Audio Review: Better Place by Jay Northcote, Performed by Hamish Long

19 December of 2019 by ButtonsMom2003

Story: 5

Narration: 5

5.0Overall score

Another good addition to this series.

Better Place By Jay Northcote, Narrated by Hamish Long

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Released: audio December 13, 2019; ebook February 22, 2018

Publisher: Jaybird Press

Series: Rainbow Place, Book 3

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @Black Jazz Design

Synopsis

Joe deserves better. Meeting Dylan helps him see that.

After a recent redundancy, Joe takes a few months off to try and make it as a writer. His partner, Harry, is less than supportive but Joe is used to that after ten years together, just like he’s used to Harry’s controlling nature and his drinking habit.

Dylan, a server at Rainbow Place, is fascinated by Joe as he sits in the café and works on his laptop. His attempts to flirt are met with awkwardness at first, but gradually Joe opens up. Dylan is disappointed when he learns Joe isn’t single. As their friendship develops he begins to worry about the nature of Joe’s relationship, especially when he witnesses Harry’s behaviour in person. Abuse isn’t always physical, and Dylan knows that from experience. His concern helps Joe see his relationship for what it is, and gives him the courage to end things with Harry.

Free to act on their mutual attraction, Joe and Dylan dive headlong into something that becomes serious fast. Joe revels in the passion and intimacy he’s been missing out on for so long, but Dylan is worried that Joe is on the rebound. He puts on the brakes, knowing that they need to slow down to make this last. For this new relationship to work, Joe needs to show Dylan that he’s ready to move on from the past.

Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone and has a satisfying happy ending.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Another good addition to this series.

I’m going to sound like a broken record. Better Place is the third book in the Rainbow Place series and it’s the third book I’ve listened to by Hamish Long. Once again, his fantastic performance of this story has enhanced my enjoyment of it immensely. My previous rating of the ebook has been increased from 4 stars to 5.

Rainbow Place was the first book I listened to performed by him and I immediately became a fan. His British accent is very pleasing and easy for this American listener to understand. The various voices he uses for the characters are perfect and his pacing and vocal inflections are great.

Below is a copy of the review I wrote when Better Place was released as an ebook.
* * * * * * * *
I’ve really been enjoying the Rainbow Place series and Better Place is a good addition.

Dylan works at Rainbow Place Café and Joe has been coming to there to work on his book. Dylan is attracted to him but doesn’t know if he’s in a relationship or if he’s even gay. They strike up a friendship and chat together during Joe’s visits and soon Dylan hopes for more.

Joe and Harry have been together 10 years but things haven’t been going too well lately. Joe finally realizes the relationship can’t be fixed and after he breaks it off with Harry, he is excited by the attraction he feels to Dylan.

Better Place is a good story with just the right amount of tension. The budding relationship between Joe and Dylan becomes complicated when Harry confronts Dylan at Rainbow Place. Joe stands up to him but Dylan is still shaken due to his previous relationship that went bad when his ex became violent.

The Rainbow Place series is filled with many interesting characters but each book stands on its own very well. There was a new character introduced in Better Place and I hope we see more of them in the next book.

Story: ♥♥♥♥♥

Narration: ♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Scorcher

Rainbow Place Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

About Author

Jay Northcote

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 self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.

Author Links