The Other Boyfriend [Kindle Edition]

Sylvia Massara (Author), Dannye Williamsen (Editor)

Book Description

Sarah Jamison is on a mission to find a boyfriend for Moira, who is her lover’s partner. And Sarah’s best friend, Monica, comes to the rescue with the perfect solution. Enter the enigmatic Mike Connor.

Monica is sure that Mike will sweep Moira off her feet, leaving the way open for Sarah to be with her true love, Jeffrey.

Sarah hates Mike on sight despite the fact that her body tells her otherwise. He is a romance novel “hero-type” who is smug and full of himself. But the only way to accomplish her mission is for her to work with Mike so she can be together with the man she loves.

Jeffrey has promised her that the minute he can end his platonic relationship with Moira, he will be with Sarah for good; but he is having trouble letting go of the wretched woman, and Sarah feels her time is running out. She is terrified of the pending big “M” (menopause), and seeing as she’s just turned forty, and her hormones are driving her to do insane and desperate things, she is sure that it is not too far off into the future!

So here she is, building a multi-level marketing business in Taiwan, and struggling with it all: a stranger in a foreign country, away from her mother and friends back in London; a reluctant lover; a drop-dead gorgeous man who might have ulterior motives for helping her, and finally, a business that seems to be dwindling.

Sarah is doing it all in the name of love and the last chance to have a family, and if this means scheming and working with the devil himself, then she will do it! What she doesn’t take into account is the fact that instead of getting closer to her goal, Sarah’s feelings take a turn, and she finds herself increasingly thinking about the very man she despises the most – “the other boyfriend”.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The Other Boyfriend' was partly inspired by certain circumstances that took place in my life, when I was living in Taiwan and running a network marketing (multi-level marketing) business.

In those days I was in a relationship that wasn't right for me and I found out the hard way. So when I went back home to Australia I decided to fictionalise some of what transpired, and I combined this with some true life events, and 'The Other Boyfriend' was the result.

One thing I can truly say now is that laughter really can help a person get over heartbreak :-)

About the Author

Sylvia Massara has always lived in a dream world of her own making and has been writing since her early teens. She has written a number of plays, screenplays and, most recently, novels. Massara lives in Sydney, Australia, with all of her novel characters crammed inside her head waiting to come out and express themselves.As a multi-genre author, Massara draws on her varied experience from having worked in the field of human resources across many industries including the glamorous world of hotels.
One of Massara's favourite genres is romance -- romantic comedy -- and she has a soft spot for older chicks who are in their 40s and beyond. One of her novels, "The Other Boyfriend", is loosely based on her own life experience whilst she lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Massara followed through with "Like Casablanca", another romantic comedy about internet dating, and she drew on some of her own experiences as she went in search of "the one" (whom, by the way, she never found). On a more serious note, Massara wrote a very touching general fiction drama,  "The Soul Bearers", which touches on issues of child abuse, AIDS and gay rights; a story inspired by real life events and filled with hope and inspiration when overcoming fear, loss, and betrayal while learning to live and love again. At present, the novel is under consideration for adaptation into a feature film.An avid fan of classic black and white Hollywood movies of the 40s including film noir, Massara has recently embarked on a contemporary mystery series whose protagonist is an older, spunky and wiseass chick at 48, and who works in the international world of hotels. The theme is comedic, sprinkled with a little bit of film noir, and the stories are fast-paced and set in the modern day world. The first novel in the series is "Playing With The Bad Boys" -- A Mia Ferrari mystery. Massara is now working on her second mystery "The Gay Mardi Gras Murders".

Product Details

• File Size: 419 KB
• Print Length: 218 pages
• Publisher: Marbry-Tudor Books (August 7, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003X27XVG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,562 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Predictable February 7, 2011

By Samantha J

Format:Paperback

Sarah Jamison is done being patient. She has waited long enough for her lover to finally break up with his girlfriend. Jeffrey has been promising to break up with Moira for ages, but keeps citing business reasons to wait, as Jeffrey and Moira are partners in their network marketing business. Sarah decides to get proactive, enlisting best friend Monica to help devise a plan to break up Jeffrey and Moira for good. Monica thinks adding the dashing Mike Connor to the mix is the right idea. But instead of breaking up Jeffrey and Moira, the plan begins to backfire on Sarah. Along with the help of Sarah's internet hacker mother, Rosepurple, Sarah finds the true identity of Jeffrey, and realizes her relationship with him was never meant to be.

I wanted to like The Other Boyfriend by Sylvia Massara. But it was hard to. While I thought the plot could have gone a lot of different ways, it turned out to be exhaustingly predicable and one-dimensional. The business that Sarah, Jeffrey, and Moira are in is a big part of the story, but it was never explained. I had no idea what they were doing, and each time business was talked about, I just became confused. And the book should have been run through an editor. I got tired of reading about Mike's "sea-green eyes" for every description. It was a fast read, but too predictable for me to recommend.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so much January 10, 2011

By Ruthie

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am starting to get skeptical of Kindle books that haven't also been published in print.
Despite the other reviews I found this book to be shallow and one dimensional. The plot was fairly obvious and the characters were simplified and not real. Even with the exotic locations there was little sense of place. This book wasn't as bad as some kindle only books I've tried, at least I finished it, but it certainly is no 5 star book in my opinion.
Needs more work, maybe a good editor and a few re-writes.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars funny real feel-good book! February 7, 2011

By aobibliophile™

Format:Kindle Edition

what is it about love that makes one do or say stupid things that seem so illogical and outrageous to other people but make a lot of sense to the enamored? why is it that one also fails to hear the alarm when warning signals suddenly go off? are we plain stubborn or just acting out what our "flesh is heir to?"

readers may find themselves saying "oh, i've been there done that" as i have while reading the story.

Sylvia Massara's debut novel The Other Boyfriend is a funny, real, feel-good book and though the author herself labels it as "chick-lit," i believe that male readers may see themselves in a character or two and learn valuable lessons about falling/being in love and about the women they love or pursue.

Disclosure of Material Connection: i purchased this book through a coupon provided by the author. i did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was i obligated to write a positive one. all opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. this disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

More About the Author

Sylvia Massara is a multi-genre novelist based in Sydney, Australia, who dabbles in wacky love affairs, drama and murder (or all three) over coffee. Sylvia has been writing since her early teens and her work consists of screenplays and novels.

As with most authors, Sylvia draws on her varied experience from having worked in the field of human resources across a number of industries including the glamorous world of international hotels.

In the romance genre, Sylvia reveals a soft spot for older female protagonists who are on the cusp of 40 and beyond. One of her novels, The Other Boyfriend, is loosely based on her own life experience whilst she lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Her other romance novel, