Miramar Bay

We've read nearly every Davis Bunn book and have always enjoyed the story line and have always been inspired. This novel is a complete departure from his usual writing. He always has Christian characters and shows them dealing with life through the heart of a Christian. This book doesn't mention God. People, by chance and their own wisdom, accomplish good in their life. We dearly miss the Christian genre and will not be buying another of Davis Bunn's new works without a thorough investigation so we don't waste our money or our time again.

I LOVED this book—and even though I figured a few storylines out before they were revealed, there were still enough surprise details to make it very interesting how my "guesses" panned out. This might seem like a little thing, but I appreciated the short chapters—I would catch myself reading whenever I had the change, always saying only until the next chapter (even if I repeated that 5 or 6 times). The story never bogged down and I am looking forward to reading more from Davis Bunn.

I get these books for my 80 year old mom when I see romance stories on Vine. She loves to read and when I saw that Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of moms favorite authors had written a review and said "she loved this story”, I knew I had to get this book for her to read.
I don’t read the books myself and I do not review the books for their content. I never want to spoil the story line for someone else. If you want to know what the book is about, I suggest you read the authors comments of the book.
What I can tell you is mom will read a “GOOD" book in a day or day and half if she really likes the book. Well, this book took a day. She never set it down. As Debbie Macombe said, "the pages flew by”. And they did for mom also. She said the book was well written and just sucked her into the story.
Now I have been instructed to get her some more Davis Bunn books. This is Book 1, hopeful of a series, which I will be on the lookout for so I can surprise mom with more excellent Davis Bunn romance stories.

This is the first Davis Bunn novel I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are engaging and interesting even if they were a bit stereotypical. The storyline is evenly paced and easily drew me into the lives of the residents of Miramar Bay, a seaside town on the coast of California.

Connor Larkin, frustrated with the choices he has made personally and professionally, jumps on a Greyhound bus to Miramar Bay seeking clarity and peace of mind. Upon his arrival he meets the local police chief and within a matter of days he finds his niche among the town's community. However, it is not a simple resolution to his problems and as the story unfolds he has the opportunity to make new choices and discover what he really wants in life - including an unexpected and (at first) unwelcome romance.

There are several other primary characters that contribute to this enjoyable novel - a beautiful, independent woman who finds the strength to receive help; a crusty, but lovable law officer; a mother who desperately seeks to reestablish a connection with her estranged daughter; and an antagonist who you will love to dislike. All of this adds up to a story with enough twists to hold my interest and keep me engaged to the end. Bunn reminds me of Robin Carr's skillful descriptions of small town life and the close, caring nature of relationships in such communities.

I strongly recommend this book and I am investigating more of Davis Bunn's previous novels.

Connor Larkin is on the lam---not because of the law, but because of the fact that he is losing himself in Hollywood. He escapes to Miramar Bay and finds himself, a community, and real, sacrificial love.

Once again, Davis Bunn entertains and challenges me with his writing. His characters are dynamic, multi-dimensional people that I would enjoy as friends. The community in Miramar Bay is a place I love to call home. There is healing in this book.

Miramar Bay is a seaside town on the California coast. Sylvie has returned there after many happy memories as a child and now owns a restaurant called Castaway Cove. It is very popular with the local residents and also tourists.

Connor a movie star also visited Miramar years ago is running away from his impending marriage. He has decided to take a break and get away from his current situation.

Sylvie meets Connor and they realize the both enjoy music. Sylvie loves to listen to it and Connor enjoys playing the piano. They form a quick friendship but things are not always what they appear to be.

Both of these people are looking for second chances and also to make changes to improve there lives.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed as the story line is not hard to follow and really no surprises that you do not see coming. Not sure I would try another one of his books in the future

Great summer beach read. It felt like a Hallmark movie in a book and I was all for it.
• Small town girl with a past (Sylvie) add
• Actor running from “the life” (Connor)
• Big break for the actor coming his way while he is hiding working as a waiter for Sylvie

Add in the complexities of past relationships, parental issues and abandonment, and the secrets kept and you get an entertaining story as the journey unfolds on the beautiful bay town. But does it follow the formulaic ending of guy gets girl? You’ll just have to read to find out!

