Angie LeCroix comes to Virgin River to spend Christmas relaxing, away from her well-intentioned but hovering mother. Yet instead of freedom, she gets Jack Sheridan. If her uncle had his way, she’d never go out again. And certainly not with rugged, handsome Patrick Riordan. But Angie has her own idea of the kind of Christmas she wants—and the kind of man!
Patrick and Angie thought they wanted to be left alone this Christmas—until they meet each other. Then they want to be left alone together. But the Sheridan and Riordan families have different plans for Patrick and Angie—and for Christmas, Virgin River–style!
Comment: After a year and a half I finally got to the last book in the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr.
This series has been a good company and provided long hours of entertainment. There are better and less favorite books but overall, the series was a success and one I'll feel rather sad to be leaving. Any reader knows there's always re-reads but nothing will ever feel like meeting a story for the first time. Still, only good things to say because the good stories are many more than the ones I didn't like as much. What a fascinating group of characters to have met!
As for this final book, it's Patrick Riordan's story, he's the youngest brother of a clan we've met during the series. He's recovering from the death of his best friend and feels conflicted and guilty and wants to help his friend's widow. In Virgin River he hopes to come to terms and decide what's going to happen in the future. He meets Angie, she's Jack's niece, who suffered an accident and wants to be on her own for a while to think things over as well. Their goals are similar and the path they take too because in Virgin River people get closer than they ever imagined...
This story was good, cute. I don't think it was totally wonderful because to my way of thinking, the romance happened so fast and Angie being so young. I guess in my head I'll think about this more the beginning of the romance and not a HEA set in stone. Still, the main characters, Paddy and Angie were good together when they interacted and the things they had to deal with not easy or superfluous. I admire people who have doubts but think and come up with solutions and new goals too, new tactics to solve their problems. Also, both Paddy and Angie were considering radical changes to their lives and for someone like me, who enjoy my routine and and the simplicity of things, I also admire those who act differently and think so far ahead. Paddy and Angie seemed very brave and I admired that. Of course there would be challenges for them but just the courage was quite the trait to see in them. At the same time, it seemed, like so often in these novels, that solutions were easy to figure out for everyone. Not to accomplish, but to consider, to imagine. I think real life surely isn't that easy and although the character's situations are hard and often difficult, eventually the solution is easier and that feels a bit like too fairy tale, in a certain way.
Angie is young and the way she acted was many times like someone more mature. I don't mean to say all 21 year olds are childish because they aren't but the fact she acted so mature most times wasn't as believable as that. Of course, this was just my impression, a personal take.
Paddy had some issues to deal with and he thought of Angie as someone to be with for a while because they hit if off from the start. But their relationship soon got more intense and often moments between them were beautiful and with meaning. It was romantic in the most part.
Almost all Virgin River characters are mentioned in this book, at least the most important ones. It's always nice to see them, because that is the true sense of community, the way people interact and are part of something. I'd like to see an epilogue of them all, who knows in a short story one day...
In the end, I felt a bit sad because it was ending even though it's not the book that will be in my mind the most. Still, a very cute and emotional as always finish to a great series.
Grade: 7/10
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Now the series is completed, here is my top 5 of the Virgin River books:
5) Sunrise Point -> Loved the starting plot, and the heroine's hardships made her so much worthier of happiness.
4) Moonlight Road -> Good story, great characters and a cute HEA too.
3) Virgin River -> Liked the story, the characters and the development. Great start.
2) Virgin River Christmas -> So emotional, it made me cry but loved it!
1) Forbidden Falls -> A great story, the couple I loved the most and was happier to see together. The one I'll re-read the soonest. Wonderful!!
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