I am such a fan of Robyn Carr and the Virgin River. As soon as I heard that she was making a return to the series, I was so excited. I am very pleased that I was able to get an ARC for this title!  I was even more pleased that I was NOT disappointed to head back to Virgin River and visit all my favorite characters. The ending definitely left me wanting more!

I have read all the the Virgin River books and really enjoyed this new addition to the series.  Robyn Carr can be counted on to do it right.  Her characters have depth and appeal and the plot twists are always interesting.  It was delightful to go back to this familiar setting.

Robyn Carr finally returning to her beloved series Virgin River was absolutely everything I wanted! I went into this book with the expectation of reading a rich, emotionally satisfying story, and that’s exactly what I got. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect cameos from all my favorite characters, but seeing the whole gang again was a huge bonus.

This book follows Kaylee, an author who recently lost her mom. As many of the characters in this series do, she retreats to small-town Virgin River to recover and write her next book. When she gets to town, she ends up needing a place to stay, and Landry, the sexy artist/dog trainer hero (has there ever been a better combination??), happens to have a guest house she can use.

Kaylee’s grief was so real and all-consuming, my heart actually ached at times. I am super close with my mom, and I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. Ms. Carr took us through it with Kaylee’s journey. Landry was such a sweet and caring support-system. Their romance was easy and mature and made me smile through the heartfelt moments.

The end did wrap up too quickly. I thought there was more to explore with Landry’s ex-wife and the foster situation was a little rushed. I loved the storylines; I just wanted more!

Overall, I absolutely loved my return to Virgin River! I know it’s greedy, but can we have a few more?? I love this series so much! I might have to listen to the audiobook because Thérèse Plummer’s narration takes these books to the next level!

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

Welcome back to Virgin River where the mountain air helps clear away your fears.  Where lives change and the unexpected happens.  I love how Robyn Carr weaves her characters into family that includes her readers.

It was so much fun to "Return to Virgin River"!  I admit I haven't read all the books in this series yet but I know I'll get around to them because I truly love the characters and the setting. Kaylee and Landry's love story is a sweet one. It was great to see how she opens up to Landry and how he is supportive of her. You will see the transformation in Kaylee's life after she moves to Virgin River to get away and finish writing her book after her mother has passed away. There are so many changes in her and she learns to overcome her grief in ways that also impact others. I think it is good reminder of how we can care for others and in times that we're feeling low we need to remember to reach out to help others and in return that helps us.

Season 2 of the Netflix series is coming soon and is just another way we connect to Robyn Carr's Virgin River that we all love so well.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review,  All opinions are my own.

I love Robyn Carr's books and this one did not disappoint. Virgin River is a great series and it was wonderful to come back to the familiar characters of the other books and meet Kaylee and Landry the book's main characters. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

I admittedly love the virgin river series even if I miss some here and there.  Sweet, small town romance with a wonderful story line that includes animals! lol

Robyn Carr doesn't disappoint with this one as we see old favorites and meet some new characters that are easy to fall in love with.

This is a endearing series that is always pleasing to read. It sweeps you away to a kinder more peaceful way of life amid the California redwoods in a small town where neighbors help each other and care. I have read several in the series and was pleased to read this next in series for review. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.  This is the 21st release in this popular series.  I loved this story that introduces Kaylee to Virgin River who is grieving her Mother's death . She comes to Virgin River to recover and finds  a loving community that cares for her and a new life that opens her up to wonderful new experiences.

Perfectly fine installment for Robyn Carr, but I was hoping for more. The writing seemed a little stilted-it felt like this was a book for people who watched the Netflix Series-not so much for those who've read all the books and fell inn love with Virgin River. The magical town Carr develops over the series feels less believable than it did when I first read them, maybe because there is so much explanation about who everyone is and how they are connected. I also felt the dialogue felt less realistic and more like a script.

I had only seen the first season of the Virgin River adaptation on Netflix (and enjoyed it), so I looked forward to reading this continuation of the series.... and holy spoilers, Batman! It is quite a few years in the future, and some of the main characters have had major life changes. This story picks up with a new young woman moving to Virgin River to put her life back together, dealing with some mishaps along the way... Don't worry, though, there is so much exposition, you'll be caught up in no time. I didn't care for the author's writing style, which does not ascribe to the "show, don't tell" philosophy. But as a little escapism in a familiar universe, it was OK. 

