Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
Helpful Score: 2
Terrific book. It has been many years since I last read a Virgin River book, other than My Kind of Christmas. It didn't take me long to slip right back into the comfort of Jack's Bar and the warmth of the town. I loved seeing them take a lost young woman under their wings and help her heal.
Kaylee lost her mother to cancer on Christmas Day the previous year. Since then, she has been drowning in grief, unable even to lose herself in her writing. With her latest book's fast-approaching deadline, Kaylee escapes to Virgin River and the cabin where she and her mom spent some time. She's devastated when she arrives to find the house engulfed in flames. She heads to Jack's to regroup and decide what to do. Jack, who is the town's "Mr. Fixit," immediately offers her a place to stay for a few days, and various other people offer their assistance. But it's local artist Landry who rents her his guest cabin.
Landry is a little bit of a loner. He grew up in Virgin River, left for a while, and returned when city life didn't work out for him. His father's death hit him hard also, and he lost himself in his art as he coped with his grief. In addition to his art, Landry also works as a dog trainer.
I loved watching the relationship between Kaylee and Landry grow. It started slowly, with drinks or coffee on one porch or the other, as they talked about anything and everything. Landry and his dog helped Kaylee overcome her fear of dogs. The more time that they spend together, the more that the sparks between them intensify. I loved seeing how they supported each other's careers and respected the other's need for space. Though they acknowledge their feelings, some obstacles keep them apart. Landry's biggest obstacle came as quite a surprise and was a bit harder to overcome than expected. I loved how they were honest with each other about their needs and that both were willing to compromise to bring them the future they wanted.
There was more going on in Kaylee's life than her growing relationship with Landry. Her main reason for coming to Virgin River was to reclaim her writing mojo. I hurt for her and her fear that it wouldn't happen and loved her determination to keep plugging away. It was interesting to see the effect the people of Virgin River had on her thought processes and the "writing exercise" that became so much more. Kaylee also needed to deal with her grief, and besides her time with Landry, it was a conversation with Mel that put her on the right track: "You know what I learned about grief? It's always there, and it's always at the center of your life, and then one day, you realize with some surprise that you had a fairly good day, and you wonder if grief left. Or if it got smaller. It didn't - - your world got bigger." Something that helped make Kaylee's world a little bigger was her rescue of a tiny kitten, and later a mama dog with puppies. I loved the scenes with them, and with Landry's dog, Otis. As the weeks passed, her world got even bigger as she made friends with Virgin River's people, and she had more good days than bad. I loved how she used her grief to help another and the unexpected twist that help took.
I enjoyed being able to check in with previous Virgin River couples. There were plenty of scenes with Jack and Mel, the ones who started it all. I especially liked that these characters didn't get dropped in willy-nilly, but were logical parts of the plot. It all makes me want to reread the series.
Kaylee lost her mother to cancer on Christmas Day the previous year. Since then, she has been drowning in grief, unable even to lose herself in her writing. With her latest book's fast-approaching deadline, Kaylee escapes to Virgin River and the cabin where she and her mom spent some time. She's devastated when she arrives to find the house engulfed in flames. She heads to Jack's to regroup and decide what to do. Jack, who is the town's "Mr. Fixit," immediately offers her a place to stay for a few days, and various other people offer their assistance. But it's local artist Landry who rents her his guest cabin.
Landry is a little bit of a loner. He grew up in Virgin River, left for a while, and returned when city life didn't work out for him. His father's death hit him hard also, and he lost himself in his art as he coped with his grief. In addition to his art, Landry also works as a dog trainer.
I loved watching the relationship between Kaylee and Landry grow. It started slowly, with drinks or coffee on one porch or the other, as they talked about anything and everything. Landry and his dog helped Kaylee overcome her fear of dogs. The more time that they spend together, the more that the sparks between them intensify. I loved seeing how they supported each other's careers and respected the other's need for space. Though they acknowledge their feelings, some obstacles keep them apart. Landry's biggest obstacle came as quite a surprise and was a bit harder to overcome than expected. I loved how they were honest with each other about their needs and that both were willing to compromise to bring them the future they wanted.
