Monday, January 15, 2018

The Sidelined Wife by Jennifer Peel


Synopsis:

She’s getting back in the game, one blog post at a time.

Samantha Higgins never thought driving her husband’s car would forever change her life. But one conversation later, heard through his Bluetooth, and Samantha is changing her last name. While trying to figure out who Samantha Decker is, she writes what she thinks is one final post on her blog, announcing her divorce. When the post goes viral, she finds herself with a new title, The Sidelined Wife, and an unbelievable following.

To make matters more interesting, her younger brother’s best friend, Reed Cassidy, who was a thorn in Samantha’s adolescent side, moves back to town as the new head football coach for her son’s high school team. Unbeknownst to Samantha, Reed has harbored a crush for his old babysitter all these years. But, Samantha isn’t keen on dating anyone, much less a younger man that used to booby trap her bedroom with firecrackers.

While Samantha is doing her best to learn and even make up some of the rules of single life and being a semi-celebrity, Reed comes in and changes the game. Now Samantha must decide if she should get back on the field or if she prefers the sidelines.

My Review: 5 Stars

Divorced. Samantha never would have thought her marriage would end in a divorce. But it has. Her ex-husband is off having a baby with another woman. For 19 years she has been Samantha Higgins, wife and mother. But now she's Samantha Decker, mother. It's time to pick herself back up, figure out who she is meant to be and bring light and laughter back into her's and her son, Cody's life.

She needs an outlet. A place to let all her hurt, anger, frustration, disappointment, fear and loneliness go. She will beat this and she will become better for it. She turns to her blog to post what she thinks is her last post. It's time to end one book and start a new story.

But something terrifyingly wonderful happens. Her favorite author shares her blog post and she has gone viral. She can't believe the outpouring of love, encouragement and comradery she has received. It saddens her that there are so many women out there who have gone through what she is. Maybe being The Sidelined Wife will not only give her the outlet she needs but also allow her to be a voice for all those who are going through the same thing.

As if she doesn't already have enough on her plate, life decides to add more. Enter Reed Cassidy. Her younger brother's best friend and kid she used to babysit. Reed has been in love with Samantha since he was 13 years old. Now that they're older and she's divorced, maybe he'll actually have a chance with her. But will she ever look at him and see the man he has become? Or will she always see him as the kid she used to babysit?

Samantha has no desire to date... ever again. What she needs the most is a friend. Someone that she can talk to and be herself with. Reed proves to be just that. But somewhere along the way she starts falling for him. It may have been those spine-tingling kisses, or their clandestine meetings, or the shoulder he freely offers for her to cry on. Whatever it is has their feelings for each other growing.

However, the closer they get, the more scared Samantha becomes. What will Cody think? Would he be okay with her dating his coach? And what about her family? She can't get involved with her younger brother's best friend! It will never work! Her first marriage ended because her husband cheated, who's to say that Reed wouldn't cheat as well? Life will be safer for all involved if she just stayed single.

But life would also be miserable. Can she take that leap of faith and give Reed a chance? She owes it to herself, Reed and Cody to figure out if there's a happily ever after in their future.

Oh how I loved The Sidelined Wife! I knew from the moment I started it that it would be an emotional rollercoaster! It was beautiful, tragic, hilarious, perfect and did I mention beautiful?! I laughed, I cried, I growled in frustration, let out little dreamy sighs and loved every single minute of it! I absolutely adore Samantha and Reed! And that epilogue... *dreamy sigh* You guys are going to LOVE it!

I have to say that this is a perfect start to what I know will be an amazing series! I am SO excited! I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

I know I say this all the time but Ms. Peel has done it again! I absolutely love all her books! There is a reason she is one of my favorite authors. If you haven't read any of her books that you are seriously missing out!

Let's all just take a moment and stare at this casting... aren't they perfect?! I absolutely LOVE these two! *dreamy sigh*


*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.*

1 Comments:

  1. Just finished this one...so good! Loved your review and of course casting!

    ReplyDelete