Kick Off cover art

Kick Off

The District Line, Book 1

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Kick Off

By: C.F. White
Narrated by: Piers Ryman
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About this listen

One moment of madness ended it all. A flare of temper, a thrown punch, and Jay Ruttman’s dream of being a footballer evaporated.

Thrown out of the Pro Academy, Jay falls back to Plan B. University. At least he got accepted on the sports scholarship. It might keep his dreams alive. Now he has a new plan: head down. Train hard. Get scouted. That plan does not include falling for a rock musician - last thing he needs is a posh muso stirring up those well-hidden preferences that could end Jay’s career before it can even begin.

Sebastian Saunders is out and proud. This rich kid rock musician wants to live it up, chase the dream, and rock out for as long as he can, dodging his millionaire father’s plans for him to take the helm of the family business. He has a strict rule that he doesn’t date closet cases because he’s been there, done that. So that should mean not falling for shy, sexy footballers, no matter how pretty their baby blue eyes are.

For the sake of his heart. And both of their dreams.

Kick Off is the first book in the District Line series. A new-adult opposites-attract first-time sports/rocker contemporary MM romance serial featuring an East End cockney footballer, a West End elite public-school boy gone rogue, and the London tube line that connects them both.

©2018 C.F. White (P)2019 C.F. White Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Dream Heartfelt Celebrity Musician

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Listener received this title free

The tag line for this book is what happens when opposite sides of the track collide? It’s perfect because of course there’s the literal collision and then all the mini collisions afterward. Talk about two men who should be together, but are facing a million obstacles.

Jay Ruttman is a footballer. It’s all he’s ever wanted and mostly what he’s good at. He’s in uni studying psychology, but his heart is in the game. He almost made it to the pros but got sidetracked. Now he’s waiting for a scout from a pro team to come and see him play. See how good he is. Pluck him from obscurity and take him to the big leagues. Pull him out of his working-class life into something amazing.

Seb Saunders is rich. Well, his dad’s rich, and Seb has no problems taking daddy’s money. He’s in uni because that’s the way to keep the taps flowing with cash. He’s got a ‘job’ helping out with his dad’s company and he only half pays attention. The truth is that he wants to be a guitarist. It’s all he’s ever wanted. He belongs to a band with two other guys and they haven’t made it big yet, but they do have potential.

So when Jay and Seb collide on the campus at uni, they truly are coming from different worlds. Rich versus poor. A sloppy student versus one who takes his studies seriously. Guitarist versus footballer. There is also the little matter of their sexuality. Neither man is truly ‘out’ and both knowing coming out will spell disaster. For Seb it’s all about daddy’s approval, and for Jay it’s the little matter that there are no professional out footballers. Plenty of gay ones, undoubtedly, but none who’ve been brave enough to show the world who they truly are.

Where does that leave the men? In a push and pull. There’s attraction, to be sure, but Jay is completely inexperience and Seb isn’t much further along. They are new to true intimacy – physical and emotional. They are new to a same-sex relationship. I felt my heart break as I saw all the obstacles piled up before them, keeping them from being their authentic selves.

Then Seb’s father steps in and it looks like there’s no hope for the men.

I won’t spoil the ending, but there is an HFN and more books to come. I can’t wait to see how the men overcome all their problems because, of course, I want them to have their happy ending.

Piers Ryman is a new-to-me narrator and I thought he did a great job. I don’t know from English accents, but he certainly put in a strong performance and I’ll definitely listen to more of his work. So, sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next book.

Working-class footballer and wealthy guitarist

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Listener received this title free

OMG I loved this book, I practically listened in one go as I just couldn’t stop. Two guys who on paper have nothing in common meet and have a fantastic connection, I was totally sold on their relationship even through the struggles. My heart went out for both of them as they really get caught up in each other but their circumstances keep pulling them apart. Its gritty, raw, and very real.

I cannot wait for the next instalment.

Awesome

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I found this book from the “Based on your Amazon and Kindle book purchases” and after reading the synopsis I knew I would have to give it a go, despite never hearing of the author and narrator before.

I am so glad that I did. This book was engaging from kick off till the final whistle. Or from the intro to the end of the final verse.

The District line, for those unaware of London’s underground, is a great metaphor for the two main characters. It runs from Essex to the East End, where some of London's poorest bourghs are, and heading west past some of London's landmarks it travels through some of the most affluent areas with some of the highest house prices in the world.

