When Connor Larkin boards a late night bus in downtown L.A., he’s not sure where he’s going or what he’s looking for. Putting his acting career—and his fiancée—on hold, he’s searching for a part of himself he lost on the road to success. Now, with his wedding day approaching, Connor finds himself stepping into the sleepy seaside town of Miramar Bay—where one remarkable woman inspires him to rethink all of his choices . . .

Unlike the pretentious starlets back in Hollywood, Sylvie Cassick has had to work hard for everything she has. When Connor hears familiar music drifting out of her restaurant, he can’t escape a feeling of finally coming home. Sylvie isn’t sure what to think when this impossibly handsome stranger applies for a waiter’s job. Yet once he serenades her customers—and slowly works his way into her heart—she realizes there’s more to him than he’s letting on. But as the world outside Miramar begins to threaten their fragile bond, Connor will have to risk losing everything to gain the life he longs for—and become the man Sylvie deserves.

Miramar Bay is the story of mid-list actor Connor Larkin, who’s escaping Los Angeles, and restaurateur Sylvie Cassick, who’s hanging on to her last thread of hope after someone uses her historic eatery as a cover for illegal activity. These two people must find the courage and community to live out their true selves.

The story pulled me in immediately. Bunn is a true craftsman who makes his stories come alive. His settings unfurl before our eyes such that we can almost step into the story, be it a glitzy Hollywood world or the sleepy coast town of Miramar Bay. “The light held a cathedral quality, spilling through the ocean mist like heaven’s own stained glass.” Who would not pause at such a place?

Or describing a place near sunset: “There was a breathless hush to the air, neither any wind nor the faintest ripple to mar the ocean’s surface. The Pacific stretched out in blue-gold majesty to join with the cloudless horizon. The air was a mix of sunlit heat and the water’s biting chill. The result was a champagne headiness.”

Bunn’s enchanting way with words continues throughout. He draws clear and complex characters who exhibit courage and spunk in the face of opposition, life-altering opposition, with their freedom and lives on the line. And he displays a tenderness that respects his characters, making it easy for readers to have compassion toward them even when they make choices we’d prefer they don’t.

I love Davis Bunn’s novels. He is equally skilled whether writing contemporary or historical, romance or suspense. His stories are captivating and rich in detail while flowing right along, never lagging or lacking. Miramar Bay is another in a long line of successes and I highly recommend it.