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. … 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.
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If you’re a fan of M/M romance like I am I think you will enjoy this one. It gives you the idea of some of what the LGBT community deals with. There is one part that broke my heart to see it happen, but then what happens after is really uplifting. It warms the heart. It’s a book I would recommend anyone to read because it has a powerful message. Seb and Jason are too adorable together, but you can feel the struggle between the two. I was rooting for them through the whole book. The ending was perfect.
4 stars-
I’ve read a couple of Mr. Northcote’s works prior to this, but they tended to be more along the hurt-comfort lines. Though the blurb for Rainbow Place grabbed my interest on its own, I was more intrigued to see a different side to this author and I’m oh so glad I picked this novella up.
Rainbow Place isn’t what I’d term fluff, but it’s also not overly angst filled or heavy. It’s a sweet, and in some ways, simple romance that deals with an out and proud gay man new to the area hooking up with a closeted local. I really enjoyed this romantic pairing and appreciated the complexities their different outlooks on being out had on the relationship. It felt authentic without being dramatized to create conflict, making it easy to empathize with Seb and Jason. I was also surprised at how much heat this novella contained. It never felt gratuitous, but I honestly wasn’t expecting that amount of physical chemistry when I began the book. The writing throughout Rainbow Place was smooth, with a catchy dialogue and steady pace I was happy to get lost in. And with such an interesting backdrop as the café and small Cornish town, I’ll definitely be looking forward to more from this series and would certainly recommend it.
*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*
I love the way that Seb has a dream and is willing to work for it. You have to feel for Jason who is having so much trouble accepting himself. It is amazing how much voices from others can mess with your head. There are some wonderful and meaningful moments in the story. Don’t want to say to much and spoil this wonderful story.
I really enjoyed the audio version of this story.
I adored this sweet story with realistic characters battling their own demons as well as the homophobic hate that being a proud gay figure can draw. The beautiful sense of community that Jay writes is magnificent and so uplifting and the audio told so wonderfully by Hamish Long.
Loved this book, the story is just beautiful and English .
Seb and Jason’s story is really warm and endearing.
Hamish the narrator is very good, clear but passionate in the right places.
Overall a very easy to listen book that made me smile a lot.
I listened to/read Books 4 and 5 of the Rainbow Place series first, so I can definitely confirm that the books can be read as standalone. However, because of the recurring characters, I was quite anxious to get the others in this series.
Once again, I loved Hamish Long’s narration. I think it is quite amazing how he is accurately able to continue a character’s voice from one book to the next. A particular favourite is Quentin who is always full of joyful exuberance. I really enjoy how I can just sink into the narrative with no work on my part.
I liked finding out how Rainbow Place came about. The integration into the local background is beautifully described, as is the evolution of a rundown space to a tasteful cafe bar. It is testament to this author too that, while I wanted to shake Jason at one point, I could perfectly understand his actions and reasoning.
A 5 star read/listen and I am already into the next book, A Safe Place.
Audio and ebook.
I love this series set in a small costal town in Cornwall. This is the first book of the series and focuses on the physical building of Rainbow Place as well as the hope such a place provides for a community where queer people are forced away to be out and proud or deep in the closet to stay in town.
Into this town comes Seb, out and proud and fiesty with it, and he has a dream. To make a place that is queer friendly, a place where he can belong. I love Seb’s attitude, his vision and drive, and his caring nature. But it is Jason that steals my heart. Deeply closeted, in part due to his job as a builder but mostly due to being brought up in a strongly homophobic household. His attraction to Seb is immediate, but the urge to hide is strong and while he is happy to see Seb in private when push comes to shove and he needs to step up he is frozen by fear. I adore characters like this who have to fight themselves and others opinions to be true to themselves.
A quick word on the narrator. He’s a new to me narrator and I think he did a great job with this book. Plenty of emotion and a good range of voices.
A lovely story and only the start of the journey for Rainbow Place. I’m so glad the entire series is releasing this month and I can’t wait to get my hands (ears!) on them. Happy Christmas to me.
Fantastic narration, great story.
It’s happened again… I enjoyed this book very much when I read it last year and it got 4 stars from me. After listening to the fantastic performance by Hamish Long I’m upping that rating to 5 stars across the board.
