Fleeing the pain and loss of her life in LA, Melinda (Mel) Monroe is ready for a dramatic change in her life and where she lives it…which is why she responded to the ad for a nurse practitioner in the small country village upstate. She was promised a cabin rent free for a year, and the opportunity to use her midwifery skills.
She arrives on a stormy night, and her BMW doesn’t quite make it up the mountain…a grumpy passer-by hauls her out of the mud and leads her to the cabin. Stunned by what she finds there, Mel is just about to turn around and leave. Except there is the storm, her hunger, and the appearance of the “landlady” Hope McCrea, promising the derelict cabin will be cleaned up…and that they can find food in the diner.
The diner turns out to be a tavern run by a couple of intimidating characters: “Preacher” and Jack. And there at the bar sits the grumpy passer-by, who turns out to be the doctor she is there to assist. But the food offered is divine, and the ambience isn’t bad.
Still…she wants to leave, but when she goes to Doc Mullins’s place later, she discovers an abandoned baby there. She can’t leave just yet.
Virgin River reeled me in with the descriptions of the characters, the settings, the food…and encircled me with all the warmth a place like that can offer. Jack Sheridan, the bar owner, is brought vividly to life in all his hunky sexiness, and it doesn’t take long to imagine what could happen between him and Mel…if she lets it.
After all, she lost her husband Mark in a dreadful murder…and is still grieving.
Can Mel find what she needs in this off-the-beaten-path place? Will the friendly charms and homey goodness of the people help her heal? And will the darkness that hides in the woods ruin things, or will Jack and his cohorts defeat it?
I was eager to find out, so I kept turning pages until the very end, and still wanted more. I enjoyed how the author showed us the challenges of practicing medicine in such a community, while also revealing the unique charms of the people, which made the challenges worth the effort. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.
CURL UP AND READ 
I’m so glad to see you enjoyed this one – great review! This is one of my favorite books/series. While I read the books, all I could think about was how much I wanted to move to a place like Virgin River!
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Thanks, Brandie…I had to Google the place, of course, and while the town itself is fictional, I recognized many of the actual towns around it up there in Northern California…some places I’ve enjoyed.
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I just read my very first Robyn Carr and really enjoyed it. This sounds really wonderful. I love all the little threads! This is already on my TBR but I can’t wait to read it. Great review!
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Yes, I’m already planning when to download the next one, Katherine…and then there is her newest one that I’ve been ogling. Thanks for stopping by.
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This series went on for maybe 18 books. I read them all and enjoyed them but my favorite was the first. She really knows how to build a community of interesting characters!
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I just downloaded the second book today…I see some of the same characters show up in that book. I do like when familiar characters visit subsequent books. Thanks for stopping by, Mary, and yes, her community-building is excellent. I felt as though I was right there with them.
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Agree with Mary, I read them all too. It is a community of wonderful characters and we hear about them as the books travel on. One of my fav series. Better than all her others, although I love her stand alone books – women’s fiction ones like The House on Olive Street.
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Good to know, Kathryn…I love discovering new authors (to me), and can’t wait to continue. Thanks for stopping by.
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This is one my most beloved series Laurel. I actually cried when it ended. The holiday books kicked off the holiday season for me each year. So happy you loved this!!!
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Thanks for stopping by, Kimberly, and I am amazed whenever I find still another wonderful author and series. I can’t imagine I’ll be able to read them all, but I can dream, right?
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