Break Through

The District Line, Book 2

By: C. F. White

Narrated by: Piers Ryman

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Should falling in love really get in the way of your lifelong dreams?

Sebastian Saunders is 3,000 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.

©2018 C. F. White (P)2020 C. F. White

And so it continues...

So this picks up right where book 1 left off.

While there are times when I wanna strangle Seb. I love how he and Jay made a conscious decision to fight for their love and their relationship. There's still angst, doubts and struggles, but it's all balanced out by the love, the support of secondary characters and a bit of a comeuppance for those who deserved it. lol.

Piers' narration was good, however, the American accent sounded a bit weird.

**thank you for the opportunity to listen and review**

An amazing sequel!

The author really explores Seb and Jay as characters.

We get to see them moving forward with their lives, their passions and their dreams

I like how everything played out. There was angst and so much emotion!

This was an amazing sequel and I dived right into this obe after book 1.

The narration was enjoyable and engaging!

Ripped my heart out & put it back together

Having listened to the previous book in this series, I went into this one prepared for angst. Thankfully, in the midst of angst, confusion, fear, and Seb's continuing self-esteem issues, (which are mostly due to a couple reappearing villains who I'd be happy to see thrown off a cliff), there are also truly funny moments, sexy moments, and wonderfully sweet moments.
Jay seemed a bit more self-assured in this book than the previous, but he had his moments of understandable wallowing during separation & justifiable bitterness about people in football who are reluctant for him to be out.
As for Seb, oh man, Seb. Just as in the last book, I wanted to wrap him up in a hug & tell him how much more he's worth than he's been led to believe, that he's not just a great musician, but a decent person worthy of love. Thank goodness that he's got Jay & his bandmates to keep him from throwing himself into the abyss. Seb's bandmates, along with Jay's family & best friend. (who is also also his neighbor & ex-girlfriend in one), provide a good deal of comic relief and, as friends often do, keep the two leads from doing something stupid from time to time.
I will definitely be looking for more of C.F. White's work, going beyond this series.
So far as the narration, Piers Ryman is fantastic with expressing emotion & his pacing is good. One unfortunate bit about this book for him is that he is not terribly skilled at voicing Americans/New Yorkers, and there are some in this story. His voice for one of the female Americans in particular made me shake my head. Thank goodness that they're minor characters and not present at all times, Overall voice differentiation was decent and I appreciated that they were consistent with the previous book. During the first chunk of the book, Seb & Jay are on opposite chores & chapters begin with a quick line of where things are taking place. However, once they are in the same country, perspective periodically changes mid-chapter. Ryman did pause between these changes, but sometimes it still took me a moment of context to figure out whose head I was in. However, again, the emotion that came through the narration and the pacing were fantastic, in my opinion, and I wouldn't hesitate in buying a book with him narrating; (well, maybe if all the characters are American women, I'd pause..)

Loved this book!

Such a great story. I loved this middle book in the series. I feel like we really got to know Seb and Jay on their own while they were separated. it was a testament to their relationship that they were able to give up their lives to be what the other one needed.

I will say, I just love Seb. He leads with his emotions and his heart and is so afraid of being left behind. This was such a great story. I can't wait to hear Book 3!

Sebastian and Jay

I enjoyed the first book in The District Line series. The opposites attract thing worked for me. Jay is a Londoner who wants to be a professional footballer. Sebastian is a wannabe rock and roll star who goes to school to appease his father. They ran into each other literally and things sort of fell into place. Until Sebastian’s father decided his son belonged in New York instead of London.

This book picks up after Seb has moved to New York. He’s trying to adapt, plying clients while dodging his father’s assistant who always seems to be trying to get into Seb’s pants despite the fact he’s married. Seb’s doing his best in the Big Apple, but he misses Jay.

Jay, for his part, has a chance to move into the big leagues. He’s been scouted and this is his opportunity – if he can keep his head about him and not lose it again. Truthfully he’s missing Seb and when the opportunity presents itself so he can see his former love, he leaps at the chance – damn the consequences. And those were huge consequences. Part of me cheered because, yay, the two men are together again and part of me wanted to knock some sense into Jay for risking his entire career. Now, the romantic in me loved the two big gestures. Ah, swoon-worthy.

Life’s not simple and staying together and in the closet is a huge risk. For both men. In the end they both have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to be together.

This book ends on a solid HEA but there’s more to come and I can’t wait. Interestingly, the book takes place during 7/7 but it’s only mentioned peripherally. I can still remember that horrible morning. One not to be forgotten and nicely woven into the story without it taking center stage.

Piers Ryman narrated this book and he’s quickly becoming a fave of mine. He does Brit brilliantly although his New York/American was a little less consistent. But although it was noticeable, it didn’t in any way detract from the story. So, am starting part three shortly.

Jay and Seb

Loved seeing what had happened since Seb moved to New York. We meet Seb's mum and find out that Web had repressed his memories of her, and that she wasn't allowed to see Web after she left, Sebs father is a piece of work, cutting Seb off everything just because he is in love and wants to be with Jay not in New York is despicable. Glad they get together

good second instalment

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

Story comment: a good sequel to Kick Off: well paced, good character development (great secondary characters) and the story was an entertaining roll-a-coaster of high's and lows. I like that Jay and Seb learn whats important and get their second chance.

