Reviews

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

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leigh987's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lindsiemcknight's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is the first Rebecca Serle book I actually enjoyed and would recommend. I kind of hate read Italian Summer after I trudged through In Five Years (I had so many issues with that one!!) and liked that one better but it was still missing something for me.

Expiration Dates is exactly what I wanted the other two books to be. The magical realism was a lot more interesting because I felt like the main character was making decisions based on these notes and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy with them. When she came to that realization, she

made more decisions for herself vs what she believed the universe wanted her to

.

One thing I do like about Rebecca Serle is that she writes short books. There's no sub plot going on, so I never feel confused trying to piece things together. The "twist" in the middle

about Daphne's heart condition

was a nice addition to the story and helped me understand her motivations more!

I have one gripe in the section where the main character is dating Josh in SF (which is supposed to be about two years after she graduated college, so putting her at around 24 years old), she says they walk by "Oracle Park." I don't know how old Daphne is in the current timeline with Jake, but I would put her in her early thirties. If that's the case, the park would have been called AT&T Park at the time she was in SF. It's only been Oracle Park since 2019. Just a little thing that bothered me to no end. Haha

whitnik's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ecrineck's review

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4.0

Good twists. Not my favorite of hers, but loved the message of embracing the imperfect

jennharmon's review against another edition

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medium-paced

2.5

2.5⭐️ Nothing has yet to live up to In Five Years. Woman receives letter with a the names of men and the lifespan of that relationship. Through the years they keep coming. She works it out with her male best friend, a former boyfriend. That’s it. You see her dating lots of men and she ends it according to what a random piece of paper says.

nextpaige's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked this overall, intriguing premise, but the characters felt surface-level and it skated over time pretty quickly. I could have done without a few of the backstory boyfriends that didn’t serve the story.