Daphne receives a piece of paper with a name and a date on it every time she meets a man...a premonition of how long their relationship will last. From three days to two and a half years, the papers have always been correct. So when Daphne finds a paper with just a name and no date, she realizes that she may have found the love of her life.

Expiration Dates gave me all the feels....I loved every second of this book! There are even a few twists and turns along the way that keep you guessing even after the book is over....

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

3.75 stars = The book has a creative plot where Daphne receives a random piece of paper with a name and expiration date for all of her relationships. When she goes on a first date with Jake, she receives a paper with his name on it and no end date. This begins a journey for Daphne as she tries to learn about herself and what she wants, while also facing major life issues.

However, the pacing of the book was off at times. Some parts were interesting and engaging, but then there were long chapters about random guys she dated in the past. Additionally, the story of her best friend and ex, Hugo, wasn't as long as expected and left the reader wanting more. It would have been nice to learn why Daphne receives the notes. The book was well-written with beautiful details and a creative storyline. It was cozy and relaxing to read, but the pacing could have been better. Overall, I would still recommend this book and look forward to reading more by the author.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked the concept of Expiration Dates, but felt like there was something missing. I enjoyed the beginning of the book but as things went along, I could tell I wasn't going to enjoy this one quite as much as Rebecca Serle's other books. There were a few surprises and twists in there, which gave me some hope, but in the end, the book missed the mark for me.
Thanks Net Galley for the ARC!

⭐️: 3/5

Every time Daphne meets a new man who she’ll have a romantic encounter with, she receives a piece of paper from the universe with his name and how long she’ll spend with him. She has been receiving these pieces of paper for 20 years, and they’ve always been accurate, but now, for the first time ever, the piece of paper does not have a length of time on it, just a name: Jake.

I keep coming back and trying Rebecca Serle’s books, in the hopes that I’ll actually like one, because I love her writing style and the way she is able tp vividly paint scenes, and the covers of the books themselves are visually pleasing. However, I just always really don’t like her characters, their relationships to each other, and honestly, the plots in general. I keep looking for the book that will be the exception, but this one wasn’t it. I liked this one in the sense that the premise was interesting, but I just didn’t really enjoy the direction it was taken. I think it would have been more for me if it was more of a conventional romantic comedy, without all the added drama. Also the length, while good in a sense, since I didn’t have to slog through to much of a story that wasn’t really my jam, made it kind of feel like a short story with an extended background, if that makes sense. Overall, not my favorite read, but also not my least favorite by the author. That honor would belong to One Italian Summer. I think it really comes down to me not entirely agreeing with the messages the author conveys and the manner in which she does so throughout her books. Something about it just gives me the ick.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this free eARC!!

Synopsis: Every time Daphne meets a new man she finds a piece of paper with a number on it indicating how long the relationship will last. When she meets Jake and receives a paper with his name and no number, she assumes that means he is the one. As their relationship progresses, Daphne begins to question the prediction.
Thoughts: This is definitely my favorite Rebecca Serle book so far! With such an interesting premise, I went in not knowing what to expect. The focus of the story was obviously Daphne's romantic life, but there ended up being some surprises within the plot that added so much depth and heartbreak. I don't want to say too much because I think I enjoyed knowing as little as possible going in. There is a twist that you very well might figure out - but the journey to get there is lovely.
There are also some twists I definitely didn't see coming, and I loved the unique way the author revealed things. Daphne was a very relatable character, and I was rooting for her happiness the whole time. I read both the ebook and the audio, but I highly recommend the audio narrated by my favorite Julia Whelan!
Read this if you like:
* magical realism
* women's fiction slow burn romance
* chronic disease rep
Some favorite quotes:
"Learning to be broken is learning to be whole."
"Even if there's not a reason for everything there may be a reason for everyone."

The first half of this book I was unreasonably emotional. I wanted to cry but nothing sad was happening and I didn’t know why. It was just the vibes. Then the sad stuff started happening and I cried like a baby off and on for the rest of the book. This story is incredibly moving and full of poignant prose about love and life. I think the author wrote this to make me sad and she did her work well.

