Paradise Valley (A Virgin River Novel)

I have been following this series from the first. I can't wait to read the next book. I live in Redding California and its hard to believe that virgin river isn't really a place near here.. netashrum .

I have a love hate relationship with this series. I love coming back to familiar characters and guessing who will be the main attraction in her next book, but I hate, if you will, the idealized version of the men and women that she writes about.

Rick is back from Iraq sooner than expected and his relationship with Liz is put to the test. How this played out would have made more sense of they were both older, but I feel that Robyn Carr has put too much maturity into a relationship where neither is old enough to drink. There was an interesting exchange between Rick and Shady Dan that I did not see coming and with any luck, that was all Rick needed to keep his head on straight.

Muriel and the General are adorable. I hope that they continue in this series. Their story is slowly unfolding and that is the way that it should be.

Whiney Abby and her pregnancy were beginning to grate on my nerves. Why she had to make it so hard on everyone around her, including the father was pushing me beyond my limits.

Shady Dan, the pot farmer, from a few books back has reappeared and has cleaned up his ways. He is now living in the rental home of the town’s ex-drunk Cheryl and with her living out of town, he has started wooing her and it appears that they are both remodeling their lives as he is remodeling her home.

For me, this series will take a while to get through. It is just too syrupy sweet at times and does not ring true when compared to the real world. Maybe that is what escapist romantic fiction is all about and I need to step away from my cynical ways.

Rating: 4.0 stars __Contains some graphic sexual content
Note: 7th in the Virgin River series of more than 20 books.
WARNING: this soap opera style format, with so many supporting characters and subplots, is confusing if you are not reading the series in order.

GOOD READ. Emotional storyline, strong characters, and the author deals sensitively with the emotional impact a traumatic war injury has on not only the injured soldier, but the lives of those who love them. HOWEVER, the language continues to be bleepable, the lesser segments of the storyline seem a little insignificant by comparison to the wounded warrior storyline, and the unexpected pregnancy subplot, while sweet, is often overly contrived and annoying.

THE STORY revolves around the phone call no loved one wants to receive; Marine Lance Corporal Rick Sudder has been severely injured in Iraq and will return to face months of grueling physical and emotional therapy. Angry, bitter, and disillusioned by what he thinks is a hopeless future, he takes his feelings out on everyone around him especially his mentor, Jack, and the love of his life, Liz. It takes him a while, but with some help from both those who love him and some unexpected sources, he finally makes peace with his injures.

Meanwhile, Cameron Michaels and Abby McCall "Crawford" are dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, Gen. Walt Booth and actress Muriel St. Claire hit a few bumps in the road when she is offered the part of a lifetime and they must be separated while she works on location in Montana, and bad boy Dan Brady, who turns out to be not quite so bad, starts over in Virgin River and develops a sweet friendship with the former town drunk, Cheryl Creighton.

OVERALL, a powerful and emotional storyline. The VIRGIN RIVER series includes 20 novels and short stories organized into at least five subseries. This second subseries includes, Second Chance pass, Temptation Ridge, and Paradise Valley.

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Nikki Logan.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Multiple couples are the focus of this installment. Rick comes back from Iraq a bitter, broken shell of his former self. Lizzie turns out to be the intelligent, mature and sensible one in the relationship. I loved the surprise that finally made Rick see that he was approaching everything the wrong way. Abby and Cameron work out how to co-parent the babies. This was a sweet & romantic story line with a few laughs, mostly due to their mothers. There is a start of a surprise relationship – you will have to read the book! It holds great promise for future books. But I think my favorite couple is Walt & Muriel. They are so sweet to find a great love later in life. I love their maturity and true love for each other. I really enjoyed Vanni giving Walt a strong push to not be afraid to go visit Muriel on the movie location. It’s a nice change to see a man worrying about being inadequate. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

From the first time we meet Dan Brady, way back in the first Virgin River book, I knew he would factor in later. Then we kept getting teases of him every so often, each time making me think "this time he'll be pulled into the stories more". Each time I was wrong. I'm so glad we were finally able to get to know him a bit better. I hope he sticks around for a while.

