Rowena’s review of The Other Boyfriend
Sarah Jamison is on a mission to find a boyfriend for her lover’s partner; and Sarah’s best friend comes to the rescue with an idea so crazy that it just might work. Enter the enigmatic Mike Connor. Sarah hates the man on sight, despite the fact that her body tells her otherwise. Mike Connor is smug and full of himself; but Sarah thinks that with his help, she can finally be with the love of her life.
This book was a really short book and one that I was looking forward to reading. However, I was under the impression that the main character of this story, Sarah was a lot younger than she actually was. By reading the blurb, you would think that Sarah was a young heroine, in her early twenties because the kind of scheme would only come from someone who was young, stupid and very insecure, right? Well, Sarah Jamison is not a young woman of 22 or even 23, 24, 25, hell not even 35…she’s 40. So what’s a 40 year old woman doing playing games like setting up her boyfriend’s girlfriend with someone else so that her boyfriend will finally have the balls to be with her out in the open? I have no freaking clue.
All I can say is that by the time I’m 40, I hope that I’m still not insecure or down in the dumps as much as Sarah was in this book. In the beginning of the book, where we learn all about how Sarah is still hurting from a break up that happened 12 years ago, I knew right then that I probably wasn’t going to like this woman.
And I was right, I just couldn’t like this woman.
She’s pissed that Moira, that’s her lover’s girlfriend, keeps showing up or interrupting when she’s trying to spend some quality time with her cheating lover, Jeffrey. Regardless of how many times his girlfriend is calling or showing up, shouldn’t matter because until your cheating lover breaks up with her, you’re the bitch not her. The thing that ticked me off in the beginning was this part of the story:
“We play this both ways,” Mike explained. “I charm Moira away from Jeffrey, and you make Jeffrey jealous.”
“Jealous? Why do I need to make him jealous?” I was puzzled.
“Don‟t you know anything about men, Sarah?” Even if I didn‟t I certainly wasn‟t going to admit it to Mr. High and Mighty. And to think moments earlier I‟d thought he wasn‟t half bad.
“What are you talking about?” I felt affronted.
“Men don‟t want to have it handed to them on a silver platter, you know. They still like the hunt. So let him fight for you.”
He threw me a confident smile. Of all the conceited, arrogant, condescending things to say! “Listen, Mike, I don‟t know what kind of women you‟re used to, but I love Jeffrey and I‟m not about to play silly “come and get me” games with him. So let‟s stick to doing this my way, and that is to charm Moira.”
What exactly is the whole, “Get Monica’s friend Mike to charm Moira away from Jeffrey” thing if not some silly game? Instead of leaving the dirt bag in the first place and sparing herself a world of hurt in the future, she’s letting herself be drawn into the dumbest game of all. She’s 40 freaking years old, she should know better by now. She should know that if a guy won’t leave his girlfriend to make an honest woman out of you then he doesn’t a) love you and b) doesn’t respect you enough to let you go and find someone who will want to be with you. Also, if it’s been a year that you’ve been seeing this guy and he still hasn’t left his girlfriend…what makes you think he ever will? In all of those 365 days out of the year, he couldn’t find one of those days to break it off with her? I’m sorry but that is not the kind of man anyone should want to be with and that’s also something that I had better know by the time that I’m 40. That’s a lesson that everyone should learn BEFORE, LONG BEFORE they turn 40.
The more that I read this book, the more I thought that Sarah couldn’t possibly be 40 years old. She acted like she was a teenager, a hormonal teenager who needed to get a great big smack on the head of reality. I mean, she’s at party playing stupid games, acting like a damn fool, getting drunk and talking stupid and because I thought Jeffrey was just as stupid as her, I thought they totally deserved each other. She was a total brat to Mike and the longer I read this book, the more I thought, “This reminds me of that one book that I read and reviewed on Book Binge.”
