Customer Reviews

Moonlight Road (Virgin River)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Erin is at a crossroads in her life. For the first time since she was a teenager she has no responsibility for her younger siblings. Her brother is now a doctor and her sister is married and expecting her first child. She's been focused on work and her family for so long that she doesn't know how to have a life! So she decides to use her brother-in-law's cabin in Virgin River to rest and try to figure out exactly what to do. That's before Aiden Riordan startles her out of her contemplations. An emergency room trip later and things start to heat up.

Aiden is a Navy doctor who is on leave and also trying to figure out what to do with his life. His brothers are happily married and his mother is shacking up with a man, traveling the country in a RV (something Aiden is still trying to accept). Aiden tried marriage eight years ago, only to find himself married to a woman with what can only be called sanity issues. But something about Erin makes him think he's finally found the right woman and for the first time Erin finds herself truly falling in love. Just when everything seems perfect, the nightmare of Aiden's first wife drops back in their life. Can they work though the havoc she stirs up?

Erin and Aiden might be my favorite Virgin River characters since Jack and Mel (who also appear in a subplot that is not to be missed). Readers of the Virgin River series will definitely love this one and new readers will find themselves as addicted as the rest of us! Full of laughs and romance Moonlight Road shows that Robyn Carr simply ROCKS!


Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have to say I've been disappointed in some of the Virgin River books, but Moonlight Road is one of the best of the series. Aidan and Erin are well fleshed out characters. I found myself caring about them. Aidan is an ob-gyn, and the details about his profession were well handled. I've always liked the medical aspects of the books though. Some Virgin River readers don't. I liked the divorce lawyer Erin recommends to Aidan in the story. He was an interesting character with some great lines, even though his part was brief. Mel and Jack have a subplot, and I absolutely love Jack. There is some laugh-out-loud humor in this book, more so than any other book in the series. I highly recommend Moonlight Road to the Virgin River fans who thought the series had run it's course.

Although never a mom, attorney Erin Foley feels the empty nest syndrome as the younger siblings she raised have moved on. Taking a time out to reassess her life, she plans on a summer vacation in Virgin River.

After fourteen years with the Navy, Dr. Aiden Riordan has left the military. He comes to Virgin River to visit family with plans to stay around until his sister-in-law Shelby gives birth.

When the two visitors meet, sparks fly and not just from heads clashing into inanimate objects. Still she prefers some alone time and he never moved past his horrific former marriage to Annalee. When his ex wife demands reentry into his life and much more, Aiden goes back into his solitary confinement.

The latest return to Virgin River is a pleasant tale filled with humor and poignancy as neither the lawyer nor the doctor are ready for love, but love is ready for them. The support cast as always is solid with everyone except Annalee rooting for Erin and Aiden to find happiness with one another. Although Annalee and her antics are over the top of Mount Tamalpais, fans will enjoy the latest visit to Virgin River.

Harriet Klausner

Moonlight Road is another in the multi-series Virgin River books by talented Robyn Carr. This is my third in the series, and though not in order, I'm enjoying the recurring and new characters as much as if I had started with the first book. As with her other books, Moonlight Road is characterized by strong, well-written characters, interesting and realistic plots and enough emotion to keep the reader choked up or smiling. Sometimes both. Ms. Carr is a master storyteller, and it's easy to see why the Virgin River series has gained many followers.

Attorney Erin Foley needs a break from duty. She's been the rock of support for her family since she was eleven, first assuming her mother's role when that woman died, then becoming a parent to her two younger siblings when they lost their father. All the while, she cooked and cleaned, studied and passed the bart exam, then worked nonstop as an tax attorney in Chico, CA. Her brother and sister have finally left home, and Erin who never took time for herself has decided to spend the summer in her sister's and brother-in-law's remote cabin just outside Virgin River. First, though, she has the rustic cabin remodeled with indoor plumbing and electricity.

Almost immediately, she runs into Aidan Riordan, who is hiking in the woods nearby. Startled by the bearded man who appears to be a smelly vagrant, she bumps her head and falls onto the deck. Aiden treats her bruises, then insists she let him drive her to ER for a medical checkup in case she is concussed.

Aiden, fresh out of the Navy, is taking some much needed time off until his sister-in-law delivers her baby, then he plans to find an OB/GYN clinic to set up shop. However, he lets Erin think he's merely a medic. The two clash at first, but after he comes back to check on her, they begin to enjoy each other's company.

Amid their growing interest in one another, the reader is re-introduced to the large and gregarious Riordan clan, Erin's sister Marci and her husband Ian, and several other Virgin River residents. As is typical in a Robyn Carr book, there are several ongoing stories revolving around the main love interest, all designed to keep the pages turning.