**Possible Spoilers**

As for Rick's storyline...wow. I worked in the Prosthetics field as well as the mobility (wheelchairs, etc.) field for the last 10 years. I've had patients who have such a great outlook on life and those that do nothing but mope around. All of their experiences are different, yet there are some underlying things that are the same. Not being and amputee myself, I can only go by what I've seen over the years. From that viewpoint, Robyn Carr did an excellent job on Rick's storyline.

**End Spoilers**

As usual, the rest of the town also kept me entertained throughout the story. And since I always LOVE a Christmas tale, I'm excited to read the next book. Which it seems may be more of a short story as part of a Christmas compilation of popular authors.

Reviewed at Another Look Book Reveiws

I think that Paradise Valley may be my least favourite book so far. I actually just wanted to get through it. I am going to take a pause after this book just to give me a break from Virgin River. I've read them all back to back to this point and I think a little change would make anticipate reading the next book Forbidden Falls more.
The book blurb makes mention that Paradise Valley's main protagonists are Rick and Liz but it just didn't feel like it. Rick suffered a sad incident in Iraq and he took the ENTIRE book to get over his pity party. It was devastating what happened to him so I did give the storyline the benefit of the doubt. It was just wah wah wah for me to read. I just wanted to knock him up the side of the head for the self inflicted pity.

I also feel that Rick and Liz's characters are too young for me to get into. I don't feel they have the strength of matured seasoned character for the load of main protagonists. I suppose that could be the reason their story was shared by others. Problem was, I don't feel the secondary characters were strong enough either. So it ended up being a bunch of little stories gathered together hoping to make one big one. Didn't work for me.

Muriel and the General had some great moments. I really like the movie star Muriel. I picture a very Meryl Streep type of looking character. Perhaps that is what Robyn Carr had in mind when she created the name Muriel?

Shady Dan's story just seemed to be filler. It feels like he is meant to be this totally cool character but he keeps changing from one book to another. I feel a little lost with him. He has gone through quite a transformation since we were first introduced to him. Military Marine to marijuana grower to convict to a father that had a young son die and finally he seems to have landed on a mentor to Rick. Toss in construction worker with a hidden disability and there you have it; Dan.
Dan seems to be courting the town ex-drunk Cheryl. Now Cheryl is the one with the major transformation. From the early books she was overweight and pot faced to apparently, now beautiful. (Well Dan thinks so) Their story is really slow. As it should be. But not entertaining. It feels really forced.

Due to the lack of energy and the fact that I didn't really harbour much care for the characters in Paradise Valley, I will just take a step back for now and return when I am in the mood to continue. And I do want to continue.
Teasers: Jack can't help but butt into other's business, Twins!, getting healthy, church on ebay

The numerous characters and their stories are interesting. We see development of the relationships between Walt & Muriel, Rick & Liz, Cameron & Abby and Dan & Cheryl. The multiplicity aspect only highlights that, for the most part, all the men (with the exception of Rick) speak and think like all the others in the Virgin River series. While the characters' individual stories might be different, their *characters* - how they think, how they speak, how they express themselves, what's important to them, etc - are all the same. If I could close my eyes while reading, I could easily picture Jack saying and doing the exact same things that Walt and Cameron say and do in this novel.

I read Shelter Mountain (VR Book 2) first and really loved it. Then I went back and read Virgin River, also enjoyed it but not quite as much. I also really liked Whispering Rock and ADORED Virgin River Christmas. Then the series tanked for me.

I hated Second Chance Pass. So much so that if it was the first book I'd read in the series, I would not have read any other. Thankfully, I was already invested in the previous 4 so I gave Temptation Ridge a shot.

Temptation Ridge was a good, solid read and put the series back into swing for me.

