Years ago, teenager Leah Santelli spent one passionate night with Zach Harper before he left town to become the rock star he was meant to be. Now Zach has returned to their tiny island community. With some of his bandmates taking time off, Zach is home to record his first solo album in the studio that had made his dad a legend. But Zach needs a producer. Leah, now a sound engineer and in charge of the studio, is the perfect choice, and she's thrilled at the opportunity. But working so closely sets some old embers ablaze, and though Leah is determined not to lose her heart—again—Zach is coming to realize that she is the one he really wants. VERDICT Modern, upbeat, and sexy, this music-rich story drops readers into the heart of the recording business. It includes just enough detail to make it seem real while delivering a satisfying reunion romance. Douglas (A Season of You) lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Douglas combines style, substance, and a bevy of appealing characters in her cleverly plotted third Cloud Bay contemporary (after A Season of You). Plucky, ambitious sound engineer Leah Santelli has long been in love with sexy musician Zach Harper, son of a rock legend and a star in his own right. When Zach returns to their hometown—Cloud Bay, on an island off the coast of California—she doesn't intend to waste the opportunity to show him how much she's missed him. Zach has mixed feelings about being back home: he's grappling with his complicated relationships with family, his nervousness about making his first solo album, and his plans to take the island's music festival by storm. He had a hot night with Leah years earlier, and when she proposes a no-strings sexual relationship, he first declines but then changes his mind and is all in. What he doesn't expect is to fall for Leah—and be faced with a heart-wrenching decision that could permanently alter their relationship. Though Zach and Leah's story concludes in a satisfying fashion, the tale ends with a tantalizing cliff-hanger that will draw readers back to this small island town. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Literary. (Dec.)