Unscripted by Davis Bunn

Unscripted by Davis Bunn

Let’s begin with the summary:

Young line producer Danny Byrd is well-known in Hollywood for being someone who gets things done on time and under budget. But when his reputation takes a beating after his partner—and former best friend—makes off with their investors' money, Danny has but one chance to redeem himself and restore his ruined career.

LA lawyer Megan Pierce has sacrificed years of her life proving herself to her impossible bosses only to find herself disgusted at their snobbery and their specious business practices. When an opportunity to actually make a difference comes her way, she knows she has to grab it—even though she's not entirely clear what "it" is.

Danny and Megan are each other's best hope for redemption. What they never could have imagined was that they might also be each other's best hope for love.

And now, my review:

I’ve read several of Davis’s books. He has a simplistic writing voice, but his insights aren’t simplistic. Several times his prose caused me to hit “highlight” in my Kindle.

One such relatable and poignant moment is when he describes the experience of his characters as younger boys going to the movies. There, they escape into story and “let their wretched pasts belong to other people.” Throughout the novel, Davis goes behind the scenes into filmmaking. Here—he goes even deeper behind the scenes and gives us the power of storytelling to transport viewers.

I enjoyed the filmmaking backdrop.

Overall, the story slowly unfolds as we learn who the characters are and what has happened to them. Once I had enough facts, I had to research the characters by searching and rereading. When I did, the betrayal by the MC’s best friend (see summary) didn’t feel developed enough. I couldn’t feel the main character’s loss or hurt. We were told about it, at a surface level, but it didn’t resonate. Perhaps that was due to the way the story unfolded and the fact we’re kept at a bit of a distance in the narrative. Deeper POV would have helped.

That said, I’d hesitate to add more words to this 368-page story. Unfortunately, the middle bogged down with a lot of secret-keeping from the reader. It was hard to follow and lost my interest.

There is a hint of romance in the summary, which is fitting since the love story doesn’t develop very far within the first 50 percent of the story.

I was surprised to read in the summary (which I did not review before reading the book) that the MC is young. He doesn’t strike me as a young man, but rather someone in his 40s or older. Unsure why that is. Maybe deeper POV would have helped?

Readers looking for a deeper understanding of  Hollywood productions may enjoy this novel. That was one of the elements that most drew me, and one that kept me reading. I also enjoyed revisiting characters from his earlier novels as they made appearances here.

Disclaimer: I received an ebook copy in exchange for my honest opinions.