Review & Excerpt: The Birthday List, Devney Perry
Happily married to her college sweetheart, Poppy lived a blessed life with the husband of her dreams. Then everything changed. She is no longer a wife. She is no longer the envy of her single friends. Now, people look at her with pity as they whisper a single word behind her back.
Widow.
Years after her husband’s tragic death, years of pain and sorrow and wishing for the life she’ll never get back, Poppy decides to finish Jamie’s birthday list. She’ll do the things he wanted to most. Because maybe, just maybe, if she can complete his list, she can start to live again.
Poppy expects going through the birthday list will be hard. She expects it to hurt. But what she doesn’t expect is Cole. Could the man who delivered the news of her husband’s death and shattered her heart be the one to help her put it back together again?
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REVIEW
I have only read one other book of Devney before this one and it was the first book in the Jamison Valley series. I fell in love with her writing then and I can't wait to get back to that series when I have time. And now having read this book, my love for her words has cemented. I know, already, that she will be one of my favorite author finds of 2018.
I love the way she writes. How she makes the plot so interesting; they pull you in from the first moment and keep you glued to the story until the very end. I am amazed of how perfectly she blends the romance and the suspense and makes it an undeniable 5 star read. I've also loved her characters and her oh so romantic, sexy and swoony heroes. They will definitely steal your heart in no time.
“What’s one of your weaknesses?” His hand at my hip moved up my spine so his fingers could play with my hair. “You.” I melted into him again, closing my eyes as we kept swaying. He was a weakness of mine too.
The Birthday List was a beautiful, heartwarming story about moving on and opening up your heart again to life and to love. Poppy's past was heartbreaking, having lost her husband in such a sudden and tragic way five years ago. She's still mourning him but in the phase where she's attempting to move on with her life and find closure and she's hoping to achieve that by fulfilling Jamie's Birthday List. She hopes that by doing every item on the list she'll find that closure.
One of the items on that list was opening her restaurant -Maysen Jars - which she has been working on and will finally be able to cross off the list very soon. I loved the whole concept of the restaurant, it was super cute.
Another item on the list is to go to a karate class, which is where she sees Cole for the first time after he knocked on her door and told her the awful news that her husband had died in a robbery.
Cole is a cop but teaches karate whenever he has the time. As soon as Cole sees her in his karate class, he knows that he can't let her go. She had stirred something in him that faithful night five years ago and she still did. He couldn't let another 5 years go by... so he shows up to her restaurant's opening and he keeps showing up. When he learns about Jamie's list he offers her his help and boy does he do everything he can to help her, with the last and everything else.
I wasn’t waiting for some nameless, faceless man of the future. When I pictured kissing another man, it was Cole. When I imagined sleeping with another man, it was Cole. He was the man of the future, patiently waiting on the other side of the line. I could imagine him standing there, holding out his hand.
Cole was just truly magnificent. He was considerate, understanding patient, oh so sweet and just perfect. He did everything he could to make her life easier, happier and just more. I loved him to bits. Poppy knew all this and she wanted to move on and open her heart to Cole but there was so much guilt holding her back; it was so hard for her still. The Birthday list not only helped her find closure, it brought her and Cole together and truly helped her move on and find happiness again.
This book was just simply beautiful. A truly wonderful read. Every character was amazing, every moment was heartfelt and seeing Poppy fulfill every item on the list was amazing.
“Will you do something for me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Kiss me.”
And just like Poppy I also feel truly invested in her brother and best friend's relationship, their story was also heartbreaking for different reasons, but it was. And even though this book ended with Finn having a girlfriend, I truly hope him and Molly get a book and they find a way to forgive and are able to move on. I want them happy together.
Rate: +5 stars
Turning to the door, I smiled, ready to greet my late-evening customer, but faltered as the door closed behind him.
Cole Goodman was walking my way.
My belly dipped as I took him in. His aviator sunglasses were perched on top of his chocolate-brown hair. A black polo stretched across his broad shoulders and pulled tight across his muscled arms. His pale-blue jeans molded to his Herculean thighs before draping down to his black, square-toed boots. The leather belt on Cole’s trim waist held both a shining badge and a holstered gun.
Cole smiled and locked his light-green eyes on mine as he crossed the room.
His straight, white teeth made my breath hitch—something that had happened last night more times than I wanted to admit.
Molly, who had turned around from her seat to greet our customer, spun around so her back was to Cole. Her cheeks flushed as she whispered, “Wow.”
Wow was right.
Cole Goodman was—simply put—gorgeous.
He could give a woman a speeding ticket and get a thank-you in return. He inspired women to attempt push-ups in a karate class just for the chance to watch him sweat through his gi. Cole made grown women blush like teenagers and giggle in corners, like those girls at the dojo last night.
Devney is the USA Today bestselling author of the Jamison Valley series. She lives in Montana with her husband and two children. After working in the technology industry for nearly a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to enjoy a slower pace at home with her kids. She loves reading and, after consuming hundreds of books, decided to share her own stories. Devney loves hearing from readers! Connect with her on social media.
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