Dirty Dancing at Devil’s Leap: Hellcat Canyon, Book 3

Long’s playful third visit to Hellcat Canyon (after Wild at Whiskey Creek), the best of the series so far, reunites Avalon Harwood and Mac Coltrane, estranged since their teenage years by Mac’s cruel words and Avalon’s subsequent flight. Avalon, now well into adulthood and stinging from the treachery of her hipster boyfriend and business partner, Corbin, temporarily abandons her San Francisco gaming company, GradYouAte, to impulsively purchase a house at auction in her hometown of Hellcat Canyon, Calif.—a house where Mac once lived for idyllic summers and which he now desperately wants to own. The ensuing uproarious pranking competition fuels mutual attraction, rekindles lustful romance, and brings old issues into perspective for a couple whose past will inform their satisfying future. Familiar characters enrich the background and tease future volumes. Sparkling banter, appearances of adorable children and animals, and moments of charming hilarity will gratify both new and returning readers. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency. (Sept.)