Second Chance Pass

Second Chance Pass
2 Stars

After the events surrounding Vanni and Paul in the previous book, I was eager to read their story. Unfortunately, their romance does not live up to expectations.

To begin with, the writing style is problematic with too much telling and not enough showing. Much of the first half of the book is a summary of past events and poorly described plot points.

As for Paul and Vanni's characters, both leave much to be desired. Vannie changes from a loving and caring friend into a self-absorbed and ungrateful shrew while Paul becomes a weak-willed pushover. Neither of their actions put them in a positive light as Paul apparently impregnates another woman while pining for Vanni, and Vannie becomes involved with another man show more out of anger with Paul.

The story also includes several additional plot lines including updates on Jack and Mel, Paige and Preachers as well as two secondary romances. The first between Vanni's father and a former film star, and the second between Vanni's best friend and Paul's buddy. Both have potential, but lack sufficient development.

Overall, not one of the better additions to the series. Hoping Shelby's story will get Virgin River back on track. show less

Reads like a long high school health class – be warned

Now, there is a tiny bit of good here – a lot of things I had problems with in the past books are improved upon, but at the same time some of the problems are worse.

First of all, about two-thirds of the way through there’s a scene involving Jack and Mel that is without a doubt the most disturbing thing I have ever read. My God…I almost stopped reading when I got there, but I had to continue to try and rid myself of the horror.

The tone of this book is set at the beginning, and it’s not good. Yet again I felt myself despairing at author Robyn Carr’s wasted talent – because she could be one magnificent writer if she let go of some of her prejudices.
By the end of chapter show more one there have been three discussions about safe sex, two pelvic exams, and plenty of unsubtle hints that only women who breastfeed are worthy. Add to that yet more of Ms Carr’s constant implications that any unmarried, childless woman over twenty-five has something to be ashamed of, and you can see why I was worried about what was to come.
Mel is back and as self-righteous as ever (though, considering her profession, I don’t see how she can be that way after getting pregnant by accident twice in the space of a couple of years).
The whole thing left me wondering what happened to the plot. Was there going to be one? Or was Robyn Carr’s fascination with women’s health yet again going to hijack what otherwise could have been a good novel? Ms Carr has real talent, and yet she lets all of her personal prejudices ruin her books.

It’s a pity.

After that, the talk about breastfeeding was never-ending. There really was nothing in the way of plot, but Vanessa managed to ‘nurse’ half a dozen times every chapter. And then when Paul – after going on and on about how much he loves pregnant women – announced to Jack that he’d love to be present when Jack’s wife gave birth, and THEN the whole town packed up and went have a party and be present for the birth… God, the obsession with babies slipped right into creepy.

Ms Carr tends to be very repetitious in her writing. This is a series, and it makes sense to give some of the same information from one book to the next. But this author repeats information in the same book! We are reminded of events that happened in the same book, and sometimes a character (such as Nikki here) will get a paragraph-long description of their appearance more than once, as if we can’t remember. Where was the editor?

The main couple in this book – Paul and Vanessa – were introduced in book three, and their story seemed like it was going to be fascinating and full of emotion. Vanessa was married to Matt, and Paul was Matt’s best friend. Matt was killed in Iraq before he got to meet his son. Now Paul and Vanessa have to sort out their feelings for each other.

The romance is more prominent in much of this book than it has been in others. The other characters do pop up, do take part in the story, but they do not dominate the book. In the past the leading characters have been swamped by all the others, whereas here the heart of the book is more defined.

Well, for the first two thirds. After that, Paul and Vanessa completely disappear from the story. There is nothing about them in the last few chapters. I couldn’t believe it. Robyn Carr often goes off on tangents towards the end of her books, but in the past she’s always returned to the main couple at the end. Here, she didn’t. It was beyond bizarre. You read a blurb telling you the story’s about a particular couple, and then they just disappear from the book?!

Somehow the story got bogged down in talking about wanting babies, designing extensions…all the mundane things we read books to get away from. show less

There is a lot happening in Second Chance Pass, both good and bad, for the residents of Virgin River, both old and new. The population of this little town is beginning to grow not only because more people are finding this little slice of paradise, but also because more babies are either on the way or being born. I'm constantly astounded by how real Virgin River and its residents seem to me. Every time I read one of these book, I wish that it were indeed a real place, so that I could go and visit. It is such a warm and wonderful town that is like a modern frontier community where everyone pitches in to help everyone else when there is a need, and they all come together to celebrate weddings, graduations, births and other joyous show more occasions. In this installment, the “main” hero and heroine are Paul and Vanni whose relationship was introduced in Whispering Rock.

