You think you know where this is going. A high-powered Manhattan lawyer, a perfect engagement ring, and a five-year plan so rigid it practically has its own heartbeat. Then, a weird dream happens.
Actually, it isn’t a dream.
When In Five Years Rebecca Serle first hit shelves in early 2020, it looked like a standard beach read. The cover was bright. The premise sounded like a "What If" romantic comedy. But if you’ve actually read it—or if you’re standing in a bookstore right now wondering why your friend told you to bring tissues—you know that Serle pulled a massive bait-and-switch.
It isn't a romance. Not really.
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What Actually Happens in the 2025 Premonition?
The story kicks off with Dannie Kohan. She’s the definition of "Type A." She knows exactly when she’ll be a partner at her law firm. She knows when she’ll get married.
On the night she gets engaged to her very stable, very "on paper" perfect boyfriend David, she falls asleep and wakes up in 2025. It’s exactly five years into the future. But everything is wrong. She’s in a different apartment in DUMBO. She’s wearing a different ring. Most importantly, she’s with a man she doesn’t recognize.
His name is Aaron. They spend one hour together. It’s intense, visceral, and ends with her waking back up in 2020.
Dannie spends the next four and a half years trying to outrun that hour. She tries to stay the course with David. She tries to convince herself it was just a vivid dream. But then, her best friend Bella introduces her new boyfriend.
It’s Aaron. The guy from the vision.
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The Twist Nobody Saw Coming
Most readers expected a love triangle. You know the drill: girl meets "fate" man, struggles with her loyalty to her fiancé, and eventually chooses the magic of the unknown over the safety of the planned.
Serle didn't do that.
Instead, the book pivots hard into a story about terminal illness and the kind of friendship that borders on soulmate territory. Bella, the whimsical foil to Dannie’s rigidity, gets diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer.
The "love story" the cover mentions? It’s between Dannie and Bella.
The man from the vision, Aaron, isn't some secret soulmate Dannie was destined to steal. He’s the man Bella loves. The hour Dannie spent in the future wasn't a romantic peak; it was a moment of shared, devastating grief.
Why the Ending Still Sparks Arguments
Let’s talk about that final scene.
In the vision, Dannie and Aaron are together in that DUMBO apartment. When the timeline finally catches up to the vision in "real time," Bella has passed away. Aaron and Dannie are indeed in that apartment, and they do sleep together.
This is where the Goodreads reviews get... heated.
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A lot of people find it unforgivable. They see it as a betrayal of Bella. Why would the author have these two characters hook up on the night of Bella’s memorial?
But if you look at it through the lens of trauma, it hits differently. Serle has mentioned in interviews that grief is messy. It isn't a Hallmark card. It’s "confluence of tangled, confusing emotions." These are the only two people in the world who loved Bella that way. In that moment, they aren't falling in love; they are just surviving.
Critical Stats & Adaptations
- Sales: Over 2.3 million copies sold worldwide.
- Languages: Translated into 32 languages.
- Movie News: New Line Cinema is currently developing a film adaptation with Working Title.
- Other Works: Serle's newer books, like One Italian Summer and Expiration Dates, continue this "magical realism meets heavy grief" vibe.
Dealing with the "Type A" Backlash
Dannie Kohan is a polarizing protagonist. Honestly, she can be a lot.
She lives her life by numbers. 18 minutes to walk to work. 20 months of dating before moving in. 30 as the "right" age to get married. Some readers find her cold or insufferable.
But that’s the point.
The book is a critique of the illusion of control. We think if we plan enough, nothing bad can happen. We think if we check every box, we’re safe from the "big joke" of life—the fact that it ends. Dannie’s journey is about learning that the future will find you whether you’re standing still or running toward it.
Lessons from Dannie and Bella
If you’re looking for a happy ending where everyone gets a house and a dog, this isn't it. But it offers something more realistic despite the "vision" trope.
- Plans are just guesses. You can nail the interview and get the ring and still have your world flip upside down by a phone call from a doctor.
- Platonic love is the lead. We prioritize romantic partners, but often it’s the friend who has known us since we were twelve who actually holds our life together.
- Grief doesn't have a map. There is no "right" way to act after losing a best friend. Sometimes you just have coffee in a deli until they close because you can't go home yet.
In Five Years Rebecca Serle works because it lies to you at first. It invites you in with the promise of a light mystery and then forces you to look at the things we all try to avoid: loss, the passage of time, and the terrifying reality that we aren't in charge.
If you’ve just finished the book and feel like you need a "sorbet" read to cleanse your palate, look for something by Emily Henry or Carley Fortune. But if you want to stay in this headspace, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Maybe in Another Life covers similar "sliding doors" territory without the same level of emotional devastation.
Grab a copy of the Target Deluxe Edition if you want the extra author Q&A—it clears up a lot about why Serle chose that specific, controversial ending.
Next Steps:
- Compare the ending of the book to Serle's latest release, Expiration Dates, to see how her themes of "destiny" have evolved.
- Keep an eye on New Line Cinema's casting announcements; the role of Bella will be the one that determines if the movie succeeds or fails.
- Re-read the first chapter. Now that you know what the vision really is, the numbers Dannie recites feel much more like a shield than a schedule.