‘In Five Years’ by Rebecca Serle

“What are the odds?”
“In a city of nine million? Less than zero.”

I went into this book anticipating a sweet romance, but In Five Years is more than that: it’s a hard-hitting contemporary bustling with surprises and a beautiful depiction of the bond between life-long best friends. With such fluid writing, I flew through it in under 24 hours.

What would do if you had a glimpse into the future and saw that you were living a completely different life than the one you were currently living?

Dannie Kohan is a woman who has it all: an eligible boyfriend, an impressive job at a top firm as a successful attorney, and an impressive apartment in New York. But, is she truly happy?

At an interview for her dream job, Dannie is asked that much-anticipated interview question: “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Without delay, she delivers her carefully crafted answer, crushes the interview, and her plan begins that very evening when her long-term boyfriend proposes. However, that night she falls asleep and wakes up in an unfamiliar apartment with an unfamiliar man. The date on the TV says December 15, 2025. Five years later. Well, this certainly wasn’t in her plan…She wakes up startled to find herself back in her apartment, back in the present. Dannie can never quite shake off that hour she spent in the future and therefore does everything to keep her life plan intact. Until one day, she is reunited with that very mystery man she saw in her dream…

You mistake love. You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn’t. It’s the only thing that does not need to become at all. It matters only insofar as it exists. Here. Now. Love doesn’t require a future.

As I said, this book is much more than a charming romance. Serle portrays a moving, authentic relationship between life-long best friends, Bella and Dannie. Opposites truly do attract since these friends could not be more different, yet their love is unconditional. What’s more, In Five Years is a novel about a woman’s self-discovery. I actually see much of myself in Dannie. She’s highly driven, goal-orientated, and every moment of her life is planned and predictable. It’s only when she begins questioning her meticulous life plan that she pursues her true goals. Even when you think you know how things are going to turn out, even if you have a vision that shows you exactly what will happen in five years time, you still are as blind to the future as anyone else. 

Finally, with its New York setting, I want to visit now more than ever. All that talk of bagels, delis, and runs through Central Park are giving me serious wanderlust.

In Five Years is perfect for any fellow Josie Silver (One Day in December) fans. As with that unconventional romance, I think this book would be perfect for the big screen. Comparisons aside, this book is a love letter to female friendship with an important moral at its core.

“Even after midnight, especially after midnight. Continue moving toward that which is moving toward you.”

Rating: ★★★★

Be sure to check out the other reviews on the Blog Tour:

Thank you, Quercus Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

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Check out my review for One Moment by Linda Green