I thought the premise of this book was interesting, mysterious notes from the universe telling how long someone is meant to be in your life. Magical realism is my favorite thing when executed well, but this book left me wanting.

I think it's because I disliked the characters. I did not like nor empathize with Daphne and her bad attitude. Being one foot in a relationship while the other foot is out the door is just crappy. She uses the notes from the universe as a reason to not get attached, instead of enjoying the course of a relationship no matter how finite. Love is love and it touches us no matter how short. Also, the way she uses her heart condition as a way to push everything and everyone away is just horrible. I have congenital heart disease, and have had four open heart surgeries. The fiction that is this protagonist’s life is actually my reality.

I can say from experience that having a diagnosis that is life changing only changes how time is viewed. Time is precious because life is short, but love outlives life. Life is hard and scary and difficult, and having someone to love and love us, makes life easier. I do not see myself as a broken person because my heart doesn't function normally – but Daphne does and she uses it to hold people at arm's length. She doesn't tell them about this huge health issue when she dates them, as if it's some test of the man's mettle. But in reality, it's manipulative and shitty. Oh let's fall in love and get engaged and THEN I'll tell you I have a lifelong, life changing heart condition. So messed up.

Also Hugo. There is nothing about Hugo that felt genuine. He is a shallow stereotypical character in a shallow stereotypical city. And no amount of charming writing about a place is going to make me like it. Same goes for Hugo. Their relationship was predictable because of the structure of this book. The fact that Hugo remains a constant in between each ‘note,’ lets the reader know how the book ends before it even starts. I am not a fan of love triangles because one of the characters gets strung along and gets hurt. This happens to Jake and it just felt so shitty the entire time.

The characters are not morally gray, they just are indecisive and flat. Their actions have consequences that the readers feel. And the way the author views/writes about people with illnesses is not inclusive. It is like she has never met a heart patient before, but googled WebMD.

Overall, I was not a fan. Luckily it was a quick read. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this expecting a happily ever after romance and got so much more. A few serious twists and lots of magical realism propelled this story. While I really liked the premise, the pace felt off at times. It dragged and jumped around, then I got whiplash with a few twists. The ending was too abrupt for me. I wanted more for Daphne, but also for Jake and Hugo.

Rebecca Serle is such a poetic author. Expiration Dates is a story about Daphne who gets little notes with her next love interest and their duration, until one day, the note is blank with the name Jake.

While I really enjoyed the story looking into past romances, and I loved her love with best friend Hugo, I never felt the chemistry between her and Jake. Probably because at some point, the chapter opens with the fact we fast forwarded 7 or 8 months without getting to see their relationship growing. But the book is so much more than this plot line, it wouldn’t deter me from reading again.

There were 2 big twists in the book, one I maybe saw coming. It was an easy and enjoyable read with several poignant moments.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC! All thoughts are my own.

This was a cute, enjoyable read but nothing super special for me. A lot of unanswered questions and slightly predictable. Overall, it was ok!

Quick read, short chapters - and a little depressing. No unlikeable characters but didn’t particularly love anyone (except maybe Hugo). Proceed with caution!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for a honest review.

This is a very original concept and I couldn’t have loved it more! Every time Daphne meets a new man, she receives a note with his name and a number. The number is the amount of time they will be together. So she enters these relationships knowing there’s an end date and when it is.
Hugo is a 3 month relationship, but turns into her years king best friend who is still very much a part of her life. Finally, she gets a note with the name “Jake” and no number, so he must be the one. There are some twists (don’t want to spoil). From the start, I was drawn to the relationship between Daphne and Hugo. A very fast read that you won’t regret reading!

This started as a quick easy read but I began to lose interest until halfway point. I couldn't tell if we were shipping the love interest or the ex for at least the first quarter of the book. She seemed too close to Hugo to be persuing someone else. I didn't feel the romance with Jake at first but I got there in the end. By the time we are told about the second box, it feels a little late in the story. This certainly adds to the drama, and made me much more intrigued in the story that was a bit lacking until then. When we find out the twist with Jake's note, I was over Hugo. I was fully rooting for her to be with Jake. The book felt off for me. I don't think I was feeling it the way the author intended for it to be felt. There is a moment when Daphne calls herself a discombobulated whole and that's what it feels like to me. I wanted to like this one. I was very excited to read it, and I'm sure some bits will stick with me but I have too many notes to call it love. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the ARC!

Read if you like:
✨ Magical Realism
❤️ Love Stories
😢 Emotional Reads
💨 Quick Reads
⏳ Fate

This was a very quick read, but emotionally gripping with the way the story was written.

What would you do if every relationship you were involved in had an expiration date, and you knew it?! Would you want to know and follow the path fate set out or jump without knowing the end?

That is something our FMC has to wrestle with as she starts getting papers with names and timeframes on them that tell her how long a relationship will last, but what if the papers don’t have to be right? Does free will count more than fate? Or is fate going to overpower free will because what is meant to be will be?

I loved the emotional feel of this book, and so glad it was my first by Rebecca!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for a copy of this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Really enjoyed this one. Wasn’t expecting the twist mid way through! This one made my heart sing and in the next breath my heart heavy. Wonderfully written. Four stars for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I really liked this for quite awhile. I didn’t love the turn it took.

I was so excited to be able to read this book! I’ve read a few of Rebecca Serle’s books and I really like her books. Expiration Dates is probably my favorite book of hers, that I’ve read. I loved the story of Daphne and how Rebecca alternated between past and present. It was so easy to follow and you can’t help but love Daphne. There were a few twists that I did not see coming. I loved Hugo and wanted Daphne to end up with him. You have to read until the end to see if Daphne gets her happy ending. This is a great book and I will highly recommend it to others.

