Mercy Celeste - Sidelined

After leading his team to two Super Bowl wins, being cut leaves quarterback Levi Brody reeling. Betrayed, scared, and picking up the pieces from a failed love affair, he abandons New Orleans for the speck-on-the-map Alabama town he left behind. He wants nothing more than to hide out and lick his wounds, but an interfering brother thrusts him back into sports—coaching high school football. Where once he’d ruled the field as star player, now he’s taking orders from a very young, very attractive head coach. A coach with a deep-rooted hatred for all things Levi Brody.
Head coach of the newly formed East County High, Tracy Wright has his work cut out for him. Forming three former rival teams into one working unit is all that he can handle. The last thing he needs is an interfering golden boy. He has no use for Levi Brody, until discovering how much Levi has to offer both the team and Tracy. 
Small town jealousy plus big city secrets converge, and just might leave both men Sidelined.

Comment: I got this ebook because the plot seemed intriguing. I always like stories where the main couple doesn't agree on things from the start. I thought I'd be getting a story based on that old theme of opposites attract and I couldn't wait.

This is the story of Lev Brody, he got injured in a football game and his team told him to go. He returns home with a broken heart, a hurt pride and a will to forget. This is how Tracy Wright finds him at a bar, getting drunk.
Tracy was told he had to work with Levi, he's nemesis and crush from high school years. However, the man in front of him isn't the cold person only interested in money or glory he thought he would be and a one night stand will change into something much more..personal.

Well, when I started this story I thought the characters talked to each other in a very rude way without having to, I mean, they were going to have sex but did they need to talk like that? I thought it was a little way over the top for them, but ok...

Then the story would develop and we would learn all about Levi's passion for a fellow football player who had lost the love of his life in Iraq and after starting a sort of healing relationship with Levi, his partner returned alive after all and thus making Levi's heart break painfully. Then Levi's career issues with his injury were the last bullet to his sanity. Levi returns home to mend his head and heart and he starts meeting people, he has a relationship with Tracy which was fast but not that unbelievable and he even jumps to help the ids with the job promised to him and he is a natural in teaching young kids and has the patience for that.

Tracy has decided to stay where he grew up. He is the school's football coach and he enjoys the status he has and the help and hope he offers. Levi has been a thorn in his past but he is quite changed now. I enjoyed seeing the developments of their conversations and expectations towards a relationship. At this point I was pleased enough with the way things were going. The guys weren't admitting they were starting to have feelings for each other but we could see that anyway.

Then, the plot changed...after a part where we could see Levi and Tracy's interactions with each other and other characters and when we were starting to have an idea of how things were going to end, suddenly the plot actually twists and we learn Levi has a hidden side I totally was not expecting. I mean, I was..what? This twist didn't have to exist in my opinion...I won't tell spoilers but Levi's personality has a side I thought was way over the top for this story! There was no need..and no, it's not BDSM. I mean, my issue with this isn't that Levi had that side, it was more why it had to be part of his character, there was no need, the story was already full of developments and elements, I thought this was the author's attempt to push the plot more into "check this out" mode...no need at all..or if she was so bent on that, then she could have eased on other things....the story went from quite enjoyable to a sort of circus. Not that good at all.
I can't put this aside, so the rest of the book lost part of the charm for me..but well, author's prerogative and all that.

I liked the set up for the next story. I might read it but I confess I'm scared of what may be on it...I hope it's a more thoughtful story. there also a first book but I won't read it, it's not a theme that interests me and I know how it ends considering it features characters we see in this book.

All in all, a very good start, many good ideas but a unnecessary twist that ruined things a little bit.
Grade: 5/10