John “Preacher” Middleton is about to close the bar when a young woman and her three-year-old son come in out of the wet October night. A marine who has seen his share of pain, Preacher knows a crisis when he sees one—the woman is covered in bruises. He wants to protect them, and to punish whoever did this, but he knows immediately that this is more than just instinct. Paige Lassiter has stirred up emotions in this gentle giant of a man—emotions that he has never allowed himself to feel.
Then Paige’s ex-husband turns up in Virgin River. And if there’s one thing the marines’ motto of Semper Fi—always faithful—has taught Preacher, it’s that some things are worth fighting for.
REVIEW:
I was really hoping to love this Paige and Preacher book but wow did I not. I did love Preacher and Paige as characters, but the storyline itself was problematic for me. The sequence of events with Wes seemed completely unrealistic - attacking his wife and another woman in broad daylight on a street full of witnesses didn't fit with a history of behind-closed-doors abuse. However, my bigger issue is with the treatment of pregnancy and pregnant women in this book (which I also disliked in book one of the series). Between teen pregnancy, miscarriages, and the birth stories - it seems women in these stories have no higher function than to be fecund. I think this book marks the end of my visit to Virgin River; I'll stick to the TV show for my guilty pleasure.