Narrator comment: I enjoy Piers Ryman as a narrator. I had no problem distinguishing characters, understanding accents or feeling the emotions of the story.

I look forward to Book 3.

second chance at love

Seb and Jay are given a second chance at love... once again Piers gives these characters life and makes CF's words jump off the page. another enjoyable afternoon spent with these amazing characters and a wonderful well rounded story.

Nice

Quite enjoyed this one, looking for the last book to finish off all the lose ends.
Very well narrated.

Very good!

Enjoyed this second novel in the District Line series by CF White and narrated by Piers Ryman. It was easy to sink into...I love Piers' narration and he did a lovely job here. Looking forward to more from this duo!

London lads in New York!

This book continues on after the events in the first book, so it's definitely best enjoyed after reading/listening to book 1 which I also love. Piers Ryman does an excellent job of giving the lads their own distinct voices.
This is a fun contemporary MM romance and highly recommended for all you lovers of Brit Boys!

times has passed and the road don't get easier

Seb and Jay are back and this time we get even more heat, passion, chemistry, truth, and reality. Their journey was not easy or simple. There were obstacle and time in the way, but these two find themselves back in the same sphere. The bubble a bit bruised and weary but not completely busted.

I want to give so much more but that would defeat the purpose of you coming in relaxing and popping in the earbuds and taking a listen as Piers Ryman take you on a journey of the words that came from CF White. This was fantastic. I loved having the visual cues of what the author envisioned the cast to look like. I had vivid pictures to go with the narration and it made things even clearer.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Easy-to-read Entertaining Page-turner Realistic Unpredictable Wonderful characters

A good English football story

A love story across the ocean with a footballer and a businessman.
Good story, well narrated, worth reading.

The story continnues

At the start of this book we find our MCs seperated, as this book is a direct continnuation from book one. They do of course meet up again and rekindle their relationship. I liked this books becuase of how both Seb and Jay grew, I like to see characters develop in a possitive way. I thought that Jay grew the most and I'm hoping to see Seb come into his own a bit more, which I hope will happen in boo three.

As with the first book Pierce Ryman's narration is excellent and I just want to hear more audio books narrated by him.

I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

Another great one!

Story: Loved the first part of Seb's and Jay's story, but the second one just brought it to a whole new level! Loved all about it - the emotions, the conflicts, all the brilliant side characters! Very well done!
Narration: An intense, but pleasant voice with an amazing penchant for accents and characters differentiation!

Great continuation of the story

I went into this blind and enjoyed continuing with Seb and Jay. They both had so many obstacles so breath through in order to make their relationship work and there was defiantly plenty of stress and angst to keep me on the edge of my seat. Lots of sexiness too. Piers was a joy to listen to and I loved the extra magic he brought to the book.

as good as the ebook

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook. I can't listen to an audiobook without knowing the book, that's not possible for me.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. It took me a little bit, to come into the narrator, but at the end, it worked. I only have to take a few breaks between. I'm just not yet finish with the book, I’m over the half, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

Overcoming obstacles

Seb and Jay chose to go their separate ways because of the myriad of issues plaguing them both.
They're both suffering miserably because of it.
When Jay gets a chance to hop over the pond and see Seb he jumps at the opportunity.
Their reunion could be considered bittersweet because Jay is still struggling with coming out and Seb is still terrified of disappointing his father and is so unsure of how to stand on his own.
I loved seeing Seb become stronger and deciding to fight for Jay and Jay's bravery in disclosing his truth to his family and friends.
There were some decidedly tough moments as well as plenty of hilarious ones.
Piers Ryman did an absolute bang up job on the narration, wonderfully emotive and kept me thoroughly engaged.

Awesome

This was such an entertaining audiobook.
I really enjoyed this story.
The narration brought it to the next level.
This was definitely a great listen.

Break throughs all round

Book two in the series, and having not read these I went into this not knowing if Seb and Jay would reconcile, or if New York had captured his heart and would be enough for him and enable him to move on and forget Jay.

The book didn't disappoint on showing us just how this pair of star crossed lovers were coping,(possibly not) with being separated by an ocean and of course Seb's domineering father and the seemingly ever present Stephen who really is a total creep and who never fails to try and an wheedle his way back into Seb's life and ultimately bed

I've been listening to this while walking quite a bit more during the UK lock down, and feared I might actually get locked up for repeated and spontaneous outbursts of sniggering and laughing out loud while walking. Honestly some of the one liners were just so spot on and delivered with great comic timing

Seb and Jay of course have some shots wide of goal (sorry) before finally putting it in the back of the net (okay, I'm not sorry) before someone is deemed to be offside :-)

Add in Seb's band-mates, an unexpected reunion with... well you'll have to find out of yourself! The stand out comedy scenes came from Brian (Jay's brother) who's dry wit and total lack of verbal filter were just what was needed to lighten the mood at times or to distract from what was going on around Jay.

I'm so glad there is a third book, as I am desperate to find out where Jay and Seb get the happy ever after these two truly deserve. This is definitely a series that once complete, I will be revisiting and having a good old fashioned binge-listen session.

This is also an author who's back catalogue of work I will be diving into.