Review - A Boy Called Rainbow by Robin Knight

A Boy Called Rainbow

by Robin Knight

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Tags: Contemporary Rom-Com

Posted in Book Reviews on 20 May, 2026

Miles is a respected art appraiser who’s about to realize his dream of opening his own gallery with his boyfriend, until he finds out said boyfriend is cheating on him with their main investor, and that’s just the latest of a long history of affairs. Feeling defeated, Miles takes a lucrative commission to evaluate the work of a recently deceased eccentric painter in coastal Georgia. The only hitch is that Miles must contend with the artist’s reclusive grandson, who goes by Rainbow. Miles’ attitude about the job changes when he meets the handsome, deaf young man, who is a talented artist in his own right.

This very contemporary gay romance should probably have content warnings for its extremely homophobic and ableist language. Fortunately, the outbursts, which come from Rainbow’s brother, are very few. However, these, along with mother nature, provides much of the drama to the plot. There’s a hint of romantic comedy about the story, with a crazy cat lady who runs the local inn providing some humor.

The story is told entirely from Miles’ point of view. Nobody deserves the treatment Miles gets from his ex-boyfriend or his other New York “friends” but some of the criticism doesn’t seem to be far off the mark. Beneath the exotic veneer of the art world, Miles’ job is really not much more glamorous than an accountant, and his personality seems to match the stereotype.

Rainbow is a true force of nature. It’s no surprise that Miles falls hard for the young man. It might be a little more surprising that Rainbow still has the ability to open himself up to the possibility of loving someone else after the loss of his grandmother and the hatred heaped on him by the rest of his family.

“A Boy Called Rainbow” is available from Smashwords or see Bookshop.org to purchase from an independent bookseller.