I think Sarah was more bratty than Jill was from the other book. Ugh, every time Mike came into the picture, it was like she got diarrhea of the mouth because she wouldn’t shut up and I always wanted to punch her in the mouth. Then she goes home to visit with her Mom (oh, she’s from the UK) and her Mom, who is like an expert hack, tells her that she hacked into Jeffrey’s email account and caught him in all sorts of lies and after her Mom fills her in on what she did, what he did and how Jeffrey can’t be trusted at ALL, Sarah goes to her old room and starts thinking…
“All this time I had believed that the only thing standing between our happiness was Moira, but now I was no longer sure.”
What do you mean, you’re no longer sure? You better be damn sure of everything under the sun where Jeffrey’s concerned, hello??? Have you not been listening to ANYONE in your life? Yeesh. It was around this part that I started giving up on the story. Of course, I kept reading to see if things would turn around but by the end of Chapter 11, I knew that I was completely and truly done with the story.
After everything she found out about Jeffrey, all it took was one remorseful email for her to run back to Taipei. Mike has flown all over the world to be with her while Jeffrey was too busy swapping flirty emails with Sarah’s Mom but does any of that matter? She still goes back to Jeffrey and that’s when I stopped giving a shit what Sarah did anymore. I couldn’t read this story anymore because my blood pressure was rising and I began loathing Sarah.
So yeah, I couldn’t finish this book and how sad is that since this story was only 96 pages long?
Grade: DNF (2 out of 5 of what I did read)
This book is available from Sylvia Massara. You can buy it here
Hilarious review! — willaful
I can honestly say that I’m SHOCKED that you gave it a 2! lol
Sarah sounds like a real piece of work. I’d love to say that with age comes wisdom but apparently not. She does sound like she’s a complete idiot so maybe when you’ve got that going for you it doesn’t matter what age you are! lol
Sad when a book doesn’t work. No wonder Sarah is miserable. Look at the cover. Her legs aren’t on right!
I probably would have burned this book in my backyard. And did a dance around the ashes.
Rowena, let’s wait till you turn 40 before you judge women of that age and some of the things that can happen at the start of perimenopause. In the meantime, you should stick to objective reviews (if you don’t like a book; fine, just say so, but don’t shoot it down in flames when you don’t know the first thing about that age group).
Oh, one thing that did make me laugh: you said the woman’s legs on the book cover were not put in right? If you look more closely you’ll see her legs are crossed, one over the other.
God, you’re going to have one tough menopause!
Anon
It was me that said that about the legs, not Rowena. I know her legs look crossed but her hips are straight so to speak. Her hip would be turned a little. Just my perception.
I passed that phase awhile ago. I got smarter and had less tolerance for games as I got older and my friends all feel the same way. Rowena, you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Well I just wrote a whole long comment and then the system blanked out! How annoying.
Anyway, the gist of what I said is this:
I am in my early 20s and read the book a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t disagree with you more on this review.
I thought it was hilarious and a fun read–not to be taken so seriously. And clearly you felt SOMETHING when you read it because you were pretty passionate in your dislike of it.
Also my mom is a divorced 40 something who is also going through menopause and let me tell you, she is WAY crazy right now lol.
Not quite as outrageous as Sarah, I’ll admit–but hello this is fiction! It’s supposed to keep you entertained.
And imagine how you’d feel in that situation? 40 and single. And with major issues like Sarah has. My mom also read the book and loved it.
Idk, Rowena, I think you might have missed the mark on this one. Maybe if you’d read to the end you would have seen that Sarah does indeed redeem herself and realize the error of her ways.
I think you missed out, personally, and I’d advise your readers to google this book and read the other reviews on it–most people disagree with you from what I could see.
Seriously, people. It’s fiction. It’s fun, and it’s a great read. I’m just saying.
Anon and Jen,
While I can certainly appreciate that Sarah is going through menopause and therefore having issues she wouldn’t normally have, I have to wonder that a woman in her 40s is not only the lover of a man with a girlfriend (ie the other woman) but that she’d concoct a crazy scheme to get rid of his partner.
I don’t think her going through perimenopause is a good enough excuse to pull something as dumb as this.
