I loved the premise of this story, but I am not the biggest fan of the pacing of the narrative. I felt that it was kind of slow, and I think the sections detailing Daphne’s past relationships contributed to the slow feel. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy these sections — I was curious about her former relationships because going into this one of my big questions was “does Daphne behave differently knowing when these relationships will end and does that contribute to their end?” My favorite part was the turning point when Daphne decided to stop letting the expiration dates dictate her life and she took control of her fate, which is definitely the point of the novel.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, which I thought would be light and fluffy but defied those expectations with some great twists. I definitely enjoyed this one more than One Italian Summer.

Diving into this book felt like catching a refreshing breeze on a warm day. It's a heartwarming, can't-put-it-down, grin-on-your-face kind of story that doubles as an ode to the vibrant City of Angels.

Enter Daphne Bell, whose life gets a sprinkle of mystery with the mysterious slips of paper predicting the lifespan of her relationships. Then comes Jake, introduced by a friend, and for the first time, her slip of paper is blank. Zero. Zilch. Could this be destiny signaling he's Mr. Right?

As we explore Daphne's journey and her adorable encounter with Jake, we're treated to snippets of her past loves and her current bond with Hugo—her bestie and ex—who's privy to the secret of the magical notes.

This book stands out for its creativity and sheer enjoyability, offering a read-so-fast-it-blurs kind of experience that leaves you beaming. It sparked nostalgia for my two decades in Los Angeles, bringing joy with each familiar landmark mentioned. If I have one tiny nitpick, it's a culinary preference—I'm team Bristol Farms over Erewhon any day. But that's just me musing on the side.

Oh, my heart! This story is beautifully written with witty banter between characters I just want to be best friends with. I, quite literally, laughed out loud at times. I clutched my pounding heart. I gasped. I let the tears roll down my cheeks. How the author managed to squeeze so much emotion into under 200 pages is a thing of mystery, but I gladly went along for the ride. If you don't fall in love with Daphne, her many suitors, and Murphy the dog-who-doesn't-know-how-to-dog, you may need to check your pulse.

This is my first time reading a Rebecca Serle book, and I would definitely read the author's other books. While I totally didn't love the ending, I really enjoyed the book overall. I found Expiration Dates to be an easy, quick read—and I did get a little choked up. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

✨EXPIRATION DATES✨
Rating: 4 ⭐️ - I Liked It

In one of my most anticipated reads of the year, Rebecca delivers with a story about love, dating, self-acceptance…the list goes on! Huge TY to @simon for my ARC!

EXPIRATION DATES follows Daphne as she conquers life, dating, and love in LA. Each time she starts dating someone new, she gets a note saying how long they will be together. What follows is a really beautiful story.

❤️ for my LOVERS of stories that take place in your 20’s, one’s about DATING and all it’s ups and down, SELF-ACCEPTANCE & LOVE, a touch of MAGICAL REALISM, chronic illness, reflection and growth, FATHER/DAUGHTER relationships

❤️ I loved the THEMES & LAYERS across this book - there were so many facets that whether your a 20 year old in the midst of dating, or have found your forever person - you’ll get all the feels from this story

❤️ these CHARACTERS! I loved Daphne, her parents - the FATHER/DAUGHTER relationships was one of my favorites, Irina, Kendra, Hugo, Jake…

❤️ the perfect amount of MAGICAL REALISM - from someone who tends to struggle with MR novels, this one was just the right amount!

🗓️EXPIRATION•DATES🗓️
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Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the opportunity to read this book! It publishes March 19th!
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Rebecca Serle’s newest book, Expiration Dates, is a heart tugging magical realism read that will keep you turning the pages.

What I enjoyed: 🗓️
Short chapters
Past/present timelines/flashbacks
Jewish representation
Hollywood setting
The unexpected twist
Hugo
Murphy 🐶
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What I didn’t love:🗓️
The “magic” aspect of this book was a bit weird to me, but the book is built around it, so I guess it makes sense…it just felt a bit out of place to me.
Also, not a fan of the ending. I needed an epilogue at the very least!
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However, many people will love this one and it really does have a great message. 🗓️
3.5 stars

📖 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘤𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦

“𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵.“

⭐️ 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙢!

