#Rebecca Serle

[aseaofquotes]

Rebecca Serle, In Five Years

[melodysbookhaven]

“One of life’s most important challenges is determining what to hold on to and what to let go of. Do not be fooled into believing that you do not know which is which. Follow the feeling, follow it all the way home.”

Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

[shaps]

"You mistake love. You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn't It's the only thing that does not need to become at all It matters only insofar as it exists. Here. Now. Love doesn't require a future."

Rebecca Serle | In Five Years

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Soft and soul-wrenching, Expiration Dates takes a magical realism look at love and relationships. It places a premium on the concept of fate vs. free will, of learning to live with impending uncertainty, and of deciding to invest your whole heart regardless of time constraints.

Ever since she was a little girl, Daphne Bell has received notes from the universe that stated the name of the next man she would date as well as how long the relationship would last. Whether it was days, months, or on a couple occasions, years, the notes were always accurate. So she grew to follow them to the letter even when her feelings protested, yearning for the day when she'd receive one without an end date, but secretly believing it'd never happen. However, all that changes after she receives a card with one name and nothing else: Jake.

Could this mean he is her soulmate? Is that why there was only a name and no expiration date? Or have these notes over the years been acting more as self-fulfilling prophecy because Daphne's been too afraid to face, let alone share, a devastating secret about herself?

Told with warmth and resonant emotion, this book asks readers to imagine how one might approach love differently if one knew precisely how long it would last. The author does a good job of illustrating the struggle that exists between wanting to be as present as possible in a relationship while also fearing/dreading the loss of someone whether it's imminent or not. Daphne is a character who toils intensely over life decisions, especially when it comes to love, so it is both affecting and satisfying for readers to be a part of her journey of self-discovery. Jake and Hugo are both great counterparts, too. They each bring out different sides of her, challenge her in diametric ways.

All around, this was poignant read with a unique concept and unexpected twists. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

"Wasn’t the hardest part of heartbreak the unpredictability? How you could feel the most connected to a person in one moment - like being in a teardrop together, the world a watercolor outside - and like strangers in the next?”

[psychopat-ka]

"Na świecie istnieją miliony rzeczy mogących nas unicestwić; w ułamku sekundy wymazać życie, które z takim wysiłkiem staramy się podtrzymywać. Wszystko kręci się wokół tego, by nie umrzeć. Jemy, śpimy, oglądamy się w prawo i lewo, zanim przejdziemy przez ulicę. Każdy drobiazg ma nas uchronić przed czymś, co i tak nas dopadnie. Jeśli się nad tym zastanowić, to bez sensu. Największy dowcip świata. Całe nasze życie jest zorganizowane wokół tego, żeby przedwcześnie nie odejść z tego świata, a jednocześnie doskonale wiemy, że to jedyna rzecz, której nie unikniemy."

~Rebecca Serle

[nat-reviews-books]

Currently Listening: Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

I was a bit blindsided when I started this and heard that it was narrated by Julia Whelan, who not only narrated the book I had finished earlier the day I started this, but also 2 books I listened to in January.

So far, so good, and listening to this for the romance readathon and my book club's buzzword cover challenge (skyline).

[opulentquotes]

I have been asked if I needed help so many times that I have been allowed to forget the question, the significance of it. I see, now, the way the love in my life has woven into a tapestry that I've been blessed enough to get to ignore.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

[nonod28]

You mistake love. You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn't. It's the only thing that does not need to become at all. It matters only insofar as it exists. Here. Now. Love doesn't require a future.

Rebcca Serle, In Five Years

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: Expiration Dates

Sometimes you pick up a book on a whim and feel, almost against your will, pulled into the plot. Unable to extricate yourself because each chapter expertly leads you into the next until you’re in so deep you have to find out what happens. Such was my experience with Rebecca Serle’s forthcoming book, Expiration Dates.

Daphne Bell’s romantic relationships have all been bound by one thing: a piece of paper that appears before or in the initial moments of meeting a man telling her how long they’ll be together. So far, the papers have never been wrong. And then one day, on her way out to the door to a blind date set up by a friend, Daphne gets a paper with no expiration date. Just the name of the man she’s going to meet — Jake. Suddenly Daphne has all the time in the world to explore a relationship with Jake, and all the confidence of believing she’s guaranteed a lifetime with this person. But as things move along with Jake, Daphne wonders how much knowing you're meant to be with someone impacts truly wanting to be with them.

Rebecca Serle does an excellent job with the slow reveal, and she uses first person, which isn’t something I encounter too often in adult fiction. To begin with I experienced Daphne as a person with abundant self-confidence yet detached and without much personal passion. But the further I got into the book and the more Daphne revealed about herself, I began to appreciate how her life had shaped her. I kept turning down pages for lines I loved for their authenticity, until, by the end, it was all just so real and vulnerable I could have turned down every page. Expiration Dates is not a conventional romance by any means, but the pleasure of it comes from both the intricacy of the construction (which would lend itself to rereading) and the deceptively straightforward prose. This would be the perfect book to buddy read with a friend because there’s so much to discuss.

Expiration Dates comes out March 19th, so put in your preorder now and have a great book to look forward to!

— Lori

[melodysbookhaven]

“There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won’t get you there.”

Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

[princessofbookaholics]

currently reading and loving 📃

[lavenderhayes]

"'Look at all the colors,' she said. 'It's like the sky is on fire. Burning up the whole day. Nature has so much power if we just pay attention." - Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Expiration Dates

Author: Rebecca Serle

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2024

Genres: fiction, romance, magical realism, contemporary, fantasy

Blurb: Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it - the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she'd spend three days with Martin in Paris, five weeks with Noah in San Francisco, and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend-turned-best-friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favourite Los Angeles restaurant, there's only a name: Jake. But as Jake and Daphne's story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper's prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful...because Daphne knows things Jake doesn't, information that - if he found out - would break his heart.

[mariesrbouipochodian]

[i-am-the-page-turner]

"In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle.

"In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle is a captivating novel that follows the life of a successful Manhattan lawyer named Dannie Kohan. The story begins when Dannie experiences a vivid dream set five years in the future, where she is living a drastically different life. Confused by the dream's implications, Dannie meticulously plans her life to avoid the vision's outcome. However, when her real-life circumstances start aligning with the dream, she grapples with the realization that fate might not be so easily controlled. As she navigates her career and relationships, Dannie is forced to confront the uncertainties of the future and the true nature of destiny. The novel explores themes of love, friendship, ambition, and the unexpected twists of life's journey. With its poignant storytelling and rich character development, "In Five Years" offers readers a thought-provoking exploration of life's complexities and the power of embracing the present moment. Rebecca Serle's masterful writing captures the intricacies of human emotions and the profound impact of the choices we make. The novel's twists and turns keep readers engaged until its poignant and emotionally resonant conclusion, leaving a lasting impression long after the final page.