Expiration dates
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Daphne always knows exactly how long her relationships will last. Somehow a piece of paper with the guys name and a time period will wind up in her possession. And it’s never failed her. Until she meets Jake and his paper has no time period.

Interesting romance. Brings up some really good questions. Would be a great book club book. Loved her best friend, Hugo.

3.5. stars - I enjoy Rebecca Serle's romance novels, especially the fact that they all have a touch of magic to them. In Expiration Dates, Daphne receives slips of paper each time she meets someone she will date with the length of their relationship on them. This has allowed her to take a backseat on her dating life and let life happen to her rather than live fully.

Expiration Dates was full of Serle's signature warmth and likable main characters. This was a breezy read that went by quickly, and had a strong sense of place being set in LA. I would have liked to seen a little more depth from Daphne's family and friends, I think it would have made the story even richer.

The idea of this book was good and I had really high hopes. Unfortunately, I found myself getting annoyed with the main character and her general lack of accountability for her choices was underwhelming. The ending was quite predictable and at times I wanted to set it aside and not finish it.

Thinking 2.5, maybeeee 3 for this one. 😬

For reference, I LOVED In Five Years, did not like One Italian Summer, & have not yet read The Dinner List or her YA books.

I was super excited about Expiration Dates upon seeing such great early reviews, but there were several things that sadly just didn’t work for my reading taste.
I went in blind, and wasn’t expected the “secret” that our FMC shared around page 150; I LOVED this part of the story and think I would’ve enjoyed the whole book/plot better if it had been revealed much earlier on. There could’ve been so much more emotion and complexity intertwined from it!! The story felt like it should’ve been much more layered, to me.

The jumping around between different relationships (of which mostly held no substance in my opinion) was just boring for the first half of the book, and once things got more “serious” in subject matter, it didn’t feel as serious as it should’ve/I would’ve liked because the temperament of the first half felt so opposite. It felt like two different books, in a way.

The jury is out on Rebecca Serle for me, I guess! I gave In Five Years 5 stars (LOVED the audiobook!!!) but just got totally different feelings from One Italian Summer & Expiration Dates.

I'm a fan of Rebecca Serle's books, and this one did not disappoint. It was a good book with a different plot. Daphne always knows how long she'll end up with people she dats, thanks to strange papers with name and dates. But why should she let a piece of paper determine her fate? A cute story.

I thought this book had so much promise, I loved the idea of it. The execution of it just fell short for me. It ended up being just ok for me.

If you've read Serle's In Five Years and One Italian Summer, you will know what to expect with this book. This was full of heart and emotion!

The premise of this one hooked me right away. Daphne Bell receives slips of paper every time she meets a new man with his name and a time frame on it. This is the exact amount of time she will be with the guy on the paper. We get to see glimpses of these relationships and how what happens in each one. This was so interesting to me. Would you change how you act if you knew you were only going to date someone for 2 weeks or 3 months? The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend.

Then one night, she gets set up on a blind date with Jake. When she gets this slip of paper she also gets a surprise. She gets to know Jake and starts to really like him and really wonders about the prediction of the paper. She still remains friends with Hugo and all her friends try to help her through this. There is also a bit of a twist thrown in to this one that I TOTALLY was NOT expecting that really tied things together so nicely.

This one had me feeling ALL the feels! I think I laughed and cried a few times during this one. This is signature Serle style with characters that you just love and want to root for. I loved the little twist that was over halfway through and it just tied everything together. I just think Serle is a genius putting together a plot and coming up with an ending that I would have NEVER guessed. Five stars!!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this heartfelt book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I LOVED this story. Serle is so adept at weaving emotional threads through a seemingly lighthearted story. I could feel so deeply with the characters and was rooting for the love story. A must read.

A fascinating book with a very unique premise. Daphne gets mysterious notes from the universe with a name and a time period. She realizes that the names are guys she meets with the amount of time they’ll be together.
One day, she gets a paper with only a name, no time period.

Does this mean he’s the last guy? Is he THE guy? Daphne isn’t sure how to be in this relationship, she always knows when they’re going to end and acts accordingly.

I loved the twist towards the end, and the ending was unexpected.
4.5 stars.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love a Rebecca Serle book, and this one was no different. I read it on a flight and I was concerned about my eyes leaking like a faucet mid flight. The good news is that I was able to control myself. Phew.

Very interesting premise in this story, unique, and "fun", if you don't think too hard about it. I enjoyed this very much and it got me partway from one coast to the other.

I will read everything she writes.

Romance meets The Measure in this sweet contemporary story of predestined dating. With each new relationship, our protagonist Daphne mysteriously stumbles on a note with the boyfriend’s name and relationship duration. When her latest paper has only a name without a duration, Daphne isn’t quite sure what do to, or what secrets to keep.

Just about the perfect romance novel, with a touch of magical realism. 5⭐️!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Expiration date is a fun book kind of a women’s fiction/romance with a little bit of magic. The premise is interesting : Daphne, our main character, finds a piece of paper every time she starts a relationship with a new man. On it, there’s the name of the man and the time that their relationship will last. The book start as she goes on a date and the paper she finds only has a name on it, no time frame. She then assumes this means she finally met her soulmate. We follow Daphne and Jake’s relationship and, through some flashbacks, we learn more about Daphne past relationship and some others secrets of her too.

I was really excited for this book and felt like this was going to be amazing. I loved the idea. Did I enjoy the book? Absolutely. Was it everything I hoped it would be? Not really. I was expecting a romance, and it was, but not really as much as I thought it would be. The focus of the book kind of change at some point and I felt like it was coming from nowhere. I don’t know if it was necessary to the story.