Now, I didn’t read the book. I acutally have no intention of reading the book. Just so I’m not mistaken:
Sarah is a 40 year-old woman who is in love with a man who is already in a relationship with someone else.
Instead of leaving him to find a man who will put her first and isn’t screwing some other woman, she concocts a high school-type plot to get him to break up with his girlfriend.
Then she acts the fool when it doesn’t work out.
Did I pretty much cover it? Maybe Rowena is completely off the mark in her review, but..it doesn’t sound like a winner to me. Personally I have no use for a anyone who would act that way, regardless of their age or personal circumstances. Women who play games like this don’t deserve to be championed.
See Holly, that’s the thing though. Yeah, she made some choices that I wouldn’t personally make, and as someone who is in a relationship, it kinda pissed me off too. But the thing is, this stuff really does happen–and at the end of the book, Sarah realizes that she has been wrong all along…the ending is not to be missed, seriously! I just think that Rowena was kinda unfair in her review. I get that a review is all about what the reviewer thought, and i think it’s great that she is not just sugar coating stuff–but all I’m saying is that there are different sides to every story. And this book kept me entertained. I mean seriously, I LOL’d more times than I can count. Funny funny book. I think if Rowena had taken it as it was intended–as a comedy type thing, she might have understood it more and liked it better. That’s all.
That said, we’re all entitled to our opinions lol.
Oh and I forgot to mention…one thing that had me rolling on the floor is that Sarah calls men like Jeffrey “charming bastards” lmao. That is some funny s***.
How many charming bastards do you know? I have met more than my share hahaha.
I would have to disagree. I have read this book and I enjoyed it even though it isn’t the typical book I normally read. I guess to each their own but I would still recommend it.
The fact that Sarah’s lover has a girlfriend would turn me off of this book. The whole scheme does sound like something from some teen movie.
I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was cute and tightly written and fun. And breezy. Were the characters a little far-fetched at times? Sure, but that’s what fiction is…and it’s up to the reader whether or not they wish to suspend disbelief. I did, because I was entertained.
But everyone has different tastes. I happen to think Kathy Griffin is hilarious. My sister? Hates her.
Stories affect people differently. If a story is so frustrating and not working for you, I really don’t feel you’re obliged to finish a book. I appreciate your honest review Rowena!
Jen
You gave great advice. I never not buy a book because of a bad review. If I like the author and the premise, then I check out the excerpt. Rowena did not criticize the writing, only that the story did not work for her. That’s an important difference to an author.
It’s a matter of taste & that’s okay. A good friend of mine is a reviewer. She emailed me to say that she was reading “another” navy seal book with a familiar theme.
navy seal – check
reunited lovers – check
secret baby – check
All my fave themes in one book – a winner for me LOL.
Like Jen said, you obviously thought the writing was good enough to make you hate the characters, am I right?
I read the book and seriously wanted to hate Sarah, considering the nature of her relationship. As a married woman, I wanted to feel offended by her very existence–but the humanity of her forced me to identify with her on some level.
Would I ever do the outrageous stuff she did? No way. But did I find it freaking hilarious? Yep, I did. I laughed a lot reading this one.
I couldn’t help but like Sarah. I felt like she brought a lot of the drama on herself, but let’s be realistic–don’t we all know someone like that? I know more than one Sarah myself. 🙂 Reading the book, I thought of several people in the real world who could or would act just like Sarah in that situation. You know, but less funny. Hehe. 😉
Holly,
I’d totally join you in that dance. Get my Pocahontas stomp dance on this one.
Mary G.,
To me, she looks like she has to pee really bad.
Anon,
I have 3 sisters in their 40’s and all are either going through menopause or have gone through it…did I ever think that any of them were crazy? Heck yes, do I think any of them are stupid? Heck no. I can’t say the same for Sarah Jamison. I stand by my review of this book and I don’t really need to justify my review to you because it’s just an opinion.
You enjoyed the book, that’s great but coming over here to defend the author’s honor isn’t going to make me change my mind.
