The Sidelined Wife

More Than a Wife Series, Book 1

By: Jennifer Peel

Narrated by: Melissa Moran

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 the 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.

©2018 Jennifer Peel (P)2018 Jennifer Peel

Critic reviews

"This story will be on every girl's night book club list this year." (Farmhouse Reviews)

"Fiercely honest, brave but lighted-hearted, The Sidelined Wife by Jennifer Peel is one of the best romance novels I have read in a long, long time." (Readers Favorite)

Funny, real, entertaining and amazing! 😊

This is the best book of Jennifer Peel’s I that I’ve listened to. I believe it’s my 5th book of hers I’m acquainted with.

My favorite scene is the Halloween/suprise birthday party. Pay attention to the costumes…. I laughed about that for days- German Shepherd! Ha! Seriously subtle and hilarious.

Thanks Jennifer, for such wholesome entertainment! 💗

Love love love

Let me repeat - I loved this book. It is humorous and witty with a little drama. The HEA was there but I can’t wait to read more in this series.

I love this book!

This book is Jennifer Peel at her best. The Sidelined Wife is one of her best books to date (and since I also really love The Secretive Wife I am hoping that comes out on audio book soon too!) In true Peel fashion the characters are amazing, so relatable and real, but still swoony and admirable. Melissa Moran does a great job narrating the book and it really brought it to life! Fantastic all around!

Outstanding!!!

I love Jennifer Peel and this did not disappoint. Her characters are so vibrant and her story so detailed that you really feel like you're apart of it all. The narrator was wonderful. She told the story beautifully. I would definately purchase more of this author and narrators audible books.

Romantic, Realistic & Heartwarming!

This is my favorite audiobook out of the five that are presently on the market in Audible ("Trouble in Loveland" is second). I enjoyed everything about this "comeback" story. I could barely stop listening to go to work or grocery shopping. The narrator was excellent in handling male and female voices, which doesn't always happen. It magnified the enjoyment of the book. Thanks Ms. Peel for a terrific read.

Wonderful, touching, humorous, romantic

Story: 5.5 stars (yes, this book is that good!)

Jennifer Peel doesn't disappoint in this touching, humorous and romantic story.

The story of Samantha and her feelings of betrayal and anger and her indignation over her ex ignoring their son are so human and raw. Ms. Peel has written a real person, not some perfect saintly character. Even the ex turns out to be a complex character, not the vilified norm that sometimes happens. The new love interest isn't perfect, either, he, too makes mistakes. I love that Ms. Peel takes the time to develop all the characters!

The Delaney family is HILARIOUS but is not without issues. Mimsy is my favorite! She's the comic relief to the pain Samantha is experiencing. Speaking of which; I love that Ms. Peel gives her character the time she needs to cope and to grow as a person.

I'm a huge romantic and so the arrival of Reed on the scene was fun and oh, so sigh-worthy! But I like that Ms. Peel doesn't have him "fix" Samantha. Samantha has to deal with complex emotions and the fact that she did love her husband for 18 years. She doesn't just get over him; she has to work through her pain, her feelings of betrayal, her insecurities and get to a place where she can forgive enough to move forward with a healthy new relationship.

The journey we go on with her is wonderful and there is much wisdom imparted by the author. (Along with hands-down, THE most romantic kiss scene ever written!)

Narrator: 4.5 stars
Melissa Moran does an amazing job of voice acting! She has a low enough voice that the male characters sound authentic. She also does an excellent job with the older voices of Mimsy and Mrs. Higgins. Ms. Moran's voice creates a wonderful atmosphere and the sincere emotions of the characters she acts shines through. I will happily listen to her anytime!

*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special

Loved this book!

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Peel. I have read every single one of her books and this one did not disappoint! Great story. Very realistic in dealing with family issues but also having you laugh out loud! You need that to get through life! Clean romance. I will definitely listen to this again. Can't wait for more from Jennifer Peel!

A compelling story written with a deft hand

With such heavy topics as adultery and divorce, this book could have been a drag; but the author adeptly uses humor and wit as leavening to create a well paced and ultimately uplifting story with a happy ending. Samantha’s life after divorce focuses on her close family, an awesome relationship with her teenage son and Reed pursuing her and reminding her that she’s beautiful and valued. She has a lot to be grateful for in the ashes of her failed marriage. Moments that stood out for me were Samantha’s discovery that her acquaintances were not really her friends and blogging about that experience, her dates with Reed in the grocery store, and her talks with her sisters-in-law. Ultimately Samantha needs to finish recovering from her loss and pushes Reed away, but time and a candid conversation with her Ex about why he cheated leads to closure and healing so she can give herself fully to Reed. It was very satisfying to hear her Ex express his regret and apologize to Samantha for his mistakes. I probably wouldn’t read this again, but I’d like to read more by this author.

Very good story

The story was great and the reader was excellent. I do feel that the whole thing should be shorter.

Delightful

With a smart, funny main character, and a sweet, charming, swoony, and entertaining lead man, this book is one to re-read. Showing the emotional toll of divorce on a family, with hope for recovery and never too deep in the dark side, The Sidelined Wife is more than a light romance. My 11-year-Old son listened to some of it with me and he was laughing out loud at some parts. He stopped listening before the marvelous kissing parts.

This book is wise at its core, adding to the complex emotional depth so well described.

The narrator emphasized some phrases differently than I would have, but overall her subtle performance was enjoyable.

Clean, with kissing and frank discussion of marital relations. For that reason I’d not recommend this book to a teenager.