Rainbow Place

Rainbow Place, Book 1

By: Jay Northcote

Narrated by: Hamish Long

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

3-3.5 Stars

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I enjoyed it so I will definitely read this author again. In fact, I've already purchased the audio books for the next 3 books in the series so hopefully I enjoy those too.

I gave this book 3-3.5 stars because it was good but there wasn't really anything that pushed it to great for me. It was very middle of the road and there is nothing wrong with that at all. It didn't give me lasting feels or cause me any strong emotions but there wasn't anything bad about this book. I think the premise is great. I loved the whole creating a place that is safe and welcoming for all LGBTQ people and allies. The cafe is fun and I anticipate it will be the setting for the subsequent books. I enjoyed the characters. I really liked the relationship that Jason had with his ex-wife and daughter. I also liked watching the relationship build between Seb and Jason, though I wouldn't have minded having a bit more substance to their relationship and see them bond through more than physical attraction; especially since they seem like they will be a lasting relationship. I also liked the side characters, especially the couple that is good friends with Seb. They are great.

Rainbow Place wasn't that long, only 6 hours in length on the audiobook, so it is a fairly quick listen. The narrator is really good. He was easy to listen to and had great pacing. I don't think I have listened to this narrator before but I would gladly listen to more by him.

Excellent listen!

I loved this listen. The story was well written with characters I enjoyed meeting. The narration was absolutely amazing. His ability to do different voices if fantastic!

Great start to the series, awesome vocal performan

This is a great start to a new series! I love the idea of The Rainbow Place being the central meeting place for each couple in each book of the series. We meet several great characters and I’m looking forward to reading more about them.

I typically don’t love stories with a closeted character because of the inevitable pain caused by one of the characters to one of the characters. There are a couple of scenes here in which some pain is inflicted by Jason, but he surprisingly makes up for the pain he causes Seb with his ‘grand gesture’.

Seb and Jason immediately have great sexual chemistry and decide to forge a friends-with-benefits type relationship which quickly escalates to more.

My one niggle with the story is I wish their relationship had developed a bit more on-page. We really only experienced them during their sexual experiences and while working in the café.

Looks like the next book is about a couple of younger characters we met – one of which is the son of the antagonist from this book – and I’m interested in listening to their story!

The vocal performance was amazing. This is my first experience with this performer, and I was impressed. He has distinctive voices for every character and his voices for the women were outstanding! I can honestly say I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed this story as much had I just read the book instead of listening.

✫✫ 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.