Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. It took me a while to get into this story but once I did I could not put this down. A beautiful story about a young women with a heart condition, who get magic notes every time she meets a boyfriend about how long the relationship will last. Serle always marries romance and magical realism, and this book is no different. This is a beautiful story about love, and hope, and finding yourself. I really loved this one.

I have been a fan of Rebecca Serle since her debut. Enjoying this book was no exception. I sunk easily into Serle's writing style and Daphne's head. I loved that this book was about love, but also about *choice* and recognizing what you want, versus what you think is expected of you. (My only reason for 4 not 5 stars is I didn't root/"ship" for the couple that ended up together, but minor qualm in a great book.)

I have enjoyed Serle's books in the past, so I was excited about this, but ultimately it disappointed me. The concept of the book was interesting, and I really enjoyed the creativity in it, especially at the end. Adding in health issues was a cheap trick Serle employed to add depth to the book, and while as someone who had chronic health issues, I felt she did a decent job giving the POV of an ill person, it generally felt like it didn't 'fit' in with the rest of the book. It was difficult to connect with certain characters - Daphne and Jake are the two that come to mind, which is crucial given how much of a focus is on them - and overall, this book was not at the level I expected from Serle given her other novels.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

My new favorite Rebecca Serle's title hands down! Expiration Dates is a romance, but not in a corny love story type of way. A unique plot centered around notes the main character, Daphne, receives for every new love interest with their name and a number—how long they'll be in her life. This is until she meets Jake and the note bears no number. Paired with Serle's vivid writing style, Expiration Dates will pull you into Daphne's world and take you on a ride that will pull at your heartstrings.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Rebecca Serra’s “Expiration Dates”. I loved her past novels and this one did not disappoint.

I found this book had a similar vibe to “The Measure” but with love. 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. 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.

But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself wondering if she is really in love with the man or the idea of love and letting the universe decide.

I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. I was honestly a little skeptical because of the supernatural element in it but that element just made the book better with still being able to relate to the characters and their everyday battles of love, health and family.
I can’t say much without giving away half the book but it’s full of surprises and you’ll find yourself questioning what you would do.

Rebecca Serlre wrote an emotionally charging and thought provoking novel that makes you question your trust in fate and the universe. A beautiful read!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the Arc!

The premise of this story was very interesting. Each time the main character met a new potential love interest, she would receive a piece of paper with a time limit on it. Like 3 months or 6 weeks or 1 night. She had no idea where these slips of paper came from or who sent them. It must have been the universe. But the predictions were always true. Something always happened to end the relationship exactly on the "expiration date". Until she got one with just a name and no date. What could that mean? Well it must mean that he is "the one". The final one. Because she knew from the beginning when the relationship would end, she played it that way. So with no date, that could only mean she was supposed to marry this one. Right? Well maybe, maybe not. This is a very interesting concept to think about and apply to our mortality. If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness and told you had 6 months to live (your personal expiration date), how would you live those next 6 months? Would you commit to anything knowing it wouldn't be long-term? Hmmm...

Oh Rebecca. I love her writing so dearly. One Italian Summer is one of my all time favourites. Her writing is so easy to follow yet beautiful. The stories are always so interesting and magical. And this book is no different.

How would you react if you knew how long all of your relationships were going to last? Would you cut it off at that point and withdraw? Would you try to make it work by pleading and begging, or would you simply live your life and see how it works out.

This was such a beautiful and interesting story, I wish it were longer and I wish we got a bit more info on each of the dates our main character went on. Especially with her best friend Hugo and main romantic interest Jake. The storyline moved very fast. The chapters were short and sweet. Plus the big twist and the ending twist. Unexpected yet super cute and how I had hoped the book turned out.

This is appropriate for pretty much all ages. And I think everyone especially teens and young adults will enjoy this story. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is quite the page-turner with twists and emotional beats that will likely make it a chart-topper in 2024. While I wish there was more of a closed ending, I get why it’s left open. At the beginning of the story, I had trouble connecting with the character, but soon I understood why.

I was slightly triggered, so please check the trigger warnings first. I normally don’t because I have few triggers, but I was surprised by where the book went, and it caught me unawares.

What does not make the book perfect, which is likely just a “me” problem, is all of the name-dropping of L.A. hotspots, clothing brands, etc. I like it when a story is timeless so I can appreciate it years later when I pick it up back again. The multiple Erewhon references, for example, were cringe for me. Also, the vendetta against Brita filters.

I would like to thank Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a book I was sad to finish. I just really loved it. It was fun, and happy, and sad, and hopeful. It just made me feel all the things. I never expected the twist that came, and after finishing the book, I can’t imagine a better twist.

Daphne is someone I could imagine being friends with, and going for drinks, and fishing about guys and dating. I was rooting for her! I was totally invested in her. I could picture her apartment, and see her with her parents, and on walks with her dog.

I don’t want to give anything away. I just want to say if you are looking for a book to curl up with and laugh and cry, and take you on an escape for a few hours, you will love this book.

I was SO excited to have the opportunity to read the newest Rebecca Serle book. EXPIRATION DATES follows Daphne Bell, who isn’t quite like other women; whenever she meets a new man, she mysteriously finds a slip of paper with just a name and a length of time symbolizing how long their relationship will last.

Until she meets Jake, that is. His piece of paper has one word: his name.

Filled with Rebecca Serle’s characteristic mix of magical realism and emotional depth, this book follows Daphne’s relationship with Jake, but it’s so much more than just that. EXPIRATION DATES explores what it means to know someone is “the one” and how each person we love changes us. My interpretation of the notes changed throughout the book, and I thought they were a clever mechanism through which readers could explore Daphne’s history and growth. I really enjoyed this book, and I’m happy that it lived up to my hopes!