This was a very cute feel good novel. Exactly what you expect from Rebecca Serle. Her touch of magical realism is so fun and her description of human emotion is fantastic. This is a must read this spring.

I love how different all of Rebecca Serle’s novels are! Daphne knows just how long every relationship will last via unexplained notes that she receives and as she begins to accept this as fate, she encounters some hardships that force her to confront if she’s ever wanted to ignore the notes and choose for herself. I enjoyed Daphne’s journey and as always there’s always something unexpected that makes the story richer.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What an interesting and thought-provoking premise! Every time Daphne Bell meets a new man, she magically receives a piece of paper with his name and the amount of time they will be together. My advice ... just go with it!

In Expiration Dates, we get to go along on Daphne's dating journey over many years, with the knowledge of how long each relationship will last. How does that affect Daphne and the decisions she makes? How much effort does she put into her relationships knowing how long they will last? Does she ever let the duration she is told dictate the outcome? Is it fair to her boyfriends that she has this information?

This book ended up being more serious than I expected. I probably would have enjoyed more funny moments and playfulness, but it's good! I liked Daphne, Jake, Hugo, Irina and the boyfriends she had along the way. It definitely makes you think about how having secret and privileged information about the future affects our decisions. After I finished, I still found myself wanting to see more of the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Seems like I've been reading a lot of books recently that deal with time. Would we proceed differently if we knew the expiration dates for our relationships, jobs or even our own life. Rebecca Serle's newest book brings up these questions and makes the reader think more about enjoying life in the moment and not waiting until it's too late. Since a lot of the story was told in flashbacks to various relationships, it was a bit of a challenge to keep track of all the characters. I also had to re-read various passages to determine exactly who was speaking or what the original question was when the answer followed the character's unspoken thoughts. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will seek out other books by this author. Thanks to NetGalley, Atria books and the author for an advance copy to read and review.

Thank you Atria Books for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. This took me a little while to get into but then I couldn’t put it down. Once she shares her heart condition, I felt like the story picked up for me. I normally love alternating timelines but this time it felt like it took a little of the story’s momentum. I would get wrapped up Daphne’s story and then it would dip back to a past relationship.

I was very intrigued by Daphne’s story and her romances that lasted as long as the paper notes dictated. Despite her health issues she’s traveled or lived and loved in different places. I’m sure she got used to trusting in the notes, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t have tried to push the limits, especially for Hugo. I was very surprised when he said be changed the note she received for Jake. I was very torn between the two men. There were clearly still feelings between her and Hugo, but Jake was such a good guy. I did ultimately enjoy the ending but would’ve loved more of Hugo and Daphne’s reconnection.

Expiration dates can mean so many things, but Rebecca Serle tackles some big life decisions and acknowledges there are expiration dates for things. Her raw honesty told through Daphne's story about being single and all that comes with that was spot on! Imagine if we knew how long our relationships last. Daphne receives small pieces of paper with that exact information, helping guide her through the universe's plan for her life. However, one note appears with no expiration date and Daphne learns to lean into her latest relationship with Jake while navigating friendships with her boss, colleague, and ex turned bestie. The characters felt like people I could sit in my living room with and talk to for hours! Readers go along on the journey with Daphne, who learns what it means to live, honestly communicate with oneself and others, and see the world beyond an expiration date. Well done Rebecca Serle! Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this early copy for an honest review!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so intrigued by the concept of this book that I immediately requested it on netgalley. The idea that this girl gets a note of some sort at the start of every relationship that tells her how long the relationship is going to last to the day but never knows who it comes from or how its happening is such a unique storyline that hooked me from the start.

I really enjoyed this story. Read it all in one night. It was an easy and engaging read. I liked the characters and the flashbacks to the past explaining the past relationships and their expiration dates and how it all went down. I found it interesting that Hugo, one of the more relatively shorter relationships, was still around and in Daphne’s life in a big capacity. I wanted to know more about their relationship and what it was like and how it ended. I was sucked in to them from the start and knew there had to be more to it.

