Review: The Promise by Robyn Carr

Publish Date: June 24, 2014
Mass Market Paperback {p.363}
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publist
Peyton Lacoumette, Scott Grant

Scott Grant has a bustling family practice in the small Oregon community of Thunder Point. The town and its people have embraced the widowed doctor and father of two, his children are thriving, and Scott knows it's time to move on from his loss. But as the town's only doctor, the dating scene is awkward. That is, until a stunning physician's assistant applies for a job at his clinic.

Peyton Lacoumette considers herself entirely out of the dating scene. She's already been burned by a man with kids, and she's come to Thunder Point determined not to repeat past mistakes. When Scott offers her a job, at a much lower salary than she's used to, Peyton is surprisingly eager to accept…at least for now. She's willing to stay for a three-month trial period while she explores other options.

Scott and Peyton know the arrangement is temporary—it isn't enough time to build a real relationship, never mind anything with lasting commitment. But love can blossom faster than you think when the timing is right, and this short visit just might hold the promise of forever.

Even though Peyton isn't the usual type Scott goes for (blonde), he's immediately attracted to her, even when he's under the impression that men aren't her thing. With Scott believing this to be true, it gives them the opportunity to become good friends before anything else.

Peyton, having just gotten out of a relationship with a doctor with kids, would never have taken the job with Scott had she known he was a single father. With how all the townspeople love to talk, all they divulged to her was that Scott was a dedicated family man.

When Scott gets called away on an emergency with no babysitter in sight, Peyton wonders if she's finding herself falling back into the pattern of her previous relationship. It turns out not to be the case, because unlike her previous relationship, his kids adore Peyton. Both the kids and Peyton take an immediate like to one another. Not only do Scott's kids like Peyton, but the whole town of Thunder Point. The locals easily welcomed her into the fold, and treated her as a longtime friend.

Her relationship with Scott was not without its bumps. Of course her ex has to show to cause trouble. He wants Peyton back but feels he's justified in his behavior and treatment of her. Of course to the ex, everything he did was Peyton's fault and never his. This then causes the conflict between Peyton and Scott that every romance must have to keep the story interesting. Otherwise their journey would have been a little too perfect.

I enjoyed both characters together as well as on their own. I felt like I got to know Scott a whole lot more in this one than any of the previous installments. I got to see a brand new side of him other than the widower with two small children. Peyton was the perfect match for him; someone who is his equal and adores children. She was a woman of strong moral character; she stepped in and helped out a family when they needed her, even though they were just outright cruel to her for years. I would like to see what becomes of that family in Ms. Carr's future installments.

THE PROMISE is home-run hit from Ms. Carr. Whenever I'm in a reading slump, I know I can pick up a Robyn Carr novel and climb into a town of friends and family that I never tire of visiting.