Rainbow Place

Rainbow Place, Book 1

De: Jay Northcote

Narrado por: Hamish Long

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 - allowing himself only 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 listened to as a stand-alone.

©2018 Jay Northcote (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Amazing!

I am so in love with this story even more then want I read this one! I love Jason and Seb! Jay Northcote has pull so much emotions in these characters that I feel everything. Then Hamish Long does such an amazing job bring even more of the emotions into this story. I mean I love this story before listening to it but now I love it even more!

So many emotions, such a beautiful story!

Jay Northcote’s writing manages to give life to characters in a way that they become real to me, with every one of their multi-layered emotions getting to me, too.
We live Seb’s excitement, along with the anxiousness, for the opening of Rainbow Place, his new LGBT friendly cafe, and the hopes he has for his budding relationship with Jason.
And we live through Jason internal battle, where his fear and wish to protect himself keep him deep in the closet, but these are at war with Jason’s newfound feelings of wanting to be free, and wanting to be with Seb in the open.

The book is not excessively angsty, but emotions run deep and it sure kept me glued to my earbuds and rooting for these two wonderful men!

Hamish Long is a new to me narrator, but I loved his accent and his narration!

So good.

Loved it. Sweet and sexy, with lovable characters. With a little sprinkle of drama.
Enjoyable and recommendable

Great start!

3.5 stars rounded up!

This was a really good start to a series. Seb was so kind and understanding, but he wasn’t willing to get steamrolled or hurt just to appease Jason. And Jason was a little harder to like in the beginning, but he comes around and shows he’s serious in an incredible way. I loved the concept of Rainbow Place and am looking forward to the rest of the series. The narrator was amazing, and I would love to hear more from them.

Rainbow Place

You know when you start a book that feeling like you know you won’t want to stop it. This book gave me that feeling right from the very beginning these characters stole my heart. Jason’s inability to be out struck a nerve for me. Maybe if he had a supportive family, something I personally strive to be for my own children. Maybe that is why I felt so deeply for Jason. I wanted his growing up years to be a safe place. But it wasn’t and that is ultimately that is why he was still so against being who he was to anyone that might know him.
I did love that his ex-wife was so supportive. She was the hero in this book for me.

Seb is a great guy but I do wish he had been a little more understanding at parts. He said he knew what it was like to be bullied growing up. So maybe if he had thought about that and what it would be like at his age he might have seen why it was so hard for Jason.

Overall I loved the message in this book. It’s what I as a parent of a Bi daughter want. For her and her friends to feel 100% safe to be whoever they are. No judgment here.

The narration was lovely, I am a huge fan of the way this book was written and with the mix of the perfect person to narrate it was a huge hit for me. More, please! Just MORE.

Amazing

Rainbow Place is a truly beautiful, emotional, outstanding read! Seb’s journey to bring Rainbow Place to life and Jason’s journey to find not only himself but love is touching yet low in angst. Watching them deal with not only their budding feelings for each other but also dealing with the town and their feelings about Rainbow Place was both entertaining and emotional. You can’t help but love and root for Seb and Jason!
Hamish Ling is not a narrator I have had the pleasure of listening to before but I’m sure I’ll be hearing more from him! His accent and general performance is entertaining and easy to listen to! I can’t wait to check out the rest of this series!

#allhands

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.

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

This is my first book by this author but will not be my last. I think this is a great start to a new series. Seb & Jason's love story was sweet, sexy and difficult. I love the idea of the Rainbow Place, a place for everyone to be themselves without worrying about being judged. I usually don't love MM romance with someone in the closet but this one felt very different and I really felt the growth and strength of these characters throughout this book. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Hamish Long is also a new to me narrator. I really enjoyed his voice and narration style. I am happy to see that he will be narrating the entire series.

Just WOW!!!!

I listened to this book at 1.20x

To start with I never heard of Jay Northcote the author never read any books by him. And a also never heard of Hamish Long the narrator. Saying this I was very skeptical about this book. But boy was I surprised. This was a wonderful story. It was so well written.
I enjoy almost every genre of book out there. So I have listened to a few m/m romance , but This one blew me away.
It dealt with coming out and homophobia. Along with bullies and standing behind each other. Bottom line love is love.
The vocal artist did a wonderful job with all the different characters he had to be in the book. He brought the story to life with his enthusiasm and calmness. If I could give this book 10 stars I would.

I want to go to the Rainbow Place Cafe!

A contemporary with both fluffy and emotional angst elements. I thought the cafe owner + builder pairing was a cute one, and the coming out was nice and emotional. Gotta love someone coming to grips with their identity. I appreciated how much friend and family support this had, and while I'm not the biggest social media fan, I liked how it was used to show community coming together.

I enjoyed that the closeted hero would say/think something with full anxiety on how he couldn't do it, and then a minute later, do it. Anxiety likes to tell you stories sometimes. I liked the balance of him doing things out of his comfort zone, while not completely changing personalities. He felt safe, secure, and comfortable meeting other LGBT couples, but still wasn't ready to come out to the rest of the world. I feel that. I also love a supportive ex.

Some of the plot was a bit idealistic, but I was rooting for the romance and didn't really care. I would have liked to see a bit more of the relationship after they were out and together, but I'm hoping that the rest of the series has cameos.

I also really liked the slice of life moments, and then skipping ahead to not get too much mundane "and then they got tea" moments. A good balance.