Reviewed by Lily
TITLE: St. Nacho’s
SERIES: St. Nacho’s #1
AUTHOR: Z.A. Maxfield
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 228 Pages
BLURB:
Cooper has spent the last three years running from a painful past. He’s currently moving from town to town, working in restaurant kitchens, and playing his violin for tips. As soon as he starts to feel comfortable anywhere—with anyone—he moves on. He’s aware that music may be the only human language he still knows. Ironically, the one man he’s wanted to communicate with in all that time is deaf.
Shawn is part of a deaf theater group at the nearby college. Shawn wants Cooper as soon as they meet and he begins a determined flirtation. Cooper is comfortable with down and dirty sex, just not people. As far as Shawn is concerned, dirty sex is win-win, but he wants Cooper to let him into the rest of his life as well.
Cooper needs time to heal and put his past away for good. Shawn needs to help Cooper forgive himself and accept that he can be loved. Both men find out that when it comes to the kind of healing love can bring, the sleepy beachside town of Santo Ignacio, “St. Nacho’s” as the locals call it, may just be the very best place to start.
REVIEW:
Violinist Cooper has been a drifter for some years now, because of a very traumatic event and the consequences of that event. Cooper finds a room and a job when he arrives in St Ignacio aka St Nachos. By then, he’s exhausted and almost broke. This is where Cooper meets the much younger and deaf Shawn.
There is an instant attraction between Cooper and Shawn but Cooper has some unresolved issues. Eventually his past catches up with him. What Cooper needs is love, patience and empathy, but will he get all that in the sleepy town of St Nacho’s?
At the beginning of the story, I was captivated by the two main characters. The buildup of passion was subtle and the events slowly build but I found myself struggling with the story after a while because I felt somewhat detached from the events and the characters. Cooper’s hurt or pain or sadness felt a little stunted. His character often came across as muted to me. As I was reading his side of the story I had trouble feeling empathy. His submissive traits were also confusing because of his subdued responses. The sex scenes were almost from an observer’s point of view, it made them feel clinical.
Shawn’s character was more solid and I was able to feel him more. His gentle yet confident self was attractive and lovable. He did not confuse me as much as Cooper did. He was fluent in his behavior, communication and feelings. He was what Cooper needed and for that I adore him because every wounded hero in a story needs a Shawn-like hero.
I should have loved this book, because the writer described the stages of grief beautifully, even though it felt more like telling instead of showing, the story line is heart wrenching and intriguing.
I had trouble getting into the story and feel the chemistry between the MCs. The writing style required getting used to. I usually don’t have problems with stories written in the first person, but the style was kind of clipped and sometimes a little monotonous. That was the reason I couldn’t ‘feel’ the main characters, even though the story line was good. It was written in the first person, but felt more like a third persons POV.
RATING: 
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