Paradise Valley was even better, imo. Wow. What a book. I have loved Rick and Liz from the beginning and their story was amazing. His relationship with her and Jack and the whole town was really gripping when he came home from being wounded in Iraq, missing a leg. My only real complaint about that story line was that there just wasn't enough of it. For a book supposedly about Rick and Liz, they don't even make appearances til nearly 100 pages in.

I really didn't care about Cameron/Abby. When Cameron doesn't get his way he pouts for a little bit, then he becomes a bully threatening legal action toward Abby who is pregnant with his twins. Abby isn't very well developed, either. I really didn't care about her as a character. I started out caring about Cameron who had been treated so horribly by Paul and Vanni in Second Chance Pass, but Carr managed to ruin that character in TR and PV.

I loved reading about Dan and Cheryl. Their story was heartwarming and I'm really rooting for them to make it. They deserve a break.

The general and Muriel are good for a few laughs but there's really not enough conflict there to keep me riveted. I do love their characters, though.

I'm definitely picking up Forbidden Falls although I already know what it's about and I'm about 90% sure I'm not going to like it on principle. But TR and PV saved the series for me and I'll keep reading.

This time readers are asked to track and juggle four relationships. As opposed to the prior book in the series, the author does sort of resolve all four couples by the end. I did get a bit confused tracking all the background people when they appeared at gatherings. I found it a bit frustrating to be jumping around so many story lines.

I had expected to give this book a 5 star review because one of the main characters deals with PTSD more than any of the other military characters to this point in the series. I think the impact was lessened because there were so many other story lines happening and the emotional flow was not sustainable to me.

I was a bit surprised that one of the lead couples from the prior book was left on the shelf and resolution barely mentioned in a passing comment here. I suppose anything more detailed revolving around this couple would have only added to the jumping around in this book.

I'm still happy visiting Virgin River, but darn the town is growing awfully fast.

Format: Borrowed ebook

The heart of this story revolves around returned vet, Rick and how messed up he is about his experiences. As compelling as that is, the gentle growth of the relationship between Cameron and Abby continues. Another pleasant interlude from the highly exhausting emotion of Rick and Liz is provided when we check in with Walt and his movie star neighbor, Muriel, who is on the set in Montana.

The interweaving of these relationships--especially because not all the lovers are in their 20s or even 30s--adds complexity to this series and hints at what might occur in later segments of this series with Virgin River's former town drunk (now an AA participant)and another retired vet whose own injuries are eye-opening for Rick.

A riveting part of the Virgin River series.

Who doesn't like Robyn Carr's 'Virgin River Series'? The main character's in this book are Rick Sudder, a young man who lives and takes care of his elderly Grandmother. He's also become like a son to Jack. Jack has taken him under his wing and Rick wants to be like Jack. He joins the Marines. He wants to escape his past, but after being severely wounded in battle he returns from Iraq, a sullen and withdrawn amputee. He pushes everyone away that tries to help, especially Jack & his fiance' Liz.

We also get to see what's happening with Dr. Cameron & Abby, who is carryi8ng his twins. Then there's the love affair between General Walt Booth & Muriel, the famous actress. Then there's the mysterious Dan Brady and his fixation on Cheryl, the former town drunk.

Reading this series becomes like an addiction. Once you start you just can't stop.

Another solid installment in the Virgin River series. Paradise Valley is more about the town and community of Virgin River than any one romance, although it does center around four couples -- Liz and Rick, Abby and Cameron, Dan and Cheryl, and Muriel and Walt. The theme of the Paradise Valley was one about rebuilding from a damaged background - Dan and Cheryl are coming back from some painful experiences and Rick is back in California recovering from a war injury. A credit to Robyn Carr, the characters do not easily bounce back. Instead there is struggle and while the book ends with hope, it is clear the characters are due for more work in their individual futures. There are a few births of babies, some sweet Mel and Jack scenes and not quite as much good eating as in the other books.

