(Spoliers)The series is a lot better than this. I found the characters so much more unlikable. There is a lot of body shaming, talking about womens/child (14) bodies in a sexual objecting way that I didn’t like. Lizzy is 14 and they way she’s spoken about is really gross, there is sexual content with 14 year old and 16 year old which is kinda icky (he’s not fully an adult but also a little older) it just feels off. This was all mostly in the first couple of chapters when characters were being introduced. Gets more lighthearted, wouldn’t read again or recommend.

The show is one of my guilty pleasures, so I thought I would try the book and was pleasantly surprised! Something to note is that it is very different from the show, which I can understand is not for everyone, but I enjoy both formats in their own unique ways. While I crave the constant Netflix drama, I found myself liking the slow, relaxing pace of the book just as much. I think the show did a good job casting/diversifying the characters, so I just imagine them when I read. I’m eager to read more of the series!

Virgin River by Robyn Carr is another book that I have read this year (It Happened One Summer being the other one) which is a sexy romantic novel, although this one has more hard-hitting issues being tackled and has been made into a Netflix series. 

Mel Monroe has been through the mill as a nurse practitioner in a busy Los Angles hospital, happily married to Mark, an emergency medicine doctor, who dies in tragic circumstances. Making the decision to move on, she goes to Virgin River, a rural small town and almost immediately regrets it.

However, when a new born baby is left on the door step of the clinic and home of grumpy Doc Mullins, she finds a reason to stay, if only for a few days, whilst she cares for them. And having local barman and former marine Jack Sheridan just over the road with a listening ear and broad shoulders to cry on, as well as making her rent-free cabin shipshape to live in, she might just need to reconsider her decision...

I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton library and listened to it on cloudLibrary. I read this for prompt A is for Alpha for the 52 Book Club mini challenge May 2024. 

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!

I enjoyed this complex beautiful story! When Mel's husband dies unexpectedly, she sells everything and moves to Virgin River. She is going to run a medical practice in the mountains. Mel finds out the people of Virgin River are not what she was expecting. She learns that she can't run from her problems. 

god this was a struggle to read! i love the series but i found this so hard to get through
i really dislike the way carr writes her female characters in this book — all the physical descriptions felt very icky and distasteful 
dishonourable mention for ricky and lizzie’s relationship??? so so grim!! i’m so glad the age gap is rectified in the series but ricky’s pedophilia is way too normalised in this wtf 

Enjoyable book; however, i wish some chapters where shorter.