A review by expecto_padronum
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

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

3.75

This was not at all what I was expecting, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was shook that the protagonist was so toxic -  Rory Gilmore level of terrible friend and girlfriend - and the constant cringiness of her choices knocked the rating down a little for me. I wonder if the author intended for readers to dislike Danielle as much as I did. That being said, I was hooked and I devoured this book in 2 days so points for that + the unique premise. I’ll go on a rant with spoilers but at the end of the day, this book is a reminder that characters don’t need to be likeable for a story to be interesting and thought provoking. 

your best friend is literally DYING and she gifts you a whole apartment, personally decorated, and you repay her by…. Kissing her fiancé?!?!? Wtf!!! And when her best friend was diagnosed with cancer she called her weak and said she couldn’t handle it!! I repeat: wtf!!!! I was cheering for David when he finally broke up with her AND kicked her out of the apartment. Should’ve done it 3 years earlier but better late than never Dave. Her re-proposing to you and then only wanting you to finish her off instead of having a mutual intimate moment was a big fat red flag (waving proudly among many other giant red flags from this woman). And I know Rebecca Serle didn’t invent the concept of the  best friend + boyfriend hooking up after the funeral, but good lord I hate that trope. So uncomfy.  Lastly, I found some of the details in the premonition scene to be a bit of a stretch to make us think she and Aaron were together. I personally probably wouldn’t wear my best friend’s engagement ring after she died. I also find it hard to believe that Aaron left sweatpants at her apartment from when he was working on it… in a drawer… after she’s been living there for weeks…. Oh well.
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