Paradise Valley definitely needs to be read in order and not as a standalone. It may not be the best book in the series but it is very enjoyable, satisfying and has all the wonderful and typical ingredients of a Virgin River novel.

There are three substantive stories in this installment of the series. Rick Sudder is wounded in Iraq and returns a bitter and sullen young man, shunning all who care about him. Dan Brady shows up after having turned himself in and served his time. Paul Haggerty gives him a job on his construction crew as Dan makes a connection with Cheryl Creighton, the former town drunk who has completed rehab and is living a sober life. Dr. Cameron Michaels ends up in Virgin River after having a really brief affair with Vanni's friend Abby with unexpected consequences.

Each story is compelling, especially Rick's as we have the opportunity to experience his sense of loss and frustration after returning home disabled. There are several surprising turns and so many of the residents we've come to know appear in these stories. It's what makes the series special and this book delivers. While some of the outcomes are predictable, the spirit of the town and its community continue to be the draw for this series. I'm hopelessly stuck in this town and am on to the next book.

I learned of this Robyn Carr series from a friend on the store [thanks, Jen!] and have enjoyed every one of the Virgin River and Grace Valley series. I strongly recommend reading them in order as the characters grow from one book to another and many of the plot points are carried over. In a way, these books are the American equivalent of English "cozies" - with a setting in a small town, nosy neighbors, characters with good values. Most of all, though, Ms. Carr writes about fully-formed, believable people with issues and problems. Are her male characters just a bit too perfect? Well, if your idea of perfection is a tough but good-looking former marine with an incredibly caring attitude toward women and babies, as well as the ability to do almost anything in a house (from construction to cooking)....then, yes, these guys are pretty perfect. Nonetheless, Ms. Carr finds problems for them and for the women in their lives that feel totally real.

This book, the wind-up of the Virgin River stories[or maybe not, if 2010 will see additional books using the same characters], is excellent. I loved the contrasting romances, from the twenty-somethings to the sixty-somethings. While other books in the series touched on such issues as spousal abuse and drugs, this one focuses on the severe injuries of a young soldier who has been to Iraq and how the entire community is affected by his mental and physical health. It's clear Ms. Carr has done her research. Also, the evolution of characters from one book to another is very well-portrayed.

Unlike some reviewers of books in this series, I don't have favorites since all of the books are equally excellent. Strongly recommended!

In Virgin River, Cameron sadly muses how ironic life is. He and his former pediatric partners met at the Davenport Hotel Steak House in Grants Pass while Abby attended a wedding there. Attracted to one another, they had a fling that he thought he outgrew and she never had one before. He sought her out the next day, but she was gone. When Doc Mullins died, he moved to Virgin River to change his lifestyle; Abby arrived soon after carrying his twins. He wants to marry her and raise a family with her, but she rejects his advances.

Marine corporal Rick went to Iraq a boy, but came home early a shattered man who sees a dark future due to the leg. Liz who loves him refuses to accept his rejection as she keeps in her heart what the retired military like Jack and the General (who misses his Muriel while she is in Hollywood) told her; those who love a wounded warrior are wounded too and never leave your loved ones behind. Others like newcomer Dan pray for a fresh start here as people before him have achieved; Cheryl who has a past too gives him hope.

Paraphrasing the early 1960s TV show the naked City, "there are 8 million stories" in the Virgin River community and Robyn Carr nicely balances several of them. The key to this well written multi-faceted contemporary tale is the ensemble cast; for instance the eight players named above are fully developed with different personalities while other returning citizens enhance the current tale. Filled with angst and pathos, fans of Robin Carr's quiet salute to the veterans will enjoy the latest trip to Virgin Rover.

