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kellyofcali's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Delightful romance! I've admittedly watched and enjoyed the TV show, and so I happily signed on to read the books, which definitely take the plot and characters in some different directions - so a fun way to be in the same universe with some newish story. The book was overall super enjoyable and I'm on to the second - my main issue is the way the male characters sometimes talk to and think about women, not because it's necessarily unrealistic, but it makes them less likable to me (ex. lots of use of the word "fanny"). Otherwise, a fun read and quality romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Infertility, Alcohol, and Misogyny
appleberry's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility, Medical content, Addiction, Gun violence, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death, War, and Alcohol
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Title: Virgin River
Author: Robyn Carr
Series: Virgin River #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: March 27, 2007
T H R E E • W O R D S
Predictable • Quaint • Compelling
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Reeling and grieving from the murder of her husband, big-city nurse practitioner/midwife Melinda Monroe is looking to escape the pain and heartache of Los Angeles. When she answers an ad for a job in the remote mountain town of Virgin River, it isn't anything like she expected. Ready to hightail it out of town as soon as she can, all of that changes when a baby is left on the front porch of the clinic.
💭 T H O U G H T S
As someone who doesn't read a lot of 'steamy romance' novels, I was hesitant to pick up Virgin River. It's just not the type of book I typically gravitate to, and yet I was left pleasantly surprised.
What I like:
• the small town setting. This small town girl has a soft spot for rural romances. Virgin River felt like exactly the type of place I'd want to enjoy the simple life (even though life was less than simple).
• the cast of characters. I grew to love this quirky mix of town folk that bands together like family. I took a liking to Doc especially and I look forward to getting to know them more throughout the series.
• the depth. I prefer my romances with substance, and here the plot had just the right amount of depth mixed with the romance.
• the medical aspect. I think the book contrasted big city medicine to that of a small town really well. And Mel's job fit the plotline perfectly.
What I didn't like:
• the dialogue. It felt choppy at times.
• the writing. At times oversimplified and overly dramatic. At other times long-winded and glossy. All of which threw of the pacing.
• at times it felt dated. Yes it was written some times ago, but let's just say some of the ways of thinking didn't age well.
• how the romance happened so fast. I get that this is a romance novel, but it's a series, and I wasn't expecting them to get together in book one. With the grief aspect it just didn't feel realistic to me.
Every once in awhile a book takes you by complete surprise. I went into this one with very low expectations, but I ended up really enjoying it. Though I haven't watched the TV show, I can definitely see where the appeal lies. Overall, a enjoyable contemporary romance, and I look forward to continuing this series in the coming year.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of rural romances
• readers who like Hallmark Holiday Movies
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'Mel, it's all right to get on with your life. Maybe you'll never love anyone as much as you loved Mark - but then maybe there will be someone else. Someone next. You don't have to compare them, honey, because Mark is gone and we can't get him back.'"
"People belong wherever they feel good. It can be a lot of different places. For a lot of different reasons."
Author: Robyn Carr
Series: Virgin River #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: March 27, 2007
T H R E E • W O R D S
Predictable • Quaint • Compelling
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Reeling and grieving from the murder of her husband, big-city nurse practitioner/midwife Melinda Monroe is looking to escape the pain and heartache of Los Angeles. When she answers an ad for a job in the remote mountain town of Virgin River, it isn't anything like she expected. Ready to hightail it out of town as soon as she can, all of that changes when a baby is left on the front porch of the clinic.
💭 T H O U G H T S
As someone who doesn't read a lot of 'steamy romance' novels, I was hesitant to pick up Virgin River. It's just not the type of book I typically gravitate to, and yet I was left pleasantly surprised.
What I like:
• the small town setting. This small town girl has a soft spot for rural romances. Virgin River felt like exactly the type of place I'd want to enjoy the simple life (even though life was less than simple).
• the cast of characters. I grew to love this quirky mix of town folk that bands together like family. I took a liking to Doc especially and I look forward to getting to know them more throughout the series.
• the depth. I prefer my romances with substance, and here the plot had just the right amount of depth mixed with the romance.
• the medical aspect. I think the book contrasted big city medicine to that of a small town really well. And Mel's job fit the plotline perfectly.
What I didn't like:
• the dialogue. It felt choppy at times.
• the writing. At times oversimplified and overly dramatic. At other times long-winded and glossy. All of which threw of the pacing.
• at times it felt dated. Yes it was written some times ago, but let's just say some of the ways of thinking didn't age well.
• how the romance happened so fast. I get that this is a romance novel, but it's a series, and I wasn't expecting them to get together in book one. With the grief aspect it just didn't feel realistic to me.
Every once in awhile a book takes you by complete surprise. I went into this one with very low expectations, but I ended up really enjoying it. Though I haven't watched the TV show, I can definitely see where the appeal lies. Overall, a enjoyable contemporary romance, and I look forward to continuing this series in the coming year.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of rural romances
• readers who like Hallmark Holiday Movies
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'Mel, it's all right to get on with your life. Maybe you'll never love anyone as much as you loved Mark - but then maybe there will be someone else. Someone next. You don't have to compare them, honey, because Mark is gone and we can't get him back.'"
"People belong wherever they feel good. It can be a lot of different places. For a lot of different reasons."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, Addiction, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content and Miscarriage
death of partneritsreirei's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.25
TW:child p*rnography
No clue how they let this shit be published...
No clue how they let this shit be published...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Animal death, Chronic illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, and Infertility
Moderate: Drug abuse and Physical abuse
brandie_abbie19's review
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Medical content, Miscarriage, Violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, War, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical trauma, and Murder
maddiet425's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, War, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, and Infertility
Writing wasn’t amazing, but it kept me interested, and definitely got more complex towards the end.mkmiller934's review
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It wasn’t a bad read- it was enjoyable at times. The description of women-sexually was a little awkward and made me cringe a bit. But I liked the story line. A woman moving to a small town to get away from something life altering and finding love in the most unsuspecting way. I did like the way it touched on loss and grief in the sense of moving on following a loved ones death- feeling guilty and like you couldn’t give your all to someone.
There were a couple scenes between 14/16 year olds that was weird and I didn’t like the context in a more adult book.
There were a couple scenes between 14/16 year olds that was weird and I didn’t like the context in a more adult book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Pedophilia, Death, Grief, and Gun violence
I put pedophilia as a tag- but it wasn’t really that- it was a scene between a 14 and a 16 year old. It was awkward reading it as an adult in a more adult type book and made me a bit uncomfortable.
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