Rain City Lights by Marissa Harrison

Release: February 1st, 2021
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Pine City Press
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, TBD.

“Sometimes you make so much history with someone; the present just doesn’t make sense.”

In the summer of 1981, a serial killer preys on black, teenage prostitutes working Seattle’s arterial highways. But the eyes of youth are blind to danger, and Montgomery “Monti” Jackson is distracted by her own problems. She’ll be starting high school soon, and the return of her mother’s boyfriend heightens the tension in her fractured household.

To add to her worries, Monti fears she may be in love with her best friend, Sasha. But as close as they’d once been, now they couldn’t feel further apart. Moreover, Sasha is a burnout punk rocker and has befriended the neighborhood drug dealer. And when an eviction notice is posted on Monti’s door, strange dynamic forms between them.

One night, an altercation leaves her family penniless. So Monti turns to the very streets where a killer stalks and ensnares young women, beginning her journey towards understanding one simple truth – sometimes your only choices in life are to love and survive.

Rain City Lights is a gritty, urban love story that explores how poverty, addiction, and abuse are passed from one generation to the next.

About the Author:

Marissa Harrison is the author of her debut novel, Rain City Lights. She’s also an avid reader and loves both romances and mystery/thrillers. Also, her favorite stories to read combine both genres and tend to be either love stories with a lot of grit or intense crime stories with a dash of romance.

She enjoys running, hiking, dramatic miniseries, and a great glass of wine in her spare time. Also, she lives in Seattle with her husband and four guinea pigs.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Rain City Lights Review:

“Rain City Lights” is a gorgeous novel with a blend of romance, coming of age characters, dealing with social issues, and even a murder mystery with a serial killer!

Firstly, I have to say that I LOVED the main characters! Monti is an amazing, misunderstood, no-nonsense girl who has hard luck in life. Similarly, Sasha is complex, quiet, mysterious, and someone that you want to know personally. I loved their friendship and thought they shared an excellent connection. Moreover, there is something so raw and dynamic about these characters that immediately caught my attention. From the get-go, I thought Sasha was cool for the way he stands by Monti and rebels against his father. I also thought Richard is a complex character. Similarly, even characters like Birdie, Clarke, Cassandra, Daan, and Reggie were memorable in their manner. Each of them made me react in a different way, which I found interesting.

Furthermore, the author captures the lifestyle of the 80s so nicely! I admired so many small factors in the dialogues, like the initial reaction towards AIDs, treatment towards gay people, homelessness, drug abuse, and racism. Honestly, I found some of these topics prevalent even in today’s times (even though the story takes place in the 80s).

And finally, let’s not forget the intriguing murder mystery that surrounds these characters. There is a serial killer on the loose, and you don’t know who it is. There was just so much happening in this story that I could not put it down! The story caught my attention right from page 1, and it just got better as I continued reading.

Overall, I thought this was a terrific debut by the author cannot wait to read her future novels.