St. Nacho’s by Z.A. Maxfield is a story of redemption and accepting one’s past. I acquired this book some time ago and recently had been able to sit down and enjoy it. I went in with a “why not” attitude. I thought it would be a basic romance with some recovery aspects. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a far deeper and emotional story. There were moments where I felt my heart wrench worried about what was going to happen to Cooper Wyatt, the main character.
Cooper is a violinist who has been traveling for three years and rides up on his motorcycle to a small restaurant/bar near San Diego. After being on the road for so long he decides to take a break. What is meant to be a pit stop turns into a new opportunity for happiness, that Cooper did not feel he deserved.
He is hired on to work in the kitchen and during the evening dinner crowds, he uses his violin to serenade patrons. He finds himself being pulled into this found family. Among them is a worker named, Shawn Fielding, who is deaf. He is immediately drawn to Cooper despite his best friend trying to keep them apart.
It seems like a nice gift-wrapped perfect relationship leading to a happy ending until Cooper receives a phone call from his past. The reader learns why Cooper, who is in recovery, has been running away from his past and the reason he feels he doesn’t deserve happiness. He must choose between staying where he is, or returning to where he was to make up for what had happened.
As I said, this is a strong story with deep emotions. I was expecting a paint-by-number romance story and that is not at all what I got. I was enthralled by this story wanting more, hoping that things would work out especially when it seemed to lead somewhere dark.
If you enjoy romance stories with real gritty character development, then give this story a try, make sure you have some tissue nearby for the inevitable tears.
Available on Amazon
Esteban Q Mathieus 