6 Books Like ‘Virgin River’ to Read If You’re Obsessed with the Netflix Series
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Back in 2019, the Netflix’s Virgin River took the streaming platform by storm. If you're unfamiliar, the show, which is based on Robyn Carr’s book series, follows the story or Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a midwife and nurse practitioner who moves to a remote California town for a fresh start. Though she tries to leave her painful memories behind, she soon learns that her past secrets can only stay buried for so long. In her review of the show’s fourth season, PureWow's senior editor of entertainment and news Greta Heggeness writes, “If you enjoyed the first three seasons, then there’s no doubt you’ll love Virgin River season 4. The new installment exceeds expectations in more ways than one and offers a feel-good vibe that’s reminiscent of a soap opera…Virgin River season 4 is a delight to watch, even if it leaves you wanting more.” If you also can't wait for season five to air in September, consider picking up one of these six similar books that deal with small-town romances, heartbreaks and friendships.
Quiz: Which ‘Virgin River’ Character Are You?
1. The Wanderer by Robyn Carr
If you loved Virgin River (the books or the series), chances are you’ll love this other heartfelt offering by Robyn Carr. The first book in her Thunder Point series is set in a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm on the Oregon coast that developers see as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he’s been left an old friend’s beachfront property, he finds himself with a community’s destiny in his hands. Typically averse to settling down, he thought Thunder Point would be another quick stop, but he finds himself getting involved with the town—and with a local woman who’s as complicated as she is beautiful. With the whole town watching, he has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities.
2. Small Town Dreams by Nora Roberts
This collection of two novels (First Impressions and Less of a Stranger) by the best-selling Roberts is about people finding love when (and where) they least expect it. First Impressions centers on entrepreneur Vance Banning, who moves to rural Maryland to escape business and romantic pressures. To the community, he’s a moody, out-of-work carpenter with a chip on his shoulder. To his beautiful neighbor Shane, though, he just needs a little kindness in his life. That’s when Vance lets his guard down and opens his heart to love. In Less of a Stranger, Megan agrees to help run the amusement park her grandfather has run her whole life—even if it means sacrificing her own dreams. So when a businessman thinks he can just walk in and buy the park, Megan isn’t about to let some wealthy hotshot get what he wants―no matter how much fun he’s determined to bring her.
3. Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
This first installment in Woods’s popular Sweet Magnolias series (which, like Virgin River, is now a Netflix series), we meet Maddie, a woman living in a small town called Serenity, and who has the best friends a woman could ask for. Maddie’s life is flipped upside down, though, when her husband leaves her and their three children for a younger woman. On top of it all, after years outside the workforce, she has to take charge of her best friends’ newest project—planning the town’s only fitness spa for women. Between a son with anger issues and a potential romance that has the town talking, can Maddie rebuild her life?
4. 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
Olivia Lockhart is a family court judge who’s seen a lot of couples over the years. Most divorces are open-and-shut, but when Olivia meets a young couple whose grief might be overshadowing their love, she makes a controversial ruling that gets everyone in her close-knit hometown of Cedar Cove talking. And when the new-to-town newspaper editor Jack takes a personal interest in Olivia’s ruling, she’s surprised by just how welcome the attention is. The first book in Macomber’s Cedar Cove series is about the messiest, most surprising and most unforgettable parts of life.
5. California Girls by Susan Mallery
Sisters Finola, Zennie and Ali may all live in California, but it's not all sunshine and roses when the three of them get dumped...in the same week. Together, they rebuild their lives while realizing that defining yourself by the person you're with isn't worth anything if you aren't at peace with yourself as an individual.
6. The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
Another day, another super-popular book series. (This one’s The Blue Heron Series.) Faith left her hometown after being jilted at the altar, but now that she’s a little older and wiser, she’s ready to return to her family’s Blue Heron vineyard to confront the ghosts of her past. Also living in the town is Levi, the local police chief and her former fiancés best friend. On second look, there’s a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, but she’s having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding. Can she discover a reason to stay at Blue Heron and finish her walk down the aisle?
