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A review by salimah
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am all for a book subverting my expectations, even if the breadcrumbs become obvious about a third (or less) of the way through. What makes the subversion unsatisfying is when the execution doesn't earn it. This book is not ostensibly about a love triangle, but at the risk of oversimplifying its very engaging premise, that is what it boils down to. I'm glad it wasn't summarized that way, because I would have likely avoided it (my least favorite trope). And the lackluster three-star review aside, I did like it.
Ultimately, this is not a romance--and that's okay, welcome even, as I read plenty of those to my delight--and hopeful, but open-ended endings bring a unique satisfaction. In this case, though, there needed to be just a little bit more there, even without an HEA or an HFN. Even without making promises, even with an open-ended conclusion, an epilogue would have been helpful because I don't fully buy the way we got there. Or, I needed more of a justification by way of showing more of the characters' interiority/thinking throughout. . .
The author convincingly delivered an appealing relationship prospect for her heroine on the one hand and portrayed an established friendship that developed after a failed romance attempt on the other that is less convincing when the details of that unraveling are revealed, so when the heroine's epiphany comes it feels inorganic to the emotional and rational inclinations of all the characters.
Ultimately, this is not a romance--and that's okay, welcome even, as I read plenty of those to my delight--and hopeful, but open-ended endings bring a unique satisfaction. In this case, though, there needed to be just a little bit more there, even without an HEA or an HFN. Even without making promises, even with an open-ended conclusion, an epilogue would have been helpful because I don't fully buy the way we got there. Or, I needed more of a justification by way of showing more of the characters' interiority/thinking throughout. . .
The author convincingly delivered an appealing relationship prospect for her heroine on the one hand and portrayed an established friendship that developed after a failed romance attempt on the other that is less convincing when the details of that unraveling are revealed, so when the heroine's epiphany comes it feels inorganic to the emotional and rational inclinations of all the characters.