The First Time at Firelight Falls: A Hellcat Canyon Novel

By Julie Anne Long

“Julie Anne Long’s writing glows with emotional intensity.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Anne Krentz

USA Todaybestselling author Julie Anne Long continues her critically acclaimed Hellcat Canyon series!

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062672919

Julie Anne Long

USA Today bestselling author and Rita® Award winner Julie Anne Long’s books have been translated into eighteen languages, nominated for numerous awards, and have appeared on dozens of “Best of” lists. NPR named her Pennyroyal Green series as one of the Top 100 romance series of all time. She currently lives in Northern California.

Reviews for The First Time at Firelight Falls

[beckymmoe_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ohmygoodness, loved.It's an interesting coincidence that the last Julie Anne Long book I read also featured a single mother heroine ( It Started With a Scandal ), but OMG, no one else quite writes single mothers the way Ms. Long does--or the why-is-this-guy-fictional heroes that they find their HEA with. I mean, just read this bit of evidence here:"You will be willing to fight ugly, and risk failure and embarrassment or anything else that makes you wake up sweating, heart racing in terror, in the middle of the night, to make sure someone you love is safe and happy. And you'll know it's love when you do it without even thinking."Mr. Gabe Caldera, ladies and gentlemen.Sigh.In case you can't tell, I absolutely adored Gabe and Eden's story from start to finish. From their absolutely adorable--yet somehow also totally hot--long game that involved interrupted Q & As that got decidedly more risque as they went on and included more than one bare chested moment ("It's so cool! His stomach has squares. You could play checkers or tic-tac-toe on it!" ahhhh, from the mouths of babes...) to their eventual, very hard won HEA, it at turns made me swoon, come to near tears, and laugh out loud.Somehow I knew Ms. Long would be as amazing at writing contemporary romances as she is historical...First Time at Firelight Falls is the fourth book in the Hellcat Canyon series, but it worked just fine as a standalone. The prior book in the series ( Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap ) is loosely connected, since it features Eden's younger sister Avalon, but you definitely don't have to have read it already to enjoy this one. (I make no promises about how quickly you'll be adding it--and the two books before it--to your TBR, though. Be careful of possible whiplash, though...)Fingers crossed that Eden and Avalon's annoying cardiac surgeon brother Jude gets his own book, though--surely he can make me snort-laugh as much on his own as he does trapped inside Eden's head? ("Lust isn't measured in kilowatts. For Christ's sake, Eden,"--Dr. Jude Harwood.)My copy of this book has So. Many. Highlights. :)Rating: 4 1/2 stars / AI voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having read all the previous books in this series, I've been waiting for Eden's story. An unmarried mother with a precocious daughter, Eden has kept the secret of Annaliese's father for ten years. She's too busy to date, but school principal and ex-Seal Gabe Caldera is determined to change her status. This book is beautifully written. The romance is poignant, funny, and realistic about two busy people who are determined to investigate the spark struck in their lives. The reveal of the father was a bit predictable but also handled well, detailing the uncertainties both he and Annaliese find in this new relationship. I didn't quite get Gabe's blow-up, but it all works out to a HEA so it didn't matter. I always enjoy Ms. Long's books, and this one is excellent.