The Birthday List (Maysen Jar)

SPOILER-FREE REVIEWDevney Perry, the bestselling author of the marvelous Jamison Valley Series returns with an extraordinary and memorable standalone love story. Her book covers alone are deserving of their own reviews – each one is exquisitely beautiful.It’s Release Day for the anxiously awaited arrival of The Birthday List — making it an extra-special Happy April 3rd Birthday to me! Thank you, Devney Perry, for adding the "terrific" to growing another year older.Five long years after the loss of her beloved husband, Poppy Maysen, who I found to be one of the strongest and truly beautiful inside and out female leads ever, is a young widow starting over by taking one step forward with each item she crosses off Jamie’s bucket list of things he wanted to accomplish before he turned fifty – until one item brings her face-to-face with the man whose words once wrecked her life. And this is where it all changes and becomes just as much Cole Goodman’s story as it is Poppy’s.I love second-chance-at-love stories, and this one was exceptional — a beautifully written and emotionally compelling story of love and loss and of new beginnings that touch your soul. It packs an emotional wallop along with its charm. And it includes a little suspense with regard to Jamie's unsolved murder case. From start to finish I was totally captivated.Told from dual points of view by Poppy and Cole at the narrative helm, the dynamic duo’s voices allow a reader to know and understand each character from past and present, their insecurities, hopes and fears, and the depth of love each feels for the other.I was already half in love with Cole from just his physical description alone. But he’s the whole package – not just a handsome face. Everything about him cemented the fact that there is so much more below the surface. He’s genuine and real, always keeping Poppy’s best interests at the forefront. With Cole’s help, he gently pulled her from the depths of despair to the highest peaks of happiness and put the sunshine back in Poppy’s life. He’s truly a good man – maybe it comes naturally with his name! And, “in a heartbeat” I tumbled the rest of the way.Devney Perry breathes life into her words turning them into magical arrows that are direct hits to the heart of her reader. I felt every word. Her storytelling is creative and inspiring, along with a plot that progresses smoothly and quickly and has enough depth, twists and turns to keep even the most casual reader intensely interested.Those irresistible added touches will entice and delight readers throughout the storytelling. The Maysen Jar, where Poppy’s down-home cooking served in Mason jars isn’t the only draw for the handsome detective. (Did you catch the play on words in the café’s name?) And extraordinary secondary characters that add such richness and depth to this story without stealing the show. Speaking of those secondaries — what to do about Finn and Molly? Hopefully, DP will find a way to give them a second chance as well. Fingers crossed!My heart soared with delight when this love match didn’t fall into that all-to-often “slam bam thank you ma’am” category. The slow build from friendship to best friends and eventually falling head-over-heels-in-love was extraordinarily meaningful. Their relationship is not burdened with trivial clichés either – no cheating, secrets, triangles, unexpected babies, etc. The emotional depth to these characters was astounding to me. The love story between Poppy and Cole was incredibly moving.Saying love conquers all is totally relatable here. Poppy’s guilt and reservations in moving forward with a new love was excruciating and sad. Cole’s love is undeniable, and he manages to communicate his feelings in so many ways. A man who endures patience willingly, because he’s aware of the benefits of being patient. With Cole’s help, Poppy finds a way to treasure the memories from the past, live for today and look forward to tomorrow – with Cole by her side every step of the way. I was completely gobsmacked by the power of love in this story, the rush of feelings, the sheer beauty of this story and feelings that swallowed me up.The greatest life lessons are often hidden in the simplest forms and filled with inspiration. The hardest good-byes often lead to the best hellos. Something good can come from something bad. Highs and lows go together. Let all those feelings flow through you. And remember, hope springs eternal!An absolute must-read! Already added to my list of Top Reads for 2018. It’s not often that a reader will get lucky enough to experience a rare find — a true gem within the pages of a book. This is one of those times, and it’s a book any romantic heart will become lost in and one that will be hard to forget. The ending hits the perfect emotional notes: bittersweet and honest, comforting and joyful while leaving me ecstatically happy.

