate being given the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

I absolutely adored this book. It had a unique twist in it that immediately hooked my attention in addition to the fact that it's written by Rebecca Serle. I fell in love with her writing after In Five Years came out and I eagerly await every novel since. The development of the main character was done perfectly and I truly loved rooting for Daphne to be happy. Love is complicated and it's messy. Everyone is always trying to find their person, even when they say they are not looking. In some ways, I wish I had a note telling me expiration dates of relationships. However, the truth of love is that we are in control of our destiny and Serle captured that idea perfectly. The twists and turns within the book kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put it down until I had finished the last page. You can't ask for anything more than that from a book!

Thank you for the ARC! I am eagerly awaiting having this book on my shelves.

This was my 2nd book by Rebecca Serle and while I didn’t love One Italian Summer, the premise of this book sounded really interesting and it was until it wasn’t.

Spoilers ahead:

I loved how this book started out and the notes with the amount of time you spend with someone. I was rooting for Hugo from the jump and I think that just sticking to the notes and finally ignoring them could have been enough of a story since ultimately that’s what ended up happening. I think that throwing the heart issue in in the middle of the story ruined the book for me. You are dating someone who lost a spouse to illness, but are letting him fall for you without telling him you have a life threatening disease…it just felt wrong. I think that this was a totally unnecessary addition to the story and the same ending outcome could have occurred without it. Speaking of the ending, it felt so rushed and I wanted more. I’m giving this 3 stars simply because I enjoyed the book without the medical issue and the ending was mostly what I was hoping for. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Rebecca Serle easily became one of my favorite authors and once again, she knocks it out of the park with EXPIRATION DATES. I always admire how much depth and beauty there is to her stories and writing, how captivating they are with such profound messages with a dash of magical realism. Her writing has a way of tugging at my heart strings... making me laugh and smile in one moment and crying the next.

Seeing Daphne know exactly how long her next relationship will last and with who based on a piece a paper that magically appears, she has the advantage of having armor around herself to prevent her from being completely heartbroken. As nice and helpful as that would be for anyone, Daphne realizes that that protection is what ends up limiting her (along with something else I will not spoil). That what makes relationships so beautiful, the fact that no one has no idea how it's going to turn out and for how long and still deciding to risk it all. Sometimes playing it safe is what ends up hurting us in the end. I would like to know the meaning of why Hugo's card appeared later than all the others.

I loved getting to see all the beginnings and ends to Daphne's romantic relationships and the different personalities of the partners and the lessons learned from each. I devoured EXPIRATION DATES as quickly as I could while the whole time thinking to myself, "this is so good, I never want to be done with this book." But the ending was so, so worth it. I look forward to whatever the author decides to grants us with next... I'm just praying I can wait that long!

Much gratitude to Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you're love romance books but want something different, read Expiration Dates. You don't even need me to write anything else to convince you to read this, just trust me on this. Pick this book up and read it. I went into this completely blind and my mind is completely blown. Serle is brilliant. The story jumps from Daphne in the present day to Daphne's relationships in the past. As each relationship is told, you get a bit more of Daphne. A bit more of why she is the way she is. This was so beautifully and smartly written, the language used, the characters, just everything. It was emotionally heavy and real, while still being cute and funny. Daphne was such a relatable FMC, not just in her romantic life but in her everyday struggles. And, man, the way Serle writes her characters to say I love you without actually SAYING "I love you". Ugh. My freaking heart. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rebecca Serle for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is my fourth book by Rebecca Serle and she never disappoints, I love how she mixes women’s fiction with magical realism. I thought this one would be a light, fluffy romance but boy was I wrong…this book was so much more than that. It is such an intriguing concept, little notes tell our main character, Daphne, how long her relationships will last.

The author throws in a couple of surprise twists that I did not see coming and I thoroughly enjoyed being surprised that way. The best part, for me, was when Daphne stopped letting the pieces of paper dictate her life and she took control of her choices herself and remembers you only have one life so live it to your best ability to be happy no matter how long or short it is.

I liked the way Serle writes, it isn’t too flowery or wordy and her books are always so unique. The style is easy to read and so engrossing I managed this one in a couple of sittings. I love the way that romance isn’t the most important part of her plots but they still manage to give me all the feels and have me cheering the couple on. The book is short and very emotive and was such a gut punch a couple of times. I was really happy when Daphne found herself and her one true love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne Bell receives notes every so often with the name of a guy she’ll soon meet and the length of time they’ll be together. Sometimes it’s one night, others for three weeks, or six months. Daphne feels the Universe is sending these notes and who am I to question her belief.

I loved this booked.
It was just a sweet happy romance. There was definitely some twist and turns along the way in this short read but I couldn't put it down. I was constantly wanting to find out where the next note was going to turn up and hear the story of the relationship that goes along with it.

This books publishes Mar 2024 and would be perfect for a quick spring/summer read.

Just okay for me. I usually breeze through her books but I struggled with this one.

Personally, I didn't love the ending and the route the plot took. It wasn't bad, just wasn't for me.

Rebecca Serle’s newest book does not disappoint. I started reading before bed, and next thing I know it’s 2 am and I’m invested. It is a heartwarming and clever story following Daphne’s life navigating work, dating and her friendships. I enjoyed all the characters and the magical realism Serle weaves into the story. Loved the twists and turns, this book was a fun read.

When I saw Rebecca Serle had a new book out, I was so incredibly excited to get my hands on it because The Dinner List and In Five Years, both by her, are two of the books that I recommend to absolutely everyone. Needless to say, I went into this with extremely high hopes. One continuous theme throughout the majority of Serle's books is magical realism, and she does it incredibly well. Her books are always enjoyable; the writing is good, chapters are short and they're always easy to fall right into. The premise of this book was amazing, however there were a lot of times throughout the story that it just felt unfinished. I would've loved to see these characters a bit more fleshed out- Hugo, for example, felt very surface level to me yet we're supposed to support this ending? Despite a few flaws, I enjoyed the plot and Daphne a lot, I just wanted a bit more. Again, this might be a result of my insanely high expectations (sorry, Rebecca, I hold you to a high standard) so would still recommend it if you're a fan of Serle's!

Thank you for this ARC! If you enjoy romance novels with some magical themes, then this is for you. It has likable characters and a happy ending. Unfortunately, there is little character development which made it fall a little flat for me. It is a great escape romance and I think many will like it!

Daphne gets a slip of paper with a name and number every time she meets a new man. The number gives the exact amount of time they will be together. Finally, she meets a blinid name Jake and there's no number on the paper. She wonders if he's the one?

A little of magic/fantasy element in this book. But either than the magical slip of paper, everything else is a realistic description of dating issues. A very unique plot with lots of emphasis on love, friendship and heartbreak. Keeps you wonder what will happen at the end. Really enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

This book was so cute! I loved the friendship between Hugo and her. I liked the writing and I loved the story. Everyone deserves love and a happy ending.

hank you NetGalley for the advance preview of this book!

I LOVED it. So good. My favorite Rebecca Serle book. This one dove deep, made me feel all the things, and in the end I was smiling. That’s what I call a winner! For once I was not bothered by the chapters that went back in time, I looked forward to them!

just reviewed Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle. #NetGalley
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If this book had been twice as long, I still would have wanted more! Such a fun, original concept, with a balance between beautiful life lessons and twists I never saw coming. I haven’t fallen in love with so many characters in one book in a very long time; I highly recommend this one to anyone in a reading slump, it’s impossible to put down!