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 … 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!
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Sidelined is the perfect afternoon read. I loved that Charlie was such a strong, trailblazing woman. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between her and Connor, and the sexual tension between practically leapt off the pages. They were so perfectly matched for each other. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I hope that Bear and Sonja get a book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery for the advanced copy.
Woman football coach who kicks but…sign me up! Not just for the girl power aspect, I love an underdog. Charlie with all her accomplishments and skill is still an underdog just because she’s a she. In the world of football, woman are less than. Sidelined is a feel good story about a woman who fights for more despite her insecurities. She’s a roll model, sailors tongue and all.
Sidelined pulls you. At first you don’t notice, it’s almost like a siren’s song lulling you into her lair. Suzanne Baltsar made me her “water girl” with this book. I fully admit to the tears of anger and sadness that I couldn’t stop. It’s okay though because the saying is “there’s no crying in baseball!” and this isn’t a baseball book.
Emotional attachment was bound to happen , just ask Connor! Sweet and full of the happily ever afters we all crave, Sidelined is the perfect way to be in the game even when you are off the field!
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
I knew I had to read this, given the football theme. I’ve loved football my whole life so I know the struggles of even just being a female fan. Charlie is an amazing character. I loved her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the game. Charlie reminded me a lot of Sarah Thomas, the first female NFL ref. From a representation point of view, this was a slam dunk for women. It was actually a really wonderful cast of female characters all around.
The reason I didn’t give this more stars is because I didn’t feel a strong connection to the events and people. The emotions that resonated were the frustrated, pissed off, ballsy, anguished, incensed, irate ones. I couldn’t connect to the lonely, loving, warm, supported, romantically passionate moments. And I think that’s because they lacked depth. Parts seemed to be glossed over or resolved too quickly.
I enjoyed the ride but it turned out to be more of a palate cleanser than I had thought it would be.
I would recommend this to anyone who:
– enjoys football
– loves strong, dynamic female characters
– needs an easier, relaxing read
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This is a sharp, funny, and well observed story about Charlie, a high school football coach, and Connor, the assistant coach who resents her for taking the job he’s always wanted. Charlie has skills and experience but she’s working against an old boys’ club that doesn’t want her to succeed. Sparks fly between Connor and Charlie from the start but Connor has to figure out whether he can support Charlie as a coach or if he’s happier undermining her with the rest of the boys.
An innocent, hopeful part of me wants to believe the author exaggerated the barriers facing Charlie in her role as head coach. Sadly, Charlie’s experiences are probably pretty realistic. Charlie herself is a wonderful leading lady and I fell hard for her. I love the contrast between her internal self-doubt and the fierce persona she presents to the world. Charlie is a little prickly, a little abrasive, and very capable.
Connor is more of a predictable character. There’s something kinda beige and bland about him. He’s good looking and charming but until the end of the story, he feels a little bit two-faced. I enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between Connor and Charlie but I’m not sure Connor always deserves Charlie’s attention.
Without spoilers, I have reservations about the end of the book. It just kinda ends and I’m not sure the neat, easy resolution fits the rest of the story. I felt a little bit defensive of Charlie, even in the last pages and I wanted a bit more for her.
Veronica –
If you’re looking for a story with a straight talking, no nonsense, strong heroine, Sidelined is the book for you. One chapter in and I was wanting to wave my fists and shout, “Girl power!”
Charlie moves to Minnesota to take the job as head coach of a high school football team. The first woman in the state to be appointed head coach. However, she is appointed ahead of Connor, longtime assistant coach of the team and a teacher at the school who everyone thought would get the job, including Connor.
The animosity between Charlie and Connor starts from their very first interaction and it was great to see an enemies-to-lovers story where the hate part was real and not forced or over some trivial misunderstanding. I also loved getting to watch Connor deal with his feeling over the situation. Turns out he is a really good guy. The budding romance between them was hot and they make a fun couple.
Football and being a coach are the centre of Charlie’s world and her identity. Charlie’s struggle with being a woman in a male dominated field was inspiring. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of Charlie’s relationship with her players but the story doesn’t go particularly in depth in that regard.
This year I’ve struggled with some m/f romantic stories but not with Sidelined – I breezed through it, completely happy and having a great time. I’m a big fan of sports romances and Sidelined hit the spot for me. Suzanne Baltsar is a new author to me and I’ll definitely be looking to read more of her work in the future.
Shelby –
Sidelined is a great stand-alone book with a strong female character, Charlie, who is taking on the male dominated world of football!
