I loved Rebecca’s first two novels. But reading this one, and looking back, I wonder if I have outgrown her writing style. While I love the magical realism and the big idea she writes around, it’s the getting there in this book that doesn’t give me the depth I crave in a story.

So much time is spent describing what a character is wearing and on their appearance, or on the decor of a restaurant. In every scene, I knew a character’s outfit, but did not understand their feelings. And because her books are already so short, this type of misguided focus makes the story come up short, too.

Spoilers ahead…because of this, Daphne’s relationship with Luke, and its ending, didn’t feel disappointing. We’re told he’s perfect. But so little time is spent developing their relationship that I didn’t care when she ended it like I know I should have. Similarly, the reveal of her heart condition didn’t gut punch me either. It just…was. I could tell you more about her sleeveless turtlenecks or heels she’ll need to take off at the end of the night or how “beautiful” every restaurant is more than I could pretend to have any connection to these characters.

This book lacked a depth her debut had. And I think it’s because if you’re going to write such short novels, they must go deep, be focused. This one felt shallow, like time was wasted in the wrong areas. I’ll be curious to give her next one a try, just to confirm if at 34 I’ve now outgrown these stories, but as is, this one doesn’t shine.

4.5 out of 5. I was very excited to receive this ARC and got right down to it as soon as it was in my kindle! A quite intellectual rom com, asking a number of hard questions within a very romantic setting. How do you value life and relationships when there are expiration dates? It poses a lot of philosophical questions. Would you want to know the expiration date of a relationship before it starts? Would knowing these things affect your actions? And what about life, would you want to know when your expiration date is or live like it could be any day? Im still debating. In a way I do want to know. I am the type of person who has her tarot read and likes to know things so on the one side I would love the information. But then with information would i stop sensing my intuition?. I think information might also make me give something or someone a chance I hadn't thought of before or would probably never do, but could I potentially be stopping other chances to fulfil the prophecy given?. I am of two minds and it is so interesting. Another good question that is asked directly in the book: When do we stop believing in the things we do? And why does it happen so slowly instead of all at once? I devoured this book in one sitting a delightfully written book, and having absolutely loved In 5 Years but not gotten fully into One Italian summer, I'm glad this brought me back to when I read and adored In 5 Years. all these highbrow questions are left amongst a very light and entertaining retelling of Daphne's' relationship woes. Without spoilers the book has a great twist and a perfect ending, there were tears involved, but my curious mind wants to know more - what happens after??? I want a sit down with the author. This will be a must but for next years spring break.

First things first, this is not your regular romcom at all as it involves some magical realism, Daphne’s acceptance of herself and giving her relationship a genuine chance. She receives a note at the beginning of her relationship that predicts the end date of that relationship. She believes it so much that she no longer lets her life take its own chances. It does go deep about how she needs to come out of this circle and needs to fight for her choices without constantly staring at the end. Her health concern felt like a twist that went on to become the focus of the plot but as someone who has seen a lot more about this health situation, it was just too emotional and I need to thank the author for including the main character with such a health situation. It is a beautiful story about hope and acceptance!

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and opinion.

I am not normally a Rom Com kind of reader but this book is a perfect example of rom com LITERATURE.
Serle introduces us to Daphne Bell, who seems to be another typical millennial type who hasn't quite launched nor figured out what she wants in life. She seems to believe in a plan from the universe and based on her experiences its easy to see why. Daphne receives slips of papers in strange manners that specifically predict or state the time she will spend with her next romantic partner. She doesn't question is after the first few and she tells very few people.

I would have thought that the slips of paper would have caused to many questions in my mind, but Searl handles this all as a pro, and you quickly wonder to, "Where Is my slip?" All of the early signs in the story that signified problems in the plot to me were answered quickly midway. This is a well thought out story, original and fun and even the biggest rom com grinch will love it!

Grab the rom com of 2024 and enjoy EXPIRATION DATES!
#ATria #ExpirationDates #rebeccaserle

I have read all of Rebecca Serle's books and this one did not disappoint. Breezy fun style and a great beach or weekend afternoon escape. Although I figured out the end, it was still a good book and her fans will enjoy every page

I loved this book! It was an easy and fun read, I read it in a day. The main character is lovable and has a couple surprises in store! Daphne gets pieces of paper telling her how long each relationship will last and I was so invested wondering what would happen and would she finally meet one? I loved that there were a couple of plot twists. 4 stars because I wished I loved her love interest a little bit more!

Thank you so much to net galley and Atria books for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have always been a fan of Rebecca Serle but felt that this title fell a bit short of previous ones. There is always a bit of magical realism which adds to the charm of the story. In this case each time the main character Daphne meets a man she receives a slip of paper with his name and a time frame on it it. The concept is very intriguing until she receives a note different from previous ones. This provides an interesting twist to her future. However when combined with a health issue and continued flashbacks to previous relationships the story takes a turn. This does cause some confusion for the reader. I will say that Serle did wrap it up in a very satisfying way to me. I was not a fan of the flashbacks as they did not seem to enhance the story or provide incite to Daphne. There were some rather poignant moments with the family which did give depth to the characters. I would rate the book at 3.5 but round up to 4 for scale. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy chick lit and romance.

