In Five Years - Rebecca Serle

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.

                 In Five Years by Rebecca Serle was not what I anticipated, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Dannie is a strong leading female, a character that I saw a lot of myself in (prior to life not swinging the way I always assumed, which also relates to her in a way). All of the other characters pale in comparison however, seeming boring, one dimensional even.

                 It's a quick read, something you can probably get done in one sitting. It took me about 2.5 hours to get through and what else would I do during this quarantine? It does pull at the heart strings at times, and I found myself tearing up several times towards the last quarter of the book. Also, as a New Yorker, I loved the description of the city and her use of imagery. I really felt like I was in the hustle and bustle sometimes, although I wouldn't be living as luxuriously as these characters. 

                 Overall, it was a great book to cleanse the palate. Lately, I've been reading too much smutty romance and this was a perfect break.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Find out more about In Five Years on Goodreads