If I read a book and I hated something about a book so much, you can bet your ass that I’m going to say so and then back it up with why I hated it so much and that’s my right because this is MY blog.
Jen,
That’s great that you enjoyed the book, more power to you.
Crazy is one thing but stupid is another and Sarah was not crazy and yep, I know it’s fiction but it missed its mark on entertaining me, all it did was annoy me.
That’s great that other people read and enjoyed this book but I’m not here to tell our readers what everyone else thinks, I’m only here to tell them what I think.
To Mary,
My apologies, Mary. I didn’t realise it was you who made that observation about the legs. I wonder why you would go to all the trouble of commenting on a cartoon though. It’s not like this is a real photo.
To Holly,
How clever of you, Holly, to make comments on a book you never read and know nothing about except what you read here through the comments made by Rowena. I suppose you would then go and jump over the cliff if your friend said it was really cool. Talk about birds of a feather flock together.
Frankly, as someone who is in her 40s and who’s had some adventures that would make your hair stand on end, I think you ought to lighten up.
I just want to share 2 things with you all:
1. Menopause can make you do crazy things, stupid things or nothing at all; it all depends on how it hits you. So don’t be so judgmental as to how the Sarah character should or shouldn’t react or compare how your mothers and sisters reacted to it. One day you might find yourselves doing something crazy and stupid, too, when you reach your menopause.
2. Someone made the comment along the lines of why should Sarah go with someone who is ‘screwing’ another woman? Those of you who actually read the book already know that the relationship between Jeffrey and his partner was purely platonic. The sex had gone out of the relationship long ago. This leads me to wonder why anyone would write a review who only “half read the book” and the other hasn’t even read it. Hm.
I read the book and enjoyed it for what it was, a satirical look at what a woman will do anything in her desperation to have it all before the age of decline. Bear in mind, it is a satire AND a FICTION novel. So if you can, please use your imagination, Rowena, Mary and Holly.
It’s okay if you didn’t like the book, by the way, but before you trash someone’s work get your facts straight.
Sorry, do I sound too self-righteous here? Well, it so happens that I’m a professional book reviewer and remain anonymous because I do not want to conflict with the work I do. But I’m also a chick lit fan and I couldn’t go past this poor excuse for a blog without making the comments I did.
Perhaps one day I will write an exposé on this blog and entitle it: “Heaven preserve us from the amateur reviewer!” Hm. Oh, sorry, was I trashing your little blog? What a shame…
Well that’s professional! I was trying to lighten things up with the legs comment because poor reviews sadden me. I know that for the most part, authors have no control over the covers.
The work was not trashed. The writing was never mentioned. The premise didn’t work for the reviewer. As a professional you need to know the difference as my author friends have taught me.
You can call yourself what you want for whatever reason. I don’t usually take any anon. comments seriously anyway. Too easy to hide behind. You’re a guest in this person’s “house” and they have a right to their opinion. You as a guest, don’t have the right to make fun of their “house” because they dared to dislike a book that you liked. That said, Rowena doesn’t need defending. We just want civilized behavior when we visit.
I tried to say in a later comment that every one has different taste but that’s not enough for you.
I knew that if I dug around a little, I’d find the connection to the author and I did. *SMH*
Anon – I feel like 90% of your comment isn’t worth responding to, but I do question your claim of being a “professional reviewer”. It seems to me a professional would be able to say whether a book worked for her, and give clear, concise reasons why or why not. Which is, if I’m not mistaken, what Rowena did.
You, however, show up several times to remind us this is a fictional work, all the while telling us we don’t “understand” because we’re not 40 and menopausal. If you truly believe this is a fictional work with fictional characters, why does it matter that we “understand” the crazy menopausal 40 year old?
I’m more inclined to believe you’re just an annoyed author, putting on a full sock-puppet show. But then I’m cynical that way.
I would also like to address this:
Someone made the comment along the lines of why should Sarah go with someone who is ‘screwing’ another woman? Those of you who actually read the book already know that the relationship between Jeffrey and his partner was purely platonic. The sex had gone out of the relationship long ago.