one word to describe this book, beautiful!it’s so much more than a love story! no one prepared me for the emotional wreck i would be in after finishing this book. pls go read this book you will not regret it. each chapter had such a beautiful meaning and with every ch i passed i couldn’t wait to see how much cole & poppy have grown closer. how much poppy has healed from what she’s lost. the process of poppy learning to let go and fall in love again was the most beautiful thing about this. i will never forget this book and all the feels it has given me <3oh cole goodman *swoon* he is everything you guys a literal man of honor. gentleman, patient, kind, and easy on the eyes. he would do anything for his poppy, he’s just so dreamy i couldn’t get enough of him. and he’s a detective <3 i love a man in uniform. definitely raised my standards after reading this book. idk why but i imagined cole as jensen ackleswords can’t even express how much i genuinely love this book! a new fav, forever infinity stars!“the man who had set out to win my damaged heart. the man who has been healing it ever since”

The Birthday List is the first book in The Maysen Jar series and ahhh I loved this so much! So emotional and heartfelt and beautiful. I am obsessed with Devney Perry books and didn’t know anything about this duet going in, but I was hooked by the prologue!The prologue starts with Poppy Maysen and her husband Jamie, they are one day away from celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary when he runs to the store and never comes back after being shot and killed during the store’s robbery. Jamie always kept a birthday list, instead of a bucket list of things to do he complied a birthday list of all the things he wanted to do or accomplish before each birthday.The story then jumps to 5 years later and Poppy, now 29 and a widow, has decided to complete her late husband’s birthday list. Starting with opening her own restaurant, a dream she had since her childhood. She opens The Maysen Jar, where items are served up in mason jars. While checking off one of the birthday list items and taking a karate class, Poppy is shocked to find the instructor is Cole, the local cop who brought her the terrible news of her husband’s death all those years ago. Cole is taken with Poppy right away and they start spending time together after running into one another a few times: he shows up at her restaurant and she finds out her ukulele teacher is his mom. Being around Cole, brings up so many feelings for Poppy that she’s not sure is she’s ready to explore yet so we get a bit of a slow burn with them.I love Devney Perry’s romances, the small town vibes and setting! This one takes place in Bozeman, Montana. I am already intrigued the couple of the next book: Poppy’s brother Finn and his ex-wife Molly, they’re newly divorced and co-parents, and I’m already itching for their second chance! I loved Cole and his family, his dad is the chief of police getting ready to retire and his mom was so sweet to Poppy. I loved Poppy’s relationship with Jimmy, her late husband’s grandfather, and Randall the old grump who comes into her restaurant multiple times of day every day. Along the way Cole says he’ll look into Jamie’s murder and works on that case for Poppy. Seeing Poppy share the birthday list items with Cole and them work together to check off the items was so sweet. I just really enjoyed this one and how emotional and touching it was. Can’t wait to jump into Letters to Molly next!

5 in a heartbeat stars.Wow, just wow, I finished this book yesterday and I’m still struggling to put my love for this story into words, it’s an emotionally charged rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and I didn’t want it to end. It made me question how I live my life, and how I could change it to get the most out of it, as not everyone’s tomorrow is guaranteed.Poppy has everything she could hope for, married to her college sweetheart and living the perfect life, until one day her husband leaves and doesn’t come back, instead, at the end of the night, a policeman is standing at her door changing the course of Poppy’s life forever.The Birthday List, is a journal of items her late husband Jamie put together, a bit like a bucket list, but split into birthdays he wanted to complete items by. Some were silly, some were fun, and some changed lives. After 5 years of mourning her husband, Poppy decides to continue Jamie’s birthday list, to honour him and try and get some closure on the past. The biggest item on the list is buying a restaurant, which she does, The Maysen Jar, which is a fabulous idea, I think someone should create! Poppy works together with her ex-sister in law/best friend, Molly, who is such a loveable character, I wanted to hug her for most of the book.Wanting to complete the list in a year rather than over a number of years, Poppy’s nearest and dearest are brought along for the ride. Whilst checking off one of the items, Poppy runs in to Cole, a familiar face from her past, whom she feels an immediate attraction towards, but can’t get past the guilt of feeling like she’s betraying her husband.Cole pursues Poppy, trying to be a friend and helping her complete the items on Jamie’s list, but their attraction to one another is undeniable, and after many days and nights spending time together, Poppy finally allows herself to feel happiness again and embarks on a relationship with Cole, who has loved her since day one.When something from the past comes back to haunt Cole and Poppy, the relationship they were building takes a hit.My heart broke for Poppy, she lost her husband in the worst way possible, his killer not caught, so no closure could be found. Poppy showed such strength throughout, that you couldn’t help but want only the best for her, and that was definitely Cole. I loved Cole, he was sweet, funny, gentle, kind and patient, he knew what Poppy had been through and he was playing for keeps, so he didn’t push her to be ready, when she wasn’t, he couldn’t do enough for Poppy, including buying her the sweetest sounding puppy, which he then took to the police station daily, so Poppy didn’t have to worry about him.Everything about this book was 100% perfect, from the humour the side characters bought (Randell and Jimmy - All I kept picturing was Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon from Grumpy Old Men) to Brad and Mia, Cole’s parents, who loved and protected Poppy, from the moment they met, to the beautiful love that blossoms between Cole and Poppy from the tragedy of loss.I can’t tell you enough, how fantastic this book was, an emotional rollercoaster which will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy and wanting to start making your own birthday list.