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

Virgin River series is now on Netflix and that is where I was introduced to the characters. Watching the first couple episodes I thought it felt like a Harlequin romance. I found out it is a MIRA published series. I was super excited  when I heard that Robyn Carr had a new book out in the Virgin River series. I just love the characters from Virgin River and love how this book can be read as a stand alone or part of the on going story for each character. Kaylee is the main character in this novel. After losing her mother she is trying to finish a novel that is due but can't find the inspiration. A family friend offers her to rent out their summer place in Virgin River. Kaylee feels that it'll be a good change of pace to be able to sit back and write. Kaylee doesn't expect her whole life to change. 

This is a sweet romance with loads of fun characters that live in Virgin River. They all welcome Kaylee into their small village. This story also takes place over Thanksgiving and Christmas so if you are looking for a nice holiday read I would recommend this one. 

I really enjoyed this book right from the beginning and can't wait to read the other books in the series. I have already picked up a couple of the other books.  I give this book a 5 star rating and look forward to reading more by Robyn Carr.

I am a HUGE fan of the virgin river series and binge read all twenty books in less than a month. It was one of the few glorious highlights of 2020. However, I feel that this 21st installment was a bit of a letdown. I still enjoyed it, but it was not as wonderful as the first 20. Perhaps too much time passed between series?

This book is a good feel-good story that I  enjoyed. but i admit this book isn't my favorite in the series.

I do still recommend.

Author Robyn Carr takes us back to Virgin River with Kaylee Sloan. For fans of the book/TV series, it is indeed a welcome trip down memory lane! We meet a hoard of characters, some familiar and some not so familiar, but it feels just about right!

The story follows Kaylee Sloan as she decides to move to Virgin River for a few months for a fresh start and some fresh perspective to help with her writing. Dealing with the loss of her mother, she is not just dealing with the loss of a parent, but also her best friend and confidante. This book takes us on a journey of acceptance and togetherness. The people of Virgin River come together to help Kaylee when bad luck strikes just as she reaches the cabin she was renting. It is wonderful to meet many of the characters again and see where they lives are now. A warm welcome, a few kind words and the right kind of support can do wonders to a person grieving and lonely. 

What follows is the usual mix of discovery and romance as Kaylee strives to mend, finish her novel and just feel better. The story is well-written and a simple read. The book can be finished in one sitting depending on the reader's time. A wonderful heart-felt story, this will tug at the reader's heartstrings and take us on an emotional rollercoaster. Once again Robyn Carr brings us happiness and nostalgia all in one neat package!

The story in Return to Virgin River is all about Kaylee Sloan’s, well, return to Virgin River. But Kaylee was never a resident of that much-loved little town. Rather, Kaylee was an occasional visitor during her childhood, and her most recent visit was ten years in the past, during a previous crisis in her life. Because Kaylee has never really been a part of this community when she returns to Virgin River less than a year into her mourning for her beloved mother, she makes an excellent point of view character to introduce new readers (like me) to this well-loved place and series.

As Kaylee is introduced to everyone who has come to, or come back to, live in this lovely little place, we get to meet them for the first time along with her. For readers who have been here before, It’s undoubtedly lovely to catch up with old friends from previous books in the series.

But Kaylee’s advent makes this a great place for new readers to jump in without feeling like they missed the plot. I knew these people had history, as one does whenever one is introduced to new people in real life, but I didn’t feel like I had missed something important to this story by not knowing everyone’s past.

This turned out to be a great way of getting involved in Virgin River, right along with Kaylee.

And for any long-term readers who may have lost track of everyone in the 8 year hiatus since the previous book in the series, My Kind of Christmas, Kaylee’s arrival in town should serve as a great way to get caught back up!

Kaylee returns to Virgin River because she needs a long, quiet, productive getaway. She inherited her mother’s house, and has been living there since her mother’s death. She and her mom were very close, best friends, and Kaylee feels surrounded by her grief in that house – no matter how much she loves it.

Kaylee makes her living as a mid-list author of suspense thrillers, and she has a book on contract that is not merely due but overdue. She hasn’t been able to write since her mother’s diagnosis, but she has to get her own life on track in order to support herself. She has a cushion, but it isn’t infinite.

They seldom are.

So Kaylee returns to Virgin River, the place her mother took her to several times during her childhood, and the place her mother brought her to heal after her divorce. Kaylee comes to Virgin River to be close to her memories of her mother but not so close that she continues to drown in them.

She arrives to find her planned six-month rental house on fire. Literally on fire. She can’t go home because she’s rented out her own house until after New Year’s – and it’s currently AUGUST. She feels both overwhelmed and stuck.