I had met the author in my recent travels and he was kind enough to give me his new book, Miramar Bay. I had never read any of his books, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought I'd give the book a chance. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised and couldn't put the book down once I started reading it! The storyline and characters have depth and are very engaging . I felt like I had been transported across the country to a beautiful little town on the West Coast where a lovely story of redemption and romance was taking place. It was a wonderful escape from a rather hectic and unromantic, (albeit good!) life. Davis Bunn is a master storyteller and he now has a new fan!

Miramar Bay,  Davis Bunn

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: women’s Fiction

My first read from Davis, and at the beginning I felt I’d made a mistake choosing this. It seemed really slow and I couldn’t see the connection between the characters.
It quickly picked up pace though and we met more and more new people, mostly in the town of Miramar. I soon became hooked on what was happening.

Connor wasn’t quite A list, but with luck might make it, but he’s kind of in limbo. Gave up on his music dreams when the acting took off but he seems to be the guy everyone wants dead in films and TV, to the point where he’s on death 97 and getting tired of the roles, finding them a bit banal. They pay the bills – just – but don’t stretch him.
He’s about to marry in five days and suddenly he’s wondering what he’s doing, likes his fiancée but doesn’t love her and not sure how things got to this point.
We’ve nearly all been there somewhere along our lives, taken stock and found parts lacking. Can he change though, or have things gone too far?
On impulse he boards a bus and makes for Miramar, a place he enjoyed for a couple of days holiday once and that seems to pull him. It reminds him of home, of his roots and family.

Sylvie runs a restaurant there, and its hard, always balancing on the edge and she had to take on a financial partner who seemed fine at the time but has now become overbearing.
For most of the staff it’s a second chance, somewhere they can rebuild their lives after being in prison or similar, and they appreciate it and are very loyal to Sylvie. Its clear how close they all are when something awful happens and she needs help but as someone fiercely independent won’t ask.
The local sheriff, Porter is a good guy, he looks after his town, is genuinely interested in keeping everyone safe, not one of those lazy but power hungry types.
Then there’s a few other characters, the sleazy Phil, silent – or not so silent- partner in the restaurant, a mystery woman named Estelle, and Connors wonderful agent Ami, and her assistant the fabulous Gerald.
Gerald had some cracking lines and I adored him. He’s written in such a way that I could see him perfectly, hear his voice, appreciate his sharp humour. For older readers and anyone who’s into music of the sixties and early seventies there’s some great references, had me humming while reading.

What seemed at first to be very disparate events and people slowly get woven together in an entertaining and absorbing story. There’s one plotline that was really predictable to me early on, stood out who was behind things, but not really why other than the obvious.
That didn’t really matter though and it still was fun seeing how things played out, how the team of Sylvie's friends pulled together to help her despite her usual “I can manage” stance. They didn’t ask if she needed help but simply steamed ahead, knowing she’d do anything rather than burden others.

Of course there’s heartbreak here too, she’s been through a  cheating liar before when her ex failed to mention the wife and kids, so when she finds out the truth about her new waiter, Connor, the man she’d become very close to in the few days they’d been together she’s devastated. Connor isn’t giving in, but he’s going to need some fierce and heartfelt actions to get her to forgive him.
Like I said, early on I wondered if I’d made a mistake, but it turned out to be a story I really enjoyed, a perfect five star, though probably a one off read rather than a keeper for me.
Its not a rollicking sex-fest story but a more gentle, deeper one with some sensual attraction between Sylvie and Connor that's contained to a few searing kisses. Sometimes Less is More and that makes the story more interesting ;-) I like sex in books but....endless pages of repetitive sex can get dull and boring, and there's many reads where I've skipped that to get to the actual story, so it was good to read a novel where the content was first importance, and not one that relied on just sex to try to keep the reader interested.

Stars: Five, an entertaining and absorbing story.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers
 

I wanted to read more as I read, so I couldn't put the book down. Excellent read.