I like when books recommended to me are great and enjoyable. Julie Anne Long is a new author for me, and it is the June book of the romance bingo summer challenge.
Another small town story with great characters, the residents of Hellcat Canyon are amiable and will be there one for the other.
Even though Britt is staying in Hellcat Canyon not very long, the people of the small town love her and are willing to help her. JT is a famous actor with a lot of broken feelings and things around him.
The love is at from the beginning, as soon JT sees Britt. And from there, everything starts.
JT is a man that you don't see very much he is a gentleman from the inside as well as his manners. The past story of the two main characters was painful, and they try to run from it. Their relationship is helping with recuperating and find the missing parts to be happy again.
Yes, like every romance, this one too has to have a hurtful break up to make Britt and JT think what they are missing when they are not together.
I haven't read many books from the romance genre, but I believe that it is a good one to start. Yes, it has a sexy time, but for the characters are so close to real life people that it is fun to read. ( )

Reread w/ my friends Gaufre & Joanna. Nov 2018.

For my second read of this book, I just sunk in a bit more to JAL's prose right away. JT was charming, as expected, and Britt wasn't as offensive initially (I can't remember warming to her) I couldn't remember why. And I thought "I will think on this--Maybe only this--while I read this book."

Oh. She didn't show much vulnerability. Ever. Her grand gesture was sorta putting herself out there in what felt like the safest way possible--after it's confirmed how he feels. Ultimately, that makes it his grand gesture-twice-in a sense. I'll forever wonder if they'd end up together if she hadn't seen that wedding video. Thoughts? Also, for a grown up, she spends too much time acting like a drunk teenager. I'm not saying this isn't realistic, I'm just saying I'm not on board. I also noticed JT came across as smarmy when he was using lines on her after they were together. At his observant and sincere moments, he remains lovely. I think reading this left me angst-less, and I believe it's cause Britt never got her hooks in me.

In summary, kinda:
The first part of the book went much better, then the ex shows up, it stumbles (see below), everyone gets unlikable in a bit too petty of a way, and it recovers because JT puts himself out there and Britt sees the result...The last chapter is lovely.

Also, never noticed how much page time the characters coming up really got before--I'm thrilled, and completely smitten w/ JAL's consistency in this way.

Even if she's shit at math.
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For a more sophisticated and veteran JAL POV, see
Bubu's review Thanks for the BR, Bubu!

I can and have said a lot about this book. I believe it's a fairly solid 3, and could've been a four if it were not for a few major issues. Hiding the rest of the review under a spoiler, due to my buddy read, just in case...

In the beginning of this book, I thought, "whoa descriptive," which quickly shifted to "whoa, wordy" which quickly shifted to "whoa, rambling." Bubu made me aware that this author just shifted to CR, and some of her phrasing - and exposition for that matter - definitely felt more suitable to HR. Then around 60ish? % I felt like the contemporary came out. Some of that felt choppy and detached from the style earlier in the story, but it was much easier to read. Can I nest a spoiler? I can try... OW drama was generic and annoying, and fully body shaming. This was a disappointment since it was not relevant to establishing character and felt like a cheap way of being funny. And frankly, Britt, our heroine, was SUPER annoying and immature in this stage of the book. She was an asshole. Britt also suffered a history of abuse which didn't really help explain her motivations or lack thereof, except in a surface way. If that is the case, why bother? The Big Mis was super predictable... I think that takes care of the things that really grated on me....

So the good? Dialogue. Even in the beginning, where it was rambling, the dialogue was breathe of fresh and funny air. The supporting cast was a lot of fun. J.T. was also a great hero-considerate, sweet, and a fixer. The use of fixing up (or not giving up) and plants...wonderful. The end-about the last 10% or so felt particularly sweet and well-written. The heroine's relationship with her sister could've made me understand her more, so I wish we'd seen more of that.


I will absolutely continue the series, especially considering how the author seemed to fall into a more contemporary rhythm by the end. In addition, I truly enjoyed the characters...even though Britt grated on me for a portion of the book. ( )

Stays mostly in the shallow end, no risk story telling. Hero reminded me a little bit of SEP's Bobby Tom Denton, with charm and flirt. Heroine had abusive past but pretty much glossed over except for mention and device to create ending foil to HEA.
Small town cuteness, drama, and series baiting secondary characters.
Relationship skirted depth but couple had some fun back and forth.
Solid contemporary romance apple pie, good but not terribly exciting. ( )

The first book I read by this author. It was funny and kept me glued to the pages. Loved it. I want to see if there are books that tell the stories of some of the characters I encountered in this book. ( )

I've read all of Julie Anne Long's historicals and I've been looking forward to her new contemporary. John Tennessee (J.T.) McCord comes to Hellcat Canyon scouting out the location for his new show and meets waitress Britt Langley. There's instant attraction, witty dialogue, and a hot but sweet romance. JT is a bit older (40) and his acting career is on the downside so he's hoping to make a comeback. Britt has moved to Hellcat Canyon to escape her own past.
Somewhat predictably, JT's ex shows up near the end to cause problems, but the cast of characters is great and I'm hoping for more stories from Hellcat Canyon. ( )