This is my first book by Rebecca Serle, and overall, I liked it. It had some good messages and was well written. It is a quick read that did keep me hooked.
This is the story of Daphne, who receives a paper for every romantic relationship she has that tells her how long it will last. At first, she didn't believe it, but it was true to the day. This tells the story of her romances and her life.
I liked the book, I just felt a bit annoyed with the heroine at times. Some of the relationship stories being told felt like filler and didn't add much to the story.
This is a story of growth, self-realization and acceptance, and love.

Daphne Bell knows how long a relationship will last before it even begins.
Each time, she receives a note with the name of a man she will soon meet and the length of time they will be together. Sometimes it's just one night, others promise weeks or months.
Then, she receives a note with a name, but no date.
I hesitate to say much more about the plot of "Expiration Dates." It's sweet, poignant and emotional without ever becoming too heavy. A welcome easy read from Rebecca Serle.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this advance copy with me in exchange for my honest review.

Rebecca searle has written a novel with a cute concept and heartwarming characters. Dealing with tough situations and adding a little magic makes this one of my top reads of 2023!

I loved the mix of magical realism and romance. I found Daphne’s character to be relatable and I struggle with an illness and have a hard time opening up.

Another hit by Rebecca Searle. She is now officially an auto read for me! I love how she mixes everyday life with magical realism and makes it all seem possible. He characters are likable and relatable and I enjoy the storylines! In this story a woman, Daphne, receives a note every time she begins a new relationship. On it is the man’s name and how long the relationship will last. She has gotten used to this and now that she’s in her 30s it just seems matter of fact for her, until she gets a new note with a name but without a time. What does this mean? She goes into this new relationship without a timeline and things get complicated for her.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

easy to read and mostly enjoyable.. except for the way she broke up with jake what the fuck was that daphne

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an arc of this book. I was so excited to receive an advanced copy. I always love any books written by Rebecca Serle and this new book was no exception. It was an emotional love story. I truly enjoyed this book. The author weaved so many little nuggets of life reflection throughout the story. I found myself highlighting several quotes throughout this book as the main character, Daphne, went on her journey. I was rooting for her through each relationship. Without giving any spoilers, this book will make you believe in love. As with all of Rebecca Serle’s books, this one is emotional….it will tug at your heartstrings, but leave you with hope. I loved every minute of this book!! It is a 5 for me….leaving me with many things on my heart as I read every page start to finish.

I love how Serle manages to add a little bit of magic to the premise of each book! This one is provided in the form of notes Daphne finds before the beginning of each of her romantic relationships indicating the duration of said relationship. I’m not sure how the author does it, but she manages to make us feel. This book tackles grief in different ways than her other works. Without providing a spoiler, I’ll add that I could feel Daphne’s grief with the loss of what she thought her future self was going to suffer. The secrecy surrounding her inability to open up to others led to isolation and missed relationships. This was delivered in an honest and authentic manner by Serle. I did feel this book was a bit rushed and likely could have used more content. Despite this minor critique, I found myself tearing up and really appreciating the true magic of Serle’s book. I will read everything she writes! Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but it fell flat for me. The premise as a whole was cute, but I wanted to yell at each character (especially Hugo) soooo many times.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was pleasantly surprised. The story goes between past and present, is very well written and has plenty of revelations throughout. If your intrigued by the summery, I think you'll really enjoy this book!

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle adds a new twist to the typical girl meets boy romance story. Instead, when Daphne Bell is on the verge of a new boyfriend, she receives a mysterious note that tells her exactly how long the relationship will last. This plays out in many different ways throughout a variety of relationships, but is more complicated paired with the fact that Daphne doesn't know exactly how many days she has left.

This novel has many of the typical elements of a romantic comedy, but also poses some deeper questions about life like are things like pre-ordained versus self fulfilling prophecy. Does knowing how long a relationship will last make it better, or does it limit the relationship into lasting only that long? As a reader, I pondered the question of what areas of life I am placing limits that perhaps are self imposed.

