Customer Reviews

St. Nacho's

5 star:		(14)
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3 star:		(1)
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Cooper is a man in flight from himself, or maybe from a man he doesn't like and doesn't want to be no more. From a good family, a little genius of the music, Cooper had all the chances to be someone good and successful; instead he was a trouble kid and later an even more trouble man. Drugs and alcohol didn't help, but even when he was wasted he still had something good in him, something that prevented him to drunken drive; unfortunately the same thing wasn't in his lover and Cooper was in the car when they had an accident and killed a little kid. From that moment on Cooper is a runaway, trying to be as far as possible from his past. Then he arrives to Santo Ignacio, California; the places is like a little heaven in the hell that is the world for Cooper; and in this little heaven Cooper finds an ever more little paradise in St. Nacho's cantina, a gay club along the beach with a crew that is almost a family. A family that welcome Cooper inside their home and arms. They are so overwhelming and open that Cooperf finds himself delaying day by day his departure, above all since one member of the family, Shawn, has a personal interest in Cooper, even if they are a very unlikely pair.

First of all the obvious: Cooper is unable to express his feelings, above all with his body, the only time when he lets go something is when he is playing his violin; Shawn is deaf and he needs the physical touch, sometime he is even forceful when people physically avoid him, since for him is like shutting the only communication channel. Then Cooper is the classical bad boy, leather, tattoo, piercings and bike, he is not at all the reassuring type. Shawn has the face of an angel and his disability leads people to try to protect him, to always pair him with the good boy next door.

But the appearance could lead to big mistake, since nor Cooper or Shawn are what they seem. Cooper is a submissive for nature, he loves to be gentle manhandled and almost to be coaxed to do the right thing; he really needs someone that for once, doesn't let him go since it is the best thing for him to forget, but instead forces him to face his biggest nightmares. On the other hand Shawn is not the docile and sweet man everyone thinks he is; he has a strong streak and he likes to lead and to be a little forceful, but in bed than in life. Between Cooper and Shawn it's not a classical D/s relationship, but for sure it's a power game, a fragile balance of allow and forbid.

The story has a very involving development, with some nice and unexpected turn of event; it has also a various and interesting bunch of side characters, like all the St. Nacho's family member, and Stan, the apparently good priest: watch out as the author turns the man from steady and strong supporter to spoiled baby to whom someone has stolen his latest shiny toy. I like also that the author, in the three books I read by her, has never replayed the same character, always managing to have a different story with its own original heroes, even if they all live in sunny California.

I think I read some statistic years ago that the majority of gay fiction and television was consumed by heterosexual women. I have many theories for why that is but I'm one of them. Whether that makes me more or less qualified to write this review, I don't know but that's up for you to decide. I stumbled upon this book when I was getting to know the world of ebooks and found a recommendation for another book by Z.A. Maxfield through a messageboard. It's called Drawn Together, also an EXCELLENT read. Anywho, after loving both Drawn Together and Crossing Borders I was a big fan of Z.A. Maxfield. She writes characters convincingly and makes you care about what happens to these men. St. Nacho's was no exception.

At first I almost didn't read this book because of the title, I'm not going to lie but I'm glad I did. This is the story of a 28 year old man named Cooper running from his past. Biking from city to city trying to find what makes him human. He stops in a little California town and meets Shawn, a angelic looking 22 year old man who immediately intrigues him. Everything Cooper (and the reader) think we know about Shawn is immediately turned upside down and Cooper finds a piece of himself that he's long thought was lost.

I absolutely loved how these men fell into their relationship and I loved how Z.A. writes Cooper as so much more than just the bad guy who rolled into town. This relationship is further deepened by the fact that Cooper was once a gifted violin player accepted to Julliard and Shawn is deaf. They learn to communicate in a way neither of them ever have before and after finishing this book I was really touched. I guess this book goes down as gay erotica but I would call it gay romance. Yes, there were some very hot scenes but at the heart of this book was the love between these two men.

I suggest you read this and ALL of Z.A. Maxfield's other books, they are fabulous!

For someone who apparently began writing in 2006, Z.A. Maxfield demonstrates a remarkable level of maturity in almost every aspect of her writing. Her characterization of the St. Nacho's cantina, delivered in a very few words, captures the essence of a layback "hangout" so familiar to all of us who are reformed barflies like Cooper: the friendly but world-wise bartender; the booze stained carpet and smell of same; and the slightly melancholy atmosphere over all. The ideal setting for a story like this.

However, where her light really shines is with her characterization of Cooper, a complex mix of a talented and sensitive musician inside a cynical, crusty exterior of his own creation, and a past that he has been putting miles behind in an attempt to outrun it in his mind. Consequently, St. Nachos is just another stop in quest to find `nowhere.'