EXPIRATION DATES by Rebecca Serle is out March 5, 2024.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was my first time reading Rebecca Serle’s work, and I truly loved it. The plot was intriguing and very different from anything I’ve read before, which kept me turning the pages and completing the book in only a couple of days. Daphne is a remarkable heroine with a medical condition, who overcomes many odds, and her circumstances reminded me so much of my oldest son, who is a Type 1 diabetic. (I caught myself ugly crying during parts of this story that hit really close to home.) Even though I predicted the ending halfway through the book, I was so happy it turned out the way I hoped it would. I would highly recommend Expiration Dates to everyone, and I can’t wait to read more of Rebecca’s work in the near future.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I ended up DNF’ing it at 30%. The book was nicely written and I think this would be a great one for a lot of people but unfortunately I was not vibing with the story line. I might pick this up again at a later date but for now I can’t do it.

Rebecca Serle is an author who writes with passion as she creates unusual plots. Her books never disappoint and this love story once again caught my attention right from the start. Yes, she receives notes detailing the time limit for each of her romantic relationships but the story is so much more. We experience her growth as an individual as past romances and boyfriends are revealed. Finally she is able to power through her the problem that is holding her back and move forward into her new life. #ExpirationDates #RebeccaSerle #NetGalley

Rebecca Serle has been a favorite for me ever since I read In Five Years and The Dinner List. I was SO excited when I was approved on NetGalley to read her newest - and in my opinion, one of her most mature, heartwarming novels to date!

Expiration Dates is about Daphne, a single woman in her 30s who has special insight into each relationship due to mysterious notes that arrive telling her exactly how long the relationship will last. The story opens with Daphne meeting Jake - the first ever note that had no time limit attached...so does this mean Jake is "the one"? Is this her forever match?

As Daphne's story unfolds, she realizes that maybe knowing her future isn't always what it's cracked up to be. This is a book about love, yes. But this is also a book about choices. It's a book about ignoring the background noise and following your heart. This novel made me laugh and cry and everything in between.

One of Serle's best, in my opinion! I devoured this in a couple of days. I am already in book hangover mode!!!

You know that episode of Black Mirror, called Hang the DJ, where they have the app that tells them how long their relationship will last?

This is basically that except it’s only Daphne that gets little notes out of the blue with a name and a timeframe of her next relationship.

Because I initially felt like I’d heard this story before, I went into it with very middle of the line expectations. I thought I predicted the ending perfectly. And I ALMOST did but the one piece that I didn’t see coming was why I ended up loving this so much.

In my opinion, this is Rebecca’s best work so far. It’s smart and funny and had me shedding an expected tear or two in the airport waiting to board my flight.

Would recommend, very very much so.

“I thought if I had all the answers, if I was always one step ahead, if I knew my hand, then I’d never lose. But being surprised by life isn’t losing, it’s living. It’s messy and uncomfortable and complicated and beautiful. It’s life, all of it. The only way to get it wrong is to refuse to play.”

4.5 stars! As someone who doesn’t usually gravitate toward the romance genre, this book had me eating my words. It completely captured my attention from beginning to end - I read it in a day! Huge thanks to Atria Books for emailing me with access to an advanced copy - I loved this story and I think you will too.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of Expiration Dates. I have been a devoted fan to Rebecca Serle since I read her wonderful novel, “In Five Years.” She is a fantastic writer and really great at developing interesting and surprising plots!

In her latest book, “Expiration Dates,” she doesn’t disappoint. Daphne is a woman in her early thirties. Since she was young, she received a note or postcard out of the blue that tells her the name of someone she will have a relationship with and how long it will last. This may or may not cause her to terminate relationships at their expiration date. She meets people she wish she could love for longer and those who the time allotted is enough. What would you do if you loved someone but you knew it was destined to end?

I won’t say more because each layer to this novel is important to the end and I don’t want to give anything away. This is a terrific and satisfying read and I believe will generate a whole new group of Rebecca Serle devotees.

Rebecca Serle is a master of the feel good women’s romance book. The way she writes about how real complex women operate in the world and how they view love really hits a cord with me. I loved this book and how Daphne’s notes with how long her relationships will last affects her view on the men she’s with. This book (along with her others) always have a touch of magic but she writes it in a way that seems like it totally possible. This book was absolutely wonderful and the way the story progressed kept my guessing as to what the ending was going to be up until the last page!

This is A book that puts you through the wringer of emotions but by the end of it you’re re-examining all of that emotional turmoil and the journey you went on of self discovery without even knowing you were slowly becoming a different person from who you were when you first started reading the book to when you finished it. Absolutely superb.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Artia Books for giving me an ARC for this book in exchange for a review! I was excited to read this since this is one of the first Rebecca Serle books I've read, but unfortunately, I wasn’t a big fan.

In my opinion, the execution of the story was lacking. I felt that some significant scenes were glossed over and not given enough attention. The writing style had a lot of unnecessary details about houses, white shirts, blue jeans, and smells. I was hoping for more character development, specifically for Daphne, Jake, Kendra, and Hugo. These characters have great potential, but their stories fall flat. The plot regarding Daphne's health could have been introduced earlier instead of revealing it much later on. Overall, I found it difficult to connect with the characters and the story.

The chapters jumping between Daphne's current relationship and her previous ones seemed unnecessary. I wished her relationship with Jake was more flushed out, but in the end, it felt a little rushed. At the climax of the story, there was an important moment and all the tension was gone because of an inside joke Jake had. It took away a lot of the build-up and seriousness of the situation and made it seem like it wasn't important.

This book had so much potential but unfortunately fell short with its execution. This disappointed me because I wanted to love this book so much more than I did.