In Five Years by Rebecca Searle ★★★★★

Published : 3rd March 2020

Publisher : Quercus

Format : Kindle, Audio, Hardback, Paperback

Genre : Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis

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...

My Review

Firstly thank you so much Quercus for this beautifully written story and to Milly Reid for giving me this spot on this great blog tour.

Ok so wow. Where to start!!!

I loved every single word, chapter and page of this achingly beautiful story.

It's a love story, but not in the conventional way that you maybe used to reading, this one was utterly different in every way and even though it wasn't the ending you usually expect with romance books, I found it was even better as it all came full circle.

Dannie lives the perfect life. She has a successful, on the up career as a lawyer and has a loving respectful relationship with the man she loves.

Both have set them selves a goal in life and are both working towards that goal happily.

Soon into the book Dannie has a job interview for a company that is her dream job, she smashes the interview and that night her boyfriend, David has booked them a table at a very exclusive restaurant. She knows whats about to come.

David proposes to Dannie and she accepts, after spending far to much on the night out they head home to snuggle up on the sofa and order Thai food.

Whilst waiting for the food to arrive Dannie falls asleep on the sofa. When she wakes up she is completely shocked to find that she is not in her house, on her sofa with her new engagement ring, but in a different apartment on the other side of town with a man she doesn't know and a completely different ring on her finger.

Confused and scared Dannie tries to figure out what is happening, is it just a dream? but then Aaron walks in and asks her if she is hungry and does she want some pasta! She says no but her stomach gives her away and she feels starved, whilst trying to ask discreet questions about her surroundings and eat pasta she notices the tv, it says that it is December 15 2025. Five years in the future.

One thing leads to another and although she doesn't know Aaron or where she is she has the strangest feeling that she belongs and before she knows it they are in the bed making love.

Dannie wakes up after drifting off in Aarons arms to find herself back on the sofa with David asking her if she wants the Thai food hot or cold.

Fast forward the next four and a half years, Dannie is progressing n her career, they have moved to the house they always said they would end up in, but have never got round to setting a date and getting married, something always comes up but in the back of her mind she is always trying to not lead a life that ends up on the night she saw those five years ahead, convinced it was a premonition.

Bella is Dannies best friend, they have been besties since they were little even though they are the complete opposite of each other, Dannie is controlled, likes routines and loves setting a goal, Bella is the polar opposite. She falls in and out of love regularly, travels the world and loves to take risks and live life in full colour.

Four and a half years in Dannie and David are out to meet Bella and her new boyfriend Greg for dinner, Bella is in love this time and she is desperate for Dannie to meet him.

From this point on everything changes for Dannie and Bella and life takes a turn completely out of their control.

Friendships are tested and relationships are questioned but Dannie soon realises that no matter how hard you try to run from fate, at some point it will catch up with you and grab you with both hands.

This book gripped me so completely that I really could not put it down. It lifted my heart and saddened it over the course of a few chapters, never quite letting me go from the emotional words that I could see in my head play out as I read.

Rebecca Searle has written such a clever story that is utterly original and stands out miles above the rest.

I had tears in my eyes towards the end of this book, and I did not expect the story to take a turn that way but it all makes sense as you near the end, then you get to read the beginning of the book again at the very end and even though you have read it once already, this time you read it completely differently and from a different stand point, making the entire book come full circle and leaving you with a feeling of mixed emotions but also of a satisfaction that you have just read an amazing book, although I definitely needed a book break after reading this one to give my brain time to absorb and move on.