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?
The Birthday List by Devney Perry is my second surprise fave of this year, the first is Only You by Melanie Harlow. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much honestly. I knew it would be a good book because even though it's my first book by this author, I knew her reputation. The Jamison Valley series is one of the best things that happened in 2017 and that I missed. I miss out on a lot of great things, I've never watched This is Us for example so yeah I'm aware that there are great things that I haven't watched, listened or read out there. It's weirdly comforting to be honest, but also frustrating because I wish I had more time to consume pop culture. Maybe I could make my own Birthday List with books... wait that's basically a glorified TBR list, and that's super lame lmao.
So yes I didn't expect The Birthday List to
be a favorite, I thought it would be a great low angst book, just what I needed
to clean my reading taste buds after Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan. There's nothing
unique about the premise, widow stories are not my favorites because sometimes
it can be even worse than a love triangle because the love interest is
competing with a dead person and the dead husband/wife is often perfect and
idealized by the widowed hero/heroine. Sometimes it makes you feel like the
great love story was the one the widowed H/h lived with their dead spouse and
that you're getting the second best love story.
Let me tell you that it's absolutely not
the case with The Birthday List. The execution is brilliant, Jamie, Poppy's
late husband is a very special part of this story, he's celebrated throughout
the novel, Poppy still feel married to him for a part of the book, she's still
in her grieving process, it's evident that she LOVES him and always will.
Honestly this usually bothers me because I hate that bittersweet feeling, but
again it's all about the execution some authors don't handle it well you either
feel like the late spouse never really mattered or that the new love deserves a
better, greater love from the widowed H/h. It's not the case here, both men
were loved, appreciated and celebrated for what they were. Jamie wasn't
elevated on some pedestal, Poppy mentioned his flaws and acknowledged that at
this time in her life, 5 years after losing the love of her life, Cole was the
man she wanted and needed. He was sexy, handsome but more importantly sweet,
dependable, patient, loving and understanding. He was deliciously but not too
much of an alpha. Confident but not obnoxiously cocky. His love was deep and
unconditional but he did not pressure her or overwhelm her. He made her feel safe,
happy and wanted, she was incredibly attracted to him and it had nothing to do
with Jamie. He made her comfortable enough that she could talk about her late
husband It was new and wonderful and although she was terrified she welcomed
this new love in her life, a new beginning and a second chance at happiness. It's
definitely a slow burn though but by the end of the book you have an idea of
how they work as a couple and you finish this book CONVINCED that they are made
for each other. Another reason why I'm so fond of Cole is that he was a great
cop it's really important to me with everything that's going on to have that
kind of great cop representation in romance, cops that acknowledge the importance
and impact they have on youth and on their rookie coworkers. Not because we
need to love the police etc. but because it's important to have police
officers, that keeps us safe and that love their job and I also think that it
was important for Poppy to have that.
I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this novel and you
know what I adore about it ? It's not perfect, it has just enough flaws for us
to have something to discuss in our reading group chats or book clubs. I have a
weird pet peeve in my romances and it's red haired heroines, because they tend
to be special snowflakes and fetishized by the heroes but it didn't bother me
here because her here color wasn't mentioned every single time or that much
during the love scenes so wasn't unbearable. I think red haired women are
beautiful, exquisite even but I have to admit that I tend to avoid romance with
red haired heroines like the plague.
imo
but There are things that I didn't like about the characters, I'm conflicted
about certain decisions the author made, decisions that I respect and that are
part of the reasons this book is so good and special but that my romantic heart
had trouble dealing with. You know what's crazy? I'm not even talking about our
main couple here, NOPE with a popping P, I'm talking about a side story! When
was the last time I was this invested in a side story? I'm telling you this
book is amazing! Molly and Finn's story, Randall and Jimmy's banter, Poppy's
restaurant, Cole's work as a cop, all of these side stories will keep you
invested and passionate about this book.
I didn't expect to have so much to say
about The Birthday List, I'm embarrassed to admit that it was kind of a rebound
for me when I started it. I actually
thought that I was tired of small towns romances since I live in one myself but
I feel like when done right they can be really engaging reads.
I started The Coppersmith Farmhouse's audiobook
and will probably devour The Jamison Valley series and Devney Perry's upcoming novel
Tattered from which you get a free chapter in this ebook! I absolutely admire this
author and the way she's handling her career so far, I feel like each one of
her books is special and I love her tasteful covers it makes me want to collect
all of her paperbacks but it also give me a sense that she knows what she's
good at and what she loves to write and gives it everything she has and it's
something that I appreciate as a reader.
So I hightly rec that you pick up her books
in whatever form you want, although if you can get you an old school paperback
because omg aren't they cute ? Have you seen the gorgeous blogger packages on insta? Ohlala ! So much ENVY.
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