Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle was different from what I was expecting and exactly what I needed. Something about the way Rebecca writes mesmerises me, and I am hooked. I couldn't put the book down.
The way she describes things is magical.

"But I still loved the city. The way things always felt like they were coming together. In Los Angeles things disperse, simmer, yawn. In New York they connect, spark, crash."

"Our mouths do battle - like we're trying to find something in each other, some hidden key buried under teeth and gums and bone."

The romance is slow, tender, and sweet. It was some of the best love scenes I've read without a drop of graphic detail on the page; it was feelings and emotions; you just got the feels.

Overall, this book is excellent, and I'll reread it soon. However, a couple of things made this a 4-star read.

The first thing is that when she tells Hugo about the notes, he accepts it. No questions asked. He says, oh, ok, so you knew it had an endpoint… (paraphrasing there), and that was it. Really? Not a single question? No - who, what, when, where, how, why, show me? I find that hard to believe.
The second thing is the end bit, if you know, you know. How could he do that?

Anyway. It was a great book; I highly recommend you pick it up.

Great read, ploughed through it!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Rebecca Serle’s "Expiration Dates" is a captivating and emotionally charged novel that explores the intricate connections between love, time, and self-discovery. Serle’s lyrical prose and richly developed characters create a compelling narrative that delves into the complexities of relationships and the impact of life's fleeting moments. The story is both thought-provoking and heartwarming, offering a fresh perspective on the concept of time and the importance of living in the present. "Expiration Dates" is a beautifully crafted read that will resonate deeply with readers, leaving them reflecting on their own lives and connections long after the last page. Highly recommended for fans of poignant, character-driven fiction.

Every time Daphne meets a man, she receives a note of some sort with his name on it and a period of time which, she comes to realise, will be the length of their relationship. Then, one day, she receives a note with the guy’s name but no date. Presumably, he might be ‘the one’.

Expiration Dates has all the usual Serle ingredients: a sprinkling of magic, a strong modern twenty-something female main character, heartbreaking moments which pull at your heartstrings, and unexpected twists.

That last one was what I loved about this book. The plot twists I just didn’t see coming. Yet, they were all logical and made perfect sense.

I think my only issue with the book was that the character Jake was a little bland. I think it would have been a more balanced book if he was just a bit less one-dimensional.

It’s a minor gripe though. I flew through the book and enjoyed it a lot. 4 ½ out of 5

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC. I loved In Five Years by this author and was excited to check out her new release. Unfortunately I was kind of disappointed.

I didn’t like any of these characters. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Daphne to begin with but then when she was telling the story of how she got her dog I realised I really did not like this woman. She describes actually going to view another dog but it was “a total dud with no personality that just sat in the corner staring at her”. Like the dog was a toy meant to entertain her. Sorry but that didn’t pass the vibe check. Jake was a nice enough character but that was precisely the problem, he was just nice. And boring. Then there was Hugo. Wow what an asshole.

The story kind of jumps all over the place and the twist kind of came of out nowhere and probably would have been better placed at the beginning of the book and part of the story rather than a twist because I think I would have connected with and rooted for Daphne more had I known. Also I really didn’t need to know about every single restaurant these people went to and what they were wearing.

This wasn’t terrible by any means and it kept my attention enough to finish it but I feel like the unique plot with the notes wasn’t explored or executed well enough for me to really recommend this. This was released on 19th March.

This was a pleasant enough read but for me, it was a little disappointing after reading Rebecca Serle's previous books.

I found the chemistry between the characters lacking and that made it a little dull. I just was not invested in what happened to any of them. What saved it for me was that I really liked the premise of the book and it did have a few good twists.

Thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley, Quercus Books, and Rebecca Serle for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Expiration Dates. It was quirky, fun, and had all the feels.

Daphne was a great main character. She was funny, strong, and charismatic. Hugo and Jake were great characters too. They both had really good chemistry with Daphne.
I loved the storyline, it intrigued me and had me hooked straight away. I devoured the book in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down.

Rebecca is fast becoming a favourite of mine. I loved her previous books: In Five Years and One Italian Summer. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

4 stars from me. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I really enjoyed this one.

I love the magical realism each of Rebecca Serle's books have in them and this one is no exception. In Expiration Dates, every time Daphne begins dating someone new, she gets a piece of paper with the length of time they'll stay together written on it. One day, she gets a paper, but there's no timeframe on it.

Books don't often make me cry, but there's a revelation near the end that had me unexpectedly ugly sob on my couch.

This novel offers a unique twist on romance as Daphne navigates her love life guided by mysterious notes predicting the end of each relationship. When a note with only a name, Jake, arrives, she hopes for a lasting love. But secrets threaten their happiness. Will Daphne finally break free from the cycle of expiration dates, or is fate against her once more? This charming tale explores love, fate, and the power of honesty in relationships.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get on board with this book, which is so disappointing as I was really looking forward to it after reading Rebecca’s previous titles!

I found it a little unnecessary to explain in so much detail what each character was wearing? Like even the side characters, I really didn’t need to know about their whole outfit? And also name dropping so many locations, like okay you’ve done your research but I don’t feel like it was necessary to have SO many “trendy” places mentioned?