Jay from the East London council estates built for the dockers and factory works of yesterday. He’s a typical salt of the earth, diamond geezer, trying to make the best of his skills despite his earlier setbacks. Seb, from West London and a world apart from Jay. At first meeting him, it’s hard to see beyond his outward shell, of born with a silver spoon in his mouth, rebelling against his upper middle class wealthy upbringing.

But there is more to both them than their background and both have built up walls around themselves for their own survival in their world that may not accept them for who and what they are.

When Jay bumps into Seb, their worlds collide and the ensuing tale kept me gripped all the way through.

Piers Ryman narrates this story really well. I enjoyed the rhythm and tone of his voice as the story unfolded and his character voices were great. Although that said, his voice for Seb really grated on me for a large part of the book, he used a very nasally, snidey tone that made me not like or care about the character at first. I wonder if this was intentional though?

Whereas the voice he used for Jay was spot on.

I grew up not far from where Jay came from and know the area well, having worked in East Ham for many years. I moved to the other side of the country a few years ago and Piers’ cockney accent for Jay had me feeling homesick. It was that good.

Overall, book one was a great start to the District Line series and will make you want the next two. As they weren’t out on audio, I bought them for my kindle and have been on a District line roller coaster for the past week or so. I’ve heard that the books will be out on audio soon and I will happily listen to them as this is a story that deserves to be enjoyed more than once.

Part one will get you hooked

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Listener received this title free

Two young, viral, ambitious, sexy men find that they have some commonalities. Being from the same world is not one of them. Being of the same gender, young, determined, and attracted to the other. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. Jay and Seb were so far apart yet so close. There was a tale there that draws you in and have you expecting more.

There was intensity. There was rawness. There was passion and struggles. There were huge obstacles. And for me a reason to come back and read the next installation. I want to know that this was not the end for Jay and Seb. I want to see where life takes them and how they come back to each other.

Piers Ryman did a beautiful job with UK English. I love that there was just the clarity in properness and the definition in the two different males and there speech pattern.

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

loved this romance rough start-hard finish

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Listener received this title free

CF White is a relatively new-to-me author as I only encountered her last year at ShiMMer UK in Birmingham, but I have heard at least a couple of audiobooks narrated by Piers Ryman and he seems to do a good job with bringing these guys to life and giving them each their individual voices. I live in London so I'm familiar with the District Line (it's the green one on the tube map!) and have seen some of the locations used in the book. I enjoyed this tale as the two guys start to find their way together, especially as Jay is still mostly closeted with his chosen profession. I want to know where the guys go next as Seb is leaving the country at the end of the book. I look forward to starting the next in the series as there's still 2 more books to come in this trilogy. Good HFN, but wanting them to get to HEA.

The musician and the footballer

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Listener received this title free

I so loved this gorgeous audiobook .
I need desperately to listen to book 2 in this series.
I felt as I knew Jay and Seb know the area where Jay lives ..
Such a wonderful audiobook easily more than 5 stars ..
Terrific words by C.F. White and magical narration by Piers Ryman .

Baby , This one’s for you.

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Listener received this title free

I enjoy a good sports romance, especially incl. soccer. And I like romances with a rockstar. Here we get both in a way, but it goes much deeper than that and is not a typical sports or rock star romance. Which, even though I love them is not a bad thing. The characters are more than what they like to do, even though it is one part of them. I also really enjoyed their relationships with friends and family. It should be noted, though, that the audiobook ends with an awesome moment, but also on a big cliffhanger
The next audiobook comes out very soon and the cliffhanger is exciting for me, but I know not everyone likes those. It was a great great 'read' with a nice narration :)

A great audiobook w/ likable main characters

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Listener received this title free

This is the first book of C. F. White that I have read /listened to and I loved it.
Great characters, sad stories all with a wonderful English background.
The two main characters are so different it shouldn't work but it does.
Looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Tears, laughter and more.

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Listener received this title free

As a long fan of the District Line from its days on wattpad, I knew this wouldn’t disappoint. Love the book and the narrating was spot on. Recommended for fans of angsty British romance.

Great story, great narration

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Listener received this title free

This is a really good, if angsty story. Two people from opposite sides of a social stratum very well illustrated by each man living at opposite ends of the District line. Seb and Jay's story is sad, sweet and has it's heated moments. Definitely a good story, completed in book 2.
Piers Ryman is the perfect voice for this! He is the reason I even listened to it :) Piers Ryman has a great range of character voices - from Jay's working class family (mum, dad) to Seb's posher tones . I was totally immersed in the story. I really hope he gets to perform the second part of Jay and Seb's story.

Awesome narration!

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