Enter Shawn, a profoundly deaf boy who `hears' Cooper's cry for help above the `noise' that surrounds him, and in response to this Cooper is drawn to him as drowning man is drawn to a life raft. However the ride isn't free, for Shawn exacts a price of tender love and affection from Cooper that, given his past, is not easily given.

So what's so special about that? Well, for one thing it's all credibly done, right down to the turmoil that Cooper feels inside; the quandary this presents to Shawn, who with limited communication must understand this to move the relationship; and the faith one boy has in the other. This requires not only considerable insight, but discipline to pace it all just right.

The final test comes when Cooper's past catches up to him in the person of Jordan, his childhood sweetheart, and who ostensibly took the rap for a child's death that occurred with Cooper in the truck. Once again the characterization of Jordan is remarkably credible as the emotionally arrested `adolescent' grasping for straws in people--particularly a smarmy lay-preacher shopping for souls--and a convenient depository for his guilt.

The story also holds together remarkably well, except toward the end with the introduction of additional characters who are not so well defined. Moreover, some of these characters, i.e. Mary Lynn the librarian and Bill the cop, don't fit in comfortably. Moreover, their sudden appearance seems slightly contrived.

Nevertheless St. Nachos is an engrossing and heart-warming read from beginning to end, and highly recommended as an endearing love story.

Cooper is well aware that he is not the best of people out there and while he has come to accept that hard truth Cooper, so far, has dealt with it by drifting and never staying in one place too long. After all, no one benefits from knowing him, right? But his arrival at Santo Ignacio has tenuously changed him in subtle ways that has made him stay longer than he has stayed anywhere for the last three years. However, the town's "healing nature" comes from the locals that adopt Cooper into their strange family and refuse to let him keep himself closed off - especially Shawn, the deaf busboy at the restaurant that Cooper is working at.

But Cooper has more issues than any of these nice people would understand and he doubts they would still like him if they knew what drives his wanderlust...But will Shawn's perseverance break through Cooper's shield enough to get Cooper to care enough to stay?

Shawn has been deaf for most of his life, but his natural cheer and friendliness has helped him build a pretty good life for himself. He attends college, belongs to a theater group for deaf people and he has his job at Nacho's Bar which brings him straight through Cooper's path. And once Shawn lays eyes on Cooper he knows that he wants him for keeps, but will he be able to convince Cooper to allow him close enough to love him as he deserves?

St. Nacho's is by far one of the most entrancing and emotional romances I've read in a long time and Z.A. Maxfield has certainly cemented her place in the keeper shelf of all m/m fans that like their characters with depth of emotion along with bone-melting sex! Cooper is a man tortured by past sins that he feels he must atone for by depriving himself of any meaningful contact with others, plus he is so socially awkward that he feels lost most of the time when interacting with others. Yet Shawn, the charming deaf boy that refuses to back off will charm your socks off with his earnestness and implacable belief in Cooper and their potential as a couple. I loved how Z.A. Maxfield managed to present a clear emotional picture of Cooper and Shawn without getting lost in the angst of it all, yet she pushes all the right buttons to pull you in and get involved in the outcome of Cooper and Shawn's romance. Although Cooper and Shawn make for one of the most unlikely couples, they strangely complement each other almost perfectly and fill each other's empty spaces. It was heartwarming to watch Shawn's perseverance pay off in getting Cooper to not only open up, but also forgive himself his mistakes and brave the future looking for happiness with Shawn. Cooper's self-deprecating, yet honest introspections will capture your heart from the first page and keep you glued to your seat and turning the pages well into the night. However, it must be noted that this story is told from a first person perspective, but don't let that stop you from getting this book - Cooper is a wonderful narrator and Z.A. Maxfield makes him a powerful and emotional voice that is not to be missed! Get yourself St. Nacho's the next time you are in the mood for sensual and emotional story with great secondary characters, plot and the miracle of finding unlikely love - you will not be disappointed!

Sabella

Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I generally really like Maxfield's books, and this one is no exception. This starts a series that could be completely open-ended. St. Ignacio's is a little town hidden away somewhere on the west coast. The town seems to be a living force all its own in my mind. It opens up and pulls in those that need it the most. Enter Cooper running from his own guilt and the death of a child. He meets the one person who seems to be able to lighten the burden he's been carrying too long, Shawn. Lots of drama ensues, the relationship between Cooper and Shawn is strained, a bit threatened, but of course they get their HEA. It's beautifully written and feels honest in its story. My only quibble is one that not many people may have. I'm an interpreter and have been around deaf people for decades, dated or lived with several. Shawn, who is deaf, didn't ring true for me. He was a character who occasionally couldn't hear. It's like most of Marlee Matlin's characters on tv or Howie Seago's character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. They seemed to understand and communicate surprisingly well...because they have the script. Communication is way harder than most characters make it seem in most books, movies, etc. Again, I understand that was not the point of this book, and the book and story were great, I'm just sensitive (honestly, probably overly sensitive) to this issue. I think it was great portraying a character with traits we don't often see in a lead. It reminds me a lot of Josh Lanyon's work in that way. I'm not going to ding this book for something I'm actually glad to see being done just because it wasn't done the way I would have done it. The fact is that I HAVEN'T done it. Maxfield had the literary balls TO do it, and for that I applaud her.

