Mud & Lace (Rainbow Place #4) by Jay Northcote

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Mud & Lace (Rainbow Place #4) by Jay Northcote

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Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A delightful romance, Wicksy, whom we met in previous Rainbow Café stories, learns that love comes in all sizes, shapes, and sexes when he falls for Lady Gogo, the drag queen who first caught his attention during a talent show held at the café.

Wicksy is one of the rugby team members who showed up in book one to help Seb clear the vandalism from Rainbow Place just before it opened. He’s always been straight, but ever since he learned more about the LGBTQ inclusive café, he tags along with his friends and enjoys the ambiance.  When Lady Gogo is offered a chance to perform at the café, after her successful premier during a talent contest, Wicksy is intrigued. For some reason, that beautiful feminine face and figure pique his interest. He knows the drag queen is a man, but doesn’t care. He wants to get to know him better.

Lady Gogo is Charlie, a sweet fem young man who lives with his mom and loves dressing in women’s clothing—from lingerie to outerwear.  His mom is accepting and loving and fully onboard with Charlie’s journey of self-discovery.  Charlie thinks it’s too good to be true when Wicksy seems interested in him and then goes further and gets to know him better.  Wicksy appreciates Charlie’s gender fluidity and eventually comes to realize he must be bisexual to be so into Charlie and accepting of him as he is. 

The author did an outstanding job in building not only a slow burn romance but also a slow burn awakening of sexuality in Wicksy and a slow burn awareness of sexual identity in Charlie. The secondary characters were just perfect, some of whom we met in previous books, others we met in this one. My favorite was Charlie’s mom, who was really wonderful, showing care and concern and total acceptance of who he is and who he wants to be.

I’m impressed by the writing, the creativity of the story, the attention to detail, the sensitivity to the subject and the characters themselves. To me, this is the best of the series, and though some characters have been seen previously, this book can be read as a standalone.  I very highly recommend this satisfying romance.

The bright, colorful cover by Garrett Leigh features a handsome, shirtless, smiling man. The rainbow-colored bar across the bottom of the cover ties the story to the others in the series. This one is so colorful it “feels” happy and made we want to pick it up to read. 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 226 pages
Published April 25th 2019 by Jaybird Press (first published April 22nd 2019)
ASINB07QZL99YK
SeriesRainbow Place #4

Rainbow Place Series

Book #1 – Rainbow Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Safe Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Better Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK

Need A New Contemporary Romance? Check Out the Review Tour for Mud & Lace (Rainbow Place #4) by Jay Northcote

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Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
 
Length: 240 pages
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Rainbow Place Series



Book #1 – Rainbow Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Safe Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Better Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK

 
Blurb



When Wicksy falls for drag queen Charlie, they discover that both sexuality and gender can be fluid.


Simon Wicks—Wicksy to his rugby teammates—has only ever been interested in women. But when he sets eyes on Lady Gogo, a drag queen who performs at Rainbow Place, he can’t stop thinking about her. He knows there’s a guy behind the fishnets and make-up, but he’s ready to explore his fantasies, and Lady Gogo is game for making them come true.


Charlie adores performing in drag. It allows him to indulge in his love of cross-dressing while earning some extra cash. Fooling around with a mostly straight guy in secret seems like a fun diversion, and gives him the chance to explore his feminine side. He feels safe wearing the mask of his confident alter ego, because the real Charlie is hidden from view.


When Wicksy sees more of the guy behind the make-up and glitter, his attraction to Charlie persists, and he realises he’s bisexual. In turn, Charlie begins to understand and accept his gender fluidity. As their mutual journey of self-discovery brings them closer, the secrecy becomes increasingly hard to deal with. If they’re going to have a future together, they both need to find the courage to show people who they really are.


Although this book is part of a linked series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

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
Twitter
Facebook profile
Facebook author page
Facebook author group
Newsletter
Jay’s books

 

Read Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words review here.  We highly recommend this wonderful story!

 

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions

 

Looking for a New Love Story? Check Out the Release Blitz for Mud & Lace (Rainbow Place #4) by Jay Northcote

Standard

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link
 
Length: 240 pages
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Rainbow Place Series



Book #1 – Rainbow Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Safe Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 – Better Place – Amazon US | Amazon UK

 
Blurb



When Wicksy falls for drag queen Charlie, they discover that both sexuality and gender can be fluid.


Simon Wicks—Wicksy to his rugby teammates—has only ever been interested in women. But when he sets eyes on Lady Gogo, a drag queen who performs at Rainbow Place, he can’t stop thinking about her. He knows there’s a guy behind the fishnets and make-up, but he’s ready to explore his fantasies, and Lady Gogo is game for making them come true.


Charlie adores performing in drag. It allows him to indulge in his love of cross-dressing while earning some extra cash. Fooling around with a mostly straight guy in secret seems like a fun diversion, and gives him the chance to explore his feminine side. He feels safe wearing the mask of his confident alter ego, because the real Charlie is hidden from view.


When Wicksy sees more of the guy behind the make-up and glitter, his attraction to Charlie persists, and he realises he’s bisexual. In turn, Charlie begins to understand and accept his gender fluidity. As their mutual journey of self-discovery brings them closer, the secrecy becomes increasingly hard to deal with. If they’re going to have a future together, they both need to find the courage to show people who they really are.


Although this book is part of a linked series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

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
Twitter
Facebook profile
Facebook author page
Facebook author group
Newsletter
Jay’s books

 

Hosted By Signal Boost Promotions