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A review by theinstabookworm
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Starting a book with stats is a surefire way to throw me off, and that's how this book starts. Thankfully, though, it got much better as the story went on. I just read an ARC of Serle's newest book, releasing on the 19th, and knew I had this one on my shelf. I had tried starting this a few times and never got very far. I was beginning to think that Serle was not an author for me.
I'm so glad I stuck with this, though. It starts as a romance but quickly turns into a women's fiction story about the friendship between our MC, Dannie, and her best friend, Bella. I loved their dynamic and I loved that Serle showed the hardships in their friendship in addition to the support they showed each other. I think their friendship was written well and accurately portrayed a long-term friendship. Unlike in EXPIRATION DATES, I feel like the loose ends were tied up nicely in this book and the reader does learn why the time jump happens. I do feel like some parts were overly descriptive and Serle seemed to have a pattern of mentioning characters' ages but then saying, "You'd never know though," which got old very quickly. I'm interested in picking up ONE ITALIAN SUMMER by Serle and I'm curious to see how I like it.
I'm so glad I stuck with this, though. It starts as a romance but quickly turns into a women's fiction story about the friendship between our MC, Dannie, and her best friend, Bella. I loved their dynamic and I loved that Serle showed the hardships in their friendship in addition to the support they showed each other. I think their friendship was written well and accurately portrayed a long-term friendship. Unlike in EXPIRATION DATES, I feel like the loose ends were tied up nicely in this book and the reader does learn why the time jump happens. I do feel like some parts were overly descriptive and Serle seemed to have a pattern of mentioning characters' ages but then saying, "You'd never know though," which got old very quickly. I'm interested in picking up ONE ITALIAN SUMMER by Serle and I'm curious to see how I like it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Animal death, and Cancer