Romance

This once again showcases a couple I absolutely adored and wanted to keep reading more about in later books. At least we get to see both of them in subsequent books though. “Promise Canyon” follows Clay Tahoma and Lilly Yazhi. Both of these characters are Native Americans and I loved, loved, loved that we finally got a minority couple in this series. I honestly didn’t even realize til after the fact that besides Mike Valenzuela, there does not seem to be any other minorities running around Virgin River.

Clay relocates from Arizona with his son in order to become a veterinary assistant to Nate Jensen. While meeting Nate at his farm he runs into Lily and is instantly intrigued with her, though Lily wants nothing to do with him. Now here’s the thing, I know nothing about Native American groups at all. But it becomes apparent that Carr took her time and did some research and she includes a lot of details about the differences between the Navajo (which Clay is) and the Hopi (which Lily is). I can honestly say that I was intrigued the whole book because it was great to see why Lily wants nothing to with a strong man like Clay who raised Navajo would be more into traditional ways than Lily is.

The romance between the two of them was hands down a crowd pleaser, and you will love it. There’s a backstory to Lily that explains why she is so cautious around Clay, and I did enjoy that aspect of things, though once again at times I could feel myself getting a bit impatient with Lily. She seemed hell-bent on holding Clay responsible for everything every man/boy had ever done to her and even I was a bit sick of it towards the end of the book.

We also of course get sightings from old favorites (Noah, Jack, Preacher, Paul) and we get some updates, but I honestly was not the least bit interested in anyone else since I just wanted to stay focused on Lily and Clay. And can I say that there was way too much other B plots in this book. I of course read the other books so I definitely know that Carr wanted to set up the characters more so that readers would remember them, but boy oh boy I almost pulled my hair out.

We have off the top of my head, a group of women who come to Virgin River to vacation (two of them, Julian and Kelly Matlock will have their own standalone books). One of the town’s residents passes away and that leaves Jack as the unofficial mayor (I maybe booed that whole thing). And one of the Riordan family members (Colin) ends up being shot down while flying a Blackhawk (I am also tired of reading that word in these books, is everyone a Blackhawk pilot) and of course the whole Riordan family and others react to this.

The ending was great and I loved that Lily decides to fully move on with her life and I am disappointed that we readers don’t get to see their wedding ceremony in later books because I think that would have been awesome to include. ( )

Clay signs on as a vet assistant to Nate Jensen, specializing in the horses that Nate wants to breed and raise. Lilly works for her grandfather's feed store, delivering the feed to Nate's farm. They're both Native Americans - he grew up on the Navajo nation land and she's Hopi. When she finds an abandoned horse that Clay helps nurse back to health & boards at Nate's, that puts them in contact often. Heavy on the family context - Navaho's and Hopi's were swore enemies and both have grandparents who follow some of the old ways and sayings, making for an interesting read ( )

This one didn't seem to match the rest of the series. ( )

Newcomers to Virgin River, a Navaho and a Hopi, Chance and Lilly, fall in love ( )