Thursday, May 25, 2017

Paradise Valley

Title: Paradise Valley
Author: Robyn Carr
Published: April 1st 2009 by Mira
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages
Genre: Romance
Series: Virgin River #7

I have a love hate relationship with this series. I love coming back to familiar characters and guessing who will be the main attraction in her next book, but I hate, if you will, the idealized version of the men and women that she writes about.

Rick is back from Iraq sooner than expected and his relationship with Liz is put to the test. How this played out would have made more sense of they were both older, but I feel that Robyn Carr has put too much maturity into a relationship where neither is old enough to drink. There was an interesting exchange between Rick and Shady Dan that I did not see coming and with any luck, that was all Rick needed to keep his head on straight.

Muriel and the General are adorable. I hope that they continue in this series. Their story is slowly unfolding and that is the way that it should be.

Whiney Abby and her pregnancy were beginning to grate on my nerves. Why she had to make it so hard on everyone around her, including the father was pushing me beyond my limits.

Shady Dan, the pot farmer, from a few books back has reappeared and has cleaned up his ways. He is now living in the rental home of the town’s ex-drunk Cheryl and with her living out of town, he has started wooing her and it appears that they are both remodeling their lives as he is remodeling her home.

For me, this series will take a while to get through. It is just too syrupy sweet at times and does not ring true when compared to the real world. Maybe that is what escapist romantic fiction is all about and I need to step away from my cynical ways.

1 comment:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I'm a Robyn Carr fan - and yes, I read the genre to escape :)