Sidelined: The QB and Me MTI

by Tay Marley

For fans of romances by Lynn Painter, Rachel Lynn Solomon, and Sarah Ockler, and YA sports authors like Sarah Henning where opposites attract, and then combust.

Originally published as The QB Bad Boy and Me, this volume includes exclusive photos from behind the scenes of the film adaptation on Tubi!

Now a Tubi Original starring Noah Beck and Siena Agudong!

Reluctant cheerleader Dallas Bryan has a problem on her hands—and his name is Drayton Lahey.

Ever since the hot star quarterback of the high school football team hit her car with his motorcycle, he has the annoying ability to get under her skin, making Dallas think about Drayton way more than she should . . . in all the ways that she shouldn't. 

But Dallas has one goal—to pursue her dance-school dreams in California—and no one, not even a hard-bodied, green-eyed football god, will stop her. As the tension between Drayton and Dallas grows thicker, the lines blur, and all she wants is to come undone under his touch.

But this thing between Dallas and Drayton could cost her her dreams . . . if he doesn't break her heart first.

Genres: Romance

381 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 14, 2025

About the author

Wattpad: tayxwriter
Instagram: tayxwriter

Author of the most read book on wattpad in 2018, The QB Bad Boy and Me, now available in all leading book stores.

The prequel to The QB Bad Boy and Me, The Summer of '98 out now! Order it from Amazon, Book Depository and your local book stores.

Tay Marley wears many hats: bibliophile, entrepreneur, wife, mother, and featured Wattpad author. Her whirlwind journey on Wattpad began in 2017 and led to one hundred thousand dedicated followers, a five-part series, and three stand-alone books, including her breakout story, The QB Bad Boy and Me, which have amassed over forty-one million reads. She resides in New Zealand with her husband. When she isn’t writing about confident women and their love interests, she’s teaching her three small children how to be the leads in their own epic tales.

Reviews

[avi ౨ৎ]

NoT My NaMe QuARtErBack

[kia · Rating 4 out of 5]

way better than the movie but we already knew. picturing noah beck as the male lead helped a lot. he’s so hot.

[Zee · Rating 4 out of 5]

So like i never give romcoma like above a 4 but like I ate this up. There was no love triangle no bullshjt just pure love. Also noah becks wash board abs hello .

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so cheesy and trope-y, and definitely is suited more toward high schoolers, but I still ate it up. I loved the movie so of course I had to read the book.

I liked that in the movie no one was fighting for her time other than Drayton. All the guys that she kept being with just so the jealousy could show with Drayton drove me nuts. Once it’s fine but it kept happening when it didn’t in the movie.

I get it’s for the drama but too much of this was a back and forth of having fun moments maybe kissing maybe not then being like oh I can’t be with you. I thought the movie’s pacing did a much better job of her fighting to be with him but then slowly opening her heart.

Usually I like when a book has more detail and has more time to explore something than a movie does, and I am happy about that, but in this case I thought a lot of it could have been cut out to save us time. It served to annoy me more than it made me enjoying the drama of it all.

I was still so giddy at the two of them. I love Drayton, I wish he was more of a softy like he was in the movie, but I get the author originally was going for more of a bad boy type character. Their chemistry was still so good.

Any time they flirted or said I love you to each other was so good! I’m glad we got to actually see them together a little bit more than we did the movie. Especially that they were still together after two years!

I still like the movie a lot more, which is rare for me, and younger me would have liked this a lot more, but it was fun to read this and picture the cast as I did!

[Aish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading and loving this book so many years ago (on Wattpad, funny enough) and had just as much fun rereading it now - I love the characters and their emotional backstories (highly recommend reading this after reading Tay Marley's prequel to this, The Summer of '98). The romance is simple and doesn't overdo it, which I appreciate. The dialogue is witty and funny and of course, the nicknames are a cute touch. This book is a fun, sports romance - one of my favorite genres.

I didn't enjoy the film as much as the books (which isn't surprising at all, considering I always tend to prefer the books over the movies) but I thought they did a good job with the movie in terms of casting and overall adaptation. I really liked reading the exclusive content that this book comes with, especially interviews with the cast as it gave me an inside look into how they felt about their characters and the film.

I highly recommend this book and The Summer of '98 - so excited to pick up the new book (and film!!)

Thank you to Tay Marley, Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group, Wattpad Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

#Sidelined #NetGalley

[ᗯᗩᒍEᕼᗩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is traditional, but I liked the character development, the connections between them, and the relationships between the characters in general—between the heroine, her friend, and her brother—and how the relationship between the hero and his father improved, the moment of confession, and I loved the ending.

[Gentry Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. Picked this one up because I saw it was made into a made-for-tv-movie (and it was free on audible). Note to self: made into a movie does not necessarily mean anything about the book. The fact that the original book is titled “the QB Bad Boy and Me” tells you all you need to know lol, but I was decently entertained.

[Caitlin]

No rating. But in the book it’s UCLA not USC👀

[Elizabeth StClair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny romcom, easy read with some depth and minimal cringe. I'd recommend!

[Sofía G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia simplemente sencilla pero preciosa con la que puedes experimentar muchas emociones.

[Adi xx (pips version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice