In Five Years

by Rebecca Serle

'SMART, EMOTIONAL, INTRIGUING AND COMPELLING - I LOVED IT!' JILL MANSELL

Dannie Kohan has held true to her meticulously crafted 5-year plan since she understood the concept. On the day that she nails the most important interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.

But that night Dannie falls asleep and dreams of a night five years in the future where she's engaged to another man. It was just a dream, she tells herself when she wakes, but it felt so real.

Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind. That is, until five years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream...

Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day, this heart-breaking story of love, loss and life will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about destiny.
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'What a clever, beautiful, special book. The writing is stunning, the concept is so original - it just has everything going for it. I loved every page!' Beth O'Leary, author The Flatshare and The Switch

'Such a touching, soulful experience' Goodreads reader

'In Five Years is a stunningly beautiful, brilliant and insightful love story' Goodreads reader

'Heartbreaking and poignant' Glamour

'I loved In Five Years. A beautiful, intelligent story about friendships and love' Clare Mackintosh, author of After the End

'Full of twists and turns, this is a heart-breaking yet uplifting story about love and friendship' Heat magazine ****

*IF YOU LOVED IN FIVE YEARS, REBECCA'S NEXT HEARTBREAKER EXPIRATION DATES IS AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW!*

New York Times bestseller, March 2020

• ISBN10: 1529405831
• ISBN13: 9781529405835
• Publish Date: 1 October 2020 (first published 4 March 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Quercus Publishing
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Interesting premise, and I liked this just fine, but it turned into a different kind of book than I expected. Remember those Lurlene McDaniel books? Basically like that. I felt like this tried way too hard to pull out every last drop of emotion from the reader, so much that you could see right through it. But still, a thoughtful read.

[girlinthepages]

It's rare that I make it through an entire book in nearly one afternoon these days, but that was the case with In Five Years- I couldn't put it down! I found this book to be very polarizing to me, as on the one hand I really enjoyed it, and on the other hand I had some fundamental problems with it that left me blindsided and feeling more than a little tricked. Nevertheless, it was an addictive reading experience that is nearly impossible to describe without spoilers, so be prepared for a few below (I won't be spoiling the entire book, just talking about the elements that bothered me!)

In Five Years features protagonist Dannie, a lawyer in New York who has her life meticulously, unapologetically planned out. Rather than feeling sorry for her (I feel like we're always urged in romances to feel bad for the heroine with a strict life plan and she needs to go to the country and fall in love with the farm hand on a Hallmark movie, lol) I found Dannie's certainty in life to be refreshing and empowering. On a night she has a super vivid dream that catapultes her five years into the future, into a life that is radically different than the one she's in now, with a new apartment, new love interest, basically new everything. She wakes up deeply unnerved by this vision and decides to do everything in her power to ensure it doesn't come to fruition.

*Entering some spoiler territory*

First and foremost, this book is not a love story between Dannie and a man. This book is a love story, a deep love story, about the love of friendship. Dannie's relationship with her best friend Bella is at the center of every decision and circumstance that leads her to the future she envisioned in five years. Her bond with Bella is more raw, real and heartbreaking than many romantic love stories I've read. It's so wonderful to see a romance book take the friendship route and focus on that as the center of the novel. HOWEVER it was extremely, extremely frustrating to me that Bella got cancer and her brutal decline was the catalyst for the changes in Dannie's life. I hate cancer books, and I felt blindsided that I made it so far into the story to be hit with the cancer narrative at a point where I didn't want to DNF because I was so invested. I purposely go out of my way to avoid sick-lit and I imagine it's triggering for a lot of folks, and so I was disappointed that the novel took that route. It's still an excellent story (which is why I'm rating it 4 stars), but not the story I signed up for (although perhaps I should have guessed considering the comp titles are One Day and Me Before You!).

In Five Yearsis beautifully written as well. Serle has a succinct yet profound way of narrating through Dannie and balances it with Bella's optimism and love for life without sacrificing the integrity of either character. She also does an incredible job painting a picture of both the present and future, making a four and a half year time jump feel natural and not at all awkward, skimming over the routine of Dannie's life until the changes are actually set into motion (which I'll admit surprised me because I didn't expect for a bulk of the book to take place after just 6 months). Serle also surprised me with her conclusion, as she revisits the exact scene Dannie initially dreams about in the beginning of the book, with the exact same action and dialogue, however there's a whole new meaning to everything that's said and done now that the reader has the background context of the events of the novel. It's really masterfully done.

Overall: In Five Yearsis a well written book with a creative story with a dash of magical realism. It would have been a slam dunk five stars from me if it hadn't dropped a cancer plot line on me more than halfway through the book. I'm looking forward to reading more from Serle in the future.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Thank you to Quercus Books for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I had heard a little about this book and it sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy.

I finished this book and I felt broken. Completely and utterly broken. I didn't know what to do with myself. I put the TV on but quite honestly I couldn't pay attention. All I could think about is Dannie and Bella. These two women really got under my skin.

I'll admit it for the first quarter of this book I wasn't even sure if I liked Dannie but I really warmed to her. Bella was an instant hit with me but Bella is an instant hit with everyone. It's just who she is.

I went in thinking this was going to be a love story and while it was it just wasn't in the way I thought it would be. The true love story here was Dannie and Bella's friendship. This friendship is everything to these girls. At first, it seemed like Bella needed Dannie more but as the book progressed it became clear really was a two-way thing.

This was the first book I read by Rebecca but it will not be my last! I was engaged and captivated by Rebecca's words and the characters she created. Now I have gushed and poured my heart out I am going to go back to sobbing and trying to work through this book hangover.

[Cocktails and Books]

A wonderful, poignant story about love and loss. I so loved Dannie, controlling nature and all, as she tried to make sense of her life five years later.