Judith’s review of Divine Phoenix (Divine Creek Ranch #10) by Heather Rainier.
Every woman wants a fairy-tale ending, but Lily Valentine has given up on that. Other women may get their happily ever after, but what she lives is more like a nightmare. Admitted loner Clay Cook has heard all the stereotypes about artists and even lived some of them. He struggles with his craft, wondering if his best work is behind him.
Mortally ill, Lily flees to Divine, barreling headlong into Clay’s life from the distant past. Clay’s brother Del returns from a lengthy deployment, suffering from deep trauma of his own, at a loss for how to move on from it. In an effort to remake herself, Lily unintentionally does more harm than good.
As Lily Valentine rises from the ashes of her former life, jealousy is sparked and danger comes calling. Will Clay and Del be able to save her when her old life tries to reclaim her?
She’s battered and bruised, her spirit beaten to a pulp, and she’s hurting badly as she drives to Divine where she has inherited her dad’s old house. She needs to get away from the man who has systematically dismantled her mind and body over many years, a man who marked her as his slave and whose disrespect and cruelty has deeply marred her image of herself. Lily did indeed barrel nose first into Clay Cook’s life–well, into his jewelry store initially. She’s desperately ill, on the brink of death by the time they get her to the emergency room, and Clay gradually remembers Lily, the 12 year old girl who was best friend to him and his brother Del until the day her dad just up and moves the whole family almost overnight. Now, two decades later, Lily is in Divine, and she is in deep trouble. Finding out that her dad’s house has sat empty for years and is uninhabitable, Clay reaches out to Lily, both as a friend and then as an employer. He is delighted to have his old friend back as well as delighted that Lily’s artistic talents can help him with parts of his jewelry business that is now more than he can handle alone, and his other employee won’t “step up to the plate.” She’s one of the very conservative group in Divine and finds Clay’s internet and local clientele for “intimate” jewelry personally offensive.
Clay Cook is one of those marvelous men who live in Divine, a man who knows his craft, is comfortable in his skin and with his art, but who has begun to wonder if this is all there is. He has had relationships but nothing has “stuck” for him. Yet he has a heart that is as big as all outdoors, a man who is a genuine friend to the people of his community, who understands the various ways people live and is not the kind of person who limits his vision as he creates beautiful things. He’s not wealthy per se, but he certainly is prosperous, and when Lily comes back into his life he becomes aware of a deep hole in his heart that is shaped just like Lily Valentine.
This is a wonderful novel that embraces overtly the long-term ramifications of systematic abuse, the difficulties that abuse victims face in rebuilding their self-image (Lily is helped greatly by Grace Warner’s experience) and their penchant for keeping a sense of balance about their lives and appearance. Yet it is Lily’s experience that is a help to Del Cook when he returns from the Middle East with a serious case of PTSD, many symptoms of which are the same as Lily’s. Out of the renewal of their old friendship comes attraction that probably began those many years ago but never had the opportunity to grow and develop until now. And as these three people work through their issues, dealing with some of the negative attitudes of others toward their relationship, facing the continuing difficulties caused by Lily’s ex-husband, there is a most definite sense throughout that not only is their relationship rising out of the ashes of the past, but Lily and Del’s lives are coming alive once more even as Clay reclaims a new enthusiasm for living.
I have already said it in one review and I will say it again here: Ms Rainier had “hit one out of the park” with this novel. The characters, the people of Divine continue to fascinate and resonate with readers because of the real joys and difficulties they face, because they are not afraid to express their love for one another in alternative and creative ways, and they are accepting of one another in ways all of us would like to experience. (I don’t mind people who disagree with me; I just go bonkers over those who won’t even listen to another person’s point of view.) The writing is clear and the development of the characters is colorful and multi-dimensional. Some of these characters have wafted in and out of almost every book in this series and they still don’t get dull or colorless. The action in this story didn’t involve The Dancing Pony quite as much as in other stories in this series, and I have to confess I miss that. Love it when those men and women get out there and “shake it” for one another. This is a hot book, full of authentic caring and deep friendship, mixed up with the darker sides of the human person, but always remembering that loving commitment does indeed win out over selfish manipulation. As in all of Heather’s books, there is the core message that genuine love and friendship is truly redemptive as it gives back hope and life and joy to those who need it so desperately.
I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Siren Publishing. You can buy it here e-format.
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