Book Review — The Outpost by Devney Perry

The only good thing about her situation is the gorgeous mountain man assigned to protect her…

• Buy THE OUTPOST (Kindle)
• Buy THE OUTPOST (Paperback)
• Buy THE OUTPOST (iBooks)

OMG. OMG. OMG!!! I know I’ve said this with every single one of Devney Perry’s books, but this was one of the BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR! I finished it with the hugest smile on my face and the happiest tears in my eyes. The epilogue just melted my heart! I even hugged the book at the end. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! The sweetest slow-burning romance you can imagine. If you love protective Alpha heroes, strong fearless heroines, sexy swoon-filled romance that’ll make your heart race, and suspenseful angst that’ll keep you keep you glued to the page, then you have to read this book! Oh. My. God. I LOVED IT!!

Without a doubt, Devney Perry has skyrocketed to the very top of my favorite authors list — holding rank with Kristen Ashley, Colleen Hoover, Leylah Attar and so many other amazingly talented storytellers. Every book she’s written to date has become an instant top favorite of mine. To me, she writes perfect romance novels. They have the exact right balance of everything I love to read about. Her romance is sexy, her heroes are swoony, her heroines are strong, her stories are addictive, her plot-lines are always engaging, and she throws in just enough of a suspenseful element to really keep you on your toes. Her writing flows effortlessly making the pages fly by quickly and once I start reading one of her books, I never want to put them down until I reach the end. I could go on and on, but truly the bottom line is that she has perfected what I consider to be the ultimate romance novels. Not to mention that each one of her books has a very unique storyline. While they do all share common elements, each one is fresh and exciting to read. If she were to literally publish 25 books overnight, I would put my entire TBR on hold to read them right away. I also have learned to trust her as an author. Her stories never break any of my personal ‘book rules’ and I feel confident diving into anything she writes with only the knowledge that she wrote it. I know this is basically just a giant gush-fest over her writing, but I genuinely mean every word. Plus I love the way her titles and covers are so strongly connected to the story and yet don’t tell you what kind of book you’re about to read. They’re my ideal books!

If you’ve read the previous three Jamison Valley books, you’ll remember Sabrina’s character and the set up of her story (she’s the girl who escaped the mob and fled to Prescott). However, if you haven’t read them yet, don’t worry! You can easily dive right into this book without issue and I promise you won’t be confused.

“This is my story. As you may have guess, its heroine is me, and this past fall, I set out to catch a villain.”

As soon as I began to read this book, I was swept away in the story. Our heroine was gutsy. Bold. Fearless. A journalist wanting to do her part to tell stories and catch bad guys. But she got in over her head when she wrote an article exposing a prominent mafia family. They came for her and she barely escaped but was able to run to the only place she could think of — the small town in Montana where her best friend lived.

But her enemies were powerful and well connected and even they would have been able to track her down where she was endangering not only her, but anyone who was helping to keep her safe. Her rescue came in the form of a sexy search and rescue hero who offered to take her to an outpost deep into the wilderness — completely off-grid and away from anyone who could harm. He had the skills and resources to protect her and even though, as a total city girl, the thought of being so isolated terrified her, she trusted him to protect her.

“The clock on the dash showed 12:42am. Not twenty-four hours ago, I had been celebrating a job well done in my tenth-floor apartment. Now I was sitting next to a dog, about to drive into the wilderness with a modern-day mountain man.”

Beau was a protector both by nature and profession. The outpost was completely disconnected from the world. No phones, no internet, limited supplies, and no contact with the outside world. While the thought of living there was horrifying to her, he made her feel safe. And it was impossible to deny their chemistry…

“No man would ever hold me this well.
I was made to be wrapped in these arms.
A woman could tell a lot by the way a man holds her. She could tell if he had the strength to endure the rougher moments. If he had a mighty yet kind heart. If he could make her feel safe and cherished. His embrace said all that and more.”

But he wasn’t looking for a fling. He wanted a forever. He also knew that the moment the threat was taken care of, she’d run back to her city life and never look back so he didn’t want to risk starting anything with her — knowing the pain of losing her would be too great.

“My life was here in Prescott and Sabrina’s was in Seattle. This was temporary.
Which meant it was time to put some distance between me and the outpost.
No more staying the night. No more cuddling and sleeping together. No more kidding myself that she’d ever learn to love it here.
Because she’d never stay.”

I’m not gonna lie. I absolutely love the country. I’m completely comfortable away from the city, but I felt her fear. It’s one thing to live in the country, but it’s an entirely other thing to be so remote that you’re completely cut off from the world. Every time he had to leave her to go back into town, my heart sank a little. And I was desperate for them to give into the connection between them that was growing stronger each day.

“Every time I drove away from her at the outpost, I fought the urge to turn back.
I wanted her. Every piece.
Maybe [she] could find a way to like it here after all. I was going to start doing whatever i could to make her fall in love with Montana.
If she did, I’d be one lucky man.”

AHHHHH YOU GUYS!!! The sweet slow burning soft angst was so intense!!

“You’re not ready. When you are, you’ll be the first to know.”
My head fell and I spoke to my knees. “I don’t know what that means.”
“I know. You just have to trust me.” His thumb hooked under my chin and lifted it up. “Christ,” he muttered. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like your heart hurts. It’s killing me.”

THE FEEEEEEEEEELS!!!!!!!!!!

Beau was my exact kind of hero. He was the ultimate good guy. Level-headed, not hot-tempered, mature, responsible, caring, sweet, sexy, swoony, loving, loyal, kind. He was the kind of guy who was always thinking his moves through. I just adored him. And little things like how he only called her ‘angel’ at certain times really amped up the heat.

Sabrina grew so much over the course of this book. It was in her nature to be bold and fearless but living in the outpost really threw her out of her element and as the story went on you could really see her inner strength growing as she adapted to her new life.

Everything I’ve said in previous reviews about how amazing the other Jamison Valley books were also applies to this book. But I do think that one of my favorite elements of these books is how well the plot is balanced between the romance and the actual storyline. There’s more to the book than just the romance even thought the romance is the heart of it. But the actual plot is engaging and interesting all on its own and I really feel that it gives the entire book a very strong foundation to sit on. Then when that plot is embellished with the sexy romance and suspenseful thrills, it really becomes the perfect read.

“I was fucked.
For every minute we spent together, I wanted ten more… We connected on every level that existed.
So, yeah. I. Was. Fucked.
I didn’t want her for right now. I wanted her for always.

And OMGGGGGGG THE EPILOGUE. You guys. THE EPILOGUE. It’s eight years later which is my FAVORITE type. I love it when the epilogue is set far enough into the future that it gives you a real glimpse into the happily ever after you’ve worked the whole book to reach with these characters. It’s the ultimate gift to the readers in my eyes. And the happiest of happy tears filled my eyes as I read their beautiful ending. I literally could not stop smiling. I actually hugged the book when I was finished. My heart was bursting. It was absolutely GORGEOUS. Pure happiness.

Pure romance perfection.

This book has all the best things you could dream of in a romance novel — a gorgeously swoony hero, a strong fearless heroine, and a beautifully-written love story, and an exciting, addictive tale that’ll keep you reading long into the night. I highly recommend it as not only a top favorite, but also as one of the best books of the year!

PS: Also seriously. These are the best freaking book covers I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Gah. LOVE!!!!!

Rating: 5 STARS!! Contemporary Adult Romance, can standalone.

• Buy THE OUTPOST (Kindle)
• Buy THE OUTPOST (Paperback)
• Buy THE OUTPOST (iBooks)

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Series of standalones.