This book wasn’t at all what I thought I was going to be from the description! While the beginning of the book was a bit slow, midway through the book I was feeling all the dang emotions! This book made me cry multiple times. Daphne comes off as someone that’s just going through the motions of dating in the beginning. Once you breakdown her walls and get to her secrets, all of her actions make more sense. There were several plot twists I did not see coming! I loved both Jake and Hugo and wasn’t sure how the ending was going to play out. In the end, I cried happy tears.

💕 There are a lot of life lessons in this book that I feel many people will be able to relate to.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮:
Daphne Bell isn’t like everyone else. She gets mysterious notes that tell her the name of her next relationship, and how long it will last. When a note appears that simply has a name on it and no expiration date, Daphne has to figure out how to finally settle down and be happy.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
💕 Contemporary Romance
✨ Magical Realism
🚪 Closed Door Romance
⏰ Flashbacks

Expiration Dates releases on March 19th! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my early copy of this story so that I could share this honest review!

“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩: 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦.“

My Grade: B ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A magical and heartwarming novel that shows the complexity of falling in love. The novel gets very serious in the last half, but I felt it added to the overall journey of the FMC.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of 5. Good kissing scenes, and low key sex scenes that never went overboard. Nicely done!

The Good Stuff:
-I myself am not Jewish, but I absolutely loved the Jewish culture!
-Daphne's parents are adorable and I loved the later conversations she had with her father. Such words of wisdom!
-Hollywood!
-BFF Hugo and Daphne has terrific chemistry! I loved their journey!
-I really enjoyed all of the flashbacks showing Daphne's relationships and how the mysteriously appearing papers played out.
-It was refreshing to read a FMC that wasn't immature or acted like a teenager,
-Two doggies and a scene that showed just how important the love of a pet truly is!
-The epilogue! Loved it so much!

The Meh Stuff:
-Where was the shock to the magical notes that just kept appearing out of nowhere? This was so much needed, especially since that was the premise of the book.
-I was not prepared for the twist in the story. It did add something to Daphne's journey , but I personally found it a bit triggering and others may as well. I always appreciate it when a content warning is included at the beginning of the book, and it should have been included here as well.

Contemporary with a light touch of magical realism
Felt very tell, not show.
It had so much promise - how much of our lives is driven by choice vs destiny? however, it felt very unfulfilled.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Atria Books for my #gifted copy of Expiration Dates!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★

Daphne Bell and her love life is dictated by little pieces of paper. Whenever she meets a new man, she receives a small paper with his name and a number on it, which indicates the exact time they will be together. Some relationships last a few days, while some last up to a few months. For over twenty years, Daphne has been given an expiration date. On the night of her blind date with Jake, the paper she receives has no date. With no expiration date, is Jake the love of Daphne’s life?

This was such a quick, yet engaging read and I loved learning more about Daphne through the multiple timelines which offered different glimpses at her life. I really loved the main characters and felt like they were so well-developed. This was such a beautifully written book and I highly recommend Expiration Dates if you love magical realism!

🗒️Magical Realism
🗒️Multiple Timelines
🗒️Self-Discovery
🗒️Unexpected Twists
🗒️Lovers to Best Friends

“We have to be cracked open sometimes. We have to be cracked open sometimes to let anything good in. What I see now, emerging in the mirror, is this one, simple truth: learning to be broken is learning to be whole.”

Posted on Goodreads on March 13, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around March 13, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on March 19, 2024
**-will post on designated date

What a lovely little read; Serle's work in intertwining the vaguely-supernatural notes that provide the "expiration dates" of protagonist Daphne's romantic relationships with the notion of expiration dates in a much more concrete and realistic manner is excellent, and Daphne and her supporting circle are all pretty delightful characters. Is it ultimately anything that will change the landscape of fiction as we know it? Nah. But it was a quick and charming read that's perfect for piquing every possible feeling a reader can have, and for spending a few hours wrapped up in a story with a relatable and engaging heroine and her posse of colorful, engaging friends and family.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2.5 stars rounded down
***spoilers***

I wanted to love this story so much! We follow Daphne, a girl who receives a piece of paper from the universe with a man’s name and frame of time right before/after she meets the person. Example, John, three weeks. She knows she’s about to meet or has just met John, and their relationship will last three weeks. Finally one day, she receives a note with only a name, Jake. That should mean forever, right?

