 |
highly recommended |
More like 4 1/2 stars 
Melinda Monroe just needed to get away from it all, away from her memories of her now dead husband, away from the violence that killed him, away from the home that held so many memories of him. VIRGIN RIVER seemed like the perfect, quaint little town from the pictures Hope McCrea had sent her. Oh, but what a shock she is in for! Not only does the doctor she is coming to work for not know she is coming, he doesn't want a midwife or nurse to help at all. And to make matters worse, the cute little cottage she was promised? Well, it's a total dump, filthy as can be! Mel thinks she's made a dreadful mistake... until a baby is dumped on the doorstep of the local doctor's house. And then a certain local bartender and restaurant owner, Jack Sheridan, sets his sites on Mel....
Robyn Carr creates a world in which the setting is just as important, if not more so, than the characters themselves. VIRGIN RIVER is a rural mountainous town in which the adventurous and independent spirit flourishes. It is also a town just perfect for healing.
Mel needs a place like VIRGIN RIVER. Not to say she isn't horrified at first, as any city person would be! After all, VIRGIN RIVER is populated with hardy folks who are accustomed to buying what is practical rather than choosing the latest fall fashions. VIRGIN RIVER is the perfect place for Mel, however, as she is needed. She doesn't realize it at first and is ready to hit the road again, but once the baby Chloe, arrives, she is hooked.
Mel's battle with her grief is one that touches the heart in a powerful way. If you've ever lost someone, you'll find it easy to relate to her roller coaster of emotions. Her battle over her love for her deceased husband and the growing love she feels for Jack is poignant.
And Jack... I can't say enough about Jack. His willingness to allow Mel time to heal makes him a true hero. The friendship that develops between Jack and Mel is beautifully done as it shows their love growing and developing into something lasting.
VIRGIN RIVER is a powerful and emotional book. Robyn Carr obviously has a flair for making her world spring to life in a very vivid and moving way. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Carr, but book two of the trilogy, SHELTER MOUNTAIN, is up next on my list to read! Highly recommended!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.- Maria Robinson
Nurse Practitioner and Midwife, Mel Monroe, leaves the fast pace of Los Angeles hospitals and crime behind. Widowed 9 months ago, she can't face the pitying looks of her colleagues anymore and feels she needs a drastic change in order to heal.
Accepting an offer as an assistant to a Doctor in a picturesque little town in the mountains, she sells her house and most of everything in it, packs a few clothing items and heads to Virgin River.
When Mel arrives, she finds that the pictures she was sent are not quite representative of the town or her house as it looks today. Stepping out of her element was difficult for her and to arrive to find her house in such horrible condition only makes Mel realize she has made a huge mistake. She stays the night with the intention of heading out the very next morning. But when she discovers a baby abandoned on a doorstep, she decides to stay a little longer.
When town bar/restaurant owner, Jack, fixes up her place, she decides to stay even longer. Jack becomes her best friend and she starts feeling things for him she never thought she'd feel again.
I dove into this book with gusto after an Amazon friend recommended it so highly. She was right, it is great and I am rushing to finish this review so I can hurry and order book two, Shelter Mountain (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 2). This would easily have been a 5 star book to me as the characters are colorful and wonderful, the setting unique and beautiful, and the storyline engaging and fun. I would have rated it 5 stars had it not been for some very awkward dialogue and a scene at the end that was way too over the top for me.
The side characters are just as interesting as the main ones and I can't wait to read more about this mountain town. There is so much going on with Mel and we get to watch her resolve her past, live in the present, and make steps towards a promising future. Touching and entertaining. Enjoy.
Cherise Everhard, July 2008
Wanted: Midwife/Nurse Practitioner in Virgin River. Population: 600 
Recently widowed Los Angeles native Melinda Monroe needs something to take her mind off her grief. Answering an ad for a nurse practitioner/midwife needed to assist a doctor in a small town seems like just the thing to help Mel forget about her troubles. So she sells her house and her clothes, gets rid of her husband's things, and drives up into the mountains of California to Virgin River--her new home. Mel knows what to expect from small town life. A more restful pace in her work. Clean air and quiet time to herself. And best yet, a respite from the violence and despair she sees every day as a nurse in one of LA's biggest hospitals. But Virgin River turns out to be more than she expected, and she soon learns that small towns have drama of their own...
Former marine Jack Sheridan is the proprietor of Virgin River's only bar and grill, and one of the only single, attractive men in the small town. When Mel shows up in his town, Jack's neat, orderly life is suddenly turned upside down because he finds himself instantly attracted to her. Jack has always been the sort of guy who eschewed forming attachments with the women in his life--for his sake and theirs. But when Mel comes into town he can't help but fall for her. And suddenly convincing this city girl that small-town life is a good idea becomes his sole mission...
