Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (384 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Quince
A broken truck, a broken career, and a breakup heard around the world land superstar John Tennessee McCord in Hellcat Canyon. Legend has it that hearts come in two colors there: gold or black. And that you can find whatever you’re looking for, whether it’s love . . . or trouble. JT may have found both in waitress Britt Langley.
His looks might cause whiplash and weak knees, but Britt sees past JT’s rough edge and sexy drawl to a person a lot like her: in need of the kind of comfort best given hot and quick, with clothes off and the lights out.
Her wit is sharp but her eyes and heart—not to mention the rest of her—are soft, and JT is falling hard. But Britt has a secret as dark as the hills, and JT’s past is poised to invade their present. It’s up to the people of Hellcat Canyon to help make sure their future includes a happily ever after.
Hot in Hellcat Canyon has all the right ingredients to be a great story. It has an amazing hero and heroine, who are my favorite combination i.e. he is super popular and rich, while she works two jobs – kind of Cinderella story. It’s set in charming small town full of colorful and funny inhabitants. It deals with some pretty serious issues, but it also funny. And along with all of that it features two fictional Hollywood super stars and one of them, Franco Francone, I liked a lot (and he reminds me a lot of James Franco).
The hero of Hot in Hellcat Canyon is John Tennessee McCord, Hollywood superstar that didn’t get a role he was hoping for and his superstar girlfriend dumps him. His car broke down and he finds himself in the small town of Hellcat Canyon. There he meets the amazing Britt Langley waitress/real estate agent, and a town outsider. She came to the town trying to get her life back together after very bad marriage. J.T. and Britt meet in the bar and there is an instant and very hot attraction between them. They both enter this relationship with their own heavy baggage, although Britt’s is a bit heavier and darker. Due to that, and the meddling of one egocentric character, the conflict between two of them is inevitable. Although the conflict was something expected, the author did great job in plotting and resolving it.
Regardless of all above mentioned I had a hard time reading and rating this story. The reason is the pace. It’s slow and it felt like the author focused more on setting the scene for the next novels in the series rather than developing the relationship and settling the differences between JT and Britt. The parts when the two of them are together are amazing, but when they aren’t the story drags a bit. If the story was more focused on J.T. and Britt it would have been much more engaging.
Hot in Hellcat Canyon is a first story in the Hellcat Canyon series, and from this first installment it’s already very obvious to this reader who might be some future couples. Now that the scene is set, and all characters are in place I am looking forward to reading the next story in the series because Julie Anne Long writes amazing romances. Here’s hoping that one story will feature Franco Francone as a hero.