Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Amy Daws’s Last on the List is the exclamation point, the emphatic, “yell all the goodness at your readers” ending that her The Wait With Me Series needed. It’s part opposites attract, part “nanny with benefits,” part grumpy/sunshine. And in its pages lies a treasure of a read that makes you chuckle, tear up, and end with a sigh of happiness. In fact, to ensure you leave her romance with all the happy thoughts, Daws treats you to a bonus epilogue that will leave you downright giggling at its end.
At its core lies a message about work-life balance. Through both her hero and heroine, Max and Cozy, Daws shows us the implications of living a life without boundaries. Even more, she highlights the challenges of the children of divorced couples. She wraps these core messages in a blanket of humor and spice, as Max and Cozy deny their attraction, then jump feet first into it, and finally recognize that their feelings are more than just raw attraction.
Max is my favorite type of hero. He is possessive, a bit of a grump, and ooey-gooey on the inside. In the face of Cozy’s different philosophy about life, Max is challenged. He is the stalwart hero, hanging onto his outdated ideas about relationships, and Daws crafts a heroine with a complicated, intentional character who challenges the gravity of Max.
Cozy is the type of heroine we need to read more of in romances. For one, she’s plus-sized, and a large portion of her characterization lies in her acceptance of her body. Even more, her story arc which includes a major health trauma is different from most romance heroines. Her life philosophy is born from her life experience, and it becomes both a challenge to Max and a challenge for readers, asking them to consider their own work-life balance. Lastly, she is intuitive, and she makes for the perfect companion for Max’s precocious daughter.
To ameliorate the steaminess of her story as well as its serious topics, Daws treats us to the other characters from the previous Wait With Me series romances. It’s always exciting to revisit past characters, especially the ones in this universe because they are so darn loveable. Additionally, we are introduced to Max’s brothers who, I suspect, we might find in future stories from Amy Daws. Like the Wait With Me characters, his brothers add more humor to Max and Cozy’s story. Last on the List becomes this revelry of characters meant to entertain you through to the ending. I’m so thankful for this final book in Amy Daws’s Wait With Me series. It was the perfect escape from adulting.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 