I don’t need you on your knees. I need you in my arms.
C. F. White
Come Back
Format:
Audiobook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
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?
Point of view:
3rd person. Alternating perspectives, not by chapter. Usually pretty clearly defined.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
This is the final book in the District Line trilogy and while it is a complete story on its own – you definitely need to read/listen to Kick Off & Break Through first.
Come Back starts out a little slower but in some respects I enjoyed the fact that the first half was low angst. We were able to enjoy Jay & Seb settling into their new normal as a cohabitating couple. About half way, things start to pick up and their relationship is threatened by career trajectory, media/public speculation, injury, a blast from the past, and family revelations.
At one point I was a little worried that “the big misunderstanding” was going to be predictable, but was pleasantly surprised by the direction C F White took our characters on during their journey. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome, but the angst isn’t repetitive or needlessly drawn out – which I loved.
There’s an adorable HEA for Jay & Seb as well as a lovely epilogue. Overall, this trilogy has been wonderful and I’m so glad to have listened.
Update: White has written a full epilogue novella for the series entitled, Extra Time. It is amazing and a wonderful addition to the series.
Narration:
Piers Ryman is a great narrator. He does Jay & Seb so well. His voice for Stephen continues to be spot-on smarmy (skin crawling listening to those parts). This is a big cast with a lot of male characters and Ryman gives them all a unique sound and personality. I look forward to more by him.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
About the author:
Brought up in a relatively small town in Hertfordshire, C F White managed to do what most other residents try to do and fail–leave.
Studying at a West London university, she realised there was a whole city out there waiting to be discovered, so, much like Dick Whittington before her, she never made it back home and still endlessly search for the streets paved with gold, slowly coming to the realisation they’re mostly paved with chewing gum. And the odd bit of graffiti. And those little circles of yellow spray paint where the council point out the pot holes to someone who is supposedly meant to fix them instead of staring at them vacantly whilst holding a polystyrene cup of watered-down coffee.
Eventually she moved West to East along that vast District Line and settled for pie and mash, cockles and winkles and a bit of Knees Up Mother Brown to live in the East End of London; securing a job and creating a life, a home and a family.
After her second son was born with a rare disability, C F White’s life changed and it brought pen back to and paper after having written stories as a child but never had the confidence to show them to the world. Now, having embarked on this writing journey, C F White can’t stop. So strap in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride
You can connect with CF White here:
My Favorite Quotes
I don’t need you on your knees. I need you in my arms. – Come Back by @CFWhiteUK #Audiobook narrated by Piers Ryman #MM #SportsRomance #RockStar #OppositesAttract
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We’re the epitome of the saying if at first you don’t succeed, stick two fingers up to the haters and carry on regardless. – Come Back by @CFWhiteUK #Audiobook narrated by Piers Ryman #MM #SportsRomance #RockStar #OppositesAttract
Tweet
Because, now, with the past buried, his present was even more glorious. – Come Back by @CFWhiteUK #Audiobook narrated by Piers Ryman #MM #SportsRomance #RockStar #OppositesAttract
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Rellim Reads 