Ya…no. This was my first book by this author and I wish it wasn’t because now I don’t want to read another book from them again. I will continue the series because I was more intrigued with Molly and her ex-husband story line in this book than the main characters but something about this book didn’t sit right with me. Also here we go with another author ruining the name Poppy for me! Will the name Poppy ever be redeemed!

This story starts off with Poppy opening her new restaurant as one of her life long goals as well as completing one of the many tasks her late husband, Jamie, had on this birthday list. Instead of a bucket list, Jamie created a list of things he wanted to do before he turned a certain age. So with Jamie being gone, Poppy took up completing that list for him and one of the things he wanted to do was take a karate class and the day Poppy goes in for her first lesson she comes face to face with a man she hoped to never see again. Cole, the police officer that gave her the worse news of her life that her husband has been killed.

I don’t know what it was but this one wasn’t it for me. I liked the premise of the book, the concept, and even the side characters but some of the character choices the author made with the male main character and some of the things he said didn’t sit right with me or it hit too close to home and made me second guess what the underling tone of the male main character. I understand that this was a small town romance feel and the male main character was a police officer but some of his negative views and the negative things he would say about low income housing and the people that live there and also how the violence had pick up in his town by people from larger cities moving there and the main people that moved there were “gang” members from LA. And the author made these gang members Hispanic. Like why?!? I don’t know, some parts of this book gave me the ick.