2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Nothing To Lose by Clare Lydon (316-08-25-2016)

Thoroughly enjoyed reading a relationship I could relate to in a British setting.

Nothing To Lose by Clare Lydon
Lesbian Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 302 pages
Publication Date: June 12, 2016
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1534626077
ISBN-13: 978-1534626072
Amazon: Nothing To Lose
Amazon Kindle: Nothing To Lose

Can you find love in a hopeless place?

Nobody would ever describe Scarlet Williams as a ray of sunshine, but that doesn’t mean she deserves the flood that wipes out her basement flat, making her temporarily homeless.

Enter Joy Hudson, local mayor & sunshine specialist, who opens her house to flood refugees and ends up with Scarlet on her doorstep. Two more opposing characters you couldn’t fail to meet, and yet, somehow, they strike up a friendship. But when the rain stops and the sun comes out, could that friendship blossom into something more?

Fans of contemporary lesbian romance will love Scarlet & Joy’s story, bursting with real characters and shot through with British wit. From the international best-selling author of London Calling and This London Love comes a heart-warming tale of love & redemption.

Find out if opposites really do attract: buy Nothing To Lose today!

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html

2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: What Remains by Garrett Leigh (120-06-03-2016)

1) This was good, solid work, although so firmly grounded in the genre that at times it seemed formulaic.The plot was the best aspect.The unexpected twist of selective amnesia was clever. Jodi loses recollection of the time when he first explored homosexuality. This lapse was an ingenious way to introduce the theme of sexual awakening that is a staple of so many m/m romance novels. It also allowed the protagonists to have two first sexual encounters rather than one, and we all know that the tension of the first encounter drives most books in the genre. Setting was well handled; the reader gets a sense of modern-day London without clumsy exposition. As readers, we simply are in London as we move along its streets with the characters. Garret Leigh doesn't fall into the trap of description for description's sake. Characterization was good; we know who Jodi, Rupert, Sophie, and Indie are, and they speak in individual voices and have individual habits of mind. Jen, Rupert's ex, is, by contrast, a stick figure villain.

2) This was a beautiful story of love and hope, of the value of friends and of what's really important in life. Full of heartbreaking moments, both the sad and happy kind, and so well-written some parts of it read almost like prose.

What Remains by Garrett Leigh
Bisexual Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (July 4, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1626493987
ISBN-13: 978-1626493988
Amazon: What Remains

Web designer Jodi Peters is a solitary creature. Lunch twice a week with his ex-girlfriend-turned-BFF and the occasional messy venture to a dodgy gay bar is all the company he needs, right?

Then one night he stumbles across newly divorced firefighter Rupert O'Neil. Rupert is lost and lonely, but just about the sweetest bloke Jodi has ever known. Add in the heady current between them, and Jodi can't help falling hard in love. He offers Rupert a home within the walls of his cosy Tottenham flat-a sanctuary to nurture their own brand of family-and for four blissful years, life is never sweeter.

Until a cruel twist of fate snatches it all away. A moment of distraction leaves Jodi fighting for a life he can't remember and shatters Rupert's heart. Jodi doesn't know him-or want to. With little left of the man he adores, Rupert must cling to what remains of his shaky faith and pray that Jodi can learn to love him again.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html

2016 Rainbow Awards Cover Contest

This year all the covers will remain in the poll till the end. BUT I will push your competitive profile letting you know, week by week which covers are in the top 10 :-) this week there are 12 since there are tie-ins. AND... Everyone has a second vote! yes, I will delete only the triple and more votes, not the doubles, therefore go and vote again if you have already. At today we have 14.825 votes in total. And continue to vote until the end nothing has been written out! http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/covers.php