Shelter Mountain by Robyn Carr (Virgin River #2)

 

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 he wants to punish whoever did this to her, but he knows immediately that this inclination to protect is something much more. Paige Lassiter has stirred up emotions in this gentle giant of a man—emotions that he has never allowed himself to feel.

But when Paige's ex-husband turns up in Virgin River, Preacher knows his own future hangs in the balance. And if there's one thing the marines' motto of Semper Fidelis—always faithful—has taught him, it's that some things are worth fighting for.

Why I decided to read this book: I signed up to try to win a copy of Promise Canyon on Goodreads and I decided to start at the beginning of the series so that book 11 would makes sense to me.  I was also able to download the first 4 books of the series on to my Nook as a book bundle! :)

Likes?.....: I really liked Preacher.  He's a big ole burly badass former Marine who doesn't think that he's capable of loving or being loved.  I also enjoyed Paige and Chris who bring out the best and at some points in the book, the worst in Preacher.  I also really enjoyed how the town rallied around Paige and Chris to make sure that they were safe from Paige's abusive ex-husband.  Oh and let's not forget about "unlovable" Preacher turned lover extraordinaire Preacher.  Everyone calls Preacher by his nickname rather than his given name in town, then Paige comes along and starts calling him John and to me that was pretty sexy in it's VERY simple way.

Dislikes?.....: Paige's brother and ex husband....They BOTH deserve to be beaten to within an inch of their lives in my honest opinion.  There were a couple of odd breaks in the story that seemed a little off to me but not enough to be distracting.

Overall: I think that this book was even better than the first book in the series.  Another one that once I started reading I had a VERY difficult time putting down.  I think that the series builds really nicely from one book to the next with the inclusion of new characters as well as reoccurring roles of the "regulars."  I can hardly wait to keep reading!  I'm just soooo mad at myself for not reading this series before now!