Where do you go when your home is no longer a safe place?
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.
My Review:
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
*I received the book in exchange for an honest review*
Once again I am at a loss where to start, except to say I absolutely loved the book. After reading Rainbow Place (my review of it can be found here), I was really excited about the next book, and even more so when I found out that the next book would feature Alex and Cam.
I loved the characters, and I just want to hug Alex and protect him from all the crap he’d had going on. As his father was in a way responsible for people vandalising Rainbow Place in the first book it came as no surprise that he’d stay the same asshole even when it came to his son. I hated the guy in the first book already, but in this one, my hatred of him reached previously unknown levels.
I loved the community though. When Alex is homeless, his friends take up the slack. Cam and Wicksy let him stay with them, Seb is also prepared to give him a place, and also offers him a job. Like in the first book, the actions of the community cheered me up, and gave me hope.
And Cam? Oh what a hopeless dude. He was attracted to Alex from the beginning (and it certainly was reciprocated), but ugh! his doubts and noble intentions were occasionally so frustrating I just wanted to punch him. It was noble of him when he saw who Alex’s dad was and didn’t want to add extra complication in the mix, for Alex to deal with, especially with exams looming.
But once shit hit the fan and everything, his reasons were less noble and more…based on fear. He doesn’t want to risk the friendship he and Alex had because of one bad experience years ago, and even when it’s obvious it’s too late for those kinds of hang-ups.
But I loved the ending and the epilogue and WHOA did they have a huge surprise in them. It was so amazing! ❤
Anyway, the book CAN be read as a standalone but…the first one is too good to miss out. 😉
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.
Website
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