This is my first book by C. F. White and I enjoyed it immensely. While this is a sports romance in that Jay is a University footballer (soccer for those of us in the U.S.), there isn’t a focus on actual game play. Jay and Seb are opposites in so many ways yet find a connection – initially physical attraction, but it blooms into so much more. White brings us fully into both Jay & Seb’s worlds, introduces us to their families, their friends, their hope and dreams, as well as their fault and defeats. While incorporating many popular romance tropes, this didn’t feel over-the-top angsty or make any antagonist overly caricature.
Cliffhanger. This is absolutely a cliffhanger in the sense that this kicks off the District Line trilogy. You *could* read/listen to this story all on it’s own. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Duets & Trilogies. Too many of them feel like single stories needlessly dragged out or chopped into smaller sections to become multiple books. There’s no HEA for Jay & Seb, but there is a complete and compelling story here.
I didn’t think twice about purchasing the next book in the series, Break Through.
This is my first time listening to Piers Ryman and he is absolutely phenomenal. He expertly navigated a massive cast of characters using a variety of accents and registers consistently throughout the book. You always knew who was talking whether the text indicated it or not. This isn’t a criticism of Ryman as an artist – but I’m not entirely sure he was the appropriate voice to cast for this. He sounds older. Not like the 20-somethings he is portraying. While the performance was fantastic, feeling like a 40+ year old was speaking sometimes brought me out of the story.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.