Title: Expiration Dates
Author: Rebecca Serle
Genre: Fiction
Published On: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: digital
Pages: 272
Synopsis:
Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.
From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes the romance that will define a generation.
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 favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a 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.
Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
Expiration Dates is my fourth novel to read by Rebecca Serle and she’s basically become a must-read author for me. Her stories are an exploration of the human condition with a dash of magic. And Expiration Dates is a refreshing story about accepting what we can’t control.
We are powerful because we affect each other’s stories, all of us. We are here to impact each other, to knock into each other, to throw each other off-balance, sometimes even off track.
Rebecca Serle, Expiration Dates
I’m not surprised when I see mixed reviews for Serle’s books because readers expect her novels to be tried and true Romances with a capital “R”, but her books are really more in the vein of contemporary fiction that just happen to include some magical realism wrapped in a love story. BUT Expiration Dates is probably her first adult novel to fall the closest to that Romance genre definition. It’s even hinted at in the synopsis, just to reassure readers.
It’s always difficult to write a review of Serle’s books without giving much away. Her novels always have some twists and turns, surprises that should stay surprises for new readers. But I’ll do my best to tell you how much I enjoyed this one without spoiling anything.
Daphne has learned to accept that she receives a mysterious note every time she starts a new romantic relationship, one letting her know how long the relationship will last. For the most part, it allows her to not fall too deeply but enjoy what time she does have with the men who come and go in her life.
I liked Daphne right away. She’s spirited, seems to be self-assured and confident, someone comfortable in her own body. I enjoyed the sunny setting of Los Angeles, and the fact that Daphne was “in the business” but someone in the background of Hollywood.
I enjoyed learning about her past relationships, told in short chapters that tied in with the present storyline, as well, each side character unique and relatable. Daphne thinks she knows where her life is headed, but life decides to remind her that maybe good things are also in the unplanned parts of life.
If you’ve never read a book by Serle and would like to give her a try, I’d say this is a good one to start with! It’s hopeful despite also including some more serious topics. It’s also not a huge commitment coming in at under 300 pages. I read this one quickly, not wanting to set it down. Expiration Dates is a perfect choice for your spring or summer tbr with its sunny setting and uplifting story!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating: 4.25 stars
Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Indiebound | Amazon
My review for In Five Years
My review for One Italian Summer
About the Author
Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years, The Dinner List, and the young adult novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in Los Angeles.
A Song For A Book
Serle mentions a few songs in Expiration Dates so I decided to include one that was clearly chosen for the meaning behind the lyrics. I’ll be highlighting “Ribbons in the Sky” by Stevie Wonder.
Oh, so long for this night I prayed
That a star would guide you my way
To share with me this special day
Where are ribbons in the sky for our love
If allowed may I touch your hand
And if pleased may I once again
So that you too will understand
That there’s a ribbon in the sky for our love
This is not a coincidence
And far more than a lucky chance
But what is that was always meant
Is our ribbon in the sky for our love…
Have you read Expiration Dates? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I’m one of those mixed reviews you saw. I hated that the published billed this book as ” the romance that will define a generation.” That is an untrue and misleading statement. This book was women’s fiction with a love story. Not a romance at all. There was no HEA. And I was mad about the stupid note thing at the end. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah, I agree that “the romance that will define a generation” statement is out of left field. I read that and rolled my eyes. Marketing is trying a bit too hard. Hmm, you didn’t think this was an HEA? I think I’m so used to Serle’s endings being very much anti-HEA that I felt like this one was very much one. I guess it depends on who you think she should end up with maybe?? I feel like publishers market these books as Romances because they know they’ll get read more that way and they don’t even care about the negative reviews. But I’m also a reader who doesn’t think a Romance has to have an HEA. 😬😃
SPOILER AHEAD —————————-No, it was not an HEA. It was her walking into the situation to forgive and find out if there was the possibility of a relationship with someone who was just a friend the entire book. Her romance ARC throughout the book was with another man she was actually dating. That’s not how a romance novel works. It has nothing to do with who the reader thinks she should end up with because she didn’t actually end up with anyone at the end. The definition of a romance novel is that they have to have an HEA or an HFN. I know we’ve discussed that before, so we don’t’ need to again. I think you plan on reading The Rom-Commers, correct? Center lays the definition of a rom-com in that book.
To add just to clarify, I know the friends had a romantic relationship in the past, but that was not the state of their relationship in the present. I wouldn’t say there was a love triangle because she was not trying to figure out which guy to choose.
So many people hated this book. I LOVED this book. Gave it 5/5. I was nervous when I saw your post, but so glad to see you liked it. I don’t necessarily agree with the synopsis that this is a romance. I felt it was so much more about Daphne’s personal journey and her acceptance of what she could allow herself to have with respect to relationships given her “situation”. That part really changed the way I saw her when it was revealed and made me look at this whole story in a new way.
Yes! When I saw you liked this one, I felt confident I would too. The twists in this one really surprised me. I know with Serle there is always some kind of twist, but I wasn’t expecting the direction this book took and I agree. It made the book even better for me!
*high five*