I enjoyed Serle's previous novel, One Italian Summer, and have heard nothing but good things about her other work, In Five Years, so I was quite optimistic that I would enjoy Expiration Dates - and that was mostly true! I really liked the concept of this, as I felt it helped it to separate itself from other romances - this felt like a truly unique aspect and I really enjoyed how Serle interspersed previous relationships that Daphne had experienced, while also taking readers along the story of her present day and current relationship. However, I didn't love how her final relationship came about; the manipulation and secret-keeping that led to them being together left a bad taste while I was reading, and I found it hard to root for them even though it was pretty obvious what was going to happen, as I really enjoyed her relationship with Jake, and found it hard to believe it would end as abruptly as it did.

Expiration dates ARC Review

4/5 ⭐️

This was my first book by Rebecca Serle and one of my most anticipated reads of 2024.

I heard about this book through a booktok video of someone talking about 2024 book releases and loved the idea of the plot.

This book follows Daphne who receives a random note every time she meets someone she is going to get romantically involved in with details of how long their relationship will last. So she already knows the expiration date on their relationship before it starts. Just as she is about to meet Jake for their first date she receives her standard note but this time it has no details of the expiration date.

I really enjoyed this book but the ending felt like a bit of a letdown. I felt like the ending left the book feeling unfinished in some ways.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Jesus Christ, did I love this book. I could not put it down. I enjoyed One Italian Summer and the magical realism element of it but I wasn’t immensely gripped by it. This was in a whole other league. Ever since she was a child, mysterious postcards have appeared for Daphne which only state a man’s name and the length of romantic relationship she will have with him. She always knows how long each relationship will last at the beginning, until one day she receives a postcard that simply says a name with no length of time - does this mean this the one? It will last the rest of her life? She begins the relationship knowing this is it.

I just could not put this down and know I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. It will be an intense book hangover. It was perfection. And the twist was just ✨gasp✨ It’s a must read.

Imagine being able to know how long you'll be in a relationship with someone from the start? This is exactly how Daphne has been navigating her love life for years! A slip of paper with a name and duration and off she goes but what happens when the name you receive doesn't have a duration?

I really enjoyed this book. I instantly warmed to Daphne and enjoyed how she explored the unknown with Jake. I thought the concept was different to others that I've read so that kept me intrigued but I also loved that it didn't try to explain the papers she received, they were just there. I found the ending a little predictable but I was also rooting for it so I think I may have been disappointed if it had gone in a different direction.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the eARC. I'll look forward to more from this author.

A different type of love story, a quick, easy to read book. I enjoyed it and liked the characters too.

2.75⭐️

“When do we stop believing in the things we do? And why does it happen so slowly instead of all at once?”

First of all, this is not a story of THEIR relationship, this is a story of HER life. (which was unusual to me.)

I think there was a lot of unnecessary text in the beginning of the book. Yes details ARE important, but if you are planning on putting random details in a book, drag them out at least. If you dont have enough to say about it - remove it! Use those extra words to build a better connection between the characters. Speaking of the main characters, I was really not connecting with them. It feels like Rebecca Serle skips the parts where we would see them grow and instead describes different types of comedians and how well they’ve performed.

Before the main character told us about her medical condition, I had ZERO clue that she was sick. Yes, I understand, it was supposed to be a surprise to us too, but how come before the knowledge of her condition she was described as perfectly fine?

What I didn’t like about our main girl (that was also acknowledged at the end) was that she was following the papers and despite having strong feelings towards the guy, she ended it because of the paper. But i’m glad that we got to see it resolved!

The book had great ‘twists’, but they were not expended or explained enough. (e. c. how Hugo wrote the note. How did he do it, where did he put it and why did we forget about it later on?)

I don’t really have a lot of good things to say about Expiration Dates, all of the bad overrides the good.:(

A different type of love story, a quick, easy to read book. I enjoyed it and liked the characters too.

I was looking forward to reading this having enjoyed In Five Years, however, unfortunately this didn't quite meet expectations. This book offered an interesting premise where Daphne receives a note with a man's name and a time indicating how long her relationship will be, until she meets Jake where no time is given leaving Daphne to wonder if she's finally met the person she is meant to be with forever. The book explores her past dates as well as following her relationship with Jake. Unfortunately I found the focus on her past relationships detracted from the story, and found it hard to connect with the present day characters as a result. Having said that it was an entertaining, light read with an unexpected twist part way through the book, although a rather predictable ending. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.

What an amazing concept for a romance novel - what if every time you meet a love interest, you receive a slip of paper telling you how long your relationship will last?

I loved the sound of this plot going in to the book. It really makes you think about your own life - would I react differently if I knew my time with that person would be finite? What if happened with friendships as well as lovers?

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. I loved the back stories of the past relationships that Daphne had. I just couldn’t get on bored with the current day events. I found two of the three main characters really unlikeable. This meant I couldn’t root for them and get invested in the ending like I would hope to in a romance novel. I didn’t enjoy the open ending. I understand why it had to be that way, but it felt really unsatisfying.

Read this is you are a fan on romance reads and unusual, mystical plots. Just don’t expect a fun, upbeat read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't a fan of One Italian Summer but I thoroughly enjoyed this novel that I found cute and entertaining.
It’s well plotted, the pace is even and neither too fast or slow. The likeable and fleshed out character were a plus and I enjoyed the well plotted story
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine