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Rainbow in the Dark
Like a Rainbow in the Dark is the story of Marcus Midnight. Marcus is the lead singer and guitarist of a metal band called Guillotine, which has had six hit albums in twelve years, but now Marcus is burned out and bitterly lonely. Gay and kept in the closet by his paranoid record label, Marcus leaves the States and heads to Germany, hoping to relax, write some music, and find some willing hot guys to sleep with.
It's there, in a loft above a bookstore where he isn't a household name, that Marcus is slowly able to rediscover his ability to write music... and amongst the many bars and good garage bands, he becomes friends with another band, called Wire and Lace. Their music is good, but their lead singer, Bard, could prove to be even better.
CONTENT This title is M/M Contemporary Anthropomorphic Romance, not shape-shifter.
It's there, in a loft above a bookstore where he isn't a household name, that Marcus is slowly able to rediscover his ability to write music... and amongst the many bars and good garage bands, he becomes friends with another band, called Wire and Lace. Their music is good, but their lead singer, Bard, could prove to be even better.
CONTENT This title is M/M Contemporary Anthropomorphic Romance, not shape-shifter.
- GenresM M RomanceMusic
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 10, 2011
2 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
didnt-finish
September 5, 2011I struggled to 50 percent (a little into Chapter 8) before giving up and marking this as did not finish. It made my brain hurt and my eyes bleed and I am surprised I made it as far as I did. I want to add it to my “I can’t believe they charge $8.99 for this, it didn’t even appear to have an editor” mostly I was just bored with this.
Great Cover but that’s all I liked.
I couldn’t get past the writing on this one. It seemed to mix past and present in the most confusing way possible. I would reread paragraphs four times and still not know what was being said or who was doing what. Then there was the head hopping like randomly I don’t know how to describe the narration in this one it went from like 3rd person to first person to some unknown to me style and back. Words were used improperly, spelled correctly but the word choice made no sense. I am thinking English may have not been the author’s first language and this is one of the many areas where an editor would have been helpful.
Marcus is the MC and he bored me most of the plot is repetitive just him writing music or humming. No character or relationship development. Only details are pages of him getting a haircut. Lost count of how many pages/different times the detailed instructions for how to paint t-shirts was given. How many times did Marcus say he was rich but had no idea how rich? And this was only to 50% I bet he repeats all that at least 5 more times.
Oh and of course how to set up a hookah was described in detail guess your supposed to use pineapple juice water mix when getting high off the hookah. Seemed like the author didn’t know how to develop the characters so we get these pointless descriptions and the same scene over and over again
Oh were they animals? The author forgot to include details about that but here and there a tail would flick or an ear would perk.
I could go on but I think I have listed enough why I didn’t like it …
Great Cover but that’s all I liked.
I couldn’t get past the writing on this one. It seemed to mix past and present in the most confusing way possible. I would reread paragraphs four times and still not know what was being said or who was doing what. Then there was the head hopping like randomly I don’t know how to describe the narration in this one it went from like 3rd person to first person to some unknown to me style and back. Words were used improperly, spelled correctly but the word choice made no sense. I am thinking English may have not been the author’s first language and this is one of the many areas where an editor would have been helpful.
Marcus is the MC and he bored me most of the plot is repetitive just him writing music or humming. No character or relationship development. Only details are pages of him getting a haircut. Lost count of how many pages/different times the detailed instructions for how to paint t-shirts was given. How many times did Marcus say he was rich but had no idea how rich? And this was only to 50% I bet he repeats all that at least 5 more times.
Oh and of course how to set up a hookah was described in detail guess your supposed to use pineapple juice water mix when getting high off the hookah. Seemed like the author didn’t know how to develop the characters so we get these pointless descriptions and the same scene over and over again
Oh were they animals? The author forgot to include details about that but here and there a tail would flick or an ear would perk.
I could go on but I think I have listed enough why I didn’t like it …
August 14, 2011
Although the cover is very cute, the author shouldn't have written this book with anthropomorphic characters. Unlike Kyell Gold, Amy Meister does not include fully the anthropomorphic aspect in the story. We aren't told which animal are most of the characters, and the animals don't seem to represent character traits. Several times I found myself imagining the characters as human and then the animal references, like Estella talking of her wings, jarred me out of the story for a moment. Despite all this, the story is enjoyable and really long (a good thing!).
March 23, 2019
This book was a grip from beginning to end and the world was so realistic and fresh, i loved experiencing this book and i finished it wanting to restart it again right away!! (Plus, the artwork on teh cover was A++ )
October 21, 2016
This needed a much better editor than it had.
First of all, what was the point of making the characters anthropomorphic? I could deduce no rhyme or reason for that; they seemed to be picked at random (and not every character's animal was even mentioned), and there were absolutely no consequences of them not being human, they acted exactly like humans would. Which, aside from being completely unlikely because animals have different social structures, is frankly not even possible -- you try speaking English with a wolf snout some time. Good luck. How do a fossa and wolf kiss exactly? We got some detail on their penis shapes, but that's it. Maybe this was a furry author's not very well thought out dream, I don't know. That aspect was annoying for me; I kept waiting for something interesting to evolve from the premise, some meaning to develop, but it didn't happen.
And then the story just dragged on and on and on. It wasn't completely uninteresting, but it needed some pacing. A lot of time was spent on making and selling t-shirts, renovating houses, and smoking hookah that was completely irrelevant. The romance in specific dropped out of the plot entirely when Marcus had to return to the States. I was wondering what happened -- they went from seeing each other a lot to no contact at all. What, email was broken? No, it seemed to work. But Marcus didn't communicate with his lover. And then one day they were all lovey-dovey together again, no transition.
I did like Marcus and how he worked on writing music, that rung true.
But for the most part this feels like a pretty raw first draft that needs to be seriously restructured to work as a finished novel. Make the anthropomorphizing meaningful!
First of all, what was the point of making the characters anthropomorphic? I could deduce no rhyme or reason for that; they seemed to be picked at random (and not every character's animal was even mentioned), and there were absolutely no consequences of them not being human, they acted exactly like humans would. Which, aside from being completely unlikely because animals have different social structures, is frankly not even possible -- you try speaking English with a wolf snout some time. Good luck. How do a fossa and wolf kiss exactly? We got some detail on their penis shapes, but that's it. Maybe this was a furry author's not very well thought out dream, I don't know. That aspect was annoying for me; I kept waiting for something interesting to evolve from the premise, some meaning to develop, but it didn't happen.
And then the story just dragged on and on and on. It wasn't completely uninteresting, but it needed some pacing. A lot of time was spent on making and selling t-shirts, renovating houses, and smoking hookah that was completely irrelevant. The romance in specific dropped out of the plot entirely when Marcus had to return to the States. I was wondering what happened -- they went from seeing each other a lot to no contact at all. What, email was broken? No, it seemed to work. But Marcus didn't communicate with his lover. And then one day they were all lovey-dovey together again, no transition.
I did like Marcus and how he worked on writing music, that rung true.
But for the most part this feels like a pretty raw first draft that needs to be seriously restructured to work as a finished novel. Make the anthropomorphizing meaningful!
September 28, 2011
I loved Marcus and Bard, and the relationship between the two. I felt like I was in Dresden with them, and like Marcus, I didn't want to leave. The conflicts and resolutions were all well-done, too.
That said, there were a few things that bothered me. What does it mean when someone's "face defaulted"? This is a phrase that was used several times, and I could sort of figure it out in context, but I struggled with it each time. Also, you could make a drinking game with this book and the use of the word 'droll'. Those are nitpicks.
On a larger scale, I never really understood why the anthropomorphic world. I read - and LOVED - Kyell Gold's Out of Position, despite having thought the anthropomorphism sounded weird; it really worked well there. So whereas I went into that one with the animals as a negative, because I loved that one so much I saw them as a positive here. And yet, I kept being startled by reminders that they were animals. It's like I somehow never really saw them as animals, which makes me think I really need to re-read OOP (oh such a hardship ;) to try to figure out how/why it seemed to work so well there. Because I really can't say what's different, just that something is. Though I did feel like there was something about the writing style of this one that held me at something of a distance, maybe that's the key?
That said, there were a few things that bothered me. What does it mean when someone's "face defaulted"? This is a phrase that was used several times, and I could sort of figure it out in context, but I struggled with it each time. Also, you could make a drinking game with this book and the use of the word 'droll'. Those are nitpicks.
On a larger scale, I never really understood why the anthropomorphic world. I read - and LOVED - Kyell Gold's Out of Position, despite having thought the anthropomorphism sounded weird; it really worked well there. So whereas I went into that one with the animals as a negative, because I loved that one so much I saw them as a positive here. And yet, I kept being startled by reminders that they were animals. It's like I somehow never really saw them as animals, which makes me think I really need to re-read OOP (oh such a hardship ;) to try to figure out how/why it seemed to work so well there. Because I really can't say what's different, just that something is. Though I did feel like there was something about the writing style of this one that held me at something of a distance, maybe that's the key?
November 14, 2011
Good God, was this book boring -__-. I mean really at first it was interesting, because I wanted to know where will Marcus go to find himself, again. But then this odyssey began. At the start it was okay, new city, new people, everything was fresh and pulling enough. Marcus began to explore the city and other bands.
And as soon Marcus met this new band "Wire and Lace." the plot deteriorate hugely. Who really cares for this band and their path in music world, NO ONE... bad choice and it was boring. Marcus and Bard just didn't have this chemistry.
And as soon Marcus met this new band "Wire and Lace." the plot deteriorate hugely. Who really cares for this band and their path in music world, NO ONE... bad choice and it was boring. Marcus and Bard just didn't have this chemistry.
June 19, 2012
I'm having mixed feelings about the book. On one hand, it’s a good story. On the other, it’s rather long. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. I hoped that the Marcus’ return to the US would start the main obstacle that needs to be overcome for the happy ending to occur. Sure there was an obstacle and a villain, but the whole exchange was as exciting as watching the pain dry.
The book showed potential, so I hope the author will develop in future works.
The book showed potential, so I hope the author will develop in future works.
August 16, 2012
The music writing and practicing with the band were spot on. I felt like I was spending time with my brothers. This is my first book where the characters weren't human and didn't shift. The descriptions were fun and interesting but there were times when I forgot they weren't human. I couldn't quite imagine the kissing. It was fun and uncomplicated by drama.
December 29, 2025
Rainbow in the Dark by Amy Meister is a “feels good” book. Not much drama or conflict, just our main character chilling around a rose-tinted version of Dresden, and the people he meets along the way. So, if you’re just looking for some of that high of everything’s going well on the well, highly recommend. Otherwise, it might end up being too saccharine for your taste.
October 25, 2015
2011 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
August 26, 2011
Story plot is interesting but story is to wide and to long. A lot happens and as I reader I lost "touch" with main couple Bard and Marcus.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews