This was the perfect book to read during a slump: short, fast-paced and sweet.

Strangely, my favorite part of Expiration Dates was the flashbacks to Daphne's previous relationships and how life events and time limits impacted those miniature love stories. These chapters also do wonders to develop Daphne's character and explain why she is who she is and why she views love the way she does, aspects that were otherwise fairly surface-level in the present.

The concept of Expiration Dates - Daphne receiving a note that tells her exactly how long her relationships will last - was intriguing, but I think it could have been used more effectively. I expected this book to take a more philosophical route regarding whether or not we can control our own fate by having Daphne challenge the note she receives, but that is not how the story plays out, which was a bit disappointing.

The entire book felt like it lacked depth. All the characters just kind of existed. Daphne received these notes and accepted them. Daphne and Jake had minimal chemistry, which made it hard to invest in them. Daphne's friendships with Hugo, Irina and Kendra appear and disappear spontaneously. Then all the meaningful insight is squeezed into the last few chapters to (somewhat successfully) make up for it.

I did enjoy this book. There were moments with emotional pull that really drew me in, but they were short-lived. This was a nice, easy read, but I wish it had been just a little bit more than that.

A fast read despite nothing of substance really happening, but the development of the relationships were cute. The main plot of having papers with names and dates mysteriously delivered would be enhanced if we actually learn how she gets them rather than it being blind faith, which was boringly unscientific, but I did enjoy the read and the characters. The twist comes at a random point though. It was all lowkey and slow and then BAM, the entire rest of the book will focus on this thing we previously never touched on (though Im sure I could have missed any foreshadowing there was).

Wow - drop what you are doing and read this book right now! This book is about a girl who knows how long each relationship will last because she receives a note of some kind with an expiration date each time she meets someone new. When the book begins, she has gotten yet another note, but this one doesn't have a end date. Is this the one? I'm just going to say that this book is so so much more than that description above, but anything else I say will give away at least one of the twists I did not see coming and which made this book a new favorite of mine. So well done!

There was nothing not to like in this story! Daphne is a woman in her mid-thirties who knows how long each romantic relationship she has will last. The universe send her a note with each new guy's name and how long the relationship will last. We get to see some of the previous relationships throughout the story. The latest paper says Jake and there's no end date. Half way through the story, there's something else we learn about Daphne and it was so unexpected. I'm so in awe of authors who take us on a journey through the characters. Definite re-read of this book in the future. Loved it!

This is the 3rd Rebecca Serle book I’ve read, after In Five Years and One Italian Summer. And I must say, I enjoyed Expiration Dates the most. It’s a quick read, with not a lot of fluff, which I can appreciate. There’s a magical aspect to the plot, given the papers our MC receives throughout her life - it’s such an interesting concept when you sit down and think about it. But it also left me with questions, and I think that’s why I couldn’t give it 5 stars. It’s just too fantastical to think that someone would just run with it, letting these mystical sheets dictate their love life. I was hoping it would be explored more, but yet again, I don’t think that’s what the author wanted us to dwell on - maybe it’s just a me thing.

I came into this book with high hopes as the premise sounded interesting and early reviews were stellar. It fell flat for me rather quickly.

Positives:
- Quick & easy read
- Short: Under 300 pages
- There’s a dog named Murphy 🐶

Negatives:
- The book bounces back & forth between the present and her past relationships… literally none of them had chemistry, substance, flirting, etc. Basically this is a “romance” novel with no romance.
- There’s so much fluff writing! Was the author trying to hit a word count? Over descriptive & unnecessary details galore!
- The author talked on and on about LA and places around Hollywood…. Ok, that could be cool but add in the over-descriptive text and the fact that the California lifestyle is brought up chapter after chapter. Ugh.
- There is ZERO character development. Jake is the most boring person on the planet (he takes out a notebook to write down when he sees someone wearing Doc Martens - like wtf? 🤨), Hugo is a player who honestly gives me the ick & Daphne only cares about herself.
- The only heartbreak I feel is for the time I spent reading this book. 💔
- If you want closure on where these notes have been coming from all along… get in line. So do I. 🙋‍♀️ You won’t get an answer from this book.

