My Review For A Long Dark Rainbow by Michael Tappenden

⭐⭐⭐   This review is for A Long Dark Rainbow by Michael Tappenden which I reviewed in September 2020 for Online Book Club. I was slightly wary before beginning this novel as some of the reviews were fairly negative but I did in fact love it. I think it may have helped that I’m from the UK, as was the author, so some of the quirky language that other reviewers mentioned, may have made more sense to me.

The novel is labelled as ‘erotic’ on the front cover and in my opinion, the majority of the descriptions are beautiful and romantic rather than vulgar. There are very few profanity occurrences and it seems that the novel is professionally edited.

There are two main characters in the story, Alex and Samantha, both in their 70s, who have found each other again after many years. The story follows their relationship as they get to know each other, learning what makes the other happy, both intimately and in their everyday lives. We also learn about what has brought them to this stage in their lives and their journeys from teenagers through to old age.

I really enjoyed Alex sharing his love of art with Samantha as she slowly begins to appreciate it in the way that he does. Alex shares his experiences with the reader, seemingly explaining that every picture tells a story, which I loved, and will perhaps now make me stop and think and actually ‘see’ a painting.

I disliked the ending the most, the story seemed to just stop which was disappointing. I actually thought there were pages missing! In my opinion, there could have been another chapter just to finalise the novel.

I think the novel would appeal to a wide range of audiences, the story is gripping and definitely makes you wonder what is going to happen next as you turn a page. Whether it makes a difference to people, that the author is from the UK I’m not sure. In my opinion, authors from the UK definitely have a different way of writing from other authors, particularly to those in the US but this doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the novel. If you are uncomfortable reading about sex then this may not be the book for you, but it only amounts to a small proportion of the book. I would recommend this book and I will definitely be reading any other novels by Michael Tappenden.