Absolutely delightful and whimsical and deep and moving and just one of the best romance books I have read in YEARS. Truly loved this one & could not recommend it enough. I have been a fan of Rebecca Serle for years but this is my absolute favorite of her books. Really loved the characters and the plot and how the story moved. How the timeline moved around kept things so fresh and interesting. Also. The ending. Perfection. Absolute Perfection.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I always enjoy Rebecca Serle's writing and her ability to make me think. (I have a running note on my phone who would be on my Dinner List) Her books make excellent book club books because they give you the opportunity to have good conversations. This one particularly being the debate of fate vs free will. I feel like my interest in the story fell in and out, but I am happy I read it and excited to listen to Bad on Paper's Book Club discussion on it.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 60% - thank you netgalley and the publisher. how can you take such a cool premise and then ruin the story so quickly, i have to agree with all the other lower rated reviews I’ve seen. terminal illness should not be an engaging plot point and the fact she ends up with hugo is gross

I'll have to start with a spoiler because I'm just so frustrated.

<spoiler>This book is as frustrating to read as the How I Met Your Mother was to watch. So, after everything, after Hugo betrays her trust by shoving a fake paper about Jake, Daphne still goes back to him?! And what was the point of the notes? Hugo proved they didn't mean anything, she could always have the relatioship last how long she wanted. </spoiler>

The characters are just so unremarkable that I just noticed the name of the main character by the 60% mark. They were just so bland. I didn't care about anyone nor about any of the relationships - I cared about the dog though. And I think the author knew the emotional attatchment just wasn't there because that "twist" a little bit after the half way mark just came out of nowhere and without a single reason to exist aside from emotionally manipulating the reader into caring about the main character.

By the end, the book itself makes its plot unimportant. The author just decided to throw everything out of the window - she didn't care about the story, why should I? The book relies heavily on the characters and their relationships by the end. But since no character mattered to me, I didn't enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

EXPIRATION DATES is the first book I have read by Rebecca Serles; I am going to read others as I enjoyed the writing, at times the story, not so much.

Every time Daphne she meets a potential mate, she receives a piece of paper from the universe with the suitors name and how long their relationship will last. The relationships last varying times but knowing there is a beginning and an end affects Daphne's commitment to the relationship. She receives a paper that says just Jake; Daphne does not know how to handle this, perhaps forever relationship.

I enjoyed reading Daphne's journey and its message about timing in love and living your life.

Overall the idea was good but was not executed well. I have five year apart by the same author and did not like the ending and how it was done and this is the same thing with Expiration Dates. I just felt like the FMC felt annoying and was self-absorbed bc she always knew from these pages how long a relationship would last which is sad honestly. Do not think it should be marketed as a romance so strong more magical realism

The premise of this one intrigued me from the start. I think this is such a unique concept idea. While I enjoyed the book I wasn’t blown away. This is my first Rebecca Serle book and after this one I won’t be rushing to read the next one. There were some really good parts like the magical realism. This is a fairly easy read and would be a good read for someone wanting an easy beach read.

I struggled to connect with Daphne, the main character. There is a big twist out of nowhere in the middle that left me feeling even more disconnected to Daphne. I felt like the characters lacked depth which is why I struggled connecting to them. The timeline, especially the audio was a little confusing especially at the beginning. My rating would have been a little bit higher but the ending felt rushed and I found myself wanting more.

This is a fun story about the relationships we choose and the ones that chose us. You have to suspend a bit of disbelief to buy into the premise but I enjoyed the story and would recommend this love story.

Expiration Dates

3.5/5 stars

I have a love hate relationship with Serle's books; I loved In Five Years but absolutely despised One Italian Summer.

Now this one fell somewhere in the middle. I was hooked from the first chapter, the writing flowed and my curiosity got the better of me. I just needed to know what happened next.

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. Thats until she meets Jake, this there’s no number.

The magical realism aspect was fantastic, loved every minute of it. But Daphne had one too many cringe-worthy moments that had me rolling my eyes. And even when her life didn’t seem picture perfect, it was still a little too perfect.

But hats off to Serle for writing a book that absolutely hooked me from start to finish, I binge read this.

If you enjoyed her other books, you’re definitely going to love this one.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
The story had an interesting idea and played it out quite well. I was sometimes a little confused about the back and forth in time frames but it was easy to catch up and understand what is happening. While I thought the idea of the notes was cute, I was not impressed with the protagonist. There was something about her that just rubbed me the wrong way. She appeared to be very self centered and I had the feeling that she expected everyone to feel sorry for her. She loved being the center of attention and while she knew how long each relationship would last, she was portrayed as a non likable person. I am not sure I truly like the ending but it fits the story. It was a cute idea but also reminded me about a different book, The Measure,.which had a very similar storyline.
Overall,.i found it ok: 3 🌟

Rebecca Serle knows how to write a tearjerker, doesn’t she? This was just such a lovely story and I was smiling in spite of myself. I love how she takes a premise that seems absurd and gets the reader invested in it in everything she writes. Her books are so enjoyable and I can’t wait to read more. They’re just nice.

