Review: Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr

Reverend Noah Kincaid moved to Virgin River to re-open an abandoned church he bought on eBay. Like Noah, the place is a little empty inside and needs some loving care.

The young widower arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and build a place of worship and welcome, but he needs some help. And the Lord works in mysterious ways....

With her tight shirts and short skirts, “Pastor's assistant” is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Ellie Baldwin. The former exotic dancer needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. And Noah can’t help but admire her spunk and motherly determination.

The pastor and the stripper: an unlikely team to revitalize a church, much less build a future. The couple has so many differences, but in Virgin River anything is possible, and happiness is never out of the question.

I certainly didn't love the last book in this series, Paradise Valley, all that much but as I said then, I like Carr's writing so it got a fair grade. Unfortunately it put me on some pins and needles even thinking about reading Forbidden Falls. It also has a Presbyterian minister in it and since my mom is a Presbyterian minister I thought it might have been a little close to home. lol I'm so happy that it all worked out.

Noah Kincaid is the type of man that I'd love to have a best friend. He's down to earth, loyal, caring and just all together a really nice person. He didn't have any thought of hiring Ellie to be his pastor's assistant after she left the interview but after talking to her and seeing why she needed the job so badly he decided to give her a chance. This endeared me to Noah as probably nothing else could. I thoroughly believe in giving people a chance - even though they might not look the part. Noah was definitely not disappointed in Ellie's work as she was just a whirlwind.

For Ellie's part in the book I thought that she'd seen some tough breaks in her life but had also made some really crappy decisions. I appreciated that she didn't let life get her down and crawl into a hole, as she so easily could have. Saying that, I think she might have been a little chipper for my tastes. I'm not sure how to explain it since I didn't feel that way while reading the book, just after I finished. Yes, she was wonderful and could really help people but she was damned near a saint in some aspects and I think it went a tad too far at some points.

Ellie's kid issues were horrifying and I can't imagine what she had to go through emotionally. This being said I thought she acted completely out of character at the end of the book when she got her kids back and had them stay with friends. I just don't think she ever would do that in a million years! But hey, that's me. :) I really liked her but that kind of threw me for a loop

Another part of the book involved Vanni and Paul who we met in a previous book, Second Chance Pass, and they have been married and raising Vanni's son together. When Paul's ex decides to leave him her daughter in her will, Paul falls hard for the 10 month old. (Hearing the description of the baby I can see why - she sounds adorable). Paul takes Hannah home to Vanni and Vanni is pissed. I can't say I'd be all that happy as well, but Vanni went a little nutty. Yes, she was jealous of Hannah because she didn't want her - she wanted her own child that they were starting to try for. I can't imagine how hard this would be and yes, it's a huge decision to make, whether to keep the baby or not, but Vanni went a little too crazy, imho. Just when I think Vanni is a character I can finally learn to like she does something like this...it's like 2 steps forward and 10 steps back. I like Paul so much it's just a shame that he's with Vanni! lol (I'm horrible, I know.) I guess for me no matter what the hardship was I'd open my heart to the situation and do what needed to be done so it was hard for me to relate to Vanni's reaction.

Overall I very much liked the book. It was an incredibly emotional read for me and I found myself getting watery eyes a few times which just normally doesn't happen! I think this is probably my favorite book since Whispering Rock...but that's me. :)

Rating: 4.5 out of 5