As this story opens, Paul is still pretty messed up over the death of Matt, Vanni's husband and his best friend. He is obviously still madly in love with Vanni, but feeling guilty about being attracted to his best friend's wife. In the midst of his grief and turmoil and in a moment of weakness and vulnerability, he succumbs to a one-night stand with Terri, a woman he had previously dated a couple of times. Next thing he knows, Terri is claiming to be pregnant by him which only makes his desire to make a move on Vanni all the more complicated and seemingly impossible. Paul was an incredibly sweet guy who was shy and lacking confidence with women which is why his best friend ended up with Vanni in the first place even though Paul had seen her first and instantly fell in love with her. Early on in the story, I had to agree with Jack that if Paul was ever going to get the woman he loved, he was going to have to show more assertiveness. Luckily, Paul did finally tap his inner alpha to lay claim to Vanni. Once he had her in his arms, I thought it was quite sweet that he wasn't very experienced and somewhat uncertain of his sexual prowess, but he poured everything he had into making love to Vanni and ended up being an amazing lover. Paul was also wonderful to Terri even when he found out the truth about her situation and even felt sorry for her. He was just an all-around nice guy.

I was very impressed to find out that Vanni was already thinking of Paul in a romantic way when the story began. It seems that since her husband was away at war for nearly a year before he was killed that she didn't need as much time to grieve as some widows might, because it already felt like he'd been gone a long time. She had also been attracted to Paul from the moment she first saw him, but had been swept off her feet by Matt. After Matt's death, Paul had been such a source of strength and support for her that she couldn't help falling in love with him and was just waiting for him to make a move and show that he thought of her as a woman and not just his best friend's wife. Because Paul holds back for a long time, Vanni begins to get discouraged. In a moment of vulnerability, she accepts a couple of dates with another man, but luckily, nothing beyond a chaste kiss happened between them. Vanni has a bit of a temper and at first, I was worried that she was going to be one of those hotheaded heroines who doesn't listen. She seemed to keep jumping to conclusions and not letting Paul explain himself, but when Paul got his alpha on, she finally sat up and took notice. After that, she simmered down, and although she still had a pretty feisty personality, I was convinced that she wasn't going to run roughshod over Paul all the time. She was also a really good woman to stand by Paul though all of his complications and issues, willing to accept him and love him no matter what.

I have to admit that throughout the first quarter or so of the book, I was feeling rather jealous for both Paul and Vanni. Paul had the baby issue with Terri and her hanging on him, hoping he would change his mind about marrying her even though he made it clear that he was in love with another woman. Then Vanni had Cameron, a pediatrician her in-laws had set her up with, traveling a long distance just in hopes of seeing her. Although he seemed like a nice enough guy, I thought he was being just a little pushy. I was glad to see Vanni putting her foot down and not allowing him to take things too fast between them. Ultimately, in spite of this love quadrangle, Paul and Vanni actually got together much quicker than I expected them to. However, them getting together so early in the book, left very little for them to do for the rest of the story. I guess since they had been friends for a long time and their romance started building in Whispering Rock, this was somewhat to be expected. Luckily, the slack was picked up by a whole bunch of sweet secondary romances and other events that kept me pretty well engaged.

First, there was Vanni's best friend, Nikki, who had just broken off a terrible relationship with a man who had been less than honest with her. She comes to visit Vanni several times in Virgin River where she catches the eye of Joe Benson, the last of the group of Marine buddies to still be unattached. Things heated up between these two surprisingly quickly as they share an intense and romantic night together, but Nikki is afraid to trust that what they're experiencing is real. For Joe it's very real and far more than a one-night stand, so he just can't let Nikki go. I loved the way things turned out for these two and hope to see more of them in future books, although sadly they don't appear to be a main hero/heroine combination.