Harriet Klausner

I am thoroughly dedicated to the Virgin River series. It is without a doubt one of the best romantic series I have ever read. Robyn Carr just has a style of writing that puts you right in the story ... as if you are part of the Virgin River family. This was sad, passionate, loving, suspenseful, emotional. You name it, just about every emotion was incorporated. There were multiple stories - Liz and Rick, Luke and Shelby, Dan and Cheryl, Cameron and Abby, Walt and Muriel. Robyn wrote it in such a manner that you never get confused and can stay on top of and enjoy each relationship on its own. Don't hesitate to read this book and this entire series.

I do have one concern. As a few times in the other books the phrase in jest was used "kill" one or another person. I feel it is used more in this part. I realize it is a "joke" but still was used more often than i would haves liked.

I have finally come to the conclusion that this series is no longer about one particular romance with each installment. It has evolved into a love story that is more about a community rather than a couple and it reads more like a soap opera (minus the over-the-top dramatics) than a single tale. That can be a good thing for those who like continuing sagas where one gets to keep up with previous players while enjoying new and interesting characters. It can also be a bad thing if one prefers focus. I, personally have been fighting this transformation, but about half way through the book, I finally capitulated, relaxed and enjoyed the book for what it is - a sweet continuation in the lives of all the inhabitants that make up a small mountain town (Virgin River) in Northern California.

Ms. Carr rung the bell with this one -all the Virgin River series are good but she really outdid herself on this one. Do read them in order please if you like this type book. All the characters will become old friends and you will even meet new ones along the way.

I'm rating this just one short of the full stars only because I don't think it was the very best of the series.....but it was GOOD READING!
I am always happy to go back to Virgin River and meet everyone there again....have a drink at Jack's bar and see what Preacher is cooking that day, waiting for Mel to walk in and give a hint or two as to what she's been doing at the clinic and hear about the expectant mom's around town, new babies being born. This is such a great community. It is comforting to go back to paradise when you read these stories in the series - - learn about love and trust and true friendship. This book brings unlikely romances together and concentrates on Rick who has been at war in Iraq. The General is at war with himself over Muriel's hollywood gig. I love the way the community is growing and prospering with good in the drama of life there. Keep going Robyn!!!!

This was actually a pretty good read. Of course we are reunited with the lovely characters from Virgin River and there's always something going on in this small group. I really got into Rick and Liz's story. It was heartwarming and touching to see the two young lovers work it out through the obstacles placed before them. Now I know the second story was suppose to be about Dan and Cheryl but I felt that story was lacking. I believe that if the author would have cut some of Abby and Cameron's story out, she could have helped us get to know them better. There was entirely too much time devoted to Cam and Abby. Overall the story was good and I look forward to reading about who else pops up in Virgin River.

I am re-reading the Virgin River series...I really enjoyed all the various characters and situations the first time. However, reading the books in order (1-7) gives in-depth understanding of plots. Characters are woven from one book to next. Ms. Carr also has the ability to story-line multiple characters and plots into each book, making each one interesting. Reader can't wait until the new installment to find out what happens next. I think Dan and Cheryl will be involved in #8.

I am so glad Robyn Carr didn't forget about Cheryl Creighton. Cheryl was in an earlier book, I hope to see her have a great relationship with Dan. This is one of those books that kept me so interested I lost a few hours sleep! Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I was disappointed with this novel. I bought the book because of the blurb on the back. I wanted to read Rick's story, about coming home after a traumatic event and finding his way again. I wanted to read Dan's story, about finding his place after making some bad choices. I spent money on this for those stories.

But the reality is that Rick doesn't show up "in person" until page 93. Sure, he's mentioned in those first 92 pages but we don't see him until chapter four. And Dan doesn't show up until page 64 and he doesn't even get a mention before that. These are supposed to be the MAIN CHARACTERS and it's more than 50 pages before we even see them.

And I have to tell you, I could have cared LESS about Cameron and Abby. Oh, lord, those two were terrible. He's too perfect and she's an idiot. The amount of time wasted on this story line was ridiculous. I did a lot of skimming through their sections. I mean, I cannot stress this enough, Cam and Abby are TERRIBLE in this book. Just awful.

