Monday, August 6, 2012

Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5) by Robyn Carr

In the space of a few months Vanessa buried her husband, Matt, and gave birth to their son--breaking her heart while filling it with a whole new kind of love. But the one man she longs to share this love with now acts as if she doesn't exist.

Paul Haggerty lives by the marine motto: Semper Fi. Ever faithful to his best friend, he's done right by Matt's widow as best he can...considering he's been secretly in love with her for years. Now, just as he's about to make his move, another woman has staked her claim on him--a claim that will be tough to escape.


With courage, humility and not a little meddling from the good folks of Virgin River, Vanni and Paul might just get a second chance to have the love they both desire and deserve.


Type: Contemporary Romance, Small town
Heat: 2 out of 5
Rating: 2 out of 5

This was my first time reading a book that had a serious case of ADD. Hand to God there were no less than 12 different storylines. TWELVE

In less than 400 pages we got....
  • the story of the supposed "main couple" Paul and Vannie dealing with their grief after Matt's death and finding love with each other
  • Paul having all sorts of complications with another woman
  • her father, Walt, and the new neighbor starting something up
  • her brother Tom, who was getting ready to leave for West Point, and his girlfriend
  • Ricky coming back into town on leave
  • some heart stopping drama with Mel and Jack
  • Preacher and Paige having a baby 
  • Vanni's mother-in-law butting in and trying to set her up and bringing a love triangle into play 
  • her cousin Shelby who is trying to move on after her mother passed away
  • Paul's friend Joe and Vanni's friend Nikki getting together and having all sorts of drama
  • and even some encounters with the mysterious pot grower Shady Brady who honestly I think was my favorite part of the entire book even though it went nowhere
  • OH! and a huge fire happening in the area bring all the different Marines back into town for the 2nd time in the book

I'm completely and utterly worn out from reading Second Chance Pass and not in a good way. And unfortunately none of it was all that memorable. There were so many things happening you never got the chance to actually care about any of the storylines or characters involved in them. Each of the stroylines were, for the most part, well written. Some were funny, some touching, and a few that will have you in tears. But collectively it was too scattered and all over the place. And none of it, in the end, really felt...finished.

Carr's a wonderful writer when she can stay focused on a single storyline or two (hell, even three) and I've thoroughly enjoyed the series up until this point but there's a serious problem when you get to the end of the book and you can't remember the main couple or even pull their names off the top of your head. I had to actually sit and think about who was supposed to be the focus of this story. That just shouldn't happen and doesn't make for a very satisfying read. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for the next book because when Carr gets it right, damn, does she completely knock you off your feet and give you an amazing experience you won't forget. 


Get Your Copy:  Amazon    Barnes&Noble   Buy This Book from Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Do you have a love/hate relationship with a series? Where some books leave you pretty cold but others absolutely blow your socks off?

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