I was invited by Atria Books to read this on NetGalley and I was intrigued by the summary. Daphne has been receiving notes since she was dating on how long she would end up dating a man. But then she gets one with just a name and no period of time, Daphne assumes he is the one. Of course, it's not that simple and there are secrets and doubts that keep this one intriguing until the end. Rebecca Serle is a new author to me and I'm so glad I had the chance to read this ARC that was provided by the Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my more favorite books of Rebecca Serle, this is about Daphne who gets slips of paper for the men she meets. On these paper slips are their names and a duration - 3 weeks, 4 months, etc. One day she gets a slip of paper with just a man's name on it - no expiration date, just "Jake". So that means that Jake is The One, correct? But Daphne wonders if the paper is true, and struggles with key hallmarks of a relationship: honest and commitment. This is a book about love, but also a lot more, including our choices in life and what we choose to influence us. The really great thing about Rebecca Serle's books are that they are relatively short, but always pack an emotional punch.

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

This book can easily be read in one sitting. It’s less than 200 pages and took me around 3hrs to read. With that being said; I’m not sure I mean that in a I binged it because it was so so good way…

It’s makes me sad to give a review that’s not absolutely glowing for an ARC, but this is my opinion and I’m always going be honest. And I believe that to be that this book just wasn’t for me.

In my honest opinion this book lacked so much. In 196 short pages, it lacked depth, detail and I feel like so much could’ve been said to fill it in or add substance. Countless big events in this book are rushed into, have no detail or emotion and just left me wondering….why 😰 It jumps back and forth alittle and I personally would have followed it easier with some before and after titles on chapters.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot, but there was no substance and emotion. I just felt meh the whole time 😢

Rebecca Serle has been a favorite for me ever since I read In Five Years and The Dinner List. These two were honestly some of my favs of all time. I was SO excited when I was sent "Expiration Dates" via Net Galley - and in my opinion, one of her most mature, heartwarming novels to date!

Daphne is looking for The One. She knows exactly how long each of her relationships is destined to last (via a slip of paper she receives with her date’s name and the duration of their romance- a night, a few weeks, a few months, etc. - until one note finally arrives with no end date. ). While her latest date with Jake goes well enough, Daphne seems to be getting everything she wanted…so why doesn’t it feel that way?

A little magical realism, a little romance, a lot of finding your way.

Rebecca Serle didn’t disappoint with her newest release! It was sweet, heartbreaking, heartwarming and hopeful! I will recommend this to anyone and everyone!

3 stars

I dont often read romance, but this one just sounded fun. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but it was enjoyable.
One little downfall, is that the disease felt like an afterthought, but then kind of took over. If it was established early and played a roll throughout it would’ve been fine, or if it was left out completely it could’ve still worked.

Overall I did enjoy the book, and it was a nice little break from what I usually read.

This was my first book by Rebecca Serle, but it definitely won’t be my last! I loved her simple plot mixed with her complex characters. Definitely an author that I will stay with!

NetGalley kindly gave me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review and well, here it goes... Once again, Rebecca Serle writes a book with a cool concept, but absolutely lacking in execution. This review contains mild spoilers.

• The writing style is so rudimentary. So many unnecessary details about every character's exact outfit and how they smell. It's fluff and genuinely adds nothing to each scene it's in. I'm not kidding, it was every chapter. Explaining every outfit in detail is cheap writing.

• Writing in a major health concern/essentially terminal illness for the main character was a copout and adding it so late into the book was cheap. It then became the entire focus of the book. Focus on your cool concept and stop giving characters illnesses because you think it's going to make your writing "deep". This one in particular just felt like it did not fit in with the rest of the book.

• The character development fell flat. I felt for Daphne and her situation with the notes which kept her from getting attached to love interests, but then the book became about her illness and her victimhood and her what... not wanting a great guy who wants to stick beside her? The scene of Daphne confronting Jake and ending things she basically invalidated his feelings and gaslit him. There was absolutely no character development for Hugo. None. At the end of this book we're supposed to believe Daphne tries again with this guy? The guy who left her after finding out about her illness, who then tricked her with a fake note saying how long she'd be with Jake. THAT'S the guy for her? PLEASE.

Every time Rebecca Serle takes a cool concept and is like "Let me add in a debilitating illness, some descriptions of bad outfits, and some basic, surface-level thoughts about life." Every time. At least when other authors recycle plots, they do it well. And at least this book didn't have a cheating plot line like One Italian Summer did.

Once again, another miss with this author.

Very cute book! How would you approach new relationships if you knew there was or was not an end date? Enjoyed the characters and there were a few unexpected twists. Like many of this author’s books, the story contains a touch of magical realism, but not too much to make me not interested. Enjoyable!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I kind of loved this book. The main character randomly receives piece of paper that say things like "Seth 8 days" or "Jack 6 months" that tell her exactly how long a relationship will last. In this book, she gets one that says "Jake" but is blank. Obviously not even remotely realistic, but it was an interesting take on how you can approach a relationship when you know it has and end date...or doesn't.

Another winner by Rebecca Serle. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Ms. Serle has quickly become a favorite author of mine. Her stories are easy to read but hard to forget. Don't hesitate to get this one.

This was my favorite of Rebecca Serle's yet—the conceit (a woman receives a paper noting the length of every relationship when it begins) is already ripe for discussion and exploration, and the way Serle unfolds the secrets, backstory, and relationships along the way is satisfying, surprising, and ultimately so powerfully drawn into a beautiful message by the end.

Another amazing read by Rebecca Serle! She has become one of my go-to authors so I was so delighted to be able to receive my copy. This story was so beautifully written and unique. Perfect rom-com cozy read!