This book still gets 3 stars from me because I love Mel and Jack, Preacher and Paige and I thought Jerry the therapist was pretty awesome. Liz is a fascinating character to me and I loved all the time that she was on the page.

And when we did get them, I loved Rick and Dan. I wish there had been much more about them in this book, esp. because they were the sole reasons that I bought the thing in the first place.

I read Shelter Mountain and really fell in love with Virgin River despite the town busybodies Jack and Mel. I read a few more in the series but Paradise Valley has really made me question if I should continue. The story with Walt and Muriel was okay if not boring. Rick and Liz's storyline was fairly interesting but I hated the way Mel tried to convince Liz not to go see her boyfriend of 3 years whom she had had a child with after he became injured. It made no sense. Liz held her dead infant when she was 15 I think she is strong enough to see Rick in the hospital. Either way why is it any of Mel's concern??? Now on to Cameron and Abby. Now I have read a lot of romance novels with a lot of stupid heroines but Abby has to be the most TSTL woman in fiction. [spoiler alert] Here are just a few things she does:

- marries a twice divorced man who is just out of drug rehab after knowing him for just 6 weeks and is surprised when he falls off the wagon and becomes a completely different person.

- sleeps with a man after knowing him for all of 1 hour knowing it would break her prenuptial agreement and affect her divorce settlement

- When the condom breaks and Cam suggests she take an emergency contraceptive she blows him off knowing full well she has been on antibiotics and her birth control may be ineffective, then blames him for her pregnancy when he actively tried to avoid the situation by telling her to take Plan B.

- Decides that having the father of her kids around is a problem. Really??? Having the kind, loving, pediatrician father of your kids around is more trouble than being a homeless, jobless, single mother of newborn twins? In what universe???

- Is constantly "shocked" and "surprised" each time Cam shows interest in their future kids, when he had been quite clear from the beginning that he would be involved whether she liked it or not

- Expected to live with her best friend indefinitely even though Vanessa was newly married and had an infant of her own - how considerate!

I was so excited to have found this series but it seems to be going down hill. Every character is either absolutely perfect, involved in someone else personal life, or dumb as a rock. Yet miraculously all of the people who have a problem in one book will be sure to become the perfect busy bodies in the next book and so on and so forth. I'm sensing a pattern here....

I really enjoy these novels. Each one I read draws me further into a community of people who love and depend on one another. When bad things happen, they work together to come out stronger on the other side.

I enjoyed the preceding books in the series, but I'm finding that I am liking them less and less. This is, in large part, due to the similarities of all the characters. The men are all, as one reviewer put it somewhere, good looking, unflinchingly caring and obsessed with babies and childbirth. Not to mention, they all have military-short or close cropped hair! Even the pot grower runs his hands through his "short hair". They're also muscular, and everyone is former military. I love our military as much as the next person, my son being a Navy vet. But there are other people in the world. The women's attitudes are also getting to me--they're pushy, cranky, and there are just too many babies popping out of everyone. I also am getting tired of the birthing parties--like everyone wants the same thing. It's getting to be like a backwoods version of Stepford wives. Like I said, I have enjoyed the series, but so many unplanned pregnancies, baby obsessed alpha males (with close-cropped hair!) doing the right thing by driving away their women because they're just not good enough, and women who do their darnedest to drive their men away with crabby attitudes. I keep hoping a subsequent book will be different, but so far, no dice. I will keep reading the series, in part because I want to find out what happens, and to see if any of these guys grow their hair out.

I am an avid Robyn Carr fan, but thought she tried to cover too many story lines in this book. Personally, I was finished with Walt and Muriel after Temptation Ridge - they are okay characters, but not interesting enough for the amount of time she gave them. They could have popped up in the background like so many others whose main stories have already been told.

For me, I would have liked to have had the Rick/Liz and Cameron/Abby continuations covered here and for Dan Brady to have his own book. He is an interesting character, having had so much to overcome in his past; likewise, the new and improved Cheryl.