And that’s where her life takes its unexpected turn. As one door closes – or catches fire – another door opens. The door to Landry Moore’s guest house.

As Kaylee’s life opens up and fills up, between her rescue of the orphaned kitten Tux, the abandoned dog Lady and her puppies, and everyone in the welcoming town of Virgin River – especially her handsome landlord – Kaylee discovers that her grief for her mom, while it hasn’t exactly gotten less has become a less all-consuming part of her much-expanded life.

And that those we love never leave us, not even when they’re gone.

Escape Rating A-: There’s definitely a life imitates art imitates life thing going on here. Kaylee is supposed to be writing a suspense novel – which she eventually manages to do. But she also begins a kind of fictionalized journal or a contemporary romance/women’s fiction novel, which is also the category that Return to Virgin River fits into.

Kaylee’s novel-of-her-heart is a story about a woman who comes to a small town for a fresh start after a death in HER family. Her fictional character falls for her equally fictional landlord – except that neither of them actually is. Fictional, that is. Kaylee pours her growing feelings for Landry into her character’s growing feelings for “Landon”. The disguise is adorably cute and rather “paper” thin. But fun and a great way for Kaylee to process both her hope and her grief.

But the course of true love never does run completely smooth, and in this story the waves are provided by Landry’s long-absent wife. Yes wife. He and Laura have lived apart for 10 years of their 11-year marriage, but neither of them ever bothered to file for divorce.

So naturally, just as Landry realizes that he wants a divorce so that he can become more involved with Kaylee, Laura decides that her acting career, the reason for their separation, isn’t going anywhere and that she wants Landry – or at least the security he can provide – back.

I have mixed feelings about this plot thread. Something had to derail what would have otherwise been Landry and Kaylee’s straightforward amble towards domestic bliss. But the Laura angle felt particularly tacked-on. It was so obvious that she only wanted the security, to the point where not even Landry took her “act” all that seriously.

On the surprising but definitely plus side of the reading equation, Return to Virgin River turned out to be an unexpectedly poignant counterpart to yesterday’s book, Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish. Both stories are about mothers and daughters, but Kaylee and her late mother had the kind of mother-daughter relationship that Millicent and Jane had stopped dreaming of long ago. These two stories make a great back-to-back read if you are well-prepared with plenty of tissues.

Closing on a much happier note, I enjoyed my first trip to Virgin River and now that I’ve met everyone, I’ll be back. Whether by starting at the very beginning with the first book in the series, Virgin River, continuing on with the next whenever it comes around, or maybe BOTH!

OMG it was so much fun to go back and visit with some of my favorite characters.  I'm always sad when a series comes to an end, but I was thrilled to go back and catch up with friends in Virgin River.

As always, Virgin River helps the characters heal.  In this book Kaylee is reeling from the loss of her mother and is struggling to finish a book that is on deadline.  She contacts friends and they allow her to go to their vacation home in VR, but when Kaylee arrives, things take a turn for the worse.

Kaylee meets Jack Sheridan and he helps her navigate VR and she ultimately meets and makes friends with the cast of VR and sparks slowly ignite with one of them.  Kaylee ends up getting more than she bargained for during her stay in VR.

This is one of my all time favorite series and if it could go on forever, I would be the happiest person, but all good things come to an end and this one was a wonderful ending!

5 stars

Well it’s been a long time between books for the Virgin River series – book #18 was released in 2012. I binged this series big time back then, thanks to Marg @ The Intrepid Reader. Robyn Carr moved onto other series’ but the popularity of Virgin River on Netflix perhaps, means we get to travel back to that small town in California and catch up with some favourites as well as get introduced to some new people.

Kaylee Sloan is heartbroken at the devastating loss of her mother. It’s affected her whole life. Upon her mother’s death she inherited her mother’s house but Kaylee isn’t ready to live in it yet. She’s also behind in finishing her latest book for her publisher so her intention is to escape to a cabin in Virgin River, a place she spent time at growing up. It will give her privacy to grieve and peace and quiet to meet the deadline hanging over her head. Her plan is scuppered though when the cabin is on fire as she arrives. Kaylee’s revised plan is to travel a little further out, but popping into Jack’s Bar & Grill means that Jack is pretty sure he can find her a rental that will suit.

