This is a lovely small town love story, where a budding Hollywood heartthrob finds a place to ground him - and love of community and especially of one woman.

To be honest, I like Davis Bunn's historical novels more. The period settings and and historical context is always enriching. This is a "feelgood" novel and it works in bringing the peace and emotions - yet, I miss certain deepness and great moral conflicts. But there is time for everything and feelgood novels are certainly a good read for a rainy day.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book when I picked it to read. For years, I’ve been familiar with the author, Davis Bunn, and the Christian books on the market by him that I have thoroughly enjoyed. This novel doesn’t have that. Quite honestly, I’m a bit disappointed to see that he isn’t sharing the Christian life in this series; however, the book does deliver what it promised: a romantic story with a bit of mystery.

From a Christian standpoint, this is a huge departure. We have a man who is running away from the female he is engaged to days before the wedding. Apparently he is trying to find the person he was before stardom. Before he even lets the bride-to-be down, he finds himself attracted to a different female, Sylvie, and even kisses her. By the end of four days, they each realize they’re in love with the other person. Of course we have the expected upset when Sylvie finds out about his engagement, and most of the rest of the book is spent with them pining for each other. While I guess this is the kind of romantic plot that may be enjoyed by the masses, I miss Bunn’s spiritual viewpoints. I did appreciate that at least he steered away from profanity and sex scenes.

Overall, Davis Bunn is still a good writer, and if he’s looking for a wider audience and higher profits, I’m sure he’ll find it. I give this book 3 stars because while I liked it, but I was not overwhelmed by it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a sweet story but predictable. I don't think people fall magically in love after a few days so that didn't ring true. Also, for a Christian book, there was little dealing with faith. Connor was an interesting character, trying to sort out his life. I liked that Sylvie had wonderful support from all her friends. Many will enjoy this novel but I enjoyed other books by this author more than this one.

I liked this story of a man who had it all but discovered he didn't like or enjoy his life. Connor gets on a bus in California and travels to Miramar Bay, a small town where Sylvia runs her family restaurant. With the help of some wiley senior citizens they find truth leads to happiness.

Starring a cast of likeable characters and a dramatic, emotive plot that will hold your attention from beginning to end, "Miramar Bay" will no doubt draw new fans to the talented pen of Davis Bunn. This is a story of second chances and new beginnings, and I enjoyed journeying along with Connor as he takes a good, hard look at his life and has to decide what really matters. Bunn does a masterful job at unfolding Connor's transformation, and you can't help but root him on as he seeks to chart a new course for himself. At first I found myself thinking that he was a bit too perfect with his good looks and his incredible acting talent. But as Connor makes mistakes and shows some humility in taking ownership for his actions, I found him that much more easy to relate to.

Fans who enjoy a good romance are going to surely enjoy watching the scenes between Connor and Sylvie. I particularly appreciated that the romance unfolds in a unique way, not a result of flowers and walks along the beach, but as Connor rising up to do what needs to be done to advocate for Sylvie when she finds herself at the centre of a conspiracy threatening everything she holds dear. I think the one aspect that would have made this story all the richer would have been a greater emphasis on the spiritual. Though the scenes of reconciliation that occur in this story are beautiful to behold, they are lacking the supernatural, spiritual involvement that often brings Bunn's novels to the next level. Nevertheless, I can appreciate that he is writing for a different audience with "Miramar Bay", and this moving story will speak to readers on many levels.

I look forward to seeing what next lies in store for the people of Miramar Bay. I award this book a solid rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

An egalley has been provided courtesy of the publisher and netgalley for the purposes of this unbiased review.

As is always the case with Davis Bunn’s novels, I was pulled into this story from the very beginning. I had actually forgotten what the story was about when I started reading, so it was with an air of anticipation that I got on the bus with Connor and waited to discover where this story was heading. That anticipation swelled as I met Sylvie Cassick and Estelle Rainer in turn, and began to uncover their stories and see how all these different threads would tangle together...and unravel...and then weave together again.

Connor Larkin was an interesting character—quietly intense. He’s not quite a Hollywood A-lister, but he has made a career out of dying on the screen—ninety-seven times, and counting. Somewhere along the way, though, he lost himself, and so five days before he’s set to marry heiress Kali Lyndon in a highly-publicised reality wedding, he boards a bus and heads to Miramar Bay, looking for a new beginning.

Estelle Rainer and Sylvie Cassick are no strangers to loss either. Estelle has come to Miramar Bay to see if she can recover her loss, but every time she tries to take that momentous final step, she balks. Sylvie has suddenly found herself in danger of losing what little she has left when she is falsely accused. When Connor arrives in Miramar Bay he gets caught up in both of these unfolding stories, a situation that is quickly complicated by the life he’s running away from.

As engaging as the first half was, the story really picked up momentum in the second half and I found myself reluctant to put it down. Bunn’s talent for emotive writing lent itself well to the contemplative nature of these characters and enhanced the poignancy of their journeys. I did feel as though the characters held themselves at arm’s length from the reader—as though there was an invisible narrator standing between us, sharing the character’s point-of-view on their behalf—but I’m still undecided as to whether that detracted from the reading experience or actually contributed to it.

In any case, this is an engrossing story of new beginnings and second chances.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review.

Miramar Bay is a fantastic romance. It has a great plot, characters and setting. I really enjoyed the story of Connor and Sylvia

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 thats 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 intested.

Stars: Five, an entertaining and absorbing story.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers