Ryan Eames is a policewoman and single mother dedicated most of all to her lonely, uniquely gifted son. Stretched thin by double shifts and grappling with an out-of-season coastal wildfire, Christmas cheer feels as far away as a distant carol on a winter night. Until duty draws her into the life of a stranger.
Ethan Lange is alive because Ryan reached his canyon home before the blaze. Christmas is only days away, and Ethan has lost everything. A man reckoning with a painful past, it’s not the first time he’s been forced to start over. At least now it’s in the redeeming embrace of Miramar Bay.
Forging an animal rescue operation, Ryan and Ethan first unite by their cause and the rally of a close-knit community. But it’s Ryan’s extraordinary child who draws them into something deeper and surprising. Something to be thankful for. Now with every beat of their hearts, Christmas in Miramar Bay looks to be a season of love, healing, and sweet mercies that will be remembered for a lifetime. [back cover copy]
Davis Bunn’s writing usually grabs me and THE CHRISTMAS HUMMINGBIRD is no exception. From the beginning when Ryan Eames rescues Ethan Lange from a wildfire licking at his canyon home I was in the story.
Having lived through a nearby wildfire and worked on a team assisting those who’d lost their homes and/or businesses recover, everything about the setting resonated. Like the way the color of the sky tells you that fire is consuming your world, or ash flutters out of a blue sky like snow for weeks
depending on the way the wind blows. And the smell of “burned” comes and goes on the wind currents. The moonscape aftermath. And the yearning of everyone for dew, rain, or an ocean breeze. But this story captivated me for so much more.
The tentative romance developing between two hurt people is a thing of beauty. Here’s a snippet:
“As [Ryan] stowed her groceries in the trunk and settled in beside her son, she was tempted to call and cancel. Not have to go through the process of introducing another strange man into their home life. It would be so easy to tell Ethan they needed to keep their relationship totally professional.
But the truth was, it felt so good. She liked him. She liked the way others saw him. She liked the flavor of hope. It tasted like a spice from some long-forgotten dream. “
The characters are well-drawn, relatable, and flawed, but a joy to get to know. And Bunn’s descriptions are superb—as this one where Ethan sees Ryan across the room:
“Ethan guessed her age at early thirties …. She held herself very erect, very aware. Like a bird of prey waiting for the reason to launch herself into flight.”
I liked also the storyline where the rescued becomes a rescuer—and a hummingbird is just one of those rescued. Hummingbirds are vulnerable to heat and smoke. (Did you know their hearts beat 1000+ times per minute?) The details of what goes into rescuing the hummingbird population from the fire zone are fascinating, and offer an opportunity for Ethan to bond with Liam, Ryan’s remarkable son. Liam is an interesting character—he marches to the beat of his own drummer which involves a lot of drawing and a lot of silence. Unusual for an eleven-year-old.
These three become a powerful triumvirate who work to resolve numerous issues for each other and the larger community. THE CHRISTMAS HUMMINGBIRD is a marvelous depiction of something I often write about—help from unlikely places. Add in mysteries solved, bonds formed, and Christmas and you have a keeper of a storyI highly recommend.
Davis Bunn is Writer-in-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. He has won 4 Christy Awards and his books have sold in excess of eight million copies. You can learn more about his at his website.