Reviews with content warning for Death - The Birthday List

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Birthday List by Devney Perry

15 reviews

bookswithvicky's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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vreyna20_2004's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I haven’t read a book with a widow so I didn’t know what to expect but I had noticed that I had VERY strong feelings with how Poppy was dealing with her grief and dating after Jamie’s murder. I don’t judge how people deal with grief. That's not the point, my issue is the fact that after Cole became an important part of her life she started to forget how he looked and that hurt me as if I was Jamie. I don’t know but if I married someone and then died and my spouse moves on but forgets how I looked or forgets me that would’ve caused me to break things in the house. And talking about the house, I didn’t like the fact that she moved out just because Cole was “uncomfortable” being in the house even though he reassured her countless times that he knows Jamie is her first love. It felt like Poppy needed an excuse to move. Also Cole is decent. I wasn't fond of him because he tried to put himself in Poppy’s life like searching her up online and then going to the Maysen Jar to be near her. It was just off putting. And every damn time he sees Poppy he would talk about her body as if she wasn’t a mourning (and I know Poppy hates this word) widow. AND talking about Poppy’s hate for the word widow, she made it seem like she would stab or scream at someone for calling her a widow but no one calls her that so I got annoyed every time it was mentioned. I didn't like how unsatisfying the last talk Poppy had with Jamie's family like I get it they do not need to talk to her but it still bothered me especially when Cole tried holding her hand IN FRONT of the family of Poppy's dead husband like talk about disrespectful. If I was Jamie's parents, seeing that would've been my last straw and I would've told her off like you can move on but don't do it in front of the family who lost their son and was married to you as that would solidify the death of their son. Poppy had a hard time realizing that Jamie would never come back and then she does this in front of the family of her husband. To me, that was shitty. And the final thing that PISSED me off was Poppy and her feelings towards her brother, Finn, and her best friend, Molly. In the book you get information for “Letters to Molly” where Finn divorces Molly because she had cheated on him one night out with her friends and Poppy gets so fed up with Molly for calling herself a cheater (which she is in my opinion) and then the bomb gets dropped. The reason why Molly calls herself a cheater is because every time Poppy gets mad she says horrible things to those she cares about. Hypocrite. That’s all I have to say.

Now to the good things I enjoyed about this story. Cole, despite being annoying and a horny teenager who wanted to get his dick wet, was very sweet for helping Poppy finish the list, especially for fixing Jamie’s car. That doesn’t mean I like Cole because he didn’t want to help Poppy and some of the lists like the fire alarm but then says he could’ve found one that didn’t work. Like if you knew that was a thing why didn’t you say it in the beginning?? Anyway, I enjoyed reading Poppy and Jimmy getting caught. It was funny in my opinion. And it tucked on my heart strings when Cole carried Poppy when she cried that she needed to finish the list the right way despite her boots digging into her feet from being small and causing her to bleed but then it was ruined when they slept together cause to me it felt weird sleeping with someone else when you’re doing something for your dead husband…but that’s my opinion.

Basically what I’m saying is that sadly my own opinion was too strong and I didn’t enjoy it. I wished I did but I couldn’t get past the idea of Poppy just moving on after being with Jamie since college. I believe in being with someone from college, high school, even before that it’s difficult to move on because of how long you’ve been with them. They had seen you change and mature before they passed. I don’t know if I was Poppy I would’ve just not dated someone else because she even felt conflicted. I get that people can and have the right to move on but when you read a book you tend to put yourself into the story and that was one of those times.

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izzibelle's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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clmr's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Slow burn

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maralmao's review

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4.75

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courtneyvbooks's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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amanda_reads13's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Birthday list is a story about how a heart can mend after a tragic loss.
Poppy was married to and madly in love with James, her college sweetheart.

5 years after his tragic death, she is beginning to find peace in her life. One of the things helping her through is trying to complete James' birthday list. One of the people helping her is Cole.

After their first introduction on the most tragic night of her life, police officer Cole re-meets Poppy. Poppy has just opened a new restaurant in town with the help of her best friend and ex-sister inlaw Molly. Cole falls for Poppy fast. Knowing she is not ready for a new relationship yet, he waits patiently while doing all he can to support her and be there for her. Cole and Poppy's friendship slowly leads to more as she learns to let go of James and to allow herself to move forward.

I really enjoyed reading about Poppy and Molly's relationship. She was incredibly supportive of Poppy and was there for her even when her own marriage was falling apart.

This was such a beautiful story. I loved watching Poppy and Cole's love grow for each other.

Devney tackled the topics of grief, loss, and allowing yourself to move on with such care.

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laurynsmith's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Now I definitely see what all the Devney Perry hype is all about!!! The Birthday List is a heartfelt romance that explores grief, identity, and a second chance at love. I have so much appreciation for the way that Devney Perry creates a conflict of interest regarding two simultaneous love stories, yet still allows you to root for both of them. Cole is the biggest simp and I loved him for that—and almost wish we could’ve explored more of his growth as a character. I loved the book however the small snippets of Finn and Molly make me certain that their book is going to absolutely destroy me.

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drishthings's review against another edition

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4.0

good book, the flow of this book was icky

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