I first read this exactly a year ago and I still cherish the time when I read this for the first time. I really want to reread this but I’m afraid the feelings I had when I first read this might not be there and that first time feeling for me was so special I want to cherish it forever. I love this book with my whole heart.This is beautiful.This is about losing someone you thought you would love and spend the rest of your life with.This is about losing yourself in grief and guilt.This is about letting of that person go.This is about finding yourself again.This is about finding love again.This is about closure so you can breath and be yourself again.This is about patient.Minute by minute.In a heartbeat.

Devney Perry is an author who has been steadily growing on me. The Birthday List is the best book I have read by her. So much so that I have read it from start to finish in one sitting and it is a definite reread. Starting with the prologue of how Poppy came to be a widow we then move on 5 years. Poppy has decided in order to move on she needs to carry out the task that her husband had intended to do during his birthday list, very similar to a bucket list. Early on in the story she once again meets Cole who is the police officer who delivered the news to her of her husband's murder. As Poppy completes the birthday list assisted by Cole, she gradually moves on in life by falling in love with Cole who feels the same way. The story is delivered in a very tender way and allows the reader to see the pain that Poppy feels as she realises she has moved on. I loved it. I loved Poppy and Cole, Molly, Finn, Jimmy and Randall as well as the other characters. Well written and completely absorbing, Devney Perry has matured has a writer. The story flowed and there were no typo's, something which I find particularly aggravating when I read. I give this story 5 beautiful stars and I have no hesitation in recommending it to everyone.

Wow!!! I can't believe it took me this long to pick up this fantastic book. It's been on my kindle for ages and I finally had time. I plan on reading new authors once a month and I am so glad I chose Devney Perry. Now this book is a beautiful story. One of 2 love stories. One past and one present. This sounds like I have given something away but trust me. I haven't, not by a long shot.Now the main story is about Poppy trying to move on. To overcome the murder of the love of her life Jamie. In a cleverly constructed story she begins her quest to complete His birthday bucket list. And whilst she is on this quest she meet Cole again. The Cop, the barer of bad news, you have to forget that when he becomes more. Poppy and Cole start a new when a friendship changes somewhat and love and guilt became the forefront of this story.I can't really say much more as it would spoil everything. But know it's epic. I totally recommend this brilliant book. It's a beautiful story and I am totally glad I chose to read this book. (It helped me grieve a little too)

Poppy has everything she could hope for. She was married to her college sweetheart and seemed to be living the perfect life, that is until her husband is murdered!That event obviously changes Poppy’s life forever .....Five years on and Poppy is finding it hard to let go still, finding a journal written by her husband she hears his wishes and thoughts. He wanted to do a few things each year until the big 50, and then do something big. But he never gets to finish it, so with the help of family and friends, Poppy decides to complete the list (and maybe finally get on with her life) she decides it needs to be done in a year rather than a few things each year.Whilst doing one of the items off of the list, Poppy runs in to Cole, a familiar face from her past, she finds him attractive and has certain feelings for him, and then feels guilty for feeling that way.Cole had the unfortunate task of breaking the news of Poppy’s death. Bumping into her again, he seizes the chance to help her with her list, he wants a chance with Poppy, so being in her life as a friend seems the best way to start.As they being to get close, Cole’s past tears it’s ugly head and their friendship/romance hits a very large bump!!!It’s a slow burn romance, but that’s ok, she’s grieving for a husband, and this to me seems like a good way of saying goodbye.I really liked the secondary characters and I’m hoping Jimmy and Randal will each get a book.🦋