A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr

A Virgin River Christmas:
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.

A Virgin River Christmas is a sweet holiday romance to help you get into the Christmas spirit. Robyn Carr penned such emotional and deep characters, that once one layer was revealed another was waiting to be discovered. This was one of those books  that just makes your heart feel good.  The scenery was so vivid it was almost a character itself, and while I couldn’t say that I learned much about Virgin River and there is not much action in this book, the story flowed at a steady pace. Most of the book takes place in an isolated cabin up on a mountain, but the few times we did see other characters they were interesting and piqued my interest (this is my first book I’ve read by Robyn).

Marcie had the chance to say goodbye to her husband and now she wants to thank the man that brought him back to her. Only Ian doesn’t want to be found. When he discovered that his friend was brain damaged and Marcie was caring for an invalid, he felt he had failed his friend. He thought he’d condemned his friend and his young wife to a life of misery, but Marcie didn’t see it that way. With the support of her family and her husband’s they cared for him until he passed peacefully. When Marcie finally tracks down Ian after weeks on the road she is met with a less than welcome introduction, but her stubbornness prevails and she won’t be so easily turned away. As they get to know one another they discover a new reason to thrive and rediscover life. Their romance was not something they expected, but it just might be exactly what Ian needs to leave his mountain for good.