There was more going on in Kaylee's life than her growing relationship with Landry. Her main reason for coming to Virgin River was to reclaim her writing mojo. I hurt for her and her fear that it wouldn't happen and loved her determination to keep plugging away. It was interesting to see the effect the people of Virgin River had on her thought processes and the "writing exercise" that became so much more. Kaylee also needed to deal with her grief, and besides her time with Landry, it was a conversation with Mel that put her on the right track: "You know what I learned about grief? It's always there, and it's always at the center of your life, and then one day, you realize with some surprise that you had a fairly good day, and you wonder if grief left. Or if it got smaller. It didn't - - your world got bigger." Something that helped make Kaylee's world a little bigger was her rescue of a tiny kitten, and later a mama dog with puppies. I loved the scenes with them, and with Landry's dog, Otis. As the weeks passed, her world got even bigger as she made friends with Virgin River's people, and she had more good days than bad. I loved how she used her grief to help another and the unexpected twist that help took.
I enjoyed being able to check in with previous Virgin River couples. There were plenty of scenes with Jack and Mel, the ones who started it all. I especially liked that these characters didn't get dropped in willy-nilly, but were logical parts of the plot. It all makes me want to reread the series.
Eileen S. (smileen) -
Helpful Score: 1
My old friends are back, and this time I can picture them in my mind after seeing the series on Netflix! Kaylee, the new person in this story, comes into Virgin River for some quiet time to finish her next book, after the death of her mother. While I realize, losing one's mother is a devastating thing, I think this subject was somewhat overdone. With everything else going on in her life, meeting a wonderful man,a little girl who needed her love,and all the wonderful people in this town, that's all she seemed to think of 24/7 was her mother. That being said, I love Robyn's writing, and these characters feel like friends after almost twenty books.
Robin M. (robinmy) -
Helpful Score: 1
Writer Kaylee Sloan has a case of writer's block. She hasn't been able to write a word since the death of her mother six months ago. With a deadline looming, Kaylee decides to rent a cabin in Virgin River from family friends. She is hoping that getting away from her home and the things that remind her of her mother will help cure her writer's block.
Things are not as she expected when she arrives in Virgin River. The cabin she rented has just burn to the ground, so she heads to Jack's bar to see if he knows of any rentals. Kaylee soon finds herself renting a house from local artist Landry Moore. She also adopts a stray kitten, and rescues a mother dog with four puppies that were abandoned in the woods. As the holidays draw closer, Kaylee's world changes as she falls in love with her landlord.
Like everyone else, I was excited to hear there was a new book to the Virgin River series. I know I'm in the minority, but I have to say I was bored with this one. For more than half of the book, Kaylee dwelled on her mother's death. I'm sure losing someone close to you is very hard to get over, but I wasn't interested in reading about it. I liked both Landry and Kaylee, but thought this book needed more plot to keep me interested. My rating: 3 Stars.
Things are not as she expected when she arrives in Virgin River. The cabin she rented has just burn to the ground, so she heads to Jack's bar to see if he knows of any rentals. Kaylee soon finds herself renting a house from local artist Landry Moore. She also adopts a stray kitten, and rescues a mother dog with four puppies that were abandoned in the woods. As the holidays draw closer, Kaylee's world changes as she falls in love with her landlord.
Like everyone else, I was excited to hear there was a new book to the Virgin River series. I know I'm in the minority, but I have to say I was bored with this one. For more than half of the book, Kaylee dwelled on her mother's death. I'm sure losing someone close to you is very hard to get over, but I wasn't interested in reading about it. I liked both Landry and Kaylee, but thought this book needed more plot to keep me interested. My rating: 3 Stars.
