Sometimes the person you're meant to meet arrives when you stop running from yourself.

Maya came to Kyoto to escape her old life—an abandoned engagement, disappointed family, and the suffocating expectations of who she was supposed to become. Three years later, she's finally found peace in solitude. Then Yuki arrives on a motorcycle in the rain, and everything changes.

A photographer who chose his own path despite his family's expectations, Yuki sees Maya in ways she's never been seen before. But building a life together means facing the very vulnerabilities they both came to Japan to escape. Love, it turns out, requires more courage than running ever did.

Set against the temple gardens and monsoon rains of Kyoto, Buddha's Shadow is a deeply romantic exploration of two people learning that real commitment means surrendering the illusion of control—and discovering that vulnerability is its own form of strength.

Perfect for readers who love literary romance, cultural exploration, and stories about finding yourself through connection.