I understand Promise Canyon is a book in a series of books with the setting of Virgin River. What I don’t understand is, why the town and the inhabitants of Virgin River are so unnecessarily force fed inside a love story between two native Americans. As a matter of fact, until the very last pages, I felt like I was reading two parallel stories that had nothing to do with each other, except by the chance(!) insertion of the male character in a Virgin River bar. Is it because the author felt the love story or the conflict in it was wishy washy?

If so, she probably had a point. Both the male and the female characters, Clay Tahoma and Lily Yazhi, have had pasts that may have contributed to their actions; however, the so-called misunderstanding that came toward the end is contrived and exaggerated.

The story, on the other hand, is a clean though slow romance, and the storytelling is very good. If the writing could focus only on the romance between Clay and Lilly, their shared interest in horses, and their similar emotional baggage and heartaches, this book could have skipped the genre and become a literary gem.

In addition, even though there is a light mention of Navajo and Hopi legends and how they affected the two main characters, I would have liked to read more of that. Could it be because the research was too vast or too difficult?

In the story, Clay Tahoma, a stunningly handsome Navajo who may be called a horse whisperer, comes to Virgin River to work for an old friend as a Veterinary Assistant. Nate Jensen, the Vet and Clay’s friend, buys the feed for the horses from feedstore that a Hopi operates. His granddaughter Lily delivers the feed to Nate’s stables. Lily and Clay hit it off after a slightly bumpy start and bond when they find that an unmanageable horse responds to both of them.

In the second parallel story, an old cantankerous woman, Hope, dies and leaves her estate to the town, naming the unwise but honest bar owner as the executor. Half of the novel, in separate chapters, is devoted to the execution of Hope's estate, which has little if anything to do with Lily and Clay.

Readers who are familiar with the Virgin River series may enjoy this book more than I did, for having been acquainted with the characters of Virgin River in the adjoining story.

readers of Robyn Carr familiar with the Virgin River series.

the author's diction and her direct storytelling.

the contrived plot, which could be redeemable if the author gave it more thought.

Robyn Carr says, "I can cover all women's concerns. And my women laugh as often as they cry." She is a productive author who publishes several books a year. She has written more than 40 books in the romance, historical and contemporary genres, plus articles and short stories.

A few of the Robyn Carr titles are: Paradise Valley, Angel’s Peak, Temptation Ridge, Second Chance Pass, A Virgin River Christmas, Wild Man Creek, Harvest Moon, Midnight Kiss, The House on Olive Street, Shelter Mountain, Forbidden Falls, Wedding Party, Runaway Mistress.

Romance readers may like it, and it is a good clean story, although the events are somewhat disconnected. I especially enjoyed the parts about the horses and the human-animal interaction.

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Created May 25, 2011 at 5:26pm • Submit your own review...