Review: The Sidelined Wife by Jennifer Peel

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

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

Raw and honest are the words I'd use to describe this book. Divorce isn't a theme I generally enjoy in a book, but the author skillfully wove in a new relationship with fun romance while also focusing more on Samantha finding herself after being redefined by her new status of single. There is angst and grief over her loss, but I loved her attitude of looking forward and exploring how she wants her life, personality, and priorities to shift. Her family is hilarious and while the Sunday dinners are not always easy, there is a strong sense of loyalty there. Her brothers and sister-in-laws especially came to life and were a dynamic supporting cast.

Reed came into the picture immediately after her divorce finalizes, and his childhood background with Samantha provided a foundation that made their developing friendship in the midst of her personal drama work. I loved how she didn't pick up on his attraction to her and his subsequent frustration, it brought humor with the awkwardness and embarrassment, especially when she unwillingly realized how much chemistry they had. And boy did they have chemistry! Reed's pursuit of Samantha made him endearing and I loved the creativity of their "clandestine" dates. 

Samantha's voice brought a wry humor throughout the book that's part sassy and part snarky and part self-deprecation. That humor also made the exploding popularity of her brutally honest blog posts believable, and the therapeutic outlet gave her a confidence boost as well as a new direction to pursue. I loved that her number one priority remained the happiness of her teenage son, and I admired the relationship she had with him- expressing that love without being too overbearing, and being his anchor through the disinterest and betrayal of his father.

Overall I think this book isn't about being single or divorced- it's about the feelings that inevitably come during change and transition, about self-care and not losing oneself in an unbalanced relationship, about rediscovery and redefining. It made me evaluate my own life and think about if the things I spend my time doing are worthwhile, productive, and bring joy. Highly recommend!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)