THE FIRST TIME AT FIRELIGHT FALLS is book four in the fabulousΒ Hot in Hellcat CanyonΒ series by Julie Anne Long. I came to be a Julie Anne Long reader via her historical romance series,Β Pennyroyal Green,Β which I loved. But I absolutely adore this new contemporary series. It is THE BOMB! Snazzy dialogue, laugh out loud funny moments, and lots of glorious angst set in a small town.
Eden Harwood is a single mom raising her 10-year-old daughter in Hellcat Canyon. Eden's life is jam-packed. Between her work as the town florist, her family, and raising her little girl with all the numerous activities and tasks that this entails, Eden has had no time for romance. And no thought for it, really, except for the flashes of lust that she gets when she sees Gabe Caldera. Gabe, a former Navy SEAL, is now the principal of Hellcat Canyon Elementary. With six-pack abs and a wise nature, Gabe is a dreamboat of a man. Gabe has managed to egregiously over-schedule himself too, so the encounters between Eden and Gabe are brief and tantalizing. They are endearingly awkward with each other in the beginning, and it's just so gosh darn cute.
Long gives them such snappy banter, which I've always appreciated from this author. Additionally, life cleverly interrupts our hero and heroine in the midst of conversation over and over. They pick right up in the middle of the sentence the next time they see each other, though, and slowly reveal their inner thoughts to each other over a charming and drawn-out courtship. Readers of this series won't find quite as much angst as in prior books, but there is a crazy shake-up to Eden's life that threatens to derail Eden and Gabe just when they're starting to become a couple.
Eden and Gabe forge a deep connection while continuing to live their madly over-scheduled lives, and there's something refreshing about these two figuring out how to carve out time for each other in the midst of their chaos. This is a romance between two people who are just fine on their own and yet become even fabulously finer when together. Three cheers for the humor, emotional intimacy, and sexual heat that blazes from the pages of Long's THE FIRST TIME AT FIRELIGHT FALLS.
Single mom Eden Harwood has a lively daughter, a blooming business—and a juicy secret she’s hung on to for ten years. She doesn’t mind a bit that there’s no room for romance in her whirlwind life . . . until six-foot-infinity, smoldery-eyed, bass-voiced Gabe Caldera reminds her of what she might be missing. The principal of Hellcat Elementary is usually knee-deep in fawning PTA moms, but Gabe only has eyes for the fiery, funny, skittish redhead who barely knows he’s alive. But this ex-Navy SEAL never fails to get what he wants. And what he wants is to fan those sparks between him and Eden into the kind of bonfire you can see two counties away. The passion is explosive . . . and the tenderness has them thinking about forever. But when Eden’s past waltzes into town for a reckoning, her secret blows them apart. Still, Gabe will never back down from a fight . . . especially if the ultimate prize is Eden’s heart.
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