Overall, this is a quick read that has the opportunity to challenge the reader to think on some of life's questions while enjoying some romance. I recommend it for readers enjoys a splash of fantasy with romance. I would not describe this romance as a light and easy read, as it does deal with some more challenging storylines, but it does so in a way that feels hopeful for the future.

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

Daphne Bell receives a piece of paper every time she meets a new man with the exact amount of time they'll be together, ranging from days to years. Then one day she receives a piece of paper with only a name: Jake. For the first time she feels a relationship has the possibility of being her forever after. Daphne builds her relationship with Jake, but is keeping the notes and another big secret that only her former lover and best friend Hugo knows.

Does Daphne really have a choice in love? And if she does, who will she choose?

I thought Expiration Dates was a wonderful, heartfelt novel about love and friendship. This is my first Rebecca Serle book, but I look forward to diving into her backlist.

Thank you netgalley: this was pure brilliance.
Serle's other stories didn't quite hit for me nearly as well as this did, so if you're in my camp: PICK. THIS. UP.
What if you knew your love life expiration dates? Every relationship, every hook up, you knew exactly how long it would last? How would that color you as a person? When you finally meet the one who DOESN'T have an expiration date....what would drive you together, choice or fate?
This book did such a good job asking some really hard hitting questions about love, choice, expectancy, and endings that I wasn't totally prepared for! Daphne was so deep and yet so flawed, which made her the perfect person to receive these expiration notices. I particularly loved the snippet chapters that focused on exes' throughout her life, and how some of these known short term romances really shaped her. Jake is seemingly perfection, which makes him a perfect foil to her plans when his name shows up without the expiration date. And Hugo....too much about Hugo would make him a spoiler, but he is the quintessential "what could have been" best friend who plays the PERFECT side role in this story. Add in the friendship story lines and its even better.
I particularly LOVED the twist in this one. Serle is known for her twists and in the past, they've always muddied for me what would otherwise be a really good story. This one just double downed on the questions about choice and fate and really strengthened Daphne's ultimate ending: who decides on who you love?

Living the single life dictated by notes from the "Universe", Daphne is waiting to meet the "one". Really interesting premise and delightful story of love.

This was absolute perfection. It was a book I kept telling myself to slow down because I didn’t want it to end! Daphne was such a likable character to me. I don’t want to say too much in my review because there are some twists you don’t want revealed, but trust me, you don’t want to skip this one! Easy 5 stars for me.

This is only the second of Rebecca Serle’s books that I’ve read and once again, I loved it! Daphne is a 30 something single, and she receives notes with the name of her upcoming romance and the number of days of their relationship. This has been going on since grade school. Sounds strange, but it works! Does this affect the way Daphne looks at each relationship, does she just fulfill the notes, on purpose, or maybe not at all? When she gets the note for Jake, there isn’t an expiration date. Daphne wonders why- is it a mistake? Or is he the one?
This story is about so much more than these notes. I enjoyed this so much, and was so sad when it was over!

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

I loved this book! The premise was unique, the book was fun and I could not put it down. The twists and character development were to die for.

Unfortunately Rebecca Serle's recent books don't hold the same magic for me that "In Five Years" did. The premise of this book was really fun and cute, which is why I requested it, but the execution just did not work for me. Added to that, the halfway through health issue reveal seemed like a a cheap heartstring tug.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of EXPIRATION DATES, but sadly I think this might be my last shot with Rebecca Serle.

This book started off strong and kept my interest. Towards the middle I started to get board with the story line but it don’t end up getting better again at the end. It really never answered why she got the letters.

3.5/5 stars

I really wanted to love this book. The premise is interesting (the main character receives notes that tell her the exact expiration date of her relation? Sign me up!) and the first few chapters felt witty and quick.

But man, the writing really struggled to deliver the premise. There was no character development, a weird ramble of details on random things, no tension and the main character ended up feeling flat and frankly terrible (despite clearly being meant to be liked.) Illness was introduced late in the game in a way that felt cheap and not connected and my least favorite cutesty FMC trope of “you eat soo much but you stay so skinny without exercise isn’t that so quirky if you.”


The premise carried all the weight of the book, and the fact that I envisioned Hugo as Will Arnett.