Originally published: 10 March 2020

Author: Milly Reid

Published by: Quercus

Genre: Women’s fiction

Length: 272 pages

Reading dates: 8-10 March 2020

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Quercus 2020 Word of Mouth Bestsellers evening last October and there was a real buzz about In Five Years.  I feel like I love everything that Quercus are publishing so I was pretty sure I was going to love this too!

Dannie is a Manhattan lawyer, fiercely ambitious.  When she is asked the question “Where do you see yourself in five years?” she knows exactly what she wants.  On the same day she gets the job of her dreams, her equally ambitious boyfriend David proposes to her in an expensive restaurant and she is a step closer to reaching that five year goal.

That night Dannie falls asleep only to wake up in a different apartment with a different engagement ring on her finger, in the company of a very different man.  The TV is on in the background and she can see the date is 15 December 2025, five years in the future.

When she wakes again and is back with David, she tells herself it must have just been a dream.  It is definitely a very odd experience but Dannie files it away in the back of her mind and carries on with her life.

That is until 4 and a half years later when she meets her best friend Bella’s new boyfriend and she realises it is the man from her dream…

I absolutely loved this story but as a lot of other reviewers have said, it is a hard book to write a review for without giving away too much of the plot.  One thing I really did enjoy though was Dannie and Bella’s friendship and that to me was what made the book so special.  Completely different in many ways, they have everything I’d want in a friendship. They are quite different: Dannie is a the high flying lawyer, who thrives at hard work, often working whole weekends or evenings and has found the perfect match in her equally ambitious fiancée David.  Bella’s family are wealthy, she owns a gallery and spends her time flitting around Europe, with no serious relationship on the horizon.  Having been friends since they were children, they don’t always see a lot of each other, but both know they would do anything for the other.

I also loved the mystery element of this story – as soon as Dannie comes face to face with the man from her dreams, we know there must be something a bit weird going on and the book is very clever how it draws this out.

Having been to New York, I also loved the way this book was set there – the descriptions of the restaurants and delis they visited were mouth-watering and I always like to hear what characters are eating! Although I’m not sure I could stomach Dannie’s breakfast of choice, whitefish salad early in the morning!

This isn’t just a light and fluffy book – there are some serious issues played out but it is done with sensitivity.  I loved the overwhelming theme of friendship.  Quite a short novel, it is exactly the sort of book that could be read in one sitting.  I felt the rug being pulled out from beneath me on more than one occasion while I was reading this – it was just a beautiful read!

Thank you to Quercus for my gifted advanced copy.

About the author:

Rebecca Serle is an author and television writer who lives between New York and Los Angeles. Serle most recently co-developed the hit TV adaptation of her young adult series Famous in Love, now on Freeform. She loves Nancy Meyers films, bathrobes, and giving unsolicited advice on love.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaASerle

Website: https://www.rebeccaserle.com/