Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

 

5*

Another ambiguous ending? This is the second book of Serle’s that I’ve read (the first being In Five Years), and I feel like it’s a cop-out. Please, make a decision and don’t make your readers draw their own conclusions. Yes, I’m going to believe that Daphne is getting the happy ending I want for her, but it would have been better to read it on the page.

The premise was interesting, but by Chapter Five, I was already thinking that, if Daphne knows the expiration date on a relationship, why doesn’t she end it sooner if she knows it won’t work out or if she knows her heart will be broken when she starts to catch feelings? I was also frustrated because, to me, it was obvious that she should be with Hugo who she’d had only a three month romantic relationship with but who she still remained close friends with five years later, not wanting to imagine her life without him. Isn’t that what love is all about, someone knowing all of your secrets and flaws, but still wanting to be in your life? Why does she let a little slip of paper decide for her?

As for her relationship with Jake, it’s all so boring. Where’s the passion, the not being able to imagine a life without him in it? Jake’s a great guy, but he deserves better than someone who just wants a safety net because she doesn’t think she deserves anything more. Her parents love Hugo, her best friend thinks there’s still something there, and even Jake, after meeting Hugo for the first time, acknowledges that Hugo is in love with her. Yet, she lets a damn piece of paper determine her fate.

I don’t actually think Serle is a romance writer based on the two books I’ve read, if your definition of romance is a clear happily-ever-after. I won’t be reading anymore because they leave me very dissatisfied. In Expiration Dates, there’s also way too much of Daphne’s introspective monologue obscuring the dialogue, and it annoys me that Daphne isn’t forthcoming with the men in her life (except Hugo).

I chose this book to fulfill the prompt “Quick Read” in a book challenge I’m doing and, despite the fact that it’s only 272 pages and I’m generally a fast reader, it took me too many hours to slog through it. It’s not that she’s a terrible writer, by any means, but I just don’t like ambiguity in my romances.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.