Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle is a heartfelt and thought-provoking romance story set against the backdrop of Los Angeles.
This book is part of My Spring 2024 Reading List.
My Overview
Every time Daphne Bell meets a new man, she mysteriously receives a paper with his name and a number on it. It’s the amount of time they will be together, so essentially their expiration date. For over twenty years, this is how the universe has guided her love life. When she goes on a blind date with Jake, the slip of paper only has his name but no number on it. Has she finally met the one?
This story is told through alternating between past relationships (expiration dates), and present. As the story unfolds, the relationship with Jake grows, and the plot becomes more complex. Through magical realism and a few twists, the author weaves an engrossing tale. The plot is original, and the more the story advanced, the more it kept me wondering about Daphne’s future. The ending, though not what I expected, is in retrospect fitting to the storyline.
My overall thoughts about this book is that it’s original, thought-provoking, and has much more depth than I’d expected. Being that this is my fourth book by this author, is still managed to surprise me. This is the kind of story that is best not to know much about before reading it. It’s best to let the storyline and beautiful writing guide you. If you’re new to this author’s stories, just know that they’re always based on a far-fetched idea or concept, hence the magical realism ✨.
My Recommendation
I highly recommend this story. At times this story reminded me of The No-Show, in the sense that it surprised me as much. If you’ve enjoyed that story, I think you’ll like this one too. I really enjoyed the audiobook, which is narrated by Julia Whelan. If deciding between print or audiobook, I suggest the latter.
Have you read this book?
Other books I’ve enjoyed by this author:
Rachel @Waves of Fiction
The No Show was heart wrenching, but I loved it! I’ve seen some mixed reactions to this story, but there were mixed reactions to The No-Show as well. I wonder what I’d feel about it.
Lucy
This book has mixed reviews, and I only tried it because I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous books. I hope you’ll give it a try 💫
Dedra @ A Book Wanderer
Yay! I’m glad you loved this one, too! And your comparison to The No-Show is a great one. I didn’t think of that, but they are similar in how they surprise the reader with more depth than you expect.
Lucy
Glad this story was winner for you to! Initially I wasn’t enjoying the book all that much. Once the first twist happened, it turned it all around and I thought of the surprise in The No-Show.
Sam@wlabb
First of all, I am glad to see you like this. So many of my blogger friends hated it, but I adored this book. I agree that it had a twist like The No Show. I can still remember crying when both Serle and O’Leary made those reveals in the books.
Lucy
Glad you loved it too! I wasn’t enjoying the story as much as I’d expected, but the first twist turned it completely around for me.