*Sigh*
Everybody else loved this, why didn't I?
The "Horse Whisperer" angle was fine, it was just such a large part of the book in the beginning. I found myself checking the Virgin River series list to see who the characters were in the next book, instead of concentrating on Clay and Lilly. (BTW, the characters include one of the three ladies staying in the cabins, and a sexy, but broken, Riordian man, can't wait!)
A lot of the book was setting up the next several books, introducing new characters mainly. I think much of my problem with this book was that the main 2 characters were not Virgin River regulars; we'd never seen either Clay or Lilly before, and honestly, Nate and Annie were only featured in a short story.
So, if it was another author, I probably would have only rated this book at 3 stars, but I'm giving Carr a free pass. However, after not being impressed with Sheltering Hearts , thinking the short story Midnight Confessions from Midnight Kiss was pretty good but not enough, I'm hoping in Book #12, Wild Man Creek , Carr redeems herself in my eyes!