I hate being the outlier, but I’m sure there’s an audience for this book. With that being said & in honor of Murphy… 2.5 ⭐️ rounded up. That’s being generous.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.5 stars

I really liked this book for multiple reasons. The writing, the storyline, the splash of magic and Daphne’s mysterious secret. All of these things combined made a really heart felt story. And it was so fun reading about the different stories of Daphne’s dating life The characters in Expiration Date were all likable, that’s doesn’t always happen in a book. But I could listen to Hugo & Daphne anytime. They had such a special friendship after dating. And Jake, he really was just the nicest guy, the kind of guy you want your heroine to end up with. I’m sure not everyone would agree after reading this book, but I felt Daphne was lucky, she has a lot of great people in her life to remind her to keep living in the now and enjoy the life she was given.

I would highly recommend Expiration Date. It’s beautifully written and the story really grabbed at my heart for numerous reasons. This book is definitely a romance, but the one takeaway I received was to make sure you aren’t just living life, but enjoy it while you can!

This was a unique and fun concept with depth and twists I did not see coming. I loved watching the way Daphne’s life evolved through relationships and the way the time made things impactful.

Beautiful story with such a beautiful message!

3.5 stars, rounded up

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Rebecca Serle’s latest, Expiration Dates. This book follows Daphne, a woman who receives an “expiration date” for every relationship she enters, until finally she doesn’t. But is this man truly who she’s supposed to be with? How can one know?

This book was just fine to me. Not great, not bad, just fine. I felt like it was paced well, and I enjoyed the side characters. The way that Serle tries to combine Daphne’s heart condition (her personal expiration date) and the notes she received felt very clunky and forced to me. That being said, I did like this book better than One Italian Summer!

Rebecca has quickly become an auto buy author for me. I’m a big fan of magical realism though and so her books give me enough magic within a contemporary setting to fuel my imagination.

Since she was young Daphne has always received a slip of paper telling her how long her relationships last. She doesn’t know why but she’s lived and not lived her life with the expectation that her relationships had an expiration date. That is until she receives a blank note with nothing other than Jake’s name on it and no date. She’s convinced he’s the one but will her secret let her open up and let him in?

I wanted to love this book, and I did! At least for 75% of it. Without adding spoiling anything, I just couldn’t with Daphne’s ‘secret’. As someone who has dealt with much of that and knows all too well what comes with something like ‘that’, I just don’t understand Daphne’s secretive nature about it. She’s letting ‘it’ and these notes dictate her life, and while I really loved the concept of the notes, her commitment to not being her own person and taking the reins irked me.

If the secret would have been something different, I’d probably be writing a much different review and would be 100% praising this story. So while the concept and writing are five star worthy, the irritation I felt at that one thing knocks this down to a 3.5 stars for me. I’m still a big fan of Serle and still think her writing has a peaceful, magical, and floaty feeling to it, I just didn’t like the how it ultimately played out. This book is still a fast paced and a perfect beach vacation read, but the ending just didn’t work out for me.


Expiration Dates comes out March 5, 2024! Huge thank you to Atria Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

In true Rebecca Serle fashion, the reader is given the opportunity to become fully immersed in the characters and story development of this novel. In "Expiration Dates", we are introduced to Daphne, that for some strange reason constantly gets papers to tell the expiration of her relationships....except this latest one has no expiration date.
What can be appreciated about this story, is that while the premise is wholly magical, Serle doesn't throw it at you, but instead it's peppered into the story line so that you can appreciate it, and not be turned off by it.

