Is the Virgin River book series over? What We Know About Robyn Carr's Upcoming Novels

Netflix's hit romantic drama Virgin River is based on a series of novels by Robyn Carr, and while the television series doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon, the books it's based on may have already come to an end. Virgin River, Both on screen and on the page, it tells the story of Mel, a nurse who moves to the idyllic town of Virgin River for a fresh start and finds many new and important connections there. Netflix has six seasons of the series and a seventh is on the way.

Virgin River is far from the first Netflix television series based on books. In fact, some of Netlix's most important properties started on the page, including The Witcher, Bridgerton, and Heartbreaker. However, how the streaming service adapts the book's story for TV is vital. While some shows may suffer from not being accurate to the books, others actually benefit from straying from their original sources. And when it comes to series like Virgin River, the the book series is so extensive that some difficult decisions will have to be made eventually.

The Virgin River Series Is Complete (For Now)

There are 21 Virgin River books

As of 2024, Robyn Carr's Virgin River the book series ended. According to Carr's websitethere are 21 main Virgin River books and an abundance of anthologies.

Although Carr may return to Virgin River franchise someday, it seems that, for now, the story has come to a definitive end. This means that Netflix still has a set number of books to adapt.

How Netflix's Virgin River Differs From the Books

The TV show takes creative freedom from Robyn Carr's books

Although Virgin River is based on books, the series does not necessarily remain faithful to its source material. In fact, there are many differences between Virgin Rivers books and TV series. For example, Mel and Jack could be the main characters in the Netflix series Virgin River, but after 21 books, Virgin River changes your leads. And more than that, Virgin River Secondary characters have different stories. In the books, Lizzie is pregnant, Charmaine has a much smaller role, and Doc is more cruel than in the television series.

What's left for Virgin River to adapt to?

Many book characters did not appear on the show

Virgin River has changed so significantly from the original book series on which the show is based, that it is difficult to determine which stories the series would still adapt from the novels.. The series even used plots that belong to supporting characters from the novels and handed them over to the main characters as part of the way the series was restructured. One aspect that fans of the books consistently mention as missing, however, is the Riordan family.

Because the books rotate between different main characters, unlike the series, many characters who play supporting roles in the novels, or who become main characters in their own right, are completely absent from the series. The Riordan family consists of a widowed mother and five children. Members of the Riordan family make their first appearance in the sixth book of the Virgin River series when one of the brothers returns to town to make repairs to some cabins on his property.

The family doesn't show up until Mel is living in Virgin River for a few years, and the show's timeline feels very compressed compared to the books, so they could still appear, especially if Netflix continues to renew the popular series. Like most of the male characters in Virgin River series, all of the Riordan brothers have military connections. In their case, they all join the Air Force or Navy and return to their hometown after service. There unfold love stories for each of the brothers.

Also missing is the Sloan family, which appears in the last novel in the series.. This includes Kaylee Sloan, a novelist who moves to Virgin River to mourn the loss of her mother. Her estranged father and her mother's old friends play a role in her story, but her story takes place years after Mel moved to the city, so there's still a lot of ground to cover in the books' timeline.

Of course, Netflix might not include any of these characters in Virgin River no way, as the streamer is also considering spinoffs of the show. There is currently a spin-off in development for Mel's parents, set in the 1970s, that is not based on the novels. Characters that have not yet been introduced in the series, or stories that have been ignored, may be present in possible spin-off shows.

Virgin River isn't Robyn Carr's only ongoing series

Carr writes other romance and standalone series

Although Robyn Carr finished the Virgin River series, that doesn't mean his writing is over. Carr actually has one number of other book series such as “Thunder Point”, “Grace Valley” and “Sullivan's Crossing”. Carr also publishes independent books that also delve into the romance and drama genres. In this way, Robyn Carr has a lot of content beyond Virgin River, which means that although Virgin River ended on the page, other stories like this live on.