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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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.

Sunny Shelly’s Review: 5 Stars

The Birthday List is not a happy-go-lucky romance story, but it is one beautiful romance story. The prologue drew me in immediately, and left me in tears when Poppy gets that knock on the door and a policeman informs her that her husband Jamie has been murdered.

When the book then picks up five years later, Poppy is still grieving her husband’s death and is determined to work through Jamie’s “birthday list,” hoping that it will bring her some closure since his murder is still unsolved. While doing one of Jamie’s listed activities, Poppy randomly runs into Cole, the handsome officer who had been the one to knock on her door that fateful night, and stayed by her side. I l0ve that, even though they live in a relatively smallish town, Cole and Poppy hadn’t run into one another before that karate class. It sets in motion the series of coincidences — or is it fate? — that helps Poppy stop merely existing and start living again.

If there ever was a saint among book boyfriends, it is Cole Goodman. He is so patient and understanding with Poppy. Even when they are just building their friendship, before things take a romantic turn, Cole is there to pick her up, dust her off, offer his arm, and never bats an eye when Poppy gets overwhelmed by her conflicting feelings.

As Cole helps Poppy work through Jamie’s birthday list, he also helps heal her heart. Devney Perry did a marvelous job of taking the reader along every step of the way as Poppy and Cole try to figure out their friendship, then romantic relationship, and all of the ups and downs that go along with a widow trying to move on with her life.

Yet as deep and heavy as the content of Cole and Poppy’s story is, there are plenty of light and playful moments as well, thanks to many of the secondary characters. Randall and Jimmy are the greatest odd couple — those two old coots had me in stitches. The support that Poppy has in her brother and Molly (can they get a second chance story next? Please?) is amazing, and my heart broke for Poppy when she was dealing with her in-laws.

I absolutely adored this story. It was the first book I’ve read by Perry, and she is an author I will definitely look for again in the future. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

 

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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