Daphne’s story is one of choice vs. fate or destiny. I did not like Daphne. I felt that she never made a decision for herself and blamed her papers, accepted them for the only way life should go. If she wanted to keep seeing someone, instead of trying to continue past whatever time the paper said, she’d just throw up her hands and literally called time’s up. One great, SPOILER, example is her breakup with Tae. She says they broke up over bad cell reception. Tae was upset she didn’t call from the hospital. She said she tried but the reception wouldn’t let her call go through. Then she thinks about how she didn’t actually try to call, and she’s lying.

When Hugo finds out she’s sick, that she’s been hiding so much from him, he is surprised that she kept a big secret from him. She immediately panics and breaks up with him only because she realizes it’s been 3 months to the day which her note said was their time. He didn’t choose to leave her.

How she also always wanted to move to New York but never made the decision to act on it.

Also, she milked the heart condition way too much. As someone who works in the medical field, she acted like she was given and immediate death sentence and would drop dead at any second…

I loved Hugo and the idea behind the story, but it was really hard to root for Daphne.

Review

Tysm for the advanced readers copy @netgalley @atriabooks

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE! I can see how this may not be for everyone, I’ve seen such mixed reviews. It is very, contemporary.

Her writing is simple but has weight. I felt so many different feelings throughout. Atmospheric, makes me want to visit LA. I was waiting the whole book for something to break my heart and of course it did. Provoked some deep thinking about life, love and friendship. Also, maybe a side thought I should save for a book club, but I really think people with anxiety would just relate so much to this book.

You could really label this as so many different themes: coming of age, radical acceptance, self growth, contemporary romance, grief/loss.

“I thought if I had all the answers, I’d I was always one step ahead, if I knew my hand, I would never loose. But being surprised by life isn’t loosing, it’s living.”

“What can I say, I wanted a love story that sung.”

3.5⭐
Genre ~ women's fiction
Setting ~ California
Publication date ~ March 19, 2024
Est page Count ~ 268 (39 chapters)
Audio length ~ 6 hours 54 minutes
Narrator ~ Julia Whelan
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ magical realism, short chapters, slow burn, very minimal steamage

Dahpne (33) takes us on her dating journey's, whether they last 1 night, 3 weeks or 3 months, each one's end time was already written in the stars, or on a postcard that is.

Even though she dates a lot it's pretty light on the romance and more about her journey to find the one. The dates are more as a flashback and not as they're happening, too. I don't have any complaints about the characters as they're all pretty likable.

Overall, it was fast paced, lighthearted in parts and heavier in others with a good amount of wit. I actually laughed quite a few times. I even shed a quick tear at the end when she was having a heart to heart with her father.

Little niggle ~ I could have went without the description of everyone's outfits just about every time someone new came on page.

After reading In Five Years, I should have expected there to be a twist. This book was such a fast read. I was shocked by how fast it went. I think the storyline needed it to be that fast or things would have gotten too deep. While I would have loved more of the ending, I appreciate that it ended the way it did. It ended with hope and promise.

Thank you to NetGalley @netgalley and Atria Books @atriabooks for a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

This was a very unique concept for a book! Whenever Daphne meets someone she’s going to date she receives a slip of paper with the length of time of each relationship until one day she just receives a name and no length of time.

I really liked the magical realism aspect of this book and I thought it was written really well and not overdone. I liked seeing every relationship she had and how it lead up to the final one.

Also the Jewish and chronic illness rep was written so well. Especially the parts about where she’s afraid people will judge her and treat her differently if they know about her chronic illness.

The ending wasn’t my favorite but it made for a nice book.

If you like books with magical realism and a unique love story then pick up this book!