I am re-reading the Virgin River series...I really enjoyed all the various characters and situations the first time. However, reading the books in order (1-7) gives in-depth understanding of plots. Characters are woven from one book to next. Ms. Carr also has the ability to story-line multiple characters and plots into each book, making each one interesting. Reader can't wait until the new installment to find out what happens next. I think Dan and Cheryl will be involved in #8.

I am so glad Robyn Carr didn't forget about Cheryl Creighton. Cheryl was in an earlier book, I hope to see her have a great relationship with Dan. This is one of those books that kept me so interested I lost a few hours sleep! Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I was disappointed with this novel. I bought the book because of the blurb on the back. I wanted to read Rick's story, about coming home after a traumatic event and finding his way again. I wanted to read Dan's story, about finding his place after making some bad choices. I spent money on this for those stories.

But the reality is that Rick doesn't show up "in person" until page 93. Sure, he's mentioned in those first 92 pages but we don't see him until chapter four. And Dan doesn't show up until page 64 and he doesn't even get a mention before that. These are supposed to be the MAIN CHARACTERS and it's more than 50 pages before we even see them.

And I have to tell you, I could have cared LESS about Cameron and Abby. Oh, lord, those two were terrible. He's too perfect and she's an idiot. The amount of time wasted on this story line was ridiculous. I did a lot of skimming through their sections. I mean, I cannot stress this enough, Cam and Abby are TERRIBLE in this book. Just awful.

This book still gets 3 stars from me because I love Mel and Jack, Preacher and Paige and I thought Jerry the therapist was pretty awesome. Liz is a fascinating character to me and I loved all the time that she was on the page.

And when we did get them, I loved Rick and Dan. I wish there had been much more about them in this book, esp. because they were the sole reasons that I bought the thing in the first place.

I read Shelter Mountain and really fell in love with Virgin River despite the town busybodies Jack and Mel. I read a few more in the series but Paradise Valley has really made me question if I should continue. The story with Walt and Muriel was okay if not boring. Rick and Liz's storyline was fairly interesting but I hated the way Mel tried to convince Liz not to go see her boyfriend of 3 years whom she had had a child with after he became injured. It made no sense. Liz held her dead infant when she was 15 I think she is strong enough to see Rick in the hospital. Either way why is it any of Mel's concern??? Now on to Cameron and Abby. Now I have read a lot of romance novels with a lot of stupid heroines but Abby has to be the most TSTL woman in fiction. [spoiler alert] Here are just a few things she does:

- marries a twice divorced man who is just out of drug rehab after knowing him for just 6 weeks and is surprised when he falls off the wagon and becomes a completely different person.

- sleeps with a man after knowing him for all of 1 hour knowing it would break her prenuptial agreement and affect her divorce settlement

- When the condom breaks and Cam suggests she take an emergency contraceptive she blows him off knowing full well she has been on antibiotics and her birth control may be ineffective, then blames him for her pregnancy when he actively tried to avoid the situation by telling her to take Plan B.

- Decides that having the father of her kids around is a problem. Really??? Having the kind, loving, pediatrician father of your kids around is more trouble than being a homeless, jobless, single mother of newborn twins? In what universe???

- Is constantly "shocked" and "surprised" each time Cam shows interest in their future kids, when he had been quite clear from the beginning that he would be involved whether she liked it or not

- Expected to live with her best friend indefinitely even though Vanessa was newly married and had an infant of her own - how considerate!

I was so excited to have found this series but it seems to be going down hill. Every character is either absolutely perfect, involved in someone else personal life, or dumb as a rock. Yet miraculously all of the people who have a problem in one book will be sure to become the perfect busy bodies in the next book and so on and so forth. I'm sensing a pattern here....

I really enjoy these novels. Each one I read draws me further into a community of people who love and depend on one another. When bad things happen, they work together to come out stronger on the other side.

