A Virgin River Christmas - Robyn Carr

Last Christmas Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to her husband, Bobby. This Christmas she's come to Virgin River to find the man who saved his life and gave her three more years to love him.Fellow marine Ian Buchanan dragged Bobby's shattered body onto a medical transport in Fallujah four years ago, then disappeared as soon as their unit arrived stateside. Since then, Marcie's letters to Ian have gone unanswered.Marcie tracks Ian to the tiny mountain town of Virgin River and finds a man as wounded emotionally as Bobby was physically. But she is not easily scared off. As Marcie pushes her way into his rugged and reclusive life, she discovers a sweet but damaged soul beneath a rough exterior.Ian doesn't know what to make of the determined young widow who forces him to look into the painful past and, what's worse, the uncertain future. But it is, after all, a season of miracles and maybe, just maybe, it's time to banish the ghosts and open his heart.

Yes, it is another review of a Virgin River book. In book 4 we are introduced to 2 new characters - Marcie Sullivan and Ian Buchanan. Marcie is a young widow, her husband died from injuries suffered in the war and Ian is the man who saved is life and brought him home, although he never recovered. Marcie feels indebted to the man who gave her and her family time to say goodbye and Ian feels guilty that he didn't manage to keep Robert from harm.

I have to admit I had a hard time warming up to Marcie. She was just too determined in her search for Ian and I didn't understand why it was so important. Why she just didn't hire a private detective to find him first. But I did like the relationship between those two once they find each other. My problem then was that this is a romance and I felt they had a friends relationship more than a lovers (or future lovers) relationship.

What touched me more about this story was when Marcie described her last months with her husband. Having recently lost a loved one that went through a similar situation I couldn't help letting a few tears fall.

But by the end of the story I was actually rooting for them and I was curious about what life had in store for them. Do they appear in future VR books I wonder?

As is becoming usual I did enjoy the VR community very much. I loved reading about all those friendly people again and I can't wait to keep on reading about them. I clearly have an addiction now and I blame it on my friend Dee!

Grade: 3,5/5