The chemistry between Daphne and Jake was kind of lacking and I felt weird reading their first date. I felt like I was on a first date I wasn’t sure of and I don’t know if that’s good or not. Daphne had a lot more chemistry with Hugo, her best friend, which made me root for him a bit and it confused me because I thought I was supposed to root for Jake. For this reason, it took me a little while to get into it.

There were things I loved too in this book : at time, it’s an ode to friendships and relying on people and I think that was well portrayed. Jake is also confident in what he brings to the table and he is not insecure and we looooove a secure healthy love interest. The story made me feel a lot, I cried and I laugh. It was well-written and I had a fun time reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know why I thought that this book was a romcom. It had dual timelines past vs present boyfriends. Was it predictable? Maybe or I was just rooting for the right guy. It did feel a little short but I loved it anyway.

Thank you to the Netgalley and Atria books for the advanced copy!

Wow. This book was spectacular. I couldn’t put it down. I was so wrapped up in Daphne’s story. Although it’s a romance it is more of a coming of age book. We watched Daphne have these experiences at all different points of her life. The expiration date papers was such an interesting concept and I like the flashback chapters of seeing those relationships.
The book also felt like a love letter to Los Angeles. I love when a location becomes its own character in the story.
Even when I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it. The writing was beautiful, the characters and their experiences were real and felt authentic. There were some twists and I didn’t see them coming but every time they happened I just felt closer and more invested in the story.
This book was a beautiful and amazing journey. I loved Daphne’s story and felt so inspired by her.
I highly recommend this one. I loved it so much.

Thank you again to Netgalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy!

#ExpirationDates:⁣
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Thank you @simon.audio partner for my gifted copy!⁣
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“Life looks different for everyone, and you have to keep choosing one another. You have to make a conscious effort to say, over and over again, “You.”⁣
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I came into this one cautiously optimistic. I loved Italian summer, but wasn’t a fan of 5 years. I think with all of Searle’s books has this beautiful theme of “what if” with a dash of hope and droplet of romance. Expiration Dates follows the same pattern, but the story stuck more with me and it is my new favorite Rebecca Searle book.⁣
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I love that Searle always makes me question, what if fate supersedes life and decides to intervene? (Queue Long Live Taylor Swift) I really liked Daphne as a MC, and she was quite literally my age. Maybe that’s why I connected so well because she was actually written as a modern 30 something instead of this stereotype of what people think we act like. Daphne gets a sticky note (essentially) that tells her how long her next relationship will last. With her new beau, it’s blank. Does this mean forever? ⁣
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One thing Julia Whalen is gonna do is absolutely demolish a male main character like it’s a real person. 10 times out of 10, you can’t convince me it’s two narrators, she reads like the amazing narrator she is. One of my favorites reading an amazing story, 10/10 audio is sure fire the way to go. ⁣
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I can’t give too much away, but check this one out. I actually sat up in bed listening because I did get shook a time or two. Beautiful, fun, perfect. Expiration Dates is out now. ⁣
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QOTD: What is one thing you’d like to know about the future?

What an emotional ride. I know it's a great book when I feel all the feels. I cried, I laughed, and I smiled. Rebecca Serle has not written a book I did not like, and this book really proved her incredibleness.
I loved how she incorporated different representations such as Jewish female lead and an invisible disability representation.
I loved the rawness of the situation and how vulnerable Daphne (and even myself) felt throughout the story, Falling in love is not an easy subject to write about, but this amazing author did it perfectly. She hit the nail on the head talking about the reality of the scariness of being with another person and fully committing yourself to them. She really knows how to capture you, pull you in, and keep you engaged. I could not put this book down and I wish it did not have to be over.
I cannot wait for more Rebecca Serle stories.

Imagine every time you meet a new love interest, you receive a slip of paper with their name on it and the exact amount of time you’ll be together. Can you fall in love when you know your relationship’s expiration date?⁣
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I was intrigued by the premise of this story. Could you allow yourself to fall in love, knowing the expiration date of your relationship. I imagine it would be hard. Yet, as Daphne tells us about her relationships, we find that it’s not impossible to get caught up in the romance. But how do you find your person? Your forever love in the face of constant expiration dates? ⁣
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Loved the magical realism aspect of the story with the notes. Although, I saw the twist coming - I was all in with the romance and Daphne finding her forever love, in spite of the notes. Overall I enjoyed the book (thank you @atriabooks for the complimentary copy) and felt satisfied by the ending.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle was such a welcome treat. I am not a reader who leans toward imaginary happenings, but the magical twist in this story hooked me immediately. Protagonist Daphne is receiving direction from the universe concerning her relationships with men. It all begins in 5th grade with a postcard that she receives giving the ending date for a relationship. Then the phenomenon occurs again, and again, and again. I am still captivated by this unique and creative supposition. Wouldn’t it have been nice (and saved us a lot of heartache) if we’d only known when a relationship was supposed to end?

And then, because we crave a HEA world, a man steps into her life, and the note she receives has no date. The writing is spectacular, artfully drawing the reader into Daphne’s mind and heart. Oh, yes, this is a feel-good book, one that induces smiles and giggles all along the way.

DNF @40% I just could not get into it. The story seemed disjointed with locations, times, and people flopping. I couldn’t care any less about Daphne or the guys she dated, and their outfits and what they ate…which was mentioned a lot for some weird reason. It just wasn’t for me. Not at this time anyway.

I recommend Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle. The characters will engage you from the first page. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest and personal review. Happy Reading!