Deep Desire

This book was a fun, fast, sexy read. Maxfield writes really good sex scenes, and as it turns out (this was my first book by this author), she's pretty good with a plot, too. I think I read this book in about 3 days. It is erotic, but the plot will keep you interested in everything that happens between sex scenes as well, and that is such a great perk in books with an erotic/romantic focus. My only complaint is that the vampires (including Notturno) could have been done better. They seemed a little bit flimsy. The only vampire that had any weight to him in this book was a very minor character indeed, and you meet him near the end, when Adin is held in captivity and nearly killed. Anyhow, this one was fun, so read and enjoy :)

I should plea forgiveness to Z.A. Maxfield. More or less one year ago she told me she was thinking to write a book with a dashing Italian vampire and asked me if I knew of a place that could be his Italian home. If I remember well she did me some inputs and I told her that San Sepolcro could be the right place. Then some months later she sent me a first draft and I checked the italian words, but really, she did the work all by herself and I didn't find any mistake. So you see my help was little thing and when she sent me a print signed copy I was really glad but it was not necessary. The book arrived more or less at the end of July and obviously I emailed back the author to thank her but since it was a print book, I saved it for a travel in train or plane, when I prefer to read a real book instead of my laptop. So I enjoyed the hand written dedica on the first page, and looked at how pretty the cover was and the book remained on my nightstand table till today (ndr I'm writing this post on a note book on my flight to Philadelphia). Obviously as soon as I was seated on my sit I opened the book ready to enjoy some hours of dashing vampires and what was there on the second page? A printed dedica to me! OMG, Z.A. Maxfield dedicated the book to me and to another friend for all the world to see and I haven't even written back to ZAM to appropriately thank her, what did she think of my ungrateful behavior? So this long introduction is to let ZAM know that I'm really stunned and honored and deeply grateful. Coming back to the story, it delivered what promised and I had my dashing vampire, Donte, and the vampire himself had a worthy partner in Adin. Actually on the contrary of the usual tale on the innocent victim fallen prey of the most erotic and dangerous vampire, here it's the vampire who seems to fall for the apparently innocent Adin, who has instead a naughty core. Adin is a professor, but he is not the mousy type, he is an exerpt in ancient erotic manuscripts, and his latest discovery is a XVI century journal of two noblemen in a clandestine affair. Being Adin gay, the idea of that is even more appealing. At first Adin has a detached attitude towards the journal, he sees it like a piece of erotica and he is not interested in the personal lives of the men in it. But then he meets Donte: since Donte has sex with him and meanwhile sucks his blood, it doesn't take much to Adin to find out Donte's true nature. The man claims to be the author of the journal and he wants it back. Again the focus of the story is more the sex than the reason why Donte wants back the journal, and again Adin seems not moved by the situation, or at least not so much... it was good sex after all. The the story takes a turn, Adin starts to read the journal and he finds out that it's not an erotic journal, but a love story. Like the nature of the jorunal changes in Adin's eyes, so does the mood of the book, and Adin himself, who claimed to not believe in love, and has alwa

As a fan of all things vampire, I was delighted with this tale by Z.A. Maxfield. The author successfully avoids the common trappings of a number of the "vampire series" currently out there while adding the twist of a M/M relationship. The story is terrific and draws you in from the very beginning. There is some good humor here along with a great storyline. There are, or course, some excellent steamy scenes in this book; but there is also a story with a plot. I, for one, hope there will be a sequel for Adin and Donte. Pick this one up - you won't be disappointed.

Maxfield, Z.A. "Nottorno", MLR Press, 2009. A New Approach Amos Lassen Z.A. Maxfield has gone where she has never gone before in "Nottorno". Her humor is still here as is her knack for good dialog and her gift for drawing great characters is still here. So then what is new? We have a new kind of love story between a guy and a vampire but there is so much more than that. Our hero, Adin Tredeger finds a 500 year old journal that is very homoerotic but even more than that, it is in perfect shape. Finding the journal was nothing compared to meeting the man who wrote it, Donte Fedelta, and who also wants it back. Fedelta, a vampire, will do whatever to get it back and is totally unprepared for the tricks Adin has up his sleeve. Both men got more than they bargained for. I found wondering if this was a story that contrasted good and evil but I remain unconvinced as I actually liked the vampire as well as the hero. Adin constantly goes at it with Donte and he really seems to belief that he has no reason to be afraid and has nothing to fear from the vampire.. He and Donte banter back and forth and it is wonderful. Here is a book tat manages to bring the past and the present together by using excerpts from the journal and it is here that we learn about the two men. I was a Maxfield fan before I read this book but I am a much more solid fan now---remember I was raised in New Orleans where vampires are a daily occurrence.

Adin gets much more than he bargains for when he procures a 500 year old journal, and the author wants it back! Z.A. Maxfield successfully ventures from her wildly popular literary style into new territory with Notturno, a story about the struggles of a modern day antique literature collector who finds an ancient journal and tries to keep it, while the vampire who wrote it tries to get it back. Maxfield's trademark humor remains, but it is far more subtly rendered and thus far more emotionally captivating. Likewise, her snappy dialog remains as strong as ever, especially whenever Adin spars with Donte. Adin seems unwilling to truly believe he has anything to fear, and the banter that passes between them is both enervating and telling. As in all of Maxfield's works, both major and minor characters are well developed, and the plot is as tightly woven as fine linen. Maxfield effortlessly weaves the past and present together through excerpts taken from the journal itself. Excepts which are revealing to Adin and Donte both. Straight up front, this is not your typical Z.A. Maxfield fare. In many ways, Maxfield has pushed her own boundaries and expanded her horizons to create a uniquely compelling, and wholly engaging story that goes well beyond the ordinary "boy meets vampire" story.