I enjoyed the preceding books in the series, but I'm finding that I am liking them less and less. This is, in large part, due to the similarities of all the characters. The men are all, as one reviewer put it somewhere, good looking, unflinchingly caring and obsessed with babies and childbirth. Not to mention, they all have military-short or close cropped hair! Even the pot grower runs his hands through his "short hair". They're also muscular, and everyone is former military. I love our military as much as the next person, my son being a Navy vet. But there are other people in the world. The women's attitudes are also getting to me--they're pushy, cranky, and there are just too many babies popping out of everyone. I also am getting tired of the birthing parties--like everyone wants the same thing. It's getting to be like a backwoods version of Stepford wives. Like I said, I have enjoyed the series, but so many unplanned pregnancies, baby obsessed alpha males (with close-cropped hair!) doing the right thing by driving away their women because they're just not good enough, and women who do their darnedest to drive their men away with crabby attitudes. I keep hoping a subsequent book will be different, but so far, no dice. I will keep reading the series, in part because I want to find out what happens, and to see if any of these guys grow their hair out.

I am an avid Robyn Carr fan, but thought she tried to cover too many story lines in this book. Personally, I was finished with Walt and Muriel after Temptation Ridge - they are okay characters, but not interesting enough for the amount of time she gave them. They could have popped up in the background like so many others whose main stories have already been told.

For me, I would have liked to have had the Rick/Liz and Cameron/Abby continuations covered here and for Dan Brady to have his own book. He is an interesting character, having had so much to overcome in his past; likewise, the new and improved Cheryl.

I have enjoyed following the folks at Virgin River. Wish I could live in a town like this. This book is a good stand alone but also continues the lives of many folks. This books shows us the struggle of people when unexpected things have happened in their lives and how helping each other is still and important part of life.

I liked the introduction of new characters and hope to read more about them in the next book, which by the way I can't wait to read. The whole series has been such an easy read with just enough drama to keep it interesting.

This brings so many feelings to life and seems to invent some you would never consider. It has a plot within characters that opens your eyes, your heart and patriotic stirrings beyond everyday reach. It's a wonderful book that keeps the lives of these people alive and helps your gain more incite to their existence. Great book

I bought this book while traveling and was expecting to like it-hoping to like it, but found myself lost in the back story and in the abundance of them right off the bat. The writing is wonderful and very indepth but I just couldn't get into the book.

I have read the entire series to date, and I so enjoy re-visiting the previous characters; catching up with their lives, so to speak.

I would recommend this series; in fact, any book written by Robyn Carr.

**Spoilers**
I didn't like book 5 at all. I didn't read book 6. I was hesitant about reading book 7, but I liked the character of Rick and I wanted to find out about the "mystery pot grower" from other books. This book was a fast read and didn't make me exasperated like book 5 did. I was, however, disappointed with the character of Dan (we all thought he was undercover DEA - so I was bummed to find out he was just a grower). I also thought that Rick handled tragedy so well previously it seemed out of character for him to behave how he did.

Overall, this was an easy enjoyable read, but not as good as the first 3.

Another wonderful chapter in the lives of the Virgin River township! This story was amazing. Life isn't always perfect and this story of Rick and Liz and Dan and Cheryl reminded us that it isn't and we found that characters we thought we knew were different than they seemed. What a wonderful story with Cam and Abbey falling in love and having their twins and Muriel and Walt cementing their love for each other. It was just beautiful.

We got to visit with all our friends in Virgin River and it will be a frustrating wait until 2010 for the next 3 installments.

Way to go Robyn!!! Wonderful ending to the latest trilogy. I have enjoyed this latest set of books beyond belief. It was so good to see all the old characters from the previous books. If you're a Robyn Carr fan you won't be disappointed.

Does Ms. Carr ever write anything that isn't wonderful? I have to say that of all the series i have read in my lifetime,the Virgin River books have to be my all time favorites. The running thread throughout, home, family, devotion to country are universal and can be felt by anyone who reads them. I can't wait for the next book.