Rafe came to the United States at the age of twelve as a refugee after the Nazis invaded his native Austria. He changed his too-German sounding name, made himself a new home in his new country and eventually managed to make a good life for himself through hard work and a winning personality. (His motto is “nobody says no to Rafe Colman.”) But except for his prowess as a Real Estate agent, everything else about his life is a lie. First and foremost, he’s not the womanizer he acts for the benefit More...

3.75 Stars
Rafe Colman has been getting away with passing off as a man that for the most part does not exist. Who he is, how he feels, where he comes from...Who he loves, it's all a facade.

It's 1955 and Rafe has managed to hide all his secrets since he came from Austria alone at 12 years old escaping the horrors of the war.
He's built a life at the expense of actually having one.

But people's prejudices are always lurking in the shadows and one night Rafe's home is vandalized. Police Officer Ben M More...

Secret Light by ZA Maxfield is an unusual historical romance written with the complex characterization and perfect, smooth prose for which this author is known. It centers on the deep emotional isolation experienced by the main character due to some heavy lifelong secrets he carries. When he finds love, he also has to find the courage to claim the relationship that he deserves and the emotional salvation that it brings. The story has a mood of deep sadness, but is also full of hope. The characte More...

I think if I could give half stars I'd probably give this one 3 1/2 but I liked it well enough to go with 4. It's a sweet story and an unusual one. I think it had an added appeal for me because the main character was not only gay but a Jew who had escaped the Nazis (this should be quite clear from the cover alone) and being Jewish, I found I connected to some aspects of the story in that way.

I think it could have been longer. The build up of the relationship between the two main characters reall More...

All in all I enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant read, but I felt it was not a story that should deserve jumping off the shelf.

First, let me get past the things I didn't like. I don't like characters who smoke! I don't even like people who like characters who smoke. In fact, I don't even like mommies and daddies of people who like people who smoke. (Well, maybe that's a bit far.)

I also don't really like campy, trite dialog. This book was full of that. I really tried to understand Rafe/Rolf. I More...

The last few ZAM books have been good but they haven’t hit the high notes of previous books for me. Finally Secret Light delivers the addictive and engaging prose by Maxfield I love so much. Here the story flows so easily with wonderful characters that the few flaws and obvious story manipulations are easy to forgive. There’s not such a defined happy ending but it fits with the time period and general story making it easy to see there likely will be a happy ending, even if it’s not spelled out. More...

Originally posted at: http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/201...

Rafe’s been hiding the truth for so long he’s worried he may have lost himself in the process. Life is tough for an Austrian living in the US in 1955. Although he lost his family as they fled from the Nazis, Rafe is often seen as German. After losing everyone he’s ever cared about due to their heritage and life style, Rafe is afraid to show any part of himself. He’s cultivated an image of an all American ladies man living a quintessen More...

I literally just finished this and I probably shouldn't review this now because I'm going to babble and gush. But this is truly a book worth gushing over.

(Also warning, lots of spoilers ahead)

If I could use one word to describe this book I would say: beautiful. The writing is so beautiful and the love between the two MC's is beautiful. The writing was so well done, I could completely fall into the world of the story and lose myself in it.

This story takes place in 1955 and is the story of two men More...

Gerry B's Book Reviews - http://www.gerrycan.wordpress.com

[Editorial comment: The Goodreads’ posting of this book comes with a caveat, i.e. “Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices,” which I find ‘objectionable’. Were this a heterosexual story with heterosexual ‘sexual practices’ would it have the same caveat? I think not. Therefore it is demeaning at best.]

This is the sec More...

All I can say is wow. I've been a fan of Z.A. Maxfield's work since the very first novel of her's I read, and damn this book stands amongst the best of them. Picture 1955 in the USA, Rafe Colman, an Austrian refugee is the victim of an anti-German attack. Ben Morgan is one of the cops called to the scene and although he is at first drawn to Rafe's dog, his feelings soon follow to Rafe himself. But his is 1955 and racism and homophobia are rampant, and Rafe has spent so long hiding his true natur More...

Rafe Colman is handsome, slick, personable. He is the top commercial real estate salesman at his agency, perpetually Salesman of the Month. Everybody likes Rafe. But he is a man with secrets. A fraud. And is 1955 Los Angeles, having the kind of past Rafe does can be dangerous. Even more dangerous than being perceived as German, with the hard feelings lingering after WWII.

When his home is vandalized, Officer Ben Morgan investigates what could be a crime motivated by Rafe's Germanic background. Wh More...

Short review because SIN is reviewing it separately in a couple of days.

First book by Maxfield that I've read, although I've heard good things. I was very impressed with the writing, the prose flows well and the sense of time and place - and the inherent dangers of those - are well shown and never ignored.

It's not really my cup of tea all over because it's rather formulaic (but I do understand this is the genre expectations) and the addition of the disgracefully cute dog only garnered an extra p More...

This book. Wow. This book was touching, loving, and frightening all in one. To see how terrible and fear-lead Rafe was, afraid of himself, afraid of love, afraid of others made me ache inside just reading it. Then to witness Ben's tentative care as he nurtured Rafe and gently tugged him from his cocoon was so sweet and so very endearing. This book was tragic, beautiful and the end was absolutely perfect.

Sometimes you just need to know how life was before now, before the reluctant acceptance of More...

I loved this book. When I started reading it at first I was a bit skeptical, normally a book like this is not that good. But from the moment I picked it up, I was drawn into the story and fell in love with the characters. Although it has serious topics, I could not help feeling like this book gives hope in a sense. It also shows how good people can actually be.