I absolutely loved this book. It was romantic and erotic and just a really good story. This was the first M/M romance novel that I read that was written in first person perspective and I really enjoyed it. It was so intimately told, that it felt like I was reading someone's diary at some points. The conversations were realistic, and the characters were well fleshed out. The chemistry between the two main characters, Shawn and Cooper, jumped off the page. There was so much more to learn about Cooper's back story and Shawn's life, that I didn't want the story to end. I ordered the next two books in the series, but I know they involve different main characters, so I hope she writes a follow up with Shawn and Cooper one day. Maybe from Shawn's POV.

If you like a good story with a lot of romance and just enough hot and sexy scenes, I would highly recommend this book to you.

I absolutely LOVED this book...what a story. Redemption and starting over...learning to let go of the past and believe in yourself and believe that you can change AND love again. Such a beautiful, beautiful story!!! The way that Shawn & Cooper connect with each other; Cooper through his violin and Shawn, using sign language. This storyline is concrete AND meaniful. If you are looking for hot, smutty sex, you are going to be very disappointed. However, if you are looking for believable characters and a sweet romantic book to curl up with, this is it! Happy reading!!!

ZA Maxfield is becoming an auto buy for me, I've never read anything of hers that I haven't really liked, and none of her books are identical to the other, each character and circumstance is unique (huge plus, so few romance authors can do that!)

In this one, there is a romance between Shawn, deaf 22 yo, and Cooper, a recovering addict, 28 yo. You might think that Cooper would be the stronger one, but Shawn is clear and clean in what he is and what he wants, and he is the healer in this relationship. I loved that he was deaf, and shown as having so much to give. Cooper was messed up from having a really awful history feeling complicit in a drunk driving death, and then spent 3 years on the road, getting himself into all sorts of dangerous situations - BDSM didn't appear directly in this book, but Cooper's bad experiences in it definitely were a factor. Shawn is shown having friends and school and work and still having room for Cooper. When Cooper's lover from the past, Jordan, calls him back, it forces Cooper to look at the truth of where home is for him, and what loves really means for him.

Loved it, it's definitely a relationship book with a few (enough!) hot scenes, but it's not just mindless sex scenes tied together, there is a real plot and a real relationship here. I bought the next in the series straight away.

... by Z.A. Maxfield! The very well developed main character called Cooper is a troubled young man haunted by his past and drifting from town to town. He immediately falls in love with St. Nacho's and the gay bar there and in return the young and beautiful but deaf Shawn falls in love with him, too. But Cooper can't get rid of his past so easily. Again Maxfield wrote a very sensitive but sensible gay romance avoiding gay stereotypes and trashy romance clichees and there is even a gay-friendly preacher. The anxieties and troubles of edgy Cooper are very well presented, making the book a little bit upsetting through the first pages. Drama ensues as a former mate of Cooper doesn't want to loosen his grip on him and everything is thrilling through the last third of the book. As Cooper can resolve his troubles spured by the wonders of love the reader feels the magic, too. Gay romance as published by Loose Id and other publishing houses recently really has come of age in the English language.

St Nacho's is not everyone's kind of place, or book. It is not the fun and amusing romantic comedy, or the mysteriously compelling romance usually associated with ZA Maxfield's work. St Nacho's explores a dysfunctional man in a town that becomes one of healing and forgiveness.

Cooper has traveled the country, barely existing, letting himself be used and thrown away in a sentence of self-punishment for his part in a terrible accident. Reliving a past he cannot forget and cannot forgive himself for, Cooper wanders into St Nacho's, a small quiet town by the sea. He makes a little niche for himself, develops friendships and even allows himself more than a one-night stand lover. In Shawn, Cooper begins to find self-worth, and the leaden ball of guilt he has shouldered begins to lighten.

Just as Cooper believes he's found some measure of peace, his past calls for a reckoning. Long time best friend, long time lover Jordan is asking for Cooper's help, demanding Cooper return to his hometown to atone for the sins they both share. Cooper returns, but on his own terms; he has a lover, someone he loves, and does not want that with Jordan again. Cooper deals with his own demons in the town that has held judgment on both him and Jordan, the town that still holds them both accountable for what they had done and what they might do. But, Cooper also finds there are those in town who believe in him and give him a chance to show he has changed. Finding that Shawn followed him, gives Cooper the strength he needs to withstand temptations and expectations. Being with Shawn again allows him to know what he needs to do.

Now, if only Jordan will forgive him and let him go.