In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

In Five Years

by Rebecca Serle

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

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

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...
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan has been in possession of her meticulously crafted answer since she understood the question. On the day that she nails the most important job interview of her career and gets engaged to the perfect man, she's well on her way to fulfilling her life goals.
That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different ring on her finger, and in the company of a very different man. The TV is on in the background, and she can just make out the date. It's the same night - December 15th - but 2025, five years in the future.
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 four and a half years later, when Dannie turns down a street and there, standing on the corner, is the man from her dream...
In Five Years is a love story, brimming with joy and heartbreak. But it is definitely not the love story you're expecting.

'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 of Sunday Times bestseller The Flatshare

'I adored In Five Years, it's so poignant and tender. It broke my heart' JOSIE SILVER, author of One Day in December

'I loved In Five Years. A beautiful, intelligent story about friendships and love' CLARE MACKINTOSH, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End

'A rare love story with an unexpected ending' Bella magazine

'I read it in one late night. Very, very clever. And lovely. The end is EXACTLY what it should be' ANSTEY HARRIS, author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

'In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won't forget' CHLOE BENJAMIN, author of The Immortalists

'Clever, heartbreaking and beautifully written. The perfect story' HOLLY MILLER, author of The Sight of You

'A wonderfully unique read. Clever, compelling and always surprising' HEIDI SWAIN, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Wish List

'Smart, clever and achingly beautiful. Not many love stories surprise me, but this one did. I really loved it' DANI ATKINS, bestselling author of Fractured and A Million Dreams

'An exquisite portrayal of friendship and love at its purest. Stunning' EMMA COOPER, author of The Songs of Us

'Deeply moving and emotional - I absolutely adored it' SUSAN ELLIOT WRIGHT, author of The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood

'What a wonderful book. So moving and such an amazing, satisfying ending. Excellently done' TRACY REES, author of The House at Silvermoor

Reviewed by girlinthepages on

4 of 5 stars

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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

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 April, 2020: Finished reading
  • 12 April, 2020: Reviewed