Rainbow Place is the first book I’ve listened to performed by him and I’m a fan now. I don’t find many audiobooks by him on Audible so perhaps he also uses another name. I think he’s too good to be a newbie narrator. His British accent was very pleasing and easy for this American listener to understand. The various voices he uses for the characters are perfect and his pacing and vocal inflections are absolutely on point.
I was particularly happy to learn the correct pronunciation of several words that I had pronounced differently in my head while I read the book. I just can’t say enough good things about this new-to-me narrator and this story by Jay Northcote.
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Below is my original review when I read the book last year:
I love to read books by non-US authors. I love reading about different countries and I love reading the stories they write, written the way they speak English. Jay Northcote is one of those writers whose stories I really enjoy. He sometimes challenges me with the British terms he uses but I love looking things up and building my “non-US” vocabulary.
Rainbow Place is the beginning of a new series of standalone books set in the same world and it’s off to a great start. Seb moves to a small town in Cornwall for a variety of reasons and he’s happy there but he misses the community feeling and queer spaces of the city. His dream is to start an LGBT-friendly café/bar where all are welcome.
Seb hires Jason to build out the leased space where his café will be. There’s a spark between the two of them but Seb’s unsure if Jason is even gay or bi. Jason is deep in the closet and wants no part of being “out” until his feelings for Seb make him want more.
Rainbow Place is a story that made me feel lots of things and I enjoyed it a lot. Jason feels like he has a lot to lose if he comes out. Men in his line of work don’t usually react well to gays and he definitely doesn’t like drawing attention to himself. He’s also afraid of what his daughter will think.
Seb is OK with Jason staying out of the light for now but he knows that he won’t be OK with it long-term. When something awful happens, Jason lets Seb down in a big way and their relationship may never recover from it.
Just the right amount of tension/angst along with a lot of hot sexy time between Seb and Jason and a nice HFN (happy for now). I’m looking forward to more books in this series.
A complimentary copy of this audio book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
Oh wow! Where to start?
Seb is an openly gay man who has moved from London to the seaside town in Cornwall after a breakup. He expected from the town to not have a thriving queer community, but he didn’t realise just how bad it can be. Luckily he ends up being a neighbour of a lesbian couple with whom he becomes friends.
During one of their conversations, the idea of Rainbow Place is born. A specifically queer/LGBT-friendly place in an environment that doesn’t have it yet, but sorely needs it.
Jason, on the other hand, is one of the discreet guys Seb has skipped over while on Grindr. Yet he is thrown into the story as Seb hires him to help renovate the cafe. Deeply in the closet, but not denial, Jason eventually, or actually slightly incidentally, outs himself to Seb.
We all know what happens when an out and proud person and a closeted person are attracted to each other? ‘Friends with benefits’ and sneaking around ensues. While I did understand Jason, I felt really sorry for Seb, as hiding and sneaking around wasn’t in his nature.
I liked how Jason knew it was internalised homophobia that was plaguing him, and he did try to deal with his feelings and fear, but it was also described how tough it is to ‘unlearn’ something you’ve been listening while you were a child. Even though it took him longer than it maybe should and actually happens after he lets Seb deal with horrible thing on his own.
There is some explicit homophobia, and ANGST! I was shocked, sad, angry! when the moment came. It was realistic and disgusting and awful. But the event I am talking about, also showed the best in people – when Seb needed help, most of the community came and helped him. And that was amazing!
I also loved the redemption arc. Jason went to the extreme of grandest gestures and I loved that Seb took him back. The actual opening of the cafe scene and generally the whole end were so sweet and perfect! (And come on, Rainbow cake and Unicorn poo? Tell me you don’t want to try them, I dare you )
I expected a lot from this book and Jay certainly hasn’t disappointed! (And also, how great is that cover? )
Achingly sweet love story. Very moving.
Jason is still deep in the closet when he meets Seb, an out & proud business owner who wants his new café-bar, Rainbow Place, to be an LGBT-friendly place.
Both men instantly feel a connection and start seeing each other… in secret. Seb hates having to hide his budding relationship with Jason, but he decides to take the risk. Against all odds and common sense, hoping for more.
As the story unfolds, we learn more about Jason’s upbringing and grow to understand his fear of coming out better, as well as his internalized homophobia, which runs very deep. This is not something that is often touched upon in gay romance novels, and I very much appreciate Jay Northcote’s insight and talented writing when addressing this type of underlying motivations for his characters’ actions so sensibly and sensitively.
