Promise Canyon: Virgin River    by Robyn Carr Order:  USA  Can Mira, 2011 (2011) Hardcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Joan Burton Navajo native Clay Tahoma is a skilled horse trainer and farrier, who has a natural gift with animals. When Clay works with them he can almost hear their thoughts. Clay wants to start life over, away from his ex-wife, so he accepts a job as a vet assistant for an old friend, Nate Jensen, in Virgin River. His relationship with his ex is complicated - even after the divorce, she still turns to Clay for advice and often expects to share his bed. When Clay starts his new job he meets Lilly Yazhi, a Hopi native who shares his love of horses. But when she was young, Lilly was badly burned by good looking men and cannot get past it. She knows Clay is attracted to her and it's mutual, but she shies away because of the risk involved. Lilly sees Clay often at Jensen's as she delivers feed for her grandfather's business. Lilly was raised around horses, started riding at a young age, and has a special way with them. Clay soon discovers she is truly gifted, more so than he is. Two horses at Jensen's draw Lilly and Clay together. Lilly finds Blue abandoned and sick, and brings him to Jensen's for treatment. Streak, a stallion belonging to Clay's ex, needs therapy for an old injury. Soon both horses begin to thrive under the care and love given to them. As Lilly begins to open her heart to Clay, his ex-wife returns, determined to win him back at any cost. Just like a horse, Lilly is spooked, and Clay has to earn her trust all over again. Promise Canyon is filled with great characters and old friends from past books in the Virgin River series. An interesting sub plot has the town divided on the spending of a legacy left to Virgin River by a deceased elderly woman. Overall, Promise Canyon is a good romantic read with a few twists. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews