Today, the first of Julie Anne Long’s Hellcat Canyon books is for sale. In our review, we wrote:

Britt Langley has a small cottage in Hellcat Canyon, California that she pays for by working two jobs with little room for future advancement; waiting tables at the Misty Cat restaurant and property management for a local businessman. Britt has lived in Hellcat Canyon for a few years, but she holds herself a little apart from the local residents of the small town. She has a past that has made her leery of getting involved with anyone romantically and she is very adept at politely holding off the local men. Then John Tennessee McCord walks into the Misty Cat, orders a Glennburger and Britt’s life changes forever. There is definitely a “lust at first sight” moment.

John Tennessee McCord is a famous actor who is still coasting on the fame he attained in a television series that has been in reruns for ten years. J.T. has had other acting parts, but nothing that approaches the quality of the sheriff he played on Blood Brothers. He is in Hellcat Canyon for some down time before starting a new series about the California gold rush that will be filming in the surrounding area. J.T. is also waiting for a phone call from his agent that will let him know whether or not he has been cast in a dramatic role he wants more than any role he has ever had and he is trying to talk himself out of being disappointed if he doesn’t make the cut. He is trying to live down some poor judgment behavior from his youth and a very public breakup with super actress Rebecca Corday (think Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt) the previous year. He is not really looking for a relationship when he walks into the Misty Cat, but his nerve endings sizzle when he meets Britt Langley.

Britt is recovering from a failed marriage that was abusive and her life is pretty much on cruise control with little thought to a future. She has been hibernating for several years and is just beginning to show the signs of coming alive when the story commences. Britt has no idea who J.T. McCord is when he orders a Glennburger on her recommendation, but she does know she is wildly attracted to him. Their conversation when first meeting is the equivalent of verbal foreplay; the physical attraction is there, but it is the mental attraction that seals the deal. J.T. leaves her a note on her bill and a large tip and thinks that is the end of it. Then his truck breaks down and he has to find a place to stay in Hellcat Canyon while it is repaired. This provides the impetus for a relationship to build between the hero and heroine.

You can get it at Amazon for 1.99 here.

This book ripped my heart out and then rebuilt it beautifully. It’s a DIK for me. Here’s our review.

What does ‘dying with dignity’ look like, especially from cancer? What does it mean to become a parent when you weren’t prepared to be one? How does someone process early retirement from a career they’ve been working for since childhood? Do some dreams have to die before better ones can take shape? These are the questions that give shape to Dancing in the Rain, Kelly Jamieson’s newest standalone novel.

Drew’s career as a hockey player has just been ended by a knee injury and he is busy wallowing in self-pity. Along comes Sara Watt to snap him out of it, letting him know the one-night stand they had in college resulted in a child and that now, he’s got some choices to make. Even more significant? Sara has terminal cancer and is only a few months away from death. All of a sudden, Drew’s life becomes about fatherhood and family, especially when he finds himself realizing that Sara’s sister, Peyton, is something special.

Drew Sellers is one of those lads who knew his whole life would be hockey from the moment he strapped on a pair of skates. A knee injury sidelined him last season, progressing into early retirement and leaving him with a deep sense of worthlessness. This side of sports romance, what the professional athlete hero does when the sport stops, isn’t explored too often and I found this time spent with Drew to be heart-wrenching and insightful….

Of the four characters that drive this narrative, Peyton is the one I wanted badly to take care of. Driven, competent, kind, professional, and absolutely blindsided by her sister’s illness, Peyton spends most of the book traveling back and forth between her professional life in New York and her personal one in Chicago. Once she has full legal custody of Chloe, the decisions she has to make nearly paralyze her. Not only was she not ever really planning on mothering Chloe, but she certainly wasn’t planning on Chloe’s dad being in the picture, and she really, really wasn’t planning on falling for said dad. I wanted to pour her a glass of wine and tell her to take deep breaths because it was all going to work out well in the end.

It’s on sale at Amazon for 3.80 here.