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?
I hate that this book took me so long to read once I started it but it definitely isn't because it wasn't captivating, it really was. This one falls into my "fun reads" category and I had so many review books that I only had small snippets of time to read this one but finally, FINALLY I finished it and I loved it.
In this one we have Poppy, who is starting up a new restaurant as part of her late husband's birthday list. He was a victim of violent crime and Poppy has spent several years mourning but decides one day to work on Jamie's birthday list, a list of things he wanted to do before certain birthdays. The book is her getting through those in an effort to heal but also her falling in love with Cole. Cole happens to be the officer who came to tell her that Jamie died and when he sees Poppy come into the station to see if there is any progress on Jamie's case, he decides to take a chance. What starts as a friendship quickly becomes clear there is more there and we get to see that blossom.
Things I liked about this book: first off, I loved the birthday list itself, it's fun and something we should all do, actually. I loved Poppy's idea of completing the birthday list as a way to give Jamie's life closure but also heal herself to move on. I loved Cole a LOT and I though he was such a great guy and I really loved how he was supportive of her throughout and it pays off for them, even though it got a little dicey towards the end.
Things I didn't love.... I'm not sure? Well, I didn't love Jamie's parents and thought they were absolute assholes to Poppy. It's one thing to grieve your child but quite another to drop someone completely who meant so much to you at one time, too. I felt terrible for her and I can understand that hurt she felt.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It didn't have intense "romance" scenes in it, but the story itself was just really sweet and the upward arc of coming out of a well of grief. Truly a good story, I can't wait to read the next book featuring her friend/ex-sister-in-law Molly. I'm going to give this one a 4.5 star.... rounded up to 5 because this is one I'll read again. And keep.
I do have the second book in this series, Letters to Molly, so stayed tuned for that review. As always, this post contains affiliate links.
3 comments:
This sounds super emotional, but glad you loved it. And actually, if you liked the general themes, I'd recommend Whiskey and Ribbons. It's similar in some ways - I read it last year and loved it!
This sounds pretty good, maybe emotionally heavy but I also like a good love story and her finding love again sounds pretty nice!
This sounds like an interesting book. I'm really drawn to the cover for some reason. I have a habit of picking up books just because the cover intrigues me. :)
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