This sounds like something a sleazy married dirtbag would say to pick up a woman in a bar. “I sleep on the couch, I swear! I’ll leave her someday..for you!” If he’s in a relationship, he’s in a relationship. It’s like being pregnant – you either are or you aren’t.
I’m afraid I don’t need to be 40 and menopausal to recognize an idiot. That’s just common sense.
I just wanted to pop in and say how much I enjoy this blog. I respect the reviews here. I also know better than to judge a book by one review. Thanks, ladies, for your work in putting together a wonderful site.
Can you tell that I am a mom and kindergarten teacher who wants everyone to get along? 🙂
Hi Cheryl, first of all. Thank you for reminding us that we should all get on. I love it and I think you’re right.
So girls, I’m sorry I lost my temper; but I guess we’ve all “touched a nerve” in this discussion and then we lost it 🙂
Also, I’m not hiding behind my anon identity. I could very easily have made up a name in a gmail account and you wouldn’t have known any better. No, I’m not hiding and no, I’m not a frustrated author. But as a reviewer I took offence that someone reviewed a book without finishing it.
Rowena, it’s okay if you didn’t want to read the rest of the book. Just remember that sometimes it’s difficult to see the whole picture if you don’t go on through to the end. And Holly, I was upset with your comments because you hadn’t even read the book, but you had already made up your mind that it was awful. As a reviewer, if I did this I would lose my job. LOL. But I understand that you are not doing this for a living, but simply expressing an opinion.
Anyway, enough of this. I’m extremely busy and I only stopped by here for a minute and stayed for a decade. LOL. I have to go back to work.
I will leave you with this message: a book is not worth getting all riled up about. But the fact that it did get us all riled up means that it had the power to hit a nerve either way (some of us loved the story and some of us didn’t). And I guess in the end the book did its job, which is to evoke some kind of emotion in the reader, whether good or bad. I have to say that this book has become a bit controversial now. LOL.
Cheryl, once again, thank you for reminding us all that we should try to get along.
Rowena and the other girls on this forum, I take it back what I said about your blog. It’s a good blog and even though it has generated some heated discussion, in the end I hope we can all let it be. I feel as though I’ve just come off a “60 minutes” debate. LOL.
One thing I will take away from this discussion is that next time I feel strongly about something I will remain calm and not injure someone’s feelings: not the author’s and not the other people who leave comments on a blog. I hope we can all have a healthy discussion and learn from each other :-). After all, isn’t that what life is all about?
Best regards to all.
Best regards to you, too, Anonymous. I thought that was a classy apology.
Thanks Anon
Just a general observation.
I used to really hate it if someone criticized a book or author I loved. I went as a guest to an RWA meeting and I saw the light. Author Eve Silver (a very smart, dynamic speaker) told the authors not to let poor reviews get to them:
-that not everyone one will love your work
-that you can’t please everyone.
It was the most freeing thing for me. It made me realize that there are a ton of books and authors out there & there’s something for everyone.
However, my ex-psychology major brain would love to figure out why I don’t give a darn if you hate the music or movies or TV shows I love, but it tears at me if you criticize my fave book or author.
One day I’ll figure it out. It the meantime, I can rest assured that there is someone out there waiting for someone to write a book about a one legged frog that shapeshifts into a Navy Seal. LOL
Obvious author is obvious even hiding under anon comments.
My goodness, here I am a preimenopausal woman in her forties and I had NO CLUE that it meant I was entitled to act like a teenaged idiot again! I was kind of enjoying what I perceived as gained wisdom and experience and understanding of life. Silly me! Think I will dump my husband on our upcoming 25 anniversary and kick up my heels a bit. — willaful
I appreciate the honest review! That’s what we’re all here for, right? Honesty. What’s the point of even reviewing any books at all if we have to censor our opinions? Of course, I don’t much care for reviews that are rude or cruel, but I thought this review was neither. Keep up the good work 🙂 Following!
