Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

In the latest romance, Expiration Dates, from author Rebecca Serle, 33-year-old Daphne Bell has had six important relationships, one weekend in Paris, and 42 first dates over a period of 20 years…all determined by some kind of cosmic force. Coming out in early March, the novel relies on  magic realism with names of men and the length of the relationships showing up on such things as slips of paper, a post card, and a fortune cookie, all describing the who and the length of the romance.

This phenomenon started in fifth grade when she received a post card that said “Seth 8 days” that pointed to a kid in soccer who became her very first boyfriend. Her relationship with Hugo is to last 3 months, with Noah, 5 weeks, with Martin, 3 days, and so on. Daphne relies on the messages from the universe telling her how long a relationship will last so she is always prepared and never heartbroken.

Then along comes Jake with no indication of time to be spent together making Daphne believe Jake is her forever guy. He is a great prospect, everything Daphne would look for in a lifetime partner. However, he has suffered a great loss before meeting Daphne, and she has a huge secret that could change their course.

What happens if Daphne reveals her secret to Jake who wants something more than a casual relationship? How will Hugo’s reappearance in her life affect her feelings about Jake? How can her secret compromise everything in life?

Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years, The Dinner List, and One Italian Summer. With the help of a writer-producer-director, Serle turned her young adult book Famous in Love into a TV series that lasted two seasons. Serle lives in Los Angeles.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting January 18, 2024.

I would like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.