At a certain point in the book, there is a situation… a defining moment in the couple’s relationship, where we’d expect Jason to overcome his fear of coming out, to step up and save the day for Seb. Or at least to be there for him. But he doesn’t… In fact, he lets Seb down quite spectacularly.
Another brave, unexpected choice of the author. Jason makes a mistake, out of fear,… as (real) people are wont to do.
Will love prevail when the object of one’s affection isn’t without his faults?
This plot twist upped the stakes quite a bit. I absolutely couldn’t put the book (my e-reader rather) down at that point.
Apologies wouldn’t cut it for this particular error. A grand gesture was clearly in order.
I tend to be a bit apprehensive when it becomes obvious a character is going to try a “grand gesture” to sweep their love off their feet. It can often come across as contrived and over the top.
I needn’t have worried in this case, of course. Because Jay’s MC’s & stories are always delightfully genuine and authentic. So when Jason went all out with a grand romantic gesture out of love for Seb, it just felt incredibly sincere and I waited with bated breath for Seb’s response. Magnificent scene!
I always love Jay Northcote’s books, but I felt like he took it to a whole other level with this one!
I adored both MC’s and I loved the storyline and the amazing world Jay created for this new series.
The writing itself was wonderful, full of the most delightful imagery and metaphors, which made this book a true joy to read! At times, it felt almost poetic.
Impressive!
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Angie –
This book is a good start to a new series. The book was enjoyable and fast paced. I loved Seb but really couldn’t connect with Jason. The secondary characters were awesome and helped the story. There wasn’t too much angst, there wasn’t too little angst, it was just right! Can’t wait to see how this series turns out.
Ruthie –
This is the first in a new series, and there is definitely promise for a number of connected stories to be written about this community.
This was in a way a familiar, feel good story, which I enjoyed very much. There are a few twists, where Jason finds unexpected support and Seb has allies where he might have anticipated trouble. A salutary reminder not to make judgement calls without reason. Everyone has a story and deserves the opportunity to find their voice. There are some lovely fun scenes, and we meet a good cross-section of the community which will (hopefully) feature in new installments.
I liked Seb and Jason a great deal, they were a lovely match for each other, both as friends and definitely as lovers. I am looking forward to seeing more of their future together.
If you are in the mood for a low drama, very sweet and caring story with some excellent humour, and which is well written, then this is just what you need.
Sarah –
This book is the fluffy, feel-good romance equivalent of a unicorn shitting rainbows. When London to Cornwall transplant Seb finds himself lonely and worrying he is the only gay in his new village, he is inspired to create a safe haven for the LGBT community in rural Cornwall.
Seb soon hires a gorgeous-but-closeted builder and finds himself happily surprised by the inclusive nature of the community that comes together to protect him from the haters. The heat that builds between Seb and Jason is delicious, and I really loved both of them.
The story is predictable and sweet but also fun and kinda inspiring. I read this in the sunshine in my garden and will confess to shedding some happy tears into my G&T. This is much lighter and fluffier than many of Jay Northcote’s stories and it is definitely lower heat than the Housemates books. Even though I usually prefer my romance with a little bit more grit, this was exactly the pick-me-up that I needed on the day I read it.
Erica –
Rainbow Place is the debut novel in a brand-new series by Jay Northcote.
Seb is out and proud, looking to start a new cafe/safe space for the LGBTQ community in the small town he just moved into, and he’s worried about the reception he may get by the townsfolk. Singed by a past love who cheated on him and left him for a younger man, Seb is attempting to make a fresh start, a second chance at finding happiness. He’s looking for something real, to set down roots, but doesn’t want to be someone’s dirty little secret in this closeted small town.
As a masculine builder keeping up appearances, Jason is deep in the closet, after having been married to a woman and fathering a teen daughter. Only his ex and those he has a quick hookup knows of his orientation. Jason is terrified yet willing to embrace change.
If you’re looking for warm and fuzzy, a great way to spend an afternoon in the sunshine while swinging in a hammock (which is exactly how/where I read this novel), it’s the perfect read for you. Low on angst, little to no drama, with a predetermined ending, Rainbow Place hits all the notes the author wished it would.
