A Virgin River Christmas (Virgin River Series #4) »

"A fellow writer asked me, 'Who is your villain?' And I realized that in the work I do, I don't have villains — I have issues. And that's exactly why women's fiction knows no limits," says author Robyn Carr. "I'm naturally drawn to strong, capable female characters, and when I begin a story I ask myself, 'What is she up against?' I try to write about issues that every woman faces at some point in her life, without ever losing sight of the basic sense of humor that helps us all through hard times."

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.

Kristin Ramsdell - Library Journal

On a mission to find the elusive marine who saved her gravely wounded husband in Iraq, Marcie Sullivan, now widowed, finally locates Ian Buchanan in an isolated cabin near Virgin River in the Northern California mountains. Guilt-ridden and emotionally scarred, Ian doesn't need a reminder that he rescued his best friend only to see him waste away in a coma. But Marcie needs closure as much as Ian needs healing. When a bout of the flu keeps Marcie at the rustic cabin longer than she intended, the barriers begin to fall, bringing new hope-and unexpected love. A cameo to Carr's "Virgin River" series (set just before Christmas in the third book, Whispering Rock), this touching holiday tale is laced with laughter and tears and delivered with an emotional intensity that will charm both new readers and series fans. Carr lives in Las Vegas, NV.