Sidelined souls by Sarah A Bailey - the kinda book that would make you wish you had a childhood best friend who would be down bad for you🏈🧁🍼
🤍Thank you
first and foremost i would like to thank author Sarah A Bailey and Netgalley for giving me the ARC copy of the book. Im truly grateful
✨ A Soft Glimpse
A best-friends-to-lovers romance overflowing with yearning, heartbreak, second chances, and two people who spent years loving each other long before they ever had the chance to truly be together.
🌸 My thoughts...
I have to start by saying Sarah A. Bailey simply doesn't miss.
At this point I genuinely believe she only knows how to write books that leave readers completely obsessed.
If Tattered Tides had me obsessed...
Sidelined Souls had me in an absolute chokehold.
This book had my soul sitting comfortably in the palm of its hand.
Honestly?
This book was pure crack and I happily snorted every single page.
I was ridiculously excited to start this book, but even with all my expectations...
It somehow exceeded every single one of them.
Everything about this felt like perfection.
And I already know this book is going to live rent-free in my head for a very long time.
💞 What Made Me Swoon
If there's one trope that instantly has me folding...
It's best friends to lovers.
So the moment I realized Archer and Allie had been best friends for years?
Yeah...
I was already invested.
Archer is on his way to becoming a professional football player while Allie dreams of becoming a baker and dancer.
They've spent years loving each other, yet life constantly keeps pulling them apart.
And THAT right-there-right-person-wrong-time angst?
It absolutely wrecked me.
There were moments where I was genuinely ugly crying because all I wanted was for these two to finally catch a break.
The little moments they shared somehow hurt even more than the big ones.
Because every single glance...
Every tiny interaction...
Every moment together reminded me that these two had always belonged to each other.
🏈 Archer Ramos... Sir.
Where do I even begin?
Because DOWN BAD doesn't even begin to describe whatever this man had going on.
Forget "down bad."
This man could literally open an entire university dedicated to How To Be Obsessed With Your Soulmate and graduate with highest honors.
Apparently this man doesn't breathe oxygen.
He breathes Allie.
Because please explain to me how every single thought somehow led back to her.
The devotion.
The yearning.
The quiet acts of love.
The way she became his entire world without him ever questioning it.
The way he would stand beside her no matter what life threw at them.
The way she was his fate...
His home...
His person.
Every single action screamed,
"It's always been you."
And honestly?
I completely folded.
🧁Allie Evans, My Girl
Can I please have even half of this woman's confidence?
Because Allie was absolutely incredible.
She was fierce.
Stubborn.
Bold.
Completely unapologetic.
And honestly?
That's queen behavior.
She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, stand up for herself, or fight for the people she loved.
Her personality made every single chapter better.
But underneath all that strength was someone who loved Archer with her whole heart.
The way she wanted him to be part of every chapter of her life.
The way he became her comfort.
Her safe place.
The person she instinctively turned to.
And what absolutely broke me was the fact that even while they were apart...
No one ever replaced the place they held in each other's hearts.
Not even for a second.
❤️🩹What Stayed With Me
THE ANGST.
Good lord...
The angst absolutely destroyed me.
There were so many moments where I wanted to physically climb into the book and yell,
"PLEASE JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY!"
Watching them stay apart genuinely hurt because you could see how deeply they still loved each other.
But when life finally forced them to face everything they'd been avoiding...
It became so much more beautiful than either of them imagined.
And honestly?
Every painful moment was worth it for that ending.
🌙 A Final Thought
This book completely exceeded every expectation I had.
The characters, the chemistry, the emotional depth, the friendship, the devotion, the yearning, the heartbreak...
Everything worked together so beautifully.
Sarah A. Bailey once again proved why she's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
This wasn't just a romance.
It was emotional, raw, beautifully messy, and completely unforgettable.
And I already know I'll be thinking about Archer and Allie for a very, very long time.
I absolutely loved this book.
🎀Tropes
🩷Childhood friends to lovers🩷Small town setting
🩷Accidental pregnancy
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