Jacob's Ladder

I was only going to give Jacob's Ladder 4 Stars at first but only because I wanted MORE! I wanted at least another 100 pages to show me what happens with JT and Yasha. And Daniel. And Cam. But then I had to give 5 Stars for that very same reason! These characters are so real - heroes on the one hand and so very human in their foibles and insecurities on the other. An excellent addition to the St. Nacho's series and definitely worth reading!

More than how it was in the previous two books, St. Nacho’s is becoming like a shelter for lost souls, and in this case it’s like a light in the fog for people who are wondering the world searching for a purpose.

Jacob’s Ladder is correctly tagged as third in the St. Nacho’s series, but aside for the place, Sant Ignacio, a seaside village along the California route 1, it has only losely connections with the previous two books, so that, you can easily read it standalone and then, if it makes your curious for the characters you will see popping out here and there, you can go back to read the other two books.

As I said, Jacob is indeed a lost soul. He has a wandering fever, he moved from United States to Israel and back, always show more clinging to someone he considered safe: first his older brother, then his grandfather, and now his boyfriend. But when this last man unveals to be not exactly your mainstay in the storm, on the contrary he is abusive and uncaring, Jacob is again lost and the only one who seems to be his light in the fog is his older brother Dan. In the way to go to him, Jacob gets stranded in St. Nacho, and he is literally saved by EMT nurse JT.

JT is everything Jacob seems to be searching in a man: steady, kindhearted, gentle… and straight. Or so it seems. JT does everything possible to make Jacob like St. Nacho, he finds him a job, new friends, everything other than a new boyfriend. On the contrary, as soon as Jacob is spotted by the very handsome, and gay, firefighter Cam, JT immediately warns Jacob that Cam is a player, that he is not the right man for Jacob, who instead needs someone steadier, someone like… JT?

Even if JT is a desperate closeted case, of Jewish origins he sees homosexuality like the worst sin possible, Jacob is not able to forget him. While during the day he is willing, and able, to admit that JT is not the right man for him, that he doesn’t need to be considered a little dirty secret, during the night he is unable to refuse the man when he comes to knock at his door.

JT is the perfect example of a man in denial: from a not so strictly religious family, who would have probably accepted him if he had the courage to come out, JT searched in faith a way out from what he considered something too big to be beared alone; in a way JT built around himself his own cage, he became a faithful believer who now has an excuse to tell to himself that being gay is a sin.

I liked how the author played with her characters, starting with Jacob who seemed the confused one, the one who needed direction, and ending instead with JT who desperately needed Jacob, as if Jacob was his last chance to happiness.

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This series has just grown in quality. I have read other books by Z.A. Maxfield, but they always seem to be a bit dark and harsher than this series. We get angst in this book, but not too much.

I really liked Yasha (AKA Jacob), he is such a fractured soul. He is not broken, like previous books, but rather someone who is a survivor. We get Jason who is the gay man "in the closet", which is something that many gay romances do not touch. We might have the "Gay for you" or the "proud and out", but rarely have I come across a book with a character who comes out for a lover.

I enjoyed this book, keep in mind that it is mostly about the relationship, so no great mystery to solve. LOTS of sex.

3,5 stars. It was a nice read, I liked the humor, both MCs were nice, but it was a little too nice to be an exceptional or amazing book.

Too much violence right away.

Still not pleased with this narrator.

3.5