Review Tour: Rainbow Place by Jay Northcote
Length: 54,000 words approx.
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
Blurb
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.
4.5 Stars
Seb moves to the small town of Porthladock from London, but as much as he loves his new home, he feels isolated from what seems like an almost non-existent LGBT community. The people in Porthladock seem to be hiding so Seb plans to draw them out by opening Rainbow Place, an all-inclusive cafe/bar. A place where people can feel comfortable with who they are. I’ll be honest, I absolutely LOVE the idea of Rainbow Place and wish every city had a few of these. It’s an amazing concept to have a place where EVERYONE, well, as long as you aren’t a homophobe, is welcome. I’d definitely visit if we had one near me.
As for the story itself, it was really nice. I loved Seb, he was sweet and so comfortable in his own skin, while nervous about how his cafe will be perceived, or if it’ll even be accepted, by the community, he was determined to make it happen. Jason, well, I really liked Jason. He is closeted and while frustrating at times, I could have dealt with that, but some of the things that came out of his mouth made me want to smack him upside the head at times. But he made up for it in the end, big time!
Together they were great and the chemistry between them was out of this world. I’ll be honest, while the act of the actual sex was hot, getting there was awkward. They set dates to meet and it was planned, so it didn’t feel like it happened naturally. It felt too......planned, I don’t know how else to explain it. The scenes that took place in the heat of the moment felt much more natural.
The story is well-written and flowed well and it was an easy and quick read. It was sweet and emotional and Mr. Northcote brought me to tears more than once, both sad and happy ones. I really enjoyed this story, it’s a great start to a new series and I’m anxious and looking forward to see whose story will be next. Very enjoyable and definitely recommendable!
* Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. *
June 15 - My Fiction Nook, The Way She Reads, Gay Book Reviews, OMG Reads, June 18 - Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Two Chicks Obsessed, The Geekery Book Review, Jim's Reading Room, June 20 - Love Unchained Book Review, June 22 - Bonkers About Books, Kimmer's Erotic Book Banter, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews, V's Reads, June 25 - Mikku-chan, Katie's Book Corner, June 27 - MM Good Book Reviews, July 4 - Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wicked Reads July 6 - Nicole's Book Musings, Xtreme Delusions, July 9 - Diverse Reader, July 11 - Drops Of Ink, Book Lovers 4Ever, Making It Happen, July 13 - Queerly Reads, Mirrigold, Valerie Ullmer, Bayou Book Junkie, Books That Are A Must Read, Lillian Francis
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.
One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.
Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.
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