Erin's and Aiden's road to romance turns rocky when his ex-wife shows up. Erin at first has doubts about Aiden, but then decides this gentle man whom she has come to love is worth fighting for.

Do yourself a favor and pick up Moonlight Road and get to know the fascinating characters who live and love in Virgin River. Two thumbs up for this warm love story.

I liked Mel in the first book, but I don't understand why she needs to be a major character in the whole series. She's pushy and annoying now. Can we move on?

Also, the reproductive information was quaint in the first book, but after that it was tiresome. Carr apparently has an agenda to educate the public.

The one thing I liked was the story on Erin and Aidan. I didn't think I would like Erin from the first impression but Carr made a believable transformation to a dependable, kind character. Aidan was likable, although I wish he wasn't yet another health professional associated with female reproductive systems.

I don't know how to rate this book, because there were a lot of problems and the first half was SLOW and all telling, no showing. We get to know the characters - Erin in particular - through gigantic information dumps that summarise the events of past books. Thankfully the storytelling improved as the book went on. It kept me interested enough to read it in one sitting. After struggling through the first half, thinking this was a one star book, I enjoyed the second half and bumped up the rating. Though, well, the final chapter was a bit too much...a lot too much!

Right off the bat, I'd like to say that a woman in her thirties is NOT `starting to droop a bit', nor is she too old to be having children. I don't know what makes the author believe women in their prime are sagging, ageing and beyond hope, but it upset me greatly and I'm not even there yet.

And I'm sorry, but no man - not even Jack - would tell his wife having sex with her during her period is a turn-on. TMI Ms Carr!!

Robyn Carr does deserve credit for a more focused tale. Not all of her stories - with their multiple tangents - pull together so well, but this one didn't lose sight of the main story. Usually Virgin River books start off strong and finish with a whimper, but this one builds and builds. What I did not enjoy was the fact the one and only time Carr had non-Anglo-Saxon characters (apart from `Mike' the Mexican) she made them evil con-artists. So evil, in fact, they bordered on the ridiculous. But I guess the book needed drama.

Maybe all the happy, small-town, gooey, baby-filled goodness isn't enough for me anymore. The author's prejudices used to annoy me; now they infuriate me. For example, yet again it's only the evil villain who doesn't want babies. Every character is a platform for the author to preach her values and ideas from.

The book is a combination of all of the author's favourite things. Gynaecology, childbirth, children with speech impediments, and heroic people who have escaped the `evil' cities. I could have done without being beaten over the head with a sledgehammer that we should be nice to people with Down syndrome. And....to top it all off....our hero is a gynaecologist related to a horrendous child with a speech impediment, who has escaped to the perfection of a small town!

After a terrible beginning, I did come to enjoy the relationship between Aiden and Erin. Once the irritating and shaky start was over and done with, this was one of the better Virgin River love stories.

Though this was an improvement on the last few installments in the series, Virgin River is starting to seem a bit tired. Each book introduces new characters, but they all have the same values and wants. Mel and Jack feature in every story, but every storyline they are caught up in has something to do with having children. More than ten books in, it's a bit boring.
The Riordan clan's introduction has been a mixed bag. Maureen is a waste of page space - and she gets a lot of it. Annoying, spoilt Rosie should never have been speaking with such a serious speech impediment, let alone now when she's well and truly old enough to know better. However, I liked Luke, and I was surprised to like Aiden too - even if he is obsessed with women's nether regions in more ways than one.

The biggest problem with Carr's fascination with women's health and sexual health is that she does not handle it in a realistic way. People just don't sit around openly discussing masturbation or gynaecology while having a beer at the end of the day. In real life, men just don't voluntarily bring menopausal women and lubricant into conversation...and thank God for that.

Also strange about the attitudes to age in this series are the constant implications there's something unusual about people over sixty travelling or having relationships. I know plenty of people in that age group who do both all the time, and it's never occurred to me to consider it strange or have a family intervention!! Sixty isn't old by any stretch of the imagination.

Many people seem to be disappointed in Mel in the side story she has with Jack. Well, maybe she wasn't so great here, but Mel has never been a particularly sympathetic character. She's been pushy and unkind in the past, but the author loved her, and so none of the characters ever pulled her up on her behaviour. It was about time somebody did.

I think I'm done with Virgin River now. Moonlight Road was a vast improvement on everything that has come since Temptation Ridge, and I'll be happy to leave the series on a relatively positive note. However, I think it's time for Virgin River to be put to rest - I feel as if I know more than enough about the town, and would love Robyn Carr to try a new series. Even so, I might be encouraged to continue reading if only the author was able to stop letting her prejudices shine through so obviously, as it gets in the way of a good story.

