The First Time at Firelight Falls by Julie Anne Long

Eden Harwood - florist, harried single mother, ardent admirer of the elementary school principal, Gabe Caldera. Luckily, he's a big admirer of her too. I loved the way Long portrayed real life; snatches of flirting lived between moments of parenting/principal-ing. I didn't love the way that a whole bunch of drama was dropped into the middle of the book after a pretty steady romance. But it was resolved in a fairly grow-up way that you don't often get in romance novels.
While the second half of the book was way more tangled than the first half, regular readers of Hellcat Canyon won't be disappointed.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out May 8
Follows Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss

Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap by Julie Anne Long

This is my favorite of the Hellcat Canyon books so far. I love that our heroine has her own sense of agency and seems to take life by the proverbial balls.
The book opens with Avalon (really? Really?) finding her boyfriend/co-business owner in bed with the company intern. So she runs back to her parents' in Hellcat Canyon. But not for long. She finds out that the old Coltrane house is up for auction. The house where she spent a LOT of time as a teen. Mostly with Mac Coltrane. But that was before he called her a hick. Then his father was arrested for fraud. So she buys the house intending to flip it. But she doesn't realize that there's a groundskeeper that comes with the house.
Mac is disappointed that Avalon bought the house, mostly because he wanted it for himself. I'm not sure the "why" of that was ever explained. Maybe to win back some family honor or something? He's determined to make Avalon leave, except that he's still attracted to her, even two decades later. The two spend some time working to bring the old house into the 21st century and also figuring out that they're still attracted and clearing up old misunderstandings.
I liked the byplay between these two. They were smart about their needling but it gave the readers a chance to see their true characters. I'm not sure I loved the ending but I did love Avalon's sister (and the unnamed father of her daughter) as sequel bait.

Four stars
This book comes out August 22
Follows Wild at Whiskey Creek
Followed by The First Time at Firelight Falls

Wild at Whiskey Creek by Julie Anne Long

Glory Greenleaf comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Her family is poor and her brother has been arrested for running meth. Arrested by Eli Barlow no less, Jonah's childhood best friend. Well, all three of them used to run around together. This occurred pretty much right after Glory (Glory Hallelujah, no less) and Eli had one explosive night together. Of course, now that's all over.
Their paths cross again when Eli is called to the bar Glory is working at because there is a very serious poker game in which Glory seems to be the prize. She mostly rescues herself but then Eli also steps in.
Franco Francone, apparently self-absorbed movie star, is back in this book. This time, he too is hitting on Glory. He, of course, means nothing by it, not wanting a real relationship but we do get to see a bit more of the man. Hints at depth were in the first book and we see more here.
We also hear about Glory's talent (singing and songwriting) and her struggles to go further with it.
This was an okay story. It was nice to see Eli and Glory work their way back to each other but I never quite bought them as a pair.

Three stars
This book comes out November 29
Follows Hot in Hellcat Canyon
Followed by Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap

Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long

Was it fate that had megastar John Tennessee (JT) McCord's truck dying in Hellcat Canyon? It sure seems like it when he lays eyes on the waitress at the Misty Cat. He's attracted to to her and that attraction sky rockets when she starts casually dropping words like "enigmatic."
Some might say that Britt Langley's decision to stay in Hellcat Canyon is hiding out. But she feels safe where she is. And the fact that JT isn't going to be in town long? That goes right on to the "pro" side of her decision of whether or not to sleep with him.
A very cute story and I'm desperately hoping that JT's frenemy Franco Francone gets his own HEA. The Big Misunderstanding dragged on a bit at the end and I wish there had been better condom use but this book generally has me walking away with warm fuzzies.
Four stars
This book comes out May 31
Followed by Wild at Whiskey Creek