I thought the added element of Daphne’s heart condition made the whole expiration dates thing even more poignant because Daphne, although always knowing the end dates of her relationships, had no idea if she would make it to those dates or if she had some sort of unknown expiration date herself.

I liked Jake but thought it was odd that his note didn't have a date and i found it a little too easy with him, boring almost for Daphne. I was surprised this was her non-expiring relationship. It didn't seem like it fit. It was soon clear why.

Overall, a wonderful and unique read! Highly recommend.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle releases on March 19.

📚Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ~ 4 stars

Wow, okay. This book was definitely different. I loved the premise and I was having difficulty with the characters at first. They felt… distant. Josh and Daphne’s relationship felt suffocated and there was no chemistry. But… then I think maybe that’s the point because I got to the middle and I was like WHAT! 😂 Then I got to the end and I was like WAIT WHAT!! I also really want to know more about these pieces of paper… those would’ve saved me a lot of time back in the day.

Read this if you like:
💌 A touch of magical realism
💌 Minimal spice (there’s a little bit but it’s not explicit)
💌 A detached main character
💌 Strong friendships and family ties
💌 Receiving notes

My thoughts for this book are almost identical to my thoughts of In Five Years… one of the best ideas for a book ever, and just an underwhelming story. When I got to 75% of the way through this book I couldn’t understand how. Nothing had happened. Nothing had been built. There was zero character development. There was so much to work with and all of it felt flat. Toward the end were so many beautiful one liners and poetic moments and it felt like aside from that 5% of the book everything was just words on the page. I love this idea so much, I want this to be one of my favorite books but it just really wasn’t there for me.

Such a cute story about love and finding love. Daphne has many dates, every time she meets a man, she get a piece of paper with the guy's name on it and the exact amount of time they will be together. One day, she gets a single name "Jake."

This book is good discussing all the different dates for Daphne. As she commits to Jake, she starts to doubt that she is met to be with Jake.

Friends were always talking about how they did not see it coming. But Daphne did. There was no need to dive in headfirst only to realize the proverbial pool was empty. Daphne knew when to invest, and for how long. And when the end came it was sometimes painful, often disappointing.

Daphne wanted love. In some ways, she had been looking forever. Real love, the kind that makes you want to grow old together, makes you not just unafraid of all that time with one person but electrified by it.

The ending is so good! "Here we are."

Emotional, Finding Love and Happy Ending! 3.5 stars

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advance copy! This book will be released 3/19/24.

This is not a genre I usually read and therefore it was okay, I think it started slow. The plot was interesting and the main character was very likable. I found the concept of the musical notes with time dates on them intriguing. A great view into what it means to be single and wanting so much for love. An emotional novel that defines one's idea of love and how it plays a part in our lives. In the romance genre it would be a must-read one that has a dynamic plot and is full of emotions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books & Rebecca Serle for providing with the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

“Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.” This book takes you on Daphne’s magical journey of love, self-discovery & self-acceptance with a few emotional twists & heartbreaking turns along the way.

I enjoyed how Daphne teaches us, & herself, that sometimes having all of the answers, won’t necessarily put us ahead in life. That life isn’t always perfect & that sometimes it is messy & uncomfortable & complicated.

The best way to describe my feelings about the ending would be mixed feelings?! It’s not that I didn’t like the ending but I feel like I needed a little bit more.

Overall I really did enjoy the storyline of this book & I would definitely recommend giving it a try when it comes out March 19, 2024.

The book itself is readable and quick, so it's an easy commitment if you want to give it a try. I found this to be incredibly boring - even though it was a very fast read, I could not convince myself to read it each day and it put me to sleep within 2 pages every night I tried. The concept is very interesting: a woman receives a piece of paper with a time limit for each man she dates, but that's it, that's all that happens. I felt no emotion for the main character or any of the male love interests. Only at 60% in do we get any personal information about Daphne and even with very high stakes information, it was not compelling or interesting. One Italian Summer remains my favorite by Serle and I highly recommend reading that one instead.

this is a unique book. I read this book in one sitting. I loved the twists, daphne and just the whole story. I loved Rebecca's other books and Expiration Dates is no exception. A definite recommend.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley. All opinions are my own