There are two places you're guaranteed to hear about vaginal dryness. In a medical textbook, and in a Robyn Carr `romance'.

I've had enough of Virgin River.

The region has a disproportionate percentage of residents who make a living from working between women's legs.

We got another lesson in the details of menopause - but this time it happened when Jack had a conversation about it. And there's no better way to kill the romance of a romantic hero than write him into a conversation about vaginal dryness and what new lubricants are on the market.

Once she'd killed Jack's character, she killed Jack and Mel's relationship. Jack telling Mel he missed having the opportunity to have sex with her during her `time of the month' destroyed any romance left between them.

And the only occasionally likeable Mel was completely massacred here too, with all of her usual self-absorption and pushiness shining through and culminating in a dreadful storyline for the character.

When an author starts destroying their characters in order to find new plotlines you know it's time for a series to end.

We got lectured to about caring for the disabled - again.

We were once again reminded any woman over thirty-five is a waste of space, and is too old and beyond redemption.

We got more births - yes, births, plural. Yet again melodramatic and more detailed than the love scenes. I think I'd have no problem delivering a baby after reading one or two of these books. Carr leaves nothing to the imagination.

I'd give at least a star to the Aiden/Erin romance. They were both horrendous characters at the beginning, and the prom thing was kind of cheesy, but their story was actually nice.
But the fact this is the last thought that popped into my mind about this book, and the fact this was the only positive... It tells me there are better books out there. Books with less lubricant and fewer brats who can't speak properly. Books where I don't feel like the author is `educating' me by lecturing their beliefs. Books where I'm not cringing every other page.

Amazon attracts some serious Virgin River fans. Potential customers should know there are plenty of disgruntled readers out there too.

This series is more women's health fiction (has Robyn Carr created a whole new genre?!) than anything else. And it's not a genre I want to read.

by KBS of Wisconsin
I have enjoyed all of the Virgin River series. Moonlight Road does not disappoint. The author provides enough background that you don't need to read the other books in the series first. However, they are all so enjoyable that I would recommend readers do. Virgin River and its inhabitants may not be real or even always realistic but when you read a book in the series such as Moonlight Road, you feel like it is a real place and these are real people you have gotten to know as one of the community.

Moonlight Road is thee story of the third of the five Riordan brothers, Adrian an OB-GYN recently out of the military and Erin, sister of Marcie and a lawyer who has never had a vacation before coming to Marcie and Ian's cabin. Love prevails for Adrian and Erin in spite of a concussion, identity errors and a bear until Adrian's scheming ex-wife shows up.

The subplots involving characters from past books in the series were enjoyable. It was nice to have a story line directly about Jack and Mel. As an advocate in my state's special needs community, I liked the story of Art and Netta. The romance involving these characters who happened to have cognitive challenges was beautiful.

I had decided after the previous book to no longer purchase or read Ms. Carr. I said that this Carr had run it's course and I wouldn't be driving it anymore. However, being the OCD type about book series, instead of canceling the Amazon pre-release order, I kept it.

Kinda glad I did. This one was better than the last 4. Tighter plotting, less jumping around among competing story lines, some depth of a secondary plot. I don't know how people new to this series could have understood it very well as Ms. Carr (no doubt to satisfy us long-term VR readers) mentioned at least once almost every character who has ever appeared in the series. At least she didn't go into 1-2 paragraphs updates about'em though. The kept the disconnected feel found in the previous books to a lower level.

I suspect, however, it was because of Jack/Mel's substory that I like this one better. These two characters have far more depth than the newest additions to the town. Also, this one actually took place in VR AND the title of the book was actually relevant to the story! Carr did give even more gynecological tutorials in this one. Sigh. That must be some kind of passion for her and I appreciate that. It does seem to be kinda repetitive after a while, though.

The primary story about Aiden and Erin was ok too. Nice to see some "mature" behavior from leading characters. The ex-wife thing was ok. Didn't do much for me but did provide the "test" of a relationship that is required by the genre. Never do feel completely sold when a character is portrayed as completely evil. It is much more interesting to me to have the 'bad' guys (or girls) display some redeemable qualities or other character traits that can call forth some sympathy. There was a real opportunity for this with Annalee - briefly mentioned at the end but then abandoned.

I guess that I'll give Ms. Carr another chance - will drive a little further. She has been warned, though: No more shallow word dumps that are called novels!

I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them. This one goes all over the place tying in so many previous characters and preaching about social issues (people with disabilities, surrogacy...) that I didn't feel like the main two were fully developed. They were so nice, had their flaws, but there was nothing truly interesting about them in this book. I read these kinds of books to take me away from every day life though this one was a struggle for me to get through. Maybe try a different one from this series?