Expiration Dates was a great spin on a love story! I enjoyed the concept of receiving slips of paper that told Daphne how much time each person would remain in her life. But, even more than that I enjoyed getting to read the results of the slips that Daphne receives for each of her relationships.

This book is so light hearted and warm. Daphne gets a letter for every new man she meets telling her how long she will be with them.. The magical realism was a nice touch to the story of how love really works in our day to day lives. For how light this book felt there is a lot of depth and things to take way from it, though they are subtle. There are a few twists that I didn’t expect which helped develop Daphne in a way that turned into my favorite part and her favorite lesson that she learned, love is a net. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

I love this book, read it in a day!
I received a ARC from Netgalley and was a perfect read. There was a bit of a twist midway through that I didn't see coming...then everything came into view a bit better.
Recommend!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for this advance copy of Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle in exchange for this honest review.

Rebecca Serle’s book was one of my most anticipated this year, and it did not disappoint. Our protagonist Daphne receives slips of paper with love interests and a time frame on it that tells her how long the relationship will last, until she receives one for a boy, Jake, with no date on it. We follow her in a few different times of her life, and this one does jump around in time based on the slip character noted, so that can be a bit challenging to follow, but in true Rebecca Serle fashion, we get a bit of magical realism and some twists that will destroy you. If it wasn’t for the back and forth, at less than 300 pages, this is a quick one you can finish quickly.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this honest review. Expiration Dates came out on Tuesday and can be purchased at your favorite book store!

In the book Expiration Dates by Rachel Sorrell we meet Daphne who all her life has been receiving pieces of paper, postcards index cards ET see with her next or current boyfriend and how long they’ll be together but tonight she received one that just said Jake and she just knew this was going to be her forever love. Throughout the book we go back to her pass and to her current day learning about how she met her ex boyfriends her best friend Hugo who is also her ex and the different times in ways she got these papers with the time limit on it. Do you want to know why and how she got these papers I mean the real reason… Well I do too but sadly it wasn’t in the book. That’s not the only negative either when her and Jake were at dinner and he walks her to her car and says can I see you again?… My jaw dropped… I mean really there was absolutely no chemistry and although I know the author thought what she had written was funny banter most of it I didn’t even get the jest nor the joke. Not only that what kind of Ron COM gives you driving directions on how to get from one side of LA to another the long version and The scenic version. I think I had it wrong and the romance was between the author and the city of LA. The good thing is this book isn’t as long as other rum comes they had more chemistry and more romance I may have given it a higher number but there were too many things I didn’t like about the book 1st thing being the main character which is always a bad thing to start with she was obnoxious and to self interested. I want to thank the author the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Daphne is in a unique position. Since she was a teenager, at the start of each relationship she receives a note with a name and time period which is how long the relationship will last. Prior to her first date with Jake she also receives a slip of paper but on this one there's only a name but no date. Thinking this means this is a message from the universe that this one is "the one", the one with no expiration date. This is a book that made me feel - happy, sad, hopeful and happy again. I loved it.

I loved the highly original plot of this novel, and Serle executed it very well! There were two plot twists and I didn’t see either one coming, but both felt effective. The second twist and the ending of the book were my personal favorite parts of the novel, and I loved that Serle ultimately gave us an unconventional love story. I’ll recommend this book for lovers of When Harry Met Sally. An excellent read!

I really really really wanted to love this book and I did love many parts of it but I felt very disappointed and let down by the ending. I understand the ending but it was not what I was expecting.

The synopsis of the book immediately caught my attention and I was so intrigued and flew through most of the book. I LOVE Rebecca Serle and her previous books but this one did not hit the mark for me which makes me so sad, but I still have high hopes for her next books and that I may just need to re-read this book at a later time.

Specific rating of a 3.75

Expiration Dates
By: Rebecca Serle
Publish Date: March 19, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author, Rebecca Serle, for the advanced copy of Expiration Dates.

My journey reading Rebecca Serle started when I traveled to Italy in One Italian Summer .... I read the description and just knew I'd love the book. Then over to New York City in, In Five Years ... a story that keeps you thinking long after. Now off to California in Expiration Dates- I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

I love how Rebecca Serle takes the relationships of those we love and mixes them in unique ways. The emotions and descriptions are easy to believe. I really enjoyed how I felt as if I was one of the character's friends, along for the journey.

Everytime Daphne meets a meets a new man, she receives a random slip of paper- under the door, on ger car, telling her his name and exactly how long the interaction will be. Could be a night, a few week, a year. Then, when receiving a blank sheet, Daphne wonders if she should follow her heart or follow destiny. It made me wonder, would I go along with it, or would I choose my own destiny?

I highly recommend this book or any Rebecca Serle book. They will keep you intrigued, while also keeping your emotions on a roller coaster including a few flips you may never see coming!

Daphne is thirty-something assistant to a big-time producer, born and bred in Los Angeles. She's been drifting through life since a life-changing medical diagnosis, unsure of what her future looks like. Anytime she enters into a relationship, the universe sends her a message with the duration of said relationship, so she adjusts her expectations accordingly. When Daphne receives a message without said "expiration date," she decides that the universe is telling her that Josh is the one, even though life may have other plans.

