IN FIVE YEARS by Rebecca Serle
Atria Books | On sale: March 10, 2020 | 240 pages |Hardcover ISBN13: 9781982137441, $27 | eBook ISBN: 9781982137465, $12.99
www.rebeccaserle.com
www.rebeccaserle.com
Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.
But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.
After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. 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 by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.
Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.
But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.
After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. 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 by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.
Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.
Wow! I literally could not put this book down. I shirked adult responsibilities just to read this to completion (thank god for frozen pizza). I was enthralled from the very first page until the bitter end... not that the end was bitter. It's just a saying.
Dannie is a lawyer, at a job interview for the company she has aspired to work for since she was little. She is asked the simple question of 'where do you see yourself in five years?'. She has the response perfected to a 't': a senior partner within the company she is interviewing for, married to her boyfriend of 2.5 years, and living in Gramercy Park. Celebrating her job interview, her boyfriend David, proposes. Things seem to be headed in the right direction for her five year plan.
That night, after falling asleep, Dannie wakes up 5 years in the future to different surroundings, a different ring on her finger and a different man in her apartment. After some time in the future, Dannie wakes back up in 2020, completely distressed. Feeling out of control for a type a personality is/was hard for Dannie to swallow. The situation seemed more something she would expect to happen to her best friend Bella.
4.5 years later, Dannie meets the man from her vision. Here the story stretches out, as things aren't how she thought them to be.
This story took so many twists and turns; I was not expecting the outcome of this book and I absolutely loved it. This book has all things you could ask for in a book, romance, the feeling of things out of your control, dogged determination, complacency, surprise, friendship and above all else love.
This is my first time reading a book by Rebecca Searle and am glad I was given a chance to review this. This is definitely a top book for 2020.
Rebecca Serle is an author and television writer who lives in New York and Los Angeles. Serle co-developed the hit TV adaptation of her YA series Famous in Love, and is also the author of The Dinner List, and YA novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. She received her MFA from the New School in NYC. Find out more at RebeccaSerle.com.
MORE EARLY PRAISE FOR IN FIVE YEARS:
“I adored In Five Years, it’s so poignant and tender. It broke my heart, such an unusual idea executed brilliantly, I didn’t see that twist coming! I’m a sucker for great love stories, and this one is just lovely. A keeper on my shelf!” —JOSIE SILVER, author of #1 New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick One Day in December
“In Five Years is more than just a love story; it’s a half dozen of them, none quite what you expect. Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hard to put down, it’s a novel about romance, friendship, the magic of good bagels, and what happens after you get everything you always wanted.” —LAURIE FRANKEL, author of New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine pick This Is How It Always Is
“In Five Years is more than just a love story; it’s a half dozen of them, none quite what you expect. Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hard to put down, it’s a novel about romance, friendship, the magic of good bagels, and what happens after you get everything you always wanted.” —LAURIE FRANKEL, author of New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine pick This Is How It Always Is
“When smart, thoughtful writing pairs with a compelling, ingenious plot I am hooked and so very happy. It’s been a long time since I read a novel in two sittings, but as soon as I started In Five Years, I was a goner. Loved it! Brava, Rebecca Serle.” —ELINOR LIPMAN, author of Good Riddance
“I just finished In Five Years and—my heart—oh! 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 The Flatshare
“With masterful storytelling and all the ingredients of a romantic comedy, Rebecca Serle weaves a story far deeper than the genre typically dares to go. In Five Years isn’t simply a book you will read, it is a book that will change you.” —JENNY MOLLEN, author of I Like You Just the Way I Am
“In Five Years is a work of devastating grace and beauty. A love letter to the power and depths of friendship, beautiful writing, and strong characters make this a novel that will have wide appeal for avid readers and book clubs. I recommend buying a few copies to share with friends and then gathering to discuss it over wine and a box of kleenex. This is truly a gem.” – PAMELA KLINGER-HORN, Excelsior Bay Books
“Unexpected and thoroughly captivating! Dannie Kohan has everything figured out – at least, she thinks she does. The right comparisons risk spoiling the magic, but trust that this beautiful book about love will be big.” – EMILIE SOMMER, East City Bookshop
“Rebecca Serle's novel is a warm, surprising. While the premise would be fun for a contemporary rom-com, Serle sneakily leads the narrative in an even better direction, more concerned with the nuances of fierce female friendship, everyday courage, self-discovery, and profound loss. Long story short, and to keep things as spoiler-free as possible: this book will make you cry on an airplane, but you'll be happy you read it.” – ANNIE METCALF, Magers & Quinn
“Serle's latest allows you to suspend disbelief and shows us the true nature of friendship. It's a clever and tender novel that you won't be able to put down.” – KRISTIN RASMUSSEN, Pages A Bookstore
“Be prepared to be surprised.” – AUDREY HUANG, Belmont Books
“I started and finished this book in one day on vacation, with tears streaming down my face on the beach when I reached the end. What a fabulous tribute to friendship that simultaneously invokes P.S. I Love You and Sliding Doors.”
– EMILY CROWE, An Unlikely Story
– EMILY CROWE, An Unlikely Story
