I have known the “Virgin River” book series for quite a long time, but didn’t manage to read any book in this series until this one. “Bring Me Home for Christmas” is book 17 in the series, but it is my first opportunity to dive into the world of the famous fictional small town that Robyn Carr so adeptly created. And Christmas is coming, which is a perfect time to enjoy this warm and romantic story.
This novel centers around Becca Timm and Denny Cutler – two young lovers who once had a beautiful love story, but had to go through a painful breakup due to various issues. This Christmas, Becca decided to go along with her twin brother Rich to Virgin River – where Denny was creating a life for himself – to see if she could get over this college relationship and end it once and for all so that she could move on, or if there were still deep feelings between them that needed to be acknowledged.
As if fate intervened, Becca had an unfortunate accident that left her ankle broken and twisted. There was no other way for her than to spend nearly her whole Christmas getaway at Virgin River with Denny literally by her side. This twist of fate brought these two young lovers closer together, and they started to discover what went wrong between them previously.
I really loved the fact that Becca and Denny decided to start a real conversation and chose to move past the initial friction when they met again to finally get down to the root of the problem: lack of communication. They were both so young during the time they were a couple; both were college students with a lot of things on their plate. Denny had to suffer from the grief of losing his mother to cancer, with no one really there to listen to his feelings, to console him, or to make him feel needed, except for the Marine Corps, which he decided to join twice.
Becca, though loved Denny very much, had too many activities and concerns to focus on at that time to really pay attention to Denny’s situation. Denny also played a part in their parting ways because he chose not to open up to his girlfriend about his emotional needs. In short, each of them was not ready to commit to such a relationship which requires a lot of more than love and passion.
With Christmas coming soon and a time spent at the beautiful Virgin River town, these two young lovebirds had a chance to reconnect and slowly realized what they did wrong the last time. This realization helped both Becca and Denny set things right between them and move forward with a fresher, more hopeful perspective regarding their future together. This is exactly what a romance novel should offer: a lesson in understanding, compromising, and working together as a team when it comes to maintaining a relationship.
I also loved the sense of community and spreading goodwill in Virgin River, where everyone banded together to help one another survive life in this small and underdeveloped town. Especially when it was winter time, which was very harsh for underprivileged families with little kids. This sense of community added more warmth and gentleness to the story, which is perfect for a Christmas-themed novel like this.
Final verdict: 9/10
Little Corner of My Mind 