I'm not really sure what you mean OP.
I found that FFXIV's storyline is really well done. They spend a lot of time building it up into quite an epic journey.
I enjoyed the storyline and the side quests, and yes, many of them were fetch quests and I still enjoyed the quests and the world.

That being said, ARR is *very* friendly toward newbies and players whom have never tried an MMO before, so much so that to vet players it can appear as very boring.
If you made a new character to play w/ your wife, I suggest you try to slow down and just really take in the world. It will probably help her too since ARR can seem quite overwhelming at first.