Five stars on how the novel was written, with the desired emotions/reactions it elicited in the reader. However, to my personal tastes, I’d rate this more toward a three star, rounding it out at four overall.
Personally, I needed a bit more. This was light and fluffy, exactly what it was meant to be, where the reader never had to fear the outcome. I won’t penalize the author because I wanted more, wanted the novel to be something it wasn’t meant to be, but I will explain in case other readers read as I do.
Some things didn’t add up for me, the major details that will be small to most readers – as the daughter of a contractor/business owner/someone who has done their own renovations, I can tell you it would take much longer to do what was done in such a short amount of time, especially by one guy and his helper, when that can’t be done with an entire work crew of trained employees. Another is how it would have been impossible to do the logistics of business in a work-zone. Seb would have been in the way, and his electronic devices (with all the dust) would have been toasted, and interviews would have been impossible over the noise, which was never mentioned. Seb made it look as if getting a business up and running and operational is that ‘easy’ when it’s most certainly not, not to mention red-tape to get permits/licenses.
Sounding overly picky, I only noticed that issue because it’s what I deal with on a continual basis. If it didn’t hit so close to home, I wouldn’t have noticed nor cared.
The carefree, stress-free scenes will no doubt be a comfort to many readers seeking something not as angst-riddled drama. For me, it felt a bit inane everyday life, laundry list scenes as I call them, where everything that happened that day is summarized in a list when it doesn’t add/subtract from the story but drags the pacing down. I appreciate how this was meant to show time, allow for a more slow-burn between Seb and Jason, but it didn’t propel the plot forward.
As for Seb and Jason, I ‘felt’ their heat, found their connection to be realistic, and the journey of their relationship to be organic. To me, Seb felt a tad narcissistic, as if the world revolved around him and it was all about him. The author did an excellent job showcasing Jason’s terror at coming out, it’s just too bad Seb was too blinded by his own goals and desires to recognize fear when he saw it. Seb was too worried about what Jason not coming out on Seb’s timeline meant for him, not what it meant for Jason. Thirty-five years of mental and emotional obstacles had to be overcome, and Seb forgot all that fear and uncertainty he felt nearly two decades ago, acting as if it was no big deal for Jason.
Overall, I connected with Jason, felt for him, and was proud of the journey Northcote wrote for him, but was disappointed in Seb. Panic attacks should not be written off as if it’s nothing, just because you feel the world revolves around you. I realize this is the gut-punch sensation, where readers will side with Seb, but I offer another perspective.
In the midst of a mental breakdown, work and the ability to support others goes to the wayside, and Jason suffered alone in silence, as if his issues paled in comparison. Mental/emotional trauma cannot be erased by love/responsibilities, and I couldn’t imagine having to be ‘on’ while in a large grouping of people, during a stressful situation, while having to continually validate Seb, when you’re going through your own stuff. While it’s too bad Jason didn’t support Seb one day out of many, as everyone in the novel supported Seb, it’s also too bad Seb never once supported another character, especially Jason.
While Seb pities himself, getting angry over Jason not being there for him, not once does he ask himself ‘why’ Jason isn’t there in a context that doesn’t involve himself. Instead of texting to ask if Jason is okay, after asking the helper and hearing Jason had a panic attack while driving, he ignores Jason, leaving him to suffer in total silence. This happens in every relationship, one feeling they are justifiably right, while having zero empathy for their partner.
I’m positive most readers, and no doubt the author, will see it as if Seb was supportive, not pushing his own agenda in wanting a public relationship, while that is not what they negotiated. Jason was the one who has to apologize, which I felt was in gaslighting territory, where Jason has every right to come out on his own timeline, without pressure from someone who should understand. This wasn’t even broached in the novel. Seb said Jason let him down, not the other way around too, where Jason had no support at all while Seb has 30+ people and the whole of the internet to validate him. In the end, the relationship was balanced, because Seb takes and Jason gives, and hopefully at some point it will even out.
Rainbow Place was a solid first installment, whetting my appetite for more. I had the heart-clenches as the town rallied around the cafe. Clearly my issue was a strong dislike for narcissists, but I can appreciate how the author didn’t mean for Seb to appear that way, but I overanalyze everything and that’s how I saw it.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Rainbow Place (Rainbow Place #1) by Jay Northcote to read and review.