Name: Mary Gilpin 's review of In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Item: In Five Years
Rating: 5
Author: Mary Gilpin

Rebecca Serle

"A striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever"--

A Novel

In Five Years

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.

A novel

In five years

ReadwithZanariah 

Life doesn’t hand everyone a passion in their profession; you and I won that round.

Here is the thing no one tells you about cancer: they ease you into it. After the initial shock, after the diagnosis and the terror, they put you on the slow conveyor belt. They start you off nice and easy. You want some lemon water with that chemo? You got it. Radiation? No problem, everyone does it, it's practically weed. We'll serve you those chemicals with a smile. You'll love them, you'll see.

Sometimes, I think about our old age and it seems intolerable to have to sift through that much history.

Eli Perez 

“ I think sacrifice is in direct opposition to manifestation. If you want your dreams you should look for abundance, not scarcity.”

dana

"you always tell me i never finish anyching," she says. "i wanted to finish this. for you." 

tears roll down my cheeks. i didn't even know I was crying. "bells,” i say. "it’s incredible. it’s beautiful. i could never. i would never — it’s home." 

i want her to be here. i want us to cook in this kitchen, making a mess of materials, running to the corner store because we don't have vanilla extract or cracked pepper. i want us to play in that closet, to have her make fun of everything i want to wear. i want her to sleep over, tucked in that bed, in safety, ensconced here. what could happen to her under my watch? what bad thing could touch her if i never, ever looked away? 

but i understand she will not be. i understand, standing here now, in this manifestation of both dream and nightmare, that i will be here, in this home she built for me, alone. i am here because she will not be. because she needed to give me something to hold on to, something to protect me. a literal roof over my head. shelter from the storm.

“bella…” i feel something rise in my chest. and then it’s tumbling out into the duvet between us. “i’m not sure i’m capable of it,” i tell her. “not the kind you mean.”

“but you are,” she says. “i wish you knew that. i wish you understood that you could have love beyond your wildest dreams. stuff movies are made of. you’re meant for that, too.”

“because that’s the way you love me.”

Mallory Foxley

He shakes his head. "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."

Caitlyn Whitt

joy-lynn

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Good Morning America, FabFitFun, and Marie Claire Book Club Pick “In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won’t forget.” —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists 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? Dannie Kohan lives her life by the numbers. She is nothing like her lifelong best friend—the wild, whimsical, believes-in-fate Bella. Her meticulous planning seems to have paid off after she nails the most important job interview of her career and accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in one fell swoop, falling asleep completely content. But when she awakens, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. Dannie spends one hour exactly five years in the future before she wakes again in her own home on the brink of midnight—but it is one hour she cannot shake. In Five Years is an unforgettable love story, but it is not the one you’re expecting.

Nour

Verena Büch 

Hebe Walshaw

Booklyn Betty | Amanda Strombeck

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.

Cassandra 

'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

The most heartbreaking novel you'll read this year!

Zoe Mcleod

Mary Gilpin 

so this is the first time I cried over a book, sobbed even. So good, so not what I expected

Jessica Roberts

Christina Rose Sullivan

Thought I was getting into a fun romance. Ended up crying through the last few chapters 

Emily Lucie

it was a nice book, love the plots and thought provoking scenarios, didn’t make me cry lol but it was def sad

unexpectedly sad… what happens in between living life in numbers

Oluwapelumi Alo 

Absolutely loved the writing and how the story line made you think you knew but you didn’t know where it was going. Add the women friendship theme on top and it’s a fantastic read!

Sarah Wilson

Kaitlin Simpson

Wow

This book was amazing. It sucked me right in. It only took me two days to read this. At first, I loved how it was just a lighthearted tale of what love should be. But boy did it punch me in the heart at the end there. I did not see the last half of the book coming at all.

this story was hauntingly beautiful -> i cried at the moment when dannie relives her five year dream just to realize what she thought was love was grief all along. 

Manasi Gajjalapurna

Elisavet Rozaki 

Chloé

i liked the writing style would read something else from her just not the plot

Gabby Trupp

i love how this book wasn’t predictable and cliché. dannie and bella’s friendship is beautiful and one to aspire to.

mimansa 

** spoiler alert **
           The synopsis of this book really intrigued me. And the first five chapters were really exciting. There was confusion as to how she jumped 5 years ahead and came back and I couldn’t wait to see how one thing lead to another and finally to the same moment. 
But it really felt like it was rushed in the middle. Suddenly in the next chapters its 3-4 years in the future. It didn’t help in explaining how her present were gonna effect her future. 
Similarly, i had different expectations from the ending. Not only from the synopsis but from the first few chapters itself. It felt like the story ending was changed in the last minute. And quite honestly the ending didn’t make any sense.

Teresa Bonifácio

** spoiler alert **
           It made me cry. A lot! I was not expecting this! I was expecting a romance. A woman divided between two guys or something like that. Not what happened. I cried a lot in the end and I really liked the book.

Just fine. I think this plot line in the hands of a more skilled writer would have been more enjoyable. The arc is nice, but it’s an average book. 

Cecilia Bala

Lauren Piper

Ena Kalkan

i should’ve seen that ending coming. it was kinda obvious but also not at the same time.

Allison Dempsey

Lauren Strausser, I know you’re reading this - you will like this book very much!

It is a quick and easy read. Ending was a little disappointing for me. But it reminded me that life is short and that sickness may come in an unexpected ways. 

A quick and easy read. Overall an engaging story but not a story that will stick with me

Bridget Garland

“I think sacrifice is in direct opposition to manifestation. If you want your dreams you should look for abundance, not scarcity.”

Mariaaa

Hated it. Hated the characters, the writing, all of it

Caelyn Dionne

Ryan 

Jensyn Ronca

The amount of times I shook my head in disbelief and confusion is absolutely wild. I gave it an extra star just because I’ve never been so uncomfortable, so in some ways I’m impressed

"Love doesn't require a future." A truly heartbreaking but wonderfully written novel that expands and reminds you the definition of love.

Mary Gilpin &
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

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Mary Gilpin &In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

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Mary Gilpin &
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle