Sep
In August Maureen’s Books Book Club started and for our first read we choose ‘Virgin River’ by Robyn Carr. ‘Virgin River’ had been on my reading list for a long time, and after watching the ‘Virgin River’ tv-show I got even more anxious to read it. So this was definitely the perfect book to start my new book club. I got myself a paperback copy of ‘Virgin River’ a while ago, so when August started I grabbed my copy and my brand new notebook and started reading.
In ‘Virgin River’ we meet Melinda Monroe. Mel has been through a lot the last view months. So when she sees an ad for a Midwife/Nurse Practitioner in the remote mountain town of Virgin River, it seems like fate and she decides to go for it. Leaving her L.A. life behind while selling her home and almost everything she owns. But when she finally arrives in Virgin River, the house she was promised looks nothing like the picture and the doctor she is supposed to work with is the grumpy old man who doesn’t really want her there. Everything seems like a very bad choice. But than she meets the bar owner Jack, and a little baby is left on the front porch.
The first thing that grabbed my attention in this book was the way the first chapter was almost exactly the first episode of the tv-show. And I was definitely surprised by that. How many times is a series not completely different than the book? Well the very first chapter is definitely the same as the first episode. I loved that.
The other thing that surprised me was that I found the main character Mel in the beginning very irritating. Sure she also had a kindness over her, but I found her frustrating. Slowly on throughout this book, this began to change and I began to admire her strength and passion. Which didn’t mean I liked her all the time. No, she definitely made some decisions that where just so stupid.
My absolute favorite thing about this read was Jack Sheridan, the bar owner. He was an old army guy, and very handsome and above all just very kind. And from the moment he met Mel, he was completely smitten with her. I loved how he took care of her even when she didn’t want it all the time.
‘Virgin River’ was a very different read than my normal reads, but I definitely enjoyed it from the beginning till the end. The writing was fun and I could easily imagine the characters and the small town of Virgin River.
But above all I loved reading this book with my Book Club. It was so fun to chat with the ladies about this read. And we had several discussions about this read. Mostly we agreed about this being a very fun read. And it definitely made me curious to read more by Robyn Carr.
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Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
Actually I felt the book was different from the show and I liked that it was changed a bit to suit the current world. Otherwise I agree with your review.
I totally agree.. the book is totally different than the series. But with the exception of the first chapter. That one is exactly like the first episode.;]
Lovely review, Maureen! I can’t compare the book to the series (I’m not a TV watcher) but I had fun reading it. And reading it with the group made it so much better. 🙂
Thanks Tanya. It was definitely a very fun book club read. 😉