Isn't It Romantic?

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Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
Published by Atria Books on March 19, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Enchanted Realism

Goodreads

Being single is like playing the lottery. There’s always the chance that with one piece of paper you could win it all.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes the romance that will define a generation.

Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man , she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. 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 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. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.

Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.

Since the very early stirrings of puppy love, Daphne had known how long her relationships would last. It wasn't a feeling, but rather an actual note from "the powers that be". These notes always indicated the person and a length of time until Jake's note. That note only contained his name giving Daphne hope that he was "the one" with no expiration date in sight, but could the universe have gotten it wrong?

I am sitting next to a pile of crumpled tissues, the result of reading this book. I am a fan of Serle's books and have grown to expect the unexpected, to have my heart broken, but to also be challenged by her characters' journeys. Once again, she has managed to surprise me with this thoughtful and lovely story of love and heartbreak.

As with all Serle's books, the magical element allows for an interesting way to set the character on their journey. These expiration dates broke Daphne's life into finite blocks of time which could seem like a gift, but they could also be a barrier. Embarking on a relationship, knowing it's bound to end had Daphne keeping an emotional distance. This note with no end date was a game changer. It was new territory for Daphne, and it begged to question if the end dates were legitimate or a self-fulfilling prophesy. Was Daphne really destined to a chain of short relationships or did she never give these romances a fair chance?

Regardless, it was thought-provoking. The peeks into her past were heartbreaking for me, but helped me form a full picture of how she got to this point. Maybe those flashbacks made me appreciate her situation with Jake even more. I have to admit, there was a reveal that made me understand Daphne a LOT more, and then that OMG moment later. Wow! I was thrown. I will say that there were tears from that point forward, but they turned from sad to happy, as I was gifted with what I consider a hopeful ending for Daphne.

Overall, this was quite a journey for both me and Daphne. It was a beautiful exploration of love of all kinds, as well as a compelling story of self discovery. I laughed, I cried, I felt some joy, and I reveled in every second of it.

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Happily Never After by Lynn Painter
Published by Berkley on March 12, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Their name? The objectors.

Their job? To break off weddings as hired.

Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.

When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”

During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.

The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.

And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

This book started with the most fun and sweet dedication, and it really set the stage for a book that was filled with laughs and zany rom-com moments. When I pick up a Lynn Painter book, I am guaranteed giggles and grins galore, and she did not disappoint with Happily Never After.

Sophie was about to marry a man who had cheated on her more than once, but she wasn't sure how to break it off without causing other issues. Enter The Objector, a paid stranger who was planted at the ceremony to object to the union. I found this to be a brilliant and hilarious premise for a rom-com, as well as an interesting sort of meet-cute for the hero and heroine.

This is not the first romance I have read where the hero and heroine had both been burned causing them to be anti-love, but Max's experience which resulted in this Objector side hustle was something fun and fresh. I did feel that this subplot took a bit of a backseat, but I couldn't complain because that space was filled with watching the friendship between Sophie and Max take shape and grow.

I found I could not resist rooting for this couple. They had chemistry galore, and the way they fit so easily into each other's lives was something magical. "The Conflict" actually came as quite a surprise to me, so good job, Lynn Painter, but I think it was necessary in the grand scheme of Max and Sophie hitting that "over it" milestone.

Overall, this was a wonderful rom-com filled with humor, quirky characters, and lots of comedic moments. I found myself laughing often and filled with glee as I watched Sophie and Max fall in love.

*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

Knowing the relationship end date, yea or nay?
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