Loved it. Review to follow. ( )

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. ( )

Loved it. Review to follow. ( )

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. ( )

I really enjoyed the first book in this series! In addition to having some really hot chemistry between the two main characters, this book has a clear message of support to the LGBTQ community.

When Seb moves away from London, he's moved away from the familiar. He finds himself in a town where it's not as easy to be "out" without there being consequences. He and his friends come up with the idea for him to renovate his cafe and make it an LGBTQ friendly space. What could go wrong?

A couple of things happen when Seb begins his renovations. Jason is hired to complete the work. Jason has been living a discreet life as a gay man after an amicable split from his wife. He's not "in the closet", he's just not out of it.. which is the same thing, right? It's a small town. He has to protect himself.

Of course, the two men are attracted to one another but the fact that Seb has always been out and Jason is needing to be discreet becomes a problem. Let's face it, the two men are just at two different places in their lives. While that doesn't stop them from having piping hot chemistry, it does make Seb question what he's doing. Is it smart to get involved with someone who is still coming to terms with their sexuality? Probably not.

Jay Northcote does a great job of depicting both sides of the issue. I get it, I was raised in a small town and your business is everyone's business. There is also a flip side to that though. Seb is doing something really good for the community and if he can't count on Jason for the support he needs it leaves him feeling realy alone in spite of his friends and community,

There are some lovely moments of community and support in the face of homophobia. It was lovely to read about a found family of people coming together to get things done! I loved the supporting characters and I am excited that I'm going to learn more about some of them in the upcoming books! ( )