Angel's Peak by Robyn Carr

Amazon link- Angel's Peak

This is my first novel by Robyn Carr, and also the 10th in the series. It is completely out of the norm for me to read out of order. In fact, I preach quite often how important it is to read the books in order. With that being said, I just could not help myself when I saw the theme for this book, which happens to be a favorite of mine-rekindled love.

I was immediately hooked on Robyn Carr's writing. She definitely has a way with words and I can see why so many people like her Virgin River series. She finds a way to make the story feel real, as if you've known these people your whole life. She brought real life situations to fictional Virgin River. For instance, divorce doesn't happened often in books and if it does, it isn't spoken of all that much. At least not of what I read, but I could be wrong. Aiden, one of the brothers, went through a divorce (probably in one of the books I missed), and it was spoken of. I liked that. Not the divorce, of course, the real life issue there. It made me want to know more about Aiden and find out what happened. I also met a woman named Ellie, who had an extremely hard life. She grew up dirt poor and having to struggle to make ends meet at a very young age. She was also known as the town drunk before getting her act together. I'm guessing that happened in the prior books as well. Then there was Art. An adult with a learning disability that the family calls one of their own. I have never read that ever in a book before and I really enjoyed it. It's a look into the life of how people with a disability view things. It was very interesting. I came to enjoy Art a lot and looked forward to seeing him on the pages. He wasn't there too much, but enough for him to attach himself to me. I nearly broke down into tears at the end when something near tragic happens to him.

I enjoy this book for the most part. The problem I have with it is that the story lost it's focus from Sean and Francine, who are suppose to be the main characters. The first half of the book was great! It was all Sean, Francine and Rosie trying to work things out after Sean just found out about his daughter. There was a small side story involving Luke and Shelby that wasn't too much just yet. Then Ellie and Noah appeared, and further down the road George and Maureen appeared as well. There were just too many romances going on in one book. I truly felt George and Maureen's relationship was pushed. I found myself skimming through the book once I hit about 80% and couldn't wait for it to be over. I was upset at that point. I was enjoying this book very much until all these characters and their stories were brought on to the pages.

My biggest concern was that I was going to be lost with this story since it is the tenth book in the series. I am happy to say that this can be read as a stand alone book. I find myself extremely eager to read this series from the beginning. I know I am going to fall in love with this small town like everyone else has. The way the author describes this town makes me want to pack up my family and move there.