This was a bit of an odd one. I didn’t know anything going in, which can be either a really good thing at times, and I’ve discovered some great surprises that way. This one, though… it just managed to not be at all what I expected while also having had no expectations at all.
This is the story of Dannie, a very tightly buttoned lawyer who lives in New York City with her long-term boyfriend and who has every step of her life mapped out in great detail. It’s not exciting, but it is going exactly to plan. That is, until on the night of her boyfriends proposal, she has an odd dream. In the dream she wakes up five years later in a different apartment, wearing a different ring… and with a different man.
When she wakes up back in her normal life the next day, she is left to figure out what on earth that episode was, whether it’s real, and what it means. One surprise follows another, and she spends the next few years trying to side-step landmines that might land her in that exact position, without knowing exactly how she got there, or why.
It’s a really odd plot, and one I wasn’t at all prepared for. I expected the relationship drama, the foundering young woman, the unexpected turns of life. But I didn’t expect this odd prescient episode and the havoc it would wreak on Dannie and her life. It affects her decisions, her relationship with her closest friend, how she relates to people she meets… everything.
I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either. It’s very dramatic, and a little fraught. It had this odd pseudo-sci-fi thing running through it that never quite takes root (I kept wanting an explanation) but seems to infect everything. I didn’t quite buy the relationships in it, and I didn’t much care about Dannie or what happened to her. I didn’t really buy into the premise, either.
I am left at a bit of a loss as to how to review this one. I think if the premise interests you, give it a try. If you like dramatic stories that are all about interpersonal issues and the twists and turns of life, this is also probably one that will appeal to you. But if you’re looking for a simple story that really makes sense, or if you want strong connections to the characters, this might not quite fit the bill. Entertaining, for sure, but not with a lasting impact.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan 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. – Goodreads
Book Title: In Five Years
Author: Rebecca Serle
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook
Published By: Atria Books
Released: March 10, 2020
Genre: Fiction, Relationships, Illness, Friendship, Light Sci/Fi
Pages: 272
Date Read: April 28, 2023
Rating: 4/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.80/5 (415,914 ratings)