Review: Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr

Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr

Mira

February 2012

Format: Paperback, 377 pages

First line: Katie Malone quit her job and packed up her little Vermont house.

From the back cover: In Virgin River, you never know what you might find around the bend in the road…

Former actor Dylan Childress left the L.A. scene behind years ago for a quiet life running an aviation company in Montana. But with business slowing down, Dylan is starting to wonder whether he should take one of the offers Hollywood keeps sending his way. He figures a motorcycle trip to Virgin River with his buddies might help him decide what path to take. But his own troubles are left at the side of the road when he spots a woman stranded on the way into town.

Katie Malone and her twin boys’ trip to Virgin River is stopped short by a tire as flat as her failed romance. To make matters worse, it’s raining, the boys are hungry and Katie is having trouble putting on the spare. So when some bikers pull up beside them, offering to help, all Katie feels is relief. Then she sees sexy, leather-clad Dylan Childress, and in one brief moment the world turns on its axis.

Katie’s a sensible single mother and Dylan’s a die-hard commitment-phobe. Neither is looking for long-term romance. But sometimes it takes only a moment to know you’ve found something that could change your life forever.

My thoughts: Another winner from Robyn Carr. I really love her Virgin River series and this latest one is no exception.

Redwood Bend is primarily Katie and Dylan’s story. We first met Katie in Hidden Summit, when we read about her brother Connor’s story. Now, we find out that Katie and her 5-year-old twin boys have decided to move to Virgin River so the boys can be near Uncle Connor. She meets Dylan on her drive into Virgin River. She ended up with a flat and was trying to change the tire in the rain and he was out for a motorcycle ride with his buddies and they came upon her. From the moment they meet, there are sparks. The
rest of the book is about the relationship that develops between them. He’s only looking for temporary and she’s in agreement with him. We follow their romance, the ups and downs, the
misunderstandings, the interfering relatives to the inevitable happy
ending. And what a ride it was!!!

As their story is progressing, we also get updates on Connor and Leslie. Leslie proves to be a great ally for Katie, especially when she needs to vent. Connor proves to be the big brother that he is, going so far as to try to intimidate Dylan. Of course, there are visits to Jack’s bar where we see Jack, Mel and Preacher. And once again, their is an incident that has the whole town coming out to help – an incident that involves a curious 5 year old and a bear.

As I slowly reach the end of the this series, I am struck with how much I’ve come to think of Virgin River as a real place – a place I would love to visit. I really hope that Robyn Carr continues writing this series – to me it hasn’t gotten old yet.

(I got this book from PaperbackSwap.)

Books in this series:

1. Virgin River                                   11.1   Sheltering Hearts
2. Shelter Mountain                         12.  Midnight Confessions
3. Whispering Rock                          13.  Promise Canyon
4. A Virgin River Christmas          14.  Wild Man Creek
5. Second Chance Pass                    15.  Harvest Moon
6. Temptation Ridge                        16.  Bring Me Home for Christmas
7. Paradise Valley                             17.  Hidden Summit     
8. Under the Christmas Tree        18.  Redwood Bend
9. Forbidden Falls                            19.  Sunrise Point
10. Angel’s Peak                                   20.  My Kind of Christmas 
11. Moonlight Road