LOL it’s kind of obvious that the author is anonymous, shame.
***What I’m about to say is so unprofessional. You have been warned.***
F*CK YOU, ANONYMOUS COMMENTER, AKA SYLVIA MASSARA.
You can find the comments left on the Sylvia Massara’s blog post by searching the specific post in google (put the url in the search bar) and clicking ‘cache’ on the link that comes up. I’m posting the link here but not sure if it’ll it work:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Uw_hBJ5us0cJ:www.authors-helping-authors.com/2011/02/authors-beware-of-unprofessional.html+http://www.authors-helping-authors.com/2011/02/authors-beware-of-unprofessional.html&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.ca
Rowena: Good on you! I only came across this train wreck this morning which then lead me to your review…
Barring what everyone else has said…i wouldn’t read this book…sarah sounds extremely frustraing, blind and stupid to even come up with a plot like this…its childish.
but hey…who am i to have an opinion…we’re only readers you know…lol
Thank you for the honest review, ladies! And I applaud you for not letting a vindictive author bully you out of your opinion. As soon as I post this comment, I will be clicking the follow button for your wonderful “little” blog.
Dear Rowena,
Amateur or not, bloggers are writers too, and (again) amateur or not, book critics are given books to review, not to praise! The author, or whoever “Anonymous” may be seems to think that the ONLY way a reviewer ought to review a book (just because it is someone ELSE’s work) is positively. Someone ought to please inform her, that is not so.
I am always obliged to the authors and publishers when they send me their books, and because of their generosity, I find myself obliged to write a review. But at the same time, I also feel obliged to be HONEST in my review.
I could not agree with you more about how it is pathetic for anyone, be it a literary character or otherwise, to search for a boyfriend for a boyfriend’s girlfriend. I mean, how genuinely ridiculous? Are you kidding me? If I met such a spineless man who would not want to be with me, unless I hooked his girlfriend up with someone else – I’d drop him in a heartbeat.
And what is this using “menopause” as an excuse…and how the character is “desperate” due to her “decline”. I mean, MY GOD! How stereotypical!!! My mother went through menopause, and it is not like she lost BRAIN CELLS!!! It is a stage, like many other stages, in life and it does not signify a decline of any sort. Most women I’ve seen and known have handled it with much class – so “menopause” is not an excuse to be childish. Sheesh, I’d probably laugh at a 16 year old trying to do this! It just sounds like such a waste of time!
Okay, I am done ranting. But I just wanted to say – you wrote a review based on your opinion, and that is all anyone can ask of you.
Now a follower, and an admirer.
~Hira H.~
Enamoredsoul(at)gmail(dot)com
Twitter Handle: @inluvwithbookz
Great review! I think you bring up some really good points. It sounds like the kind of book I’d read out of schadenfreude – like “Wow, that character is such an idiot… I wonder what kind of dumb thing she’ll do next.”
It does sound like the whole story would have made more sense if the main character had been much, much younger. Like, too young to know better.
OR, if she’s in her 40’s, she should know better, but at least give some kind of explanation for her craziness, such as, “I’m getting older, and this is my last/only chance at love, hence the crazy.”
Again, great review. Thank you for being so honest.
Jan/Anonymous, the classiest public response to a negative review is a dignified silence. The non-classy response is a public tantrum, which may include reactive blogging. The crazy insane and either borderline psycho or desperate pathetic response is sock-puppetry on the reviewer’s blog.
–Dorothy
Wow, do any of you know what FICTION means? We read to get lost in someone else’s problems and or triumps…to totally trash this book is terrible of you – be professional about it to the you site bloggers; you can just say you were disappointed in the book you do NOT need to be rude!!!
While the book may seem far-fetched, I still found it to be an interesting read. Don’t analyze things so much…it’s supposed to be fun, like watching a Soap Opera…98% of the stuff that happens in those shows would never happen in real life! Grow up and be Professional if you’re going to have a website like this.
The Other Boyfriend was okay in my book…