In Virgin River, Kaylee finds more than just a place to hole up away from the world so that she can finish her book. As a writer she also finds herself fictionalising her life, which is a new genre for her, it’s good therapy and after a while, she thinks she might actually have something. She also finds a community – she’s welcomed by Jack and his wife Mel and embraced by the other locals who step in to help her find somewhere to stay, introduce themselves and offer up things they have or make or produce that she may need. Kaylee finds a tiny kitten and rather than surrender it to the vet to go to a shelter, she decides to adopt it. And even though she’s deathly terrified of dogs, she also finds a mother and her puppies in the woods and makes the decision to rescue them as well, with the help of dog trainer and her somewhat casual landlord, Landry. Kaylee and Landry bond during their time of shared proximity, having meals together and sharing tidbits of their lives. Landry has also experienced the grief of losing a parent and he’s further down the road than Kaylee and can offer some insight on the healing and moving forward process. He’s also determined to help Kaylee with her fear of dogs as well and it isn’t long before their friendship is burgeoning into something more.

It was really good to return to Virgin River! And this is a book that makes sure it gives you a glimpse of as many previous couples as possible – if they’re still living there, then chances are they appear in this book at least once, even if it’s just the briefest of mentions! Mel and Jack are prominent of course and Bree, Jack’s sister. There’s also Colin and Jillian, as well as quite a few others. Kaylee really embraces joining the local community, even though her grief is very raw and it’s affecting her day to day life at times. She and her mother were very close, she was an only child (on her mother’s side, her father has married again and has other children from other marriages) and her untimely death has left Kaylee so bereft. Slowly however, Kaylee finds herself learning to cope with her loss, taking comfort in a life that she’s building in Virgin River. She’s not sure if it’s the sort of place she would live permanently but it’s certainly a soothing balm – and the fact that Landry is there definitely doesn’t hurt! I really enjoyed Kaylee and Landry together, they had this laid back, easygoing kind of relationship, there’s not a dramatic conflict or anything. Landry does have a bit of baggage that needs resolving and his situation was a bit unusual but he’s a kind, caring and gentle person. They went well together also – you could see them building something together. They both worked in creative fields and enjoyed a quiet life, meals at home and the like.

There’s something very comforting about returning to a familiar place with familiar people like Virgin River. Everything is still kind of the same – Jack has a bit of grey in his hair but he’s still manning the bar and meddling in things when he can, Preacher is still cooking, Mel is still the most random midwife. I really need to get watching Virgin River on Netflix before season 2 drops and sink back into the world a little more.

8/10

So happy to have returned to the world of Virgin River in this book! Robyn Carr's writing is amazing as always, and I read this so quickly!

I've been reading Robyn Carr's books since the early 2000s and have no plans to quit. But after all this time, she has become a comfort read for me. That's not bad-mouthing the author. I think it just happens with any author you have read for a long time.

As with any author that writes a long-running series, sometimes the premises becomes more far-fetched. I didn't have a problem with the heroine's issue with grief over her mother's death (like some other reviewers). I experienced the same. When the mainstay of your support system is taken away, your world collapses.

My issue is more with the hero and his failed relationship. It's like the premise of the 40-year-old male virgin. Possible, sure - but the norm, not so much. And so all through the book, there was a sense of disbelief.

Added to that, the heroine takes on a new responsibility at the end and the challenges of that are unexplored and glossed over. In addition, a potential conflict (place of residence) magically disappears.

Is this book, just a finishing touch to the series? If not, why wasn't there a second storyline featuring recurring characters? So much more could have been done. But the appearances of the characters was just desert, not part of the meal.

During this pandemic, a nice enough read, but this isn't a book that I would give to introduce a reader to Carr's storying telling.
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free galley in return for an honest review.

I was so excited to see a new addition to the Virgin River series! I recently started reading the series in earnest and I love it! I’ve also watched the Netflix adaptation. When the chance to review Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr presented itself, I jumped on it!

Return to Virgin River harkened back to the book that started it all: Virgin River. Honestly the plot of Return to Virgin River was very similar to Virgin River. It makes for an excellent read for people looking for more of that type of story.

For me personally it was wonderful, familiar, and comfortable. During an uncertain time I really loved the chance to watch two people fall in love. Autumn in a small town was perfect timing!

My heart hurt for Kaylee. I can’t possibly imagine the enormity of losing your mother. The first holidays are always tough. Kaylee is trying to find solace in the mountains.

I also really liked Landry. I did find his circumstances a little difficult to believe but I know that it happens. I felt that Landry balanced Kaylee well. I loved seeing all the familiar faces too! It was like catching up with old friends.

I haven’t read the Virgin River series in its entirety so Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr can stand on its own. I adored it and think it is the perfect autumn read!