I think this book will be pretty decisive to those that read it. I find that I was thoroughly entertained by the book, the writing, the concept - this is a unique book, written uniquely, and just interesting overall. I spent the day with the book, not wanting to put it down. However, the characters aren't what pulled me along. I didn't really get Daphne, or Jake, or Hugo - I don't feel like I ever really got to know them fully. I felt like I was to somehow understand them by the differences in their homes aesthetics. I think if you need to like, respect, and understand your main character in order to enjoy the book, this book may grate on your nerves. I never felt liked I understood Daphne's behavior entirely at all, but for me I was so engrossed by the concept and sort of the thought exercise, it didn't bother me. Overall very enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This book was so good. These characters were great but also made me SO MAD more than once. I didn’t want this story to end!

My favorite Rebecca Serle to date, set in a world that’s highly realistic with one big magical difference (as so often happens in Serle's novels). Serle poses an intriguing “what if?” premise, engaging characters, and a strong sense of place.

Wow - drop what you are doing and read this book right now! This book is about a girl who knows how long each relationship will last because she receives a note of some kind with an expiration date each time she meets someone new. When the book begins, she has gotten yet another note, but this one doesn't have a end date. Is this the one? I'm just going to say that this book is so so much more than that description above, but anything else I say will give away at least one of the twists I did not see coming and which made this book a new favorite of mine. So well done!

A wonderful story of self discovery, love and self acceptance. Daphne takes you on a relatable journey as she deals with what life throws at her in all aspects.

Daphne Bell has a unique perspective on her relationships: She knows how long they'll last before they start. Daphne receives a slip of paper with a name and time frame each time she starts a new relationship, and each time the relationship ends after that length of time. So when she receives a name with no time frame, she assumes this is the one. THE one. But does the "universe" really know all the answers?

Okay, so this book was not for me. Not only could I not connect with Daphne, by the middle of the book, I really disliked her. This made it impossible for me to empathize with her situation, so by the end of the book, I didn't really care who she ended up with, I just wanted it to be over. That said, books are such a personal experience, I am very sure there are people who will totally sync with this character and love this book! It's just not me.

This was such a completely unique storyline. I actually loved the element of magical realism that was added. It was subtle and still made the story feel authentic. Daphne’s journey broke my heart a little and I loved reading about her story, but the timelines did get a bit confusing to me at times. Her relationship with her best friend was one of my favorite parts!

I do have mixed feelings over the ending because I wanted more. It was kind of frustrating to me the way it played out for a few different reasons, however I really did enjoy the overall storyline if it was executed a bit differently! I also feel like as I was reading her past relationships, it wasn’t as impactful as it should have been since we already knew it wasn’t going to last.

Emotional and heartbreaking, this book looks at finding your truth and what love really looks like and I did enjoy the themes presented in the book.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

I read Expiration Dates pretty much in one sitting and just gobbled down the story. It was an effortless read and I really enjoyed the style of the writing in that the lead character told about the past while adding perspective to the stories, so while being dual timeline (I suppose), it didn’t altogether feel that way.
It was a lot deeper of a book than I expected it to be, and I found myself thinking a lot and asking what I’d do if I were in Daphnes situation.

One of the trigger warnings kind of threw me for a loop and made me more emotional than I expected to be, but I pushed through my surprise and overall was pleased with the story. This is my first book by Rebecca and now I want to read her backlist!

Thanks so much to Atria books, NetGalley and Rebecca Serle for the arc to read. All thoughts and opinions were mine.

Expiration Dates is the story of Daphne, a young thirty something living in LA who receives a piece of paper when she starts seeing someone new telling her how long the relationship will last.

Daphne lets that paper be her relationship guide and when she gets one with no time limit before a blind date she knows she's found "the one." But what does "the one" really mean? How can you find love if you don't love yourself?

Struggling to put into words how I felt about this one. Cool concept, liked the characters enough to be invested and it reads easily. It jumps back and forth between past loves and present day but some of the past relationships didn't really add much to the story for me.

It's hard to talk about this one without spoiling anything but I will say I enjoyed the ending and way that the story ended. There were parts of Daphne's story that I wish would have been talked about more but overall if you're a fan of magical realism you'll like this one too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.