Series Review The District Line by CF White
The District Line: Blurbs
Kick Off (The District Line #1)
What happens when opposite sides of the track collide?
East Londoner Jay Ruttman has only ever wanted one thing― to be a professional footballer. But after a disastrous brawl on the pitch gets him released from his pro-Academy, he has to follow plan B and enrolls as university Sports Scholar. Head down, train hard and get scouted is his motto. Until he crashes into the man who might just shoot his dreams out of the park.
Kensington elite Sebastian (Seb) Saunders has only ever wanted one thing―to be a rock star. But his father has other plans for him, including taking the helm of his multimillion-pound new business venture across the pond. Live it up, chase the dream and rock out for as long as he can is his mantra. Until he crashes into the man who might just rock his world off its scale.
Jay and Seb live at opposite ends of London’s District Line, separated by wealth, status, family traditions and their own lifelong dreams. This startling and gritty contemporary romance series sees them both having to overcome barriers, face fears and beat rejection to fight for the love they need to achieve it all.
Break Through (The District Line #2)
Should falling in love really get in the way of your lifelong dreams?
Sebastian Saunders is 3000 miles away from home. Working for his father’s expanded business in New York, he's left behind the music career he craved, the friends he relied upon and possibly the love of his life. In a city that never sleeps, how can the nights cure a broken heart?
Jay Ruttman is in London, throwing himself harder into football and his quest to make it on the professional playing field. Locking himself back in the closet, how can he ever open the door, and his heart, again?
A chance encounter in New York where Jay and Seb rekindle their lost romance sets them both on a path to self-discovery and coming to terms with their past, their present and their future.
This is the second part of the District Line serial, where half-time oranges are swapped for the Big Apple.
Come Back (The District Line #3)
The bigger you become, the harder you fall.
Sebastian Saunders is a rising rock star. Jay Ruttman is a Premier League football player. Their year-long relationship is hot commodity. Hounded by the press and fans alike, the lovers struggle to keep their private lives private.
Flying high in the charts and having Jay by his side, Seb is finally living his dream. But Jay’s new, promising career is threatened when a horrific injury on the pitch has him side lined—not only in the game but also in his relationship with Seb. Jay’s crippling self-destruction spirals out of control, tearing them apart. To move forward, both men must learn to leave their past behind—not so easy when it keeps coming back to haunt them.
Can their hard-fought relationship survive the ultimate test?
This is the concluding part to the District Line series where the full-time whistle could signal an end to their turbulent journey… or is it just the beginning?
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Review
Kick Off (District Line Series Book 1)
What happens when a rich bad boy hell bent on rebelling
against his father falls for a closeted footballer who lives on the opposite
side of the tracks?
Jay has known for some time that he fancies men but both his
pursuit of the big leagues and his fear of destroying his family have kept him
firmly in the closet. When a past event nearly ruins his chances of playing in
the professional league he denies who he is and shuts the door for good on the
idea of being an out and proud gay man or so he thinks until he meets
Sebastian. Seb has one goal in life, to escape the financial chains his father
has placed on him by making it big in the music industry. Despite playing gig
after gig, he and his band mates can’t seem to catch a break. Now with the
deadline looming on his music career and the promised job in his father’s
corporate empire breathing down his neck, the last thing he wants or needs is
to fall for somebody. But Jay isn’t just anybody, he’s kind and honest and all
the things Seb thought he never could have or deserved. Will the closet
continue to keep Jay hostage or will Seb be the catalyst that will help Jay
break free? Can Seb somehow manage to avoid the path his father has chosen for
him and make his mark in the music world which means he can stay with Jay who
has come to mean so much to him? Now, if only the two of them have enough time
to figure it all out.
C.F. White begins the District Line trilogy that will trace
the path of two very different young men and the obstacles they must overcome
in order to be with each other. In this first novel, Kick Off, we see Jay on
the cusp of so many things—coming out, a first love, and his first heartbreak.
Jay is terrified to step up and admit he’s gay to his family or fellow
teammates. As he sees it, everyone knows there aren’t any out and proud
footballers in England or anywhere else for that matter so Jay stays hidden and
lonely. But Seb is so alluring. He is the antithesis of Jay, confident, out and
proud, and seemingly badass. And yet all that hides a wounded and very hurting
man who is desperate to just play the music he loves and walk away from his
arrogant bastard of a father. But Daddy holds all the purse strings as well as
all the band’s music equipment and he also plants the ticking timebomb that is
going to change Seb’s life forever. When it all comes crashing down and Seb has
no time left, the last person he ever meant to hurt was Jay. But wishes are not
reality and it’s not looking like Jay and Seb are going to get their happy ever
after.
This novel was incredibly honest—never skirting around the
fact that Jay had to come to terms with his sexuality in his own time and,
despite falling for Seb, fear is still a key motivator in Jay’s life. It will
prevent him from really embracing what he wants and Seb’s father and his
demands will do the rest. Poor Seb—he is trapped in a world that he hates but
cannot escape. He has been used by those he once trusted and is more cynical
than one his age should ever be but Jay manages to break through the wall Seb
has constructed around himself and in a short time these two men catch a
glimpse of how wonderful life could be if they could shut out the world for
just a while. This is not a novel that ties things up neatly—there are a lot of
serious questions at the end of this book and I can’t wait to dive into the
next in this series. Jay and Seb are meant to be together but the world is
determined to keep them apart—now we will all have to wait and see if love
really can conquer all.