Charlie is no stranger to football, she was practically raised on a field. She’s the daughter of a prominent Ivy League college coach but is ready to lead a team by herself! She’s no stranger to oppression or condescension, and luckily, she has some broad shoulders to carry the load. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel emotions, she just knows how to compartmentalize and push forward.
When Offensive Coordinator Connor, meets his new head coach, he is anything but happy. Not only did he not get the job, but he lost it to a woman.
This enemies-to-lovers story was absolutely perfect! The characters were well developed and likeable (eventually), and I enjoyed the banter between Connor and Charlie. I must say that I am a huge football fan and couldn’t wait to see how Charlie was portrayed in this book and I was not disappointed in her. The situation seemed believable, the romance was slow building (no insta-love here), and the side characters actually added to the story. I plan on picking up Piper and Blake’s story, and will keep an eye out for Sonja and Bear’s book!
I do need to mention that even though I enjoyed this story, I hated (HATED) the ending. I’m not going to say why, or ruin anything, but I just wasn’t happy with the conclusion.
Reviewers received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
I loved this book! I loved Charlie and Connor’s characters from the get-go. I loved the arguments, the banter, the back-and-forth, and especially the chemistry between them. I enjoyed that it wasn’t a I-have-to-have-you-now romance, but a slow-burn. One you felt growing.
The secondary characters were amazing as well. I loved this whole group, their banter, their friendships. Reminded me of a ‘Friends’ type group and I could picture them all.
Wonderful writing, great storyline, and realistic characters make this a great read that I highly recommend.
I found Sidelined intriguing since I first read the blurb. A female head football coach in an antagonistic enemies to lovers romance with the man she beat out for the job? Come on, that has my name written all over it. It gave me a nice mix of football, feminism and feels.
Sidelined was a quiet romance. It wasn’t exactly a slow burn, but things between Charlie and Connor built slowly. There wasn’t a lot of on the page heat, but what it lacked in sexy times it made up for in character development. I have to say, though, I didn’t always love Charlie or Connor. It was difficult to get a read on each of them at times and I had a tough time understanding their motivations. But something about them together just seemed right though, even if they were better at pushing each other’s buttons than opening up to each other and confronting their feelings. As frustrating as I found the way they danced around each other at times, I couldn’t help but root for them. Thankfully they got it together before it was all said and done and I got the swoony feels I needed from their story.
I particularly appreciated the take on traditional gender roles and the strength of Charlie’s character. It takes a strong woman to put up with the misogyny she did and not roll over. I think it’s something that a lot of readers will find relatable, even if what they deal with doesn’t occur on a football field. I know I sure did. I’m all for female empowerment – in and out of the bedroom – in my books, so I really connected with that storyline in this book. Sidelined was my first Suzanne Baltsar book, but it won’t be my last. I can’t wait to see what she gives us next, but in the meantime I’m going to check out her backlist.
Favorite Quotes:
“I’ve already heard all the whispered rumors and passive-aggressive insults, so if you have an issue with the fact that I wear a bra instead of a jockstrap, you can come to me directly. I have no tolerance for bullshit.”
“We coach. We fight. We coach. We fight. We’ve got a good routine going.”
Romantic adult relationships should come with a warning—nobody talked about the hazards of those the way they did about smoking.
Mediocre men were celebrated. Highly skilled women were doubted.
One of the best romances this summer.
*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.
Connor’s been biding his time, as assistant coach of the football team, he’s always aspired to be the head coach. His time’s finally come, and he thinks he’s a shoe in and he’s not the only one. The rest of the team’s staff is ready for Connor to step up and lead their team to a state championship. The only problem, he didn’t get the job.
Charlie did. Charlie’s the daughter of a famous college football coach and a coach in her own right. She’s ready to spread her wings and prove herself, wanting to get out of her dad’s shadow. She thinks the head coach of a high school team is the perfect place to show what she can do.
Now Charlie’s got a mess on her hands. She’s got to prove to this team that she can lead them all the way, even when they don’t listen. On top of that, she’s got to deal with the rest of the staff who all think that the job should’ve gone to Connor and her hiring was only a publicity stunt.
Ms. Baltstar’s writing is so good. I was fully invested and rooting for Charlie to show everyone what she’s made of. I loved the friendships, the drama, and the love that develops between Connor and Charlie. I’m a new reader of Ms. Baltstar’s work and I’m excited to dive into her other titles.
**I received a copy of this story from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
This story made me smile from the outset. A woman succeeding in a male dominated field is always put to the test and Charlie Gibb is experiencing it first hand. Good friends can be hard to come by and I enjoyed reading the friendships in this story. The “frenemy” banter between Charlie and Conner was fun and the increasing sparks between them were undeniable. A fun, light read!
I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.