Then we had Vanni's little brother, Tommy and his girlfriend, Brenda. These two teenagers are madly in love much like Ricky and Liz. Tommy was so sweet to Brenda as they experience their “first time” together. I like that they both acted very responsibly in their decision to make love and communicated extremely well throughout, better than many adults in romance-land. In my opinion, it made for a very romantic encounter. It's really cute how head over heels in love Tommy is with Brenda, but with Tommy heading off to West Point, they're going to have to deal with a long separation. I can't help but hope they make it for the long haul, but as of right now, they don't appear to have a starring role as the hero and heroine of a future book either. And last but not least was a romance for the young at heart as Vanni's dad, Walt finds himself attracted to retired movie star, Muriel, when she moves back to the area where she grew up to get away from the Hollywood rat race and find some peace and quiet.

A few other secondary characters pop in for a visit. Vanni's cousin, Shelby, who we also briefly met in Whispering Rock is a really nice woman who has spent years caring for an ailing mother. When her mother passes away, she feels it's time for her to start a new life. It looks like she'll be spending a lot more time in Virgin River as the main heroine of the next book, Temptation Ridge. Also Jack and Company receive word that Ricky is being sent to Iraq. Before he leaves, Rick stops in to visit. He's obviously still crazy about Liz and they get to be the hero and heroine of book #7, Paradise Valley. Also, the “illegal grower,” Dan aka Shady Brady shows up yet again, and I have a strong feeling that there's much more to him than meets the eye. Mike learns some new info on this mysterious character, while Dan strangely continues to play the reluctant good Samaritan.

All the previous heroes and heroines, Jack and Mel, Preacher and Paige, and Mike and Brie play roles too. Jack and Mel are pretty front and center as they welcome their new baby and deal with various happenings around town. I've always adored Jack but Mel is probably my least favorite heroine in the series, because even this far along she doesn't always seem to appreciate Jack in the way I think he deserves. She just seems more likely to give him a hard time about one thing or another than she is to express her love and gratitude for all the wonderful things he does for her. There are times though, like during the pivotal event at the end of the book, that I think she may understand just how special Jack is, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised to find her ragging on him again in the next book. Preacher and Paige also welcome a new little one while preparing to expand their living quarters. Preacher was just so utterly charming and adorable during the birth scene, definitely a proud, protective, doting father and husband, which just reminds me why he's my favorite hero of the series. Mike and Brie were mostly in the background this time, but they too are looking to build a home and had a big announcement to make.

All in all, Second Chance Pass was a wonderful book, brimming with likable characters that were easy to become invested in. My only minor complaint is that Robyn Carr can sometimes get a little long-winded on the dialog which she often writes in large blocks, almost like the character is telling a story rather than engaging in conversation. It tends to make characters like Paul or Preacher who are supposed to be shy and introverted seem more extroverted than they supposedly are. However, it didn't bother me as much this time as it has in some of the previous books, and was a relatively small thing in an otherwise lovely story. Second Chance Pass has definitely solidified the Virgin River series as a favorite of mine and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the next book soon. show less

This series just keep getting better and better with each book, and I can say that this was one of my definite favorites. Paul was a little too slow for my taste in the beginning, but then he got his butt kicked real good and woke up to what was happening around him. Vanessa had some backbone and was such a delight to read her interact with everybody around her and little Mattie. Preacher made me tear up. Again. Such a great group of people together has to end in something this good. Can't wait to read the next one.

Book five in an ongoing series. Each of the first four books more-or-less focuses on a new couple, and while this one introduces a new love interest for one previously single ex-marine, it is mostly about catching up with characters from the first three books, providing a sense of comfort and familiarity. Curiously, Marcia and Ian from 'A Virgin River Christmas' are nowhere to be found.

What you will find are babies, a marriage, a meet-cute with steamy intimate moments and a threat for the community to band together against.

If you've enjoyed the preceding books in the series, you will like this one. Do not start with this book, as everyone has a history and a backstory, and not knowing them will likely make it hard to enjoy this volume. show more And if you're coming to Second Chance Pass from the TV dramatisation of this series, you'll find several characters not in the show and a couple who are substantially different to their on-screen counterparts. show less

I think liked this one the least so far of the series. I loved Paul. I felt so bad for him trying to do the right thing and helping Terri but wanting Vanni. Didn't like Terri when she was introduced and really disliked her after you find that she is lying and Paul offers to help her anyway.

Nice parallel stories. The sex wasn't annoying or cloying as it is in many of the sweeter romances. Strong emotional content and connection with the characters - both main and secondary.