Comes out March 19, 2024!

I was expecting something different, but I discovered a really satisfying read. Expiration Dates has a unique premise and has an interesting storyline. I enjoyed the characters, their development, and the story layout.

The story is told from Daphne’s POV. Daphne’s current day life - friends, career, boyfriend --is interspersed with chapters of her prior “doomed-by-a-note-with-a-deadline” relationships. At first, I thought it odd to include those varied past relationships, but those vignettes provide readers with a clear picture of Daphne’s psyche. Those chapters made it clear to me that she wasn’t “all in” with Jake, her career, and maybe even life.

I loved the secondary characters Kendra and Ilene. They offer not only friendship but very different perspectives of love and life to Daphne when she is searching for answers. I didn’t know what to think of Hugo (a prior beau with a five month expiration date), but he grew on me. I couldn’t help but wonder why he stuck around to be Daphne’s friend, and why the chemistry between those two was still off the charts.

My reading notes again and again call out the lack of chemistry between Daphne and Jack as well as Daphne’s luke-warm approach to everything in their relationship. It is as if she is biding her time waiting to see if the universe intervenes to take away her chance at a HEA. She never seems excited that she found a note with Jake’s name but no date. She just seems befuddled, and she passively follows the path that she is told to take by the mysterious note.

I wasn’t in love with the big twist, but it provides a great deal of insight into Daphne’s lack of ambition and acceptance of the mysterious expiration date notes. I loved the story’s zenith and denouement. It wasn’t all about a boy or a romantic relationship. It was about Daphne. It was about her making an investment in her future. It was about Daphne not passively waiting for the “universe” to define her but making choices and seeing where those choices took her. I LOVE that!

Just when you know what's going to happen, this opens a new page and then there's a twist. And it's not trope-y. Daphne's always gotten notes (and no, it's not clear who they're from) that tell her how l0ng her romantic relationship will last. One of those was Hugo, who turns into a BFF who is her biggest supporter but who is jealous when she meets Jake, whose note is blank, which makes her assume that he's her true love. And it seems great. No spoilers from me. This soars on the characters- Daphne, Jake, Hugo, her boss Irina, her friends, and most of all her parents (loved her parents). Know that this does move back and forth in time, which works better, I think, than a linear progression would have. The more I read, the more engaged and committed to Daphne than I expected to be because, well, no spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Really enjoyed this.

I Loved ❤️: this had the most charming, whimsical, and unique premise!!! I was drawn in immediately and flew through the story - it had Rebecca Serle’s perfect mix of mystery and whimsy that made me NEED to keep reading

I Liked 💜: I really enjoyed Daphne’s character arc and evolution - she seemed like she was on a mission to find her forever guy, but I think she found so much more and she was so endearing. The magical realism was folded into the story so effortlessly that I didn’t question it a bit. And there were a couple twists I did NOT see coming!

Tropes/Themes 💙:
magical realism
dual timelines

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just adored and devoured this book!! This is my second book by the author and I loved both - I laugh, cry and make this face 🥹 constantly when I read her writing. I love that the two books I’ve read by her feature romance but are really about a strong gal who is finding her way/place/self. Although a short read, it’s filled with heart and emotions and will leave you thinking about it long after you finish!!

This is my first Rebecca Serle novel and I really enjoyed it. The story is about Daphne Bell, a single woman who is having trouble finding a long lasting relationship. Every time she meets someone, she finds a piece of paper with the person’s name and how long the relationship will last:. This goes on for years.. After numerous boyfriends, she meets Jake and when she receives the piece of paper with his name, there is no expiration date. Things are going well for Daphne and Jake but Daphne is questioning her ability to be happy. The novel explores commitment, friendship, and happiness in life. There is some magical realism which I usually don’t enjoy and sure enough, there was no explanation for why and where the notes with Daphne’s numerous boyfriends was coming from but I didn’t let that bother me too much.

I really enjoyed the novel; the characters were likeable and the ending was a bit of a surprise. I was routing for Daphne to get her happy ending. I think she did!?

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.