Break Through (District Line Series Book 2)
Oh how very lovely to see Seb and Jay finally get the love
they deserve. From the start of this novel it was totally imaginable that these
two were destined to fail. With Seb shipped off to New York to fulfill the
contract he made with his bastard of a father and Jay finally landing a chance
at the big leagues back in London, fate was destined to keep these two apart.
While Jay had his best gal pal, Anna, and his brother, Bryan, to help him
through the lonely days, poor Seb is saddled with his ex, Stephen. I really
hated Stephen by the end of this novel and was overjoyed to see Seb finally
break free of the guy’s hold over him. Honestly the hardest part of this book
was the first third where Seb and Jay chose very different ways to cope with
the fact that they were apart and not even communicating with each other but
still so in love. From a drunken mistake of a one night stand to the
machinations of stalker Stephen it was amazing Seb survived and as nightly
drinking was his habit it’s no wonder he was on the edge when a miraculous
break brought Jay to New York and right back into his arms.
But…Jay was still very much in the closet and even the idea
of telling his parents was terrifying, much less making the decision of
spilling it to his teammates and the public. Just a few people on the team knew
about his sexuality and they were constantly harping at Jay to keep it under
wraps and he listened—until he no longer could. He had choices to make and when
Seb decided to walk away from everything his father had to offer including
considerable wealth and prestige in the corporate world, Jay knew what he had
to do. But knowing a thing and doing it are very different.
I love Jay—his fears, his loyalty to Seb, his desire to see
the relationship move to the next stage and his commitment to his sport all
made him into a working class hero that tugged at my heart. I was devastated
when Seb had his drunken encounter and terrified that he would fall into old,
destructive patterns with Stephen and lose Jays for good. But Seb drew on the
inner strength we all knew he had and came back strong, determined to be honest
and open with Jay, no matter how vulnerable that left him.
I am really enjoying the District Line series by C.F. White
and this installment, Break Through, was even better than the first book of the
trilogy. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the last one and find out if Jay
and Seb can hold on to the love that both crave so greatly and seem to have
found in each other.
Come Back (District Line Book 3)
Holy Smokes! This third novel in the District Line trilogy
ripped out my heart, stomped on it and then made it all better—what an
emotional roller coaster ride this one was! After reveling in the joy of being
together and Seb returning to London to move in with Jay, both men begin the
herculean task of Jay being out but not really being proud or seen or…well,
happy. Still paranoid and being told by the football club to keep his boyfriend
out of the press, Jay tries his best to walk the tightrope that has become his
personal life. Seb goes along with the media blackout about their relationship
but has the occasional slip—one such slip proves to be disastrous for Jay at
his next match. After losing it on the playing field, Jay is red carded and
must sit out the next three matches which puts him in hot water with the team
management. From there it’s a downward spiral that ends with a catastrophic
injury and Jay recovering at home, depressed, angry and doubting everything he
thought about his and Seb’s life together.
Meanwhile Seb’s career is rocketing to the top and he must
balance pushing the band toward success with trying to care for Jay—something
that he has never really done before as he is usually the one being cared for.
Their relationship begins to crumble—they drift further and further apart and
then the past comes back to haunt both of them and it looks like the end is on
the horizon for this match made in heaven.
Honestly the miscommunication or lack thereof between these
two made me want to shake them both on more than one occasion. Both guys had
every right to be stressed but instead of leaning into one another they shut
each other out, thinking that would be less stressful for the other. Instead it
tore them apart to the point where both of them were considering ending it all
at one time or another. Two things had to happen or Seb and Jay were going to
go down in flames. First, Seb had to stop pursuing success long enough to
realize what he had already accomplished and remember that he was in a band and
not a dictator and second, Jay had to come to terms with the fact that he was
gay and in a relationship—either he was proud of Seb and what they had or he
was accepting the fact that in order to play football he had to remain in the
closet essentially and hide his boyfriend there as well. Most importantly Seb
and Jay had to trust each other and let go of a past that held them both
hostage emotionally.
This novel was so intense—I literally could not put it down.
My heart was in my throat for over seventy percent of the book and I was
completely drawn into the story C.F. White had created. I can’t believe this
trilogy is finished—I will really miss Jay and Seb, their friends and family. I
loved the ending of this novel—it was just perfect. This was such an incredible
journey to watch—the changes that happened both to Seb and Jay were so needed
but painful to watch. However, change is necessary in order to really achieve
happiness and if two people deserved to be happy it was Jay and Seb. Watching
their lives nearly crumble in this last book was not easy but the payout in the
end was so very sweet.
The District Line Trilogy is a marvelous series that follows
two men from their first kiss to their happy ever after. It is fraught with
pitfalls and angst, real life problems and hard choices but this journey is so
worth the taking. I highly recommend this series to you—I hope you love it as
much as I do.
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