Sidelined

by Suzanne Baltsar

From the author of the whip smart and charming Trouble Brewing comes a fast-paced story about a female football coach that will have you laughing out loud and cheering for the home team as you wait for the final whistle of the game.

When Connor McGuire loses out on his dream job of being the head coach of the local high school football team, he thinks life can’t get any worse. Then he discovers just who got the coveted position—it was a handout to the kid of a well-known, successful college coach. Connor’s sure this is just a publicity stunt, but the kid turns out to be not only a sharp strategist, but a driven and sexy young woman, too. Frustrated in more ways than one, Connor realizes that he might have to step up his game or risk losing altogether.

Coach Charlotte “Charlie” Gibb calls a flag on the play when she finds out that her very male, very attractive, but definitely-rooting-for-her-to-lose assistant coach resents her for taking what he considers to be his rightful position. But never one to back down from a little healthy competition, Charlie is determined to prove her worth—both on and off the field.

Baltsar’s “sweet, funny, witty, addictive writing,” (New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young) is not to be missed!

• ISBN10: 150118833X
• ISBN13: 9781501188336
• Publish Date: 27 August 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

*I received a free copy of Sidelines from Gallery Books via Edelweiss. This has in no way influenced my review which is honest and unbiased.*

3.5 stars

Sidelined was a solid romance, with a strong heroine, and a hero was both an antagonist and a protagonist at the same time.
I enjoyed that the gender roles were different in the story, because having a high school football coach who's a woman isn't all that common. And Charlie had to struggle and fight a lot to get the respect she deserved.
There was especially a big problem with one player and his dad - and they are the reason why I didn't round up to more than 3.5 stars. Their part of the plot wasn't truly resolved in my opinion. Even if other characters who acted badly because Charlie was a woman got their comeuppance, it wasn't fully satisfactory to me.
The banter between Charlie and Connor was really well done - they enjoyed fighting at least as much as they enjoyed making up. And with Charlie having the job Connor had wanted, it was clear from the beginning that they would have a difficult road in front of them.
The novel is well written, and the main characters, as well as their friends and family were well fleshed out.
Most of Sidelined is from Charlie's perspective, but there are chapters from Connor's point of view as well.

[Sam@WLABB]

This book grabbed hold of me and never let go. From the very first page, I was fully invested in Charlie's "new beginning".

Charlie's whole life had been built around football, and after realizing she would never be able to break that glass ceiling at the college level, she pursued, and was hired, for a head coaching position at a Minnesota high school. As expected, she was met with scorn and resistance.

Some of her resistance came in the form of Connor, an assistant coach, who thought he would get the head coaching position. Though he was skeptical, he played along, and eventually realized that Charlie had earned her position. He also began to realize how attracted he was to her and how much he enjoyed her company, but Connor was carrying around a lot of baggage, which was keeping their attraction blossoming into more.

So much to love!

• Charlie being a female in a male dominated profession played a big part in this story, and I liked the way Baltsar explored the issue, but I also liked that it didn't dominate the story. Yes, it was important to the story, but it was just part of Charlie's tale, and the author did a great job keeping that balance in check.

• I love heroines like Charlie. She was such an incredible combination of hard and soft, and I so badly wanted her to succeed, not only in her professional life, but in her personal life as well. Seeing her making and embracing new friends and letting people in was wonderful, and I was really happy with all the progress she made on and off the field.

• There was so much to love about Connor too. I thought he was going to be Mr. Macho, but then he I discovered his family side, and what a wonderful brother, son, and friend he was. He was charming, but he was also tender and was not afraid to show how much he cared.

• The friend group in this book was one I would love to be a part of. Piper, Blake, Bear, and Sonja were all sort of incredible on their own, but the group dynamic was something I couldn't get enough of.

• Charlie + Connor = something really special. It was amazing how well they meshed. They had great chemistry, and I could have listened to them banter all day. I especially liked the way they pushed each other and dug deeper to find the whole person beneath the surface, and my happiness grew with each step they took towards a full fledged relationship.

This book hit all the right notes for me. It was sweet, sexy, funny, charming, witty, and heartwarming, and I greatly enjoyed every moment I spent with Charlie and Connor.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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