I thought this was an interesting concept, the idea of knowing exactly how long a relationship will last, with no other detail given. The anticipation of waiting for a note indicating a forever match, and the fear of wondering if that note will never come. Daphne, however, was not my favorite, seemingly influenced by the people around her, and never really making a decision for herself until the very end. I felt like I knew more about Josh, and was rooting for his happy ending more than hers, especially given the lack of detail about her feelings for Hugo. I could never really get a read on him, as we only saw him from Daphne's perspective. I found the ending a bit lackluster, as we finally saw Daphne tell her own truth and in a relationship of her choosing, but leaving off just as it got interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC! This was such a cute romance novel. A quick read, but a good story nonetheless. Daphne receives mysterious pieces of paper each time she meets a new man to date with the length of how long each relationship will last. When Daphne receives one with a name but no expiration date, she begins to wonder if her expiration dates for love have led her to the one. Daphne harbors another secret that has its own expiration date; one that could be devastating for her relationship with Jake.

I normally don’t pick romance novels but this was one that I enjoyed and would make a great beach read!

Not as touching as I thought this one would be!

The concept is unique and intrigued me. I don't read much magical realism but this sounded good. Ever since the Fifth Grade Daphne receives mysterious pieces of papers. On them is the name of her romantic interest and a "time limit" on the relationship. This keeps her from getting too close most times. One day Daphne finds a paper with the name, Jake and no time limit on it. She feels she has found her perfect mate for life. He does seem perfect. Is he perfect for her?

The first half of the novel has Daphne going back and forth in time. She remembers her past relationships and how they didn't work out. Then in present time she meets Jake who seems perfect for her. I didn't care much for Daphne's past relationships. I also didn't quite warm to her or Jake. At 60% there is a twist that I did like but it was too far into the story for me to really enjoy it. We also get another twist that I sort of saw coming.

I was expecting a really emotional story considering some of the issues. For me this one was good not great.

I would give this 3.5 stars! I’ve read a few of Rebecca’s books and this is my favorite so far. The ending is a lot less depressing as her others haha. And the supernatural element isn’t so far fetched to fit into a contemporary environment. Rebecca’s books always leave me with numerous highlighted sections of relatable, human moments and words of wisdom and Expiration Dates was no different! I enjoyed this story a lot. Loved the little twist that the narrator was hiding her health issues even from the reader.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Daphne has heart conditions and doesn’t know how much time she has and doesn’t want other to have to deal with all her issues, Each new man she dates she receives a slip of paper with the time they will be together - when will she get one with no expiration date? Hugo, her ex-boyfriend has always been there for her- a true friend- will he be the one with no expiration date?

I wasn't really sure what to expect with Expiration Dates - it sounded like an interesting premise, but wasn't sure where it was going to go, which was refreshing! There were a couple of unexpected twists which actually made sense and didn't feel like like cheap maneuvers to create drama. The one negative for me is that I wish the book was longer to add more depth to the characters and relationships. There were a lot of really great insights throughout, especially towards the end of the book, a lot of which I identified with. Other than the length of the book, I really loved it, and will be buying a hard copy for my library.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the eARC.

Expiration Dates does for Los Angeles what Sex and the City did for Manhattan: made it a central and lovable character that is essential to the story. I loved the atmosphere and nuanced descriptions of a place normally described with unoriginal cliches and mockery. And then we get to Daphne herself, who is a product of an equally nuanced and loving upbringing in Los Angeles, again, something we don’t often see. Also, I loved her wardrobe ❤️

The magical realism that Serle uses to complement her stories works really well in this case. It’s never the main plot point, but it works well along with the story and the main character’s growth. Really well done, in my opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4 ⭐️

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my ARC.

I was excited to try another of her books. I enjoyed the first one a lot (in five years), the second one I loved the premise but really struggled with the marriage and her relationship with her mother (one Italian summer), however I love the magical realism feel of her books. So I was excited to get a new one to try out. Again, the premise of the notes is so interesting and certainly new. I enjoyed this book and it was a light and quick read. I recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Employing a very unique concept, 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 explores what happens when the main protagonist knows in advance how long each of her relationships will last.

Daphne’s story is set in the often enchanting city of Los Angeles. Each time she meets a new love interest, she magically receives a note with the name of her potential new boyfriend and length of time they will be together. Are the notes from a friend, family member or the universe? We don’t know. While they add a note of fantasy to this romance, the reader knows in advance that most of the characters in the story won’t be around by the end of the book.

I enjoyed the fanciful aspect of this story and the detailed descriptions of the Los Angeles setting. I wanted to know if any of Daphne’s relationships would actually prove the notes wrong or not! Overall, this was a rather lighthearted book despite the sudden interjection of a serious illness near the end. The very sweet, sentimental ending will surely please any romance fan.

This was such a unique romance! I loved the element of the slips of paper and following her through all her relationships. I enjoyed the dynamic between Daphne, Hugo, and Jake.

It is an interesting premise. Daphne receives a slip of paper with a name and duration for every time she meets a man. This story alternates between the present, when she receives a slip of paper with a name only, no duration, and flashbacks to every past relationship. The author's style isn't really for me, but by the end I started to care about the characters more than I did at the beginning of the book. We learn something about Daphne through her flashbacks, and it seems to come out of nowhere. Once I got past that it did make the story more compelling, but I wasn't really rooting for her either.