Back in October 2019 I went to a wonderful Quercus books Word of Mouth Best Seller blogger event that you can read all about here. At that event I was lucky enough to get a copy of Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years. Now I’m thrilled to be invited to participate in the launch celebrations for In Five Years and would like to thank Milly Reid for asking me.

Published by Quercus on 10th March 2020, In Five Years is available for pre-order here.

In Five Years

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…

My Review of In Five Years

Dannie finds life isn’t all about numbers.

Having heard so much about In Five Years I was sceptical about its emotional impact, stubbornly deciding I wasn’t going to be affected by Rebecca Serle’s writing. How wrong could I be? I resisted as long as possible before finding myself sobbing uncontrollably as the narrative unfolded and by the time I’d finished the book I was in pieces.

I thought the setting was magnificently displayed. It’s not just Rebecca Serle’s knowledge of New York but her ability to convey its impact on her characters that makes it so effective. The delis and restaurants, the lofts and apartments form an ideal back drop to the events. At times the setting is quite prosaic and yet enhances the emotions that her characters, and readers, are feeling.

There’s a heart rending story here. It might be set in corporate New York, but In Five Years explores universal themes of love, ambition, expectation and friendship that resonate for any reader in any location. It’s difficult to explore the plot without spoiling the read for others but I will say that I was so caught up in events that I read this book in one sitting because I was so captivated. I absolutely loved it.

What I think works so well in In Five Years is that there is a reduced number of main characters so that we get to know them intimately; even more deeply perhaps than they know themselves. Dannie’s first person narrative is honest and raw making her vivid and realistic so that I was completely attuned to her emotions, decisions and life. Her relationship with Bella is simultaneously harrowing and beautiful so that I was incredibly touched by it.

I’ve finished In Five Years not able to distance myself from Rebecca Serle’s wonderful writing. In spite of my intentions, she drew me in, mangled my heart and replaced it irrevocably and irretrievably altered. I loved this book unequivocally and cannot recommend it highly enough.

About Rebecca Serle

Rebecca Serle is an author and television writer who lives between NYC and LA. She most recently co-developed the television adaptation of her YA series Famous In Love for Freeform and Warner Brothers Television. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Her bestselling US debut adult novel Dinner List was a Book of the Month club pick, Costco bookclub pick, and Bustle Bookclub selection.

You can visit Rebecca’s website for more information, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @RebeccaASerle.

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