I loved Rafe and Ben, they were a sweet couple and although this book does not span a long period of time, it was worth reading about the More...

Sometimes you read a book and it just pushes all your buttons...

I found the story and the characters absolutely amazing. I found the author's lyrical prose exceptionally beautiful.

It's the story of Rafe Colman, a man who went through hell in his youth because of WHO he was. The only reason he is alive now is because he hid his real self. Now he can't shake off the habit of hiding who he is. He lives in fear of being discovered and hides behind a very successful and confident persona. But insid More...

This story is my first story read in 2012. Not sure if it's the right thing to do because it makes me feel slightly subdued.

I feel so sympahetic to Rafe Colman ... the secrets that he has too keep (he's an Austrian, not easy to live after the World War II where people easily think he's German -- and on top of that, he's actually Jewish) and the pain that he has to carry on (seeing what repercussion of being gay in the 1950s can do to a man). He's such a lonely guy, with only his dog to keep him More...

Z.A. Maxfield’s are usually hit or miss with me, but with Secret Light, she totally hit this one out of the park. I absolutely loved this book with its detailed historical insights, which really placed the novel in 1955 Los Angeles for the reader. And the premise of a closeted immigrant, hiding not only his sexuality, but so many other secrets was compelling and at times a heart-breaking read.

Rafe Colman is a successful real estate agent in 1955 Los Angeles, who after being the victim of a hate More...

I really enjoyed this story of Rafe, a man who has lived in America since the Second World War in workable but lonely isolation. He's had financial success but is completely closeted not only about his sexuality but about his history, his religion and everything else personal about himself. His only true friend is his little dog. When the walls around his life are slowly breached by Ben, a police officer who is attracted to him, the result is a lovely flowering of attraction and then of love, in More...

I read about this book from the review website Reviews by Jessewave, and this review pretty much sums up how great this book is:

http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/201...

The setting for this story initially caught my interest - a m/m romance story set in the fifties? I was concerned it wouldn't feel authentic, but great writing transcends time setting, genre...anything. And Maxfield has written a beautiful story about two characters I grew deeply invested in. And this story has the best dog ever - More...

I found this story to be a well written gift. There was History with a beautiful twist. Loved it!

I want to give this book 4 1/2 stars.

The setting--1950's LA--was great, and the whole book had a bit of a noirish feel to it. I liked the characters very much: Ben, closeted cop, and Rafe, an Austrian immigrant with several big secrets. I thought they had real chemistry together and I like the way their relationship delveloped.

What keeps me from giving this 5 stars is the ending, which seemed rushed and also a little unfinished. After all, it's clear that given their time and professions, the co More...

Blue Ribbon Rating: 4 out of 5
Original Review Link

It’s 1955 and life isn’t always easy for an Austrian immigrant, but Rafe Colman makes it work. He’s a successful real estate agent, has a lovely home, an adoring dog, the ladies love him and he has casual friendships with his coworkers. On the surface, everything’s going Rafe’s way. Only Rafe knows that his perfect life has come at a cost: hiding who he truly his. Rafe — born Rolf Kohn — keeps his religion and his sexuality a secret from everyone More...

Rafe Coleman has it all. Top salesman in a great firm for months running, good looks, the envy of his peers, a wonderful dog....so why is his life so hollow? It's because Rafe has been living a lie. It's 1955 and Rafe has a lot to hide. Namely his religion and his sexual preference. No one knows the real Rafe, but the little they do know engenders plenty of bigotry and hatred. Although he is Austrian and not German, and he very carefully hides his religion and his attraction to men, his accent a More...

ZAM wears her beloved So Cal in her writing like sea-scented skin, and the noir-ish, super-conservative setting of this story is played out in detailed perfection. All of it serves to show the terrible loneliness of man who is so isolated by the ebbs and flows of unreasonable hatred that his every breath is drawn in fear. This story was haunting and beautiful and perfect. The holidays-- all holidays--have never been so well served by a simple story of human beings coming together.

ZAM transported me to a diffent time and a diferent life softly and completely. Secret Light has the wonderful feel of a vintage black and white movie with strategic splashes of color. I am in awe of ZAM's ability to develop these likable characters and weave a web of romance laced with realism in what was a very challenging time for gay men in the USA. (No doubt that it is still challeging, but in a different way!) I am sure this wonderful, unique story will stay in my favorites shelf to be rea More...

I really liked this story but it's sad to read a story about people being persecuted because of religion, race, beliefs, or sexual orientation. Of course it had to have a HEA for me to read it so I did end up enjoying it very much. It always amazes me when I see a character's personality warm up and change so much for the better when they find love in their lives. A little kindness and love can do a lot to improve ones outlook on life.

This is the ZA Maxfield I fell in love with! This is a truly beautiful story. It's set in the 1950s, about a decade following the end of WWII. ZA did a fantastic job making the story feel authentic to the time without the characters feeling dated at all. Sweet, poignant, heartfelt. What more could you want this time of year?

My only complaint about this extremely well-written book is that it wasn't longer; that's not a complaint, it's a compliment! It was such a pleasure to read a really good writer at the top of her game. I haven't read much of Z.A. Maxfield lately, but I'm going to immediately check out what she's done recently.

Excellent, excellent, and so enjoyable to read.

This was truly well written historical romance. The feelings between Rafe and Ben were deep and true. I could associate with their bounded fear and longing to be together in such a critical time in the year 1955. This plot was amazingly developed and staged. We got an imaginary HEA situation, which wasn't realistic one, if we consider the story...
Even so, I liked it.