Every time she meets a new man, Daphne Bell receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake. But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful.

Thank you @netgalley, @rebecca_serle, and @atriabooks for the ARC! Serle has a penchant for tying romance together with some of life’s tragic and more heartbreaking moments, and I love how real all of her characters and stories are because of this. There was a major reveal about 60% in that really shocked me and made me enjoy the book more than I did for the first half. The first half of the book was a little hard for me to connect with, and it think that was because Daphne’s character felt a little more detached until the plot reveal, which really explained a lot about her character and her motivations. The book heavily explores the theme of choice versus destiny. I loved Daphne’s bluntness and her ability to overcome adversity. I didn’t really care for most of the male characters and felt they were a little underdeveloped (perhaps due to the expirations dates), but overall the story had a happy and heartwarming ending. The book was a super quick read and Serle lovers should definitely pick this up when it publishes in March!