Expiration Dates

This book is a prime example of an interesting premise that falls flat in its execution. Rebecca Serle presents this unique idea of “the universe” giving a woman premonitions of how long her relationships will last, but the story never explains this phenomenon and instead veers off into a side plot that ends up consuming the last third of the book. I felt like this book did not know what story it wanted to tell.

Daphne Bell receives notes at the start of her romantic relationships that indicate how long they will last. She does not know where they come from or why she receives them, but she allows them to control her love life without question. When she goes on her first date with Jake, all the note says is his name with no timeframe, so she wonders if that means he is “the one.” They enter a relationship, but she is hiding important information from him that could ruin the relationship.

I'll start with what I like about the book. As I said previously, the premise is very interesting. I enjoy a touch of magical realism in my books, but I need there to be some explanation in the end. I also think Serle does a good job of eliciting an emotional reaction from me with her depiction of Daphne's interactions with her family. Finally, I like Jake as a character. He is sincere and straightforward and generally just a good guy, possibly too good for Daphne.

My first issue with this book is with the writing. The author provides too many mundane details that are unnecessary to the plot and character development. For instance, she describes the clothing of every character in a scene and the decor of every setting the characters enter. I found myself very annoyed by this to the point that I almost stopped reading the book altogether.

I also find the structure of the book to be frustrating. The narration moves back and forth in time between Daphne's present day situation with Jake and her past relationships. I do not usually mind dual timelines, but the narration often switches from present to past without a warning or indicator of the shift so that I had to read a few sentences before figuring it out. The flashbacks also did not occur in chronological order, so it jumped around all of the over the place.

Unfortunately, this book will not be memorable to me. I liked it well enough to finish it, but I do not think I would recommend it to other readers.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.