Expiration Dates

In this contemporary and gently magical novel, every time Daphne Bell meets a new man, the Universe sends her a piece of paper containing his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they’ll be together. It took her a while to figure out how those notes work, but once she did, she was able to see that they were never wrong. And this makes her feel occasionally hopeful, but mostly cursed—until she receives a note that says she’s found the relationship that will last forever. But Daphne finds herself unable to stop wrestling with the question of what she wants for her romantic future, even when she thinks she knows that future is certain. I read this in a day and appreciated the way Serle’s little injection of magic prodded me to think differently about my own life. As someone who’s never been to L.A., I especially enjoyed the strong sense of place: this book is set in many specific neighborhoods in L.A., and I googled every single one as I read!