Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
Length: 48,000 words approx.
Rainbow Place Series
Blurb
Alex is about to turn eighteen and is firmly in the closet. He’s been biding his time, waiting to escape to uni, and finally come out away from the oppressive influence of his homophobic father. When he flunks his exams, he’s stuck in the small town of Porthladock—and what’s worse is that he’s working for his dad. The only thing that makes it bearable is Cam.
Cam’s comfortable with his bisexuality, but he doesn’t broadcast it. Young, free, and single, his social life revolves around playing rugby and hanging out with his mates. He’s attracted to Alex, but with the six-year age gap, Cam’s wary of getting involved. Plus, he thinks Alex needs a friend more than he needs a lover, and as their friendship grows, Cam decides he’s not willing to risk ruining it for casual sex.
When Alex’s dad finds out about his sexuality, Alex is suddenly both jobless and homeless. He finds work at Rainbow Place, the local LGBT-friendly café and Cam lets Alex stay in his flat for a while. But Alex would rather be sleeping in Cam’s bed than on his sofa. With them both living under one roof, their feelings for each other grow stronger, and the sexual tension is hard to ignore. Will giving in to it ruin their friendship and complicate things for Alex even more?
Although this book is part of a linked series, it has a satisfying happy ending, and can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Review
If I had to review Safe
Place in one sentence I’d say it’s a quintessential Jay Northcote book
in that it is a very well written story featuring two engaging and charming main
characters (as well as a cast of fascinating secondaries) and a love story that
meets quite a few bumps in the road without ever venturing into the realm of
heavy angst. But, I’ve got a feeling you may want to hear a bit more about this
book. J
While we meet
characters we first encountered in Rainbow Place in this story, the blurb is absolutely right when it states Safe
Place can be perfectly read as a standalone. And it isn’t wrong when it
mentions a satisfying happy ending either—but boy did Alex and Cam face a
journey before they got there.
If ever there was a
slow burn romance, this is it. Cam and Alex spend the majority of this story
circling each other. The attraction between them is undeniable and increasingly
hard to ignore but they hang on to their friends-only pact with dogged
determination. Especially Cam is convinced keeping things platonic is the best
option; initially because he doesn’t want to risk Alex’s homophobic father
finding out and subsequently because he is afraid he’ll lose Alex completely if
taking things further doesn’t work out. If I’m perfectly honest I have to admit
that there were one or two moments when I would have happily slapped him (or at
least given him a stern talking to) for trying to deny the obvious for so long.
The main reason I didn’t end up exasperated is because his reluctance to give
in to his attraction to Alex was rooted in him caring for Alex rather than for selfish
reasons. But, that doesn’t mean I didn’t mutter ‘at fucking last’ when Alex and
Cam finally face up to the inevitable and follow their hearts.
I guess what I love
most about this book and its prequel, is the wonderful community Jay has
created. The Rainbow Place crew and customers are such a supportive and loving
group of people it warms my heart. The sense of friendship, loyalty and support
in these pages is so strong it is impossible not to experience its warm embrace
while reading.
Another thing that
warmed my heart was how Alex grew into himself, found his strength and started
to forge his own way; moving away from his father’s judgement and demands in
the process.
Overall, Safe
Place is a wonderful, easy to read feel-good story. I strongly suggest
you get yourself a copy if you want to lift yourself up and finish a book with
a huge, happy smile on your face.
Author Bio
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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