Absolutely ADORED Rebecca Serle’s newest book Expiration Dates! It is definitely going to be a top contender for my fav book of 2024

Gah this book. Heartwarming, emotional, swoony, and the perfect balance between real life and magic, this is one of my favorite reads of the year. Serle has the capability of cramming incredible journeys into minimal pages and Expiration Dates is another book I read in nearly one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for my e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Daphne Bell believes that the universe is telling her something and it really is! Whenever she dates someone, she receives a piece of paper with his name and how long it will last. Nothing has come up for forever yet and she begins to think it never will until she gets a paper that says Jake and that's it. Does that mean forever? Jake is a really great guy. She falls into a comfortable life with him but is that what she really wants? She is still friends with ex Hugo and still feels a draw to him but they were only together for 3 months. He is the only one who knows about the notes and another big whopper of a secret.

I felt like I knew exactly where the story was taking me right away and that was okay. It was warm and lovely. Daphne is an incredibly likeable character. You so want her to find her happiness.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for a copy for review.

I finished "Expiration Date" by Rebecca Serle last night and really enjoyed this book. It is an exploration of fate, love, and human relationships. Daphne Bell's life is shaped by mysterious slips of paper that predict the duration of her romantic encounters with men. However, when she meets Jake, whose slip bears only his name and lacks and expiration date, Daphne's beliefs are challenged, leading her on a journey of self-discovery.

The book is both tender and thought-provoking. It deals with commitment, honesty and the pursuit of a true connection. Daphne grapples with her secret knowledge about Jake. Daphne explores the fragile boundaries of fate and free will, truth and deception.

"Expiration Date" has well developed characters. Daphne explores the meaning of singlehood, in her search for love and the complexities of human connections. It is a fun book for spring reading. Fans of contemporary romance lover will swoon over "Expiration Date".

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Expiration Date" in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #ExpirationDate #RebeccaSerle

Thank you to Rebecca Serle and Atria Books for this ARC! Serle creates some of the most interesting ideas that are insanely creative, thought-provoking but frustrating. This book is an improvement from In Five Years by Serle, which bothered me because of the cheating troupe, but Serle still struggles t make her FMC likeable. Expiration Dates focuses on Daphne, who has the peculiar "gift" of receiving a slip of paper with her next romantic relationship's name and time. The time could be 3 days or 2 years - and it has always been right in her 33 years. Now, she receives a slip of paper before a first date, with NO TIME. Is this the love of her life? Is her life unexpectedly going to end soon? Or, are the slips of paper not accurate? The main joy of this book is Hugo - I love him and his antics!

Ok so the idea of receiving a note with the “expiration date” of every relationship you’ll ever have sounds intriguing. This book however, was not. Now, while there is a lesson along the lines of expectations and placebo effect in there, it wasn’t enough to hold my interest. The repetitiveness of flashbacks to every relationship that came with an expiration date note leading up to the current one that didn’t, just gets really boring. This book just didn’t have enough meat on its bones for me.

Daphne is a thirty-three-year-old Hollywood professional who has secrets. The one that frames this delightful novel is the one about the papers she receives periodically, containing only a name and a period of time. These are the relationships she experiences, with men she has recently met. The source of the papers is not revealed, and there are enough of them to convince Daphne that they are factual. Whether they are because that is fate, or because she goes into them focused on the expiration date, is for the reader to decide.

The other secret gives gravitas to why Daphne lives this way, and as a reader, I wish we’d been told about it earlier in the book…sorry, no spoilers here. Frankly, I was tired of reading about her romantic exploits by the time we find out why, despite Serle’s lovely writing.
It is well written and an easy read, with a premise I’ve not read before. A nice book that is more than fluff, but not so much more that it exhausts me, as some books have this year! Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the review copy!

This is my absolutely favorite of Serle's. I love how she adds a touch of magical realism to her books. Such a quick and easy read, and somehow she managed to surprise me with the twist! A delightful read that I will continually recommend.

3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a light-hearted, fun rom-com of a read with a touch of magical realism!

Since Daphne was a teenager, she's been receiving mysterious notes whenever she is in a relationship detailing the exact amount of time that she will spend with that person. Knowing that she has a finite amount of time with each prospect completely skews her approach to her romantic encounters. 3 days with one man, 3 months with another, she always enters the relationship knowing that it won't last forever. When she receives a note one day with the name Jake but no timeline she finally gets the chance to discover if he is "the one" and jumps into a relationship like she's never experienced before. Along with help from her ex-boyfriend turned best friend, Hugo, she navigates the unknown and wrestles with the dilemma of letting the relationship take its natural course vs spilling everything to Jake and altering what could be her first real attempt at love.

I thought the storyline was unique and I really loved all of the characters. Among the 3 books I've now read by Rebecca Serle, though, I felt that the other two (One Italian summer and In Five Years) had more substance to the central storylines than this book did. That being said, this was a cute read that was perfect to take on vacation!