Virgin River is the first in a series, followed by Shelter Mountain (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 2) and Whispering Rock (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 3). This book reminded me instantly of the Gilmore Girls, which I love, with its small town charm and close-knit relationships. Mel is a grieving woman when she shows up in Virgin River, and she's using the town as a means to escape her past. When she shows up, however, she quickly learns that it's not going to be that easy. The doctor that she's supposed to assist is a crotchety old man who doesn't want her help, the cabin she's been promised rent free is falling apart and covered in dust, and the quaint small town that she's expecting is really quite empty and not as endearing as it appeared in the photos. She has to learn to look past her original perceptions and see this town for what it can be. And Jack is a guy's guy. He likes fishing, good scotch, meeting up with his boys, and running his own business. He's not looking for love, and he has a woman in the next town over who satisfies his physical needs. But when Mel shows up in town, he realizes that maybe falling in love is something he should aspire to, and he does so--quickly--with Mel. At the same time, he respects her past and the fact that she's grieving and is willing to stand by and wait for her to ready to accept him.
This book was endearing and touching. The supporting characters were just as interesting as the hero and heroine and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. If you like books about small-town life, or enjoy the Gilmore Girls (with a slightly more dark and twisty edge), I think you'll enjoy Virgin River.
Hot Tomallee! Finally a great plot.-----
Oh Boy! this book really hit the top! Great Charaters - Excellent plot - just clean up the language - Hell! is still a four letter word and it works.
Melinda Monroe, 32, widowed and still grieving.
Mark - her husband was a victim of a robbery gone wrong.
Her sister, Joey - very protective.
Doc Mullins - in his seventies, and needs help then little Chloe shows up.
Hope McCrea - donates a cabin for Mel to live in, trouble was, no one cleaned it up.
Mel is used to spending money. Actually she has money.
Jack Sheridan, 40, unattached and staying that way - until he met Mel.
He has 4 very beautiful sisters - Brie,32, his baby sister is a lawyer.
Charmaine - his mistress new the rules but she still hoped Jack would return to her.
John "Preacher" Middleton, 32 - he helps Jack run his bar and grill - he doesn't talk much. He just showed up 2 years ago and stayed.
Rick, 16 - he has been under the watchful eye of Jack and Preacher since he was 13.
The Marine buddies Jack commanded:
Zeke, a fireman from Fresno, married - Mike Valenzuela, 36, a cop from L.A. - "Cornhusker" Corny for short, a firefighter from Washington State, married - Josh Phillips, a paramedic from Reno, married - Joe Benson, an architect from Oregon - Tom Stephens, a news helicopter pilot from Reno, married - Paul Haggerty, a builder from Oregon. They came together specially for Jack - 'Mel was fascinated by the way the men talked about their wives with lusty smiles and glittering eyes'.
The cast of characters of Virgin River:
Cheryl Creighton - has a drinking problem and a crush on Jack.
Connie & Ron of the Corner Store and their 14 year old niece, Liz and Connie's best friend Joy & Bruce, he delivers mail.
Carrie & Fish Bristol - Doug & Sue Carpenter - Lilly & Buck Anderson, rancher
There are more: Dr. Stone - June of Grass Valley - that drug grower - the skrewball that wants Doc's drugs - the vagrants in the hills -
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --m - this is definitely a keeper to be read again.
Very Good
I love a book that makes me feel everything. Something that just pulls you in and doesn't let go. That's what Virgin River does. The book starts out slow, but after the first few chapters, it's hard to put down.
I loved the fact that Jack and Mel had a bona fide friendship ~ that he was her first real friend in Virgin River. I appreciated that their relationship was built slowly off of that foundation; because Mel had a lot of healing to do, and I'm glad she had a friend like Jack who was there for her through it all.
Then the friendship changed. I loved Jack and Mel's first kiss. It was romantic, passionate, and everything I as a romance reader would want in a good book. And that was the turning point for me. Although I loved the book up to that point, from there on I could not put the book down. Their's was truly a love story.
Then there were the side characters ~ a whole town full of them. Doc, Lilly, Preacher, Rick, June, Jim, Susan, and John. Quite an assembly of folks who took Mel into their lives and called her a friend. How fitting it was that Doc was the first person she met before getting to Virgin River. I love that crusty old man. The friendship Mel & Jack formed with June & Jim and Susan & John make me want to rush right out and read about the Grace Valley women and the men who love them. I want to read their stories. And Preacher. The man who screams like a girl ~ I love him, too. I want to live there.
This was Very Good. I am really looking forward to reading Preacher's story, Shelter Mountain, and am now on a quest to find the Grace Valley series as well.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
WANTED: MIDWIFE/NURSE PRACTITIONER IN VIRGIN RIVER. POPULATION SIX HUNDRED. MAKE A DIFFERENCE AGAINST A BACKDROP OF TOWERING CALIFORNIA REDWOODS AND CRYSTAL-CLEAR RIVERS. RENT-FREE CABIN INCLUDED. When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she's made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning. But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans-and a former marine cements them into place. Melinda Monroe may have come to Virgin River looking for escape, but instead she finds her home.
Books I Bought for My Kindle- Part Two
virgin river, book, river, virgin
|
based on 22 reviews
