Title: Rainbow Place
Series: Rainbow Place: Book One
Author: Jay Northcote
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 208 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: Rainbow Place is a wonderful idea for a series, and the first installment wet my appetite for the rest.
Reviewed By: Ky
Blurb: Can Jason find the courage he needs to be the man Seb deserves?
When Seb Radcliffe relocates to a seaside town in Cornwall, he feels like a fish out of water. He misses queer spaces and the sense of community he enjoyed when he was living in the city, and decides to open an LGBT-friendly cafe-bar.
Jason Dunn is the builder Seb hires to help renovate the rundown space where the cafe will be housed. Jason is also gay, but unlike Seb, he’s deep in the closet. He’s never had a relationship with another man–only allowing himself the occasional hook up with guys who are prepared to be discreet.
The attraction between the two men is instant and impossible to ignore. But while Seb is out and proud, Jason is terrified of being exposed. With the grand opening of Rainbow Place approaching, tension is growing among some locals who object to Seb’s plans. When things escalate, Jason is forced to choose whether to hide in the shadows and let Seb down, or to openly support the man he’s fallen so hard for.
Although this book is part of a series, it has a satisfying happy ending and can be read as a standalone.
Review: After the Housemates series, Jay Northcote has done it again! This time he built a community with an endless supply of potential MCs to feed his future books. It’s a wonderful idea for a series, and the first installment wet my appetite for the rest.
Rainblow Place is the story of how it all began. It’s the story of the cafe that is going to be the connecting point for the rest of the books, and it takes place before it’s even open. Seb wanted to get away from his life in London and decided that the small, seaside town of Porthladock was the perfect place to start fresh. He always wanted to own a cafe or a bar, and he decided that now was his chance to make his dream a reality. Jason is the guy he hired to renovate the place that is to house his business, and their attraction is apparent from the beginning.
Seb is an out-and-proud guy, determined to never get attached to a closeted guy. Jason is that guy, and even though he has accepted his sexuality, he doesn’t want anyone to know about it. They begin a casual thing that lasted for, maybe, a day before it started transforming to something more serious. The development of the relationship was lacking in that regard, but with everything else happening in the story, I could look past that. I didn’t feel like this was a story focused in the romance. It felt more like it was a social study (in a very, very good way) and an introduction to a series with some romance mixed in. I wasn’t disappointed by that. Both characters were likeable, and the way the story was developed made everything work. It was very interesting, and I never lost interest in what was happening.
There are a lot of people present here, and I’m sure we’ll get the stories of some of them eventually. The focus is on the community and how the social dynamic works in a small town, but the most amazing thing we saw here was the feeling of unity and support that surrounded this quiet place by the sea. There were some amazing people living there, and it wasn’t apparent on the first glance how much diversity there was.
By reading the first chapter you get the impression that Seb is the only out gay resident of the town, but as the story goes on and he meets more people, it becomes apparent that that’s not true. That’s the moment the full value of a place like the one Seb envisions opening becomes clear. How much help it would be and how important it is for it to open. How necessary it is for an inclusive place like Rainbow Place to exist, especially in small towns.
We meet so many characters here—though luckily it was never overwhelming, and they never stole the spotlight—that I can’t even begin to guess whose story is next. I think maybe Alex? But what I really wish for is Will’s story (if he’s getting one) with, maybe, one of the rugby players? *hint, hint*
You can buy Rainbow Place here:
[zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B07DMPDMTH?d” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]