What made me read this book? I've read Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer twice because it resonated so much with me in terms of Katy's relationship with her mother and how the author used magical realism in such a powerful way. I found that same ability to help the reader suspend belief in Expiration Dates. In this book, a 30-ish Californian woman working in movie production receives "love notes" in the form of information that tells her how long her next relationship will last - and with whom. Throughout the story, the book asks important questions such as: is it better to know the end of a relationship in advance and avoid being blindsided? Daphne also wonders "what our responsibility is to other people, how much do we owe them?" The book is both lighthearted and complex; thought-provoking and uplifting. I think readers can enjoy it on different levels and that is a quality that makes an appealing book!

Daphne knows exactly how long each relationship she has will last. She's been finding notes with names and dates on them for years, until one day she gets just a name. Daphne finds everything about Jake just about perfect not can't really believe he's truly her one. Hugo, Daphne's best friend, wants her to give this new life without an expectation date a try.

This story was full of hope for finding your person and trusting those around you to lift you up. Daphne shows a beautiful internal strength and determination. I would have liked a bit more at the end but I will take the happy for now ending.

This is my first Rebecca Serle book, and I was excited to read it because I've heard such amazing things about her other books. It did not disappoint!
Expiration Dates is about Daphne, a woman who gets a piece of paper every time she starts seeing someone new, and the paper tells her exactly how long they will be together. The book starts with Jake, whose paper has no ending date. It goes back and forth between this current timeline and Daphne's past boyfriends, while we learn more about her and her life.
Serle weaves the timelines together beautifully and lets us get to know and love Daphne as we want her to do what is best for her future.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good light romance.

Expiration Dates is a well written romance by Rebecca Serle that while fun and funny never stuck with me after finishing it. Serle writes a good story but I feel like she could have added something else to really make the book pop!

Thanks to Atria Books for NetGalley access to this title in exchange for my honest opinion, as well as to Goodreads for a giveaway win of a physical ARC. I'm a big fan of Serle’s writing and recently started to read The Dinner List, the only one of her books that I haven’t read. I particularly love the bright gold accents on her book covers, even this ARC 😍
I love how Rebecca Serle can pack so much into a short book like Expiration Dates. The concept for this book is intriguing - every time Daphne meets a new love interest, she receives a piece of paper telling her the length of the relationship. The chapters alternate between present time and flashbacks to her previous relationships, with each title telling the reader how long the relationship will last, just like Daphne was informed via her paper.
A hint of magical realism mixed with a contemporary romance was just the right blend of genres for me to be whisked into this quick read. While only 272 pages, I felt like I was able to get enough depth into the storyline. It would spoil the book to discuss what I liked and didn’t like, but I can say that this one made me think a lot - and that I was very glad to be able to discuss while reading it. This book in particular generated a lot of thoughts and opinions, and it helped me process my own feelings to hear from others in my buddy read group, especially before pub day! Look for this book in stores on Tuesday - it’s a short but impactful read that I’d be happy to discuss in more detail if you’ve read it.

Every time Daphne begins dating someone, she is given a piece of paper that has their name and a time limit. One day, a few weeks, months, or even a couple of years. Whether it be written on a postcard, a letter handed to her from a stranger, or a piece of paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe, Daphne knows when that relationship is going to end.
As she is leaving to meet her blind date, she receives a slip of paper under her door: Jake. But that’s it! No time limit. Could this mean Jake is her forever?

Daphne spends most of her time with her best friend Hugo. The two used to date, but were only time stamped for 3 months. He’s the only person in the world that knows her secret. Anything more than friends just wasn’t ‘written on the cards’ for them (ha!)

Throughout the book we read flashbacks of Daphne and the other men she’s dated. From college boyfriends, to one night stands, to a weekend fling in Paris! In one way it is nice to not be blindsided by a breakup, but Daphne can’t help but feel broken in some way that her place in peoples lives is limited.

I have been so excited to get my hands on this book! Ever since I read One Italian Summer, I will read anything @rebecca_serle writes. This book was so entertaining, and really a great reminder to purposefully live each day.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this amazing ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the premise of this book, and the touch of magical realism that the author is known for. I connected with the MC, and wasn't sure which direction she was going to take for a while. I also loved the heartbreaking twist in the middle, and how it ended on a heartwarming note. The ending did feel a bit rushed, but overall I enjoyed the message about allowing "fate" to dictate our path, versus making our own choices and outcomes.

{3.5 stars}

Daphne is a woman living on a timeline. One that she has no control over. Every time she meets a man she receives a note telling her how long the relationship will last. At first it is empowering and gives her freedom but as time goes on she struggles to commit. When she meets the newest man, there is no date on the card and she is incredulous. Their relationship develops and as it gets more serious Daphne is shaken. He does not know about the notes or her past. She has to decide what to do now that her future is ahead of her.

I love Rebecca Serle's unusual plots ideas. But sometimes the execution is not what I wanted. In this case, I did not find myself endeared to Daphne at all. The beginning was entertaining but the middle was a bit of a slog until we realized what was going on, then it made things move more swiftly. It was obvious to me before it happened who Daphne should have been with and that she should have maybe taken some ownership of her life. But alas, messy women like to stay messy women. 

Thanks to Atria Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I thought the prose in this story was beautiful. There were heart wrenching emotional moments that I felt so deeply and could so clearly relate to. The plot twist of Daphne having a chronic illness added an interesting layer to the story and she was a great voice for that demographic. The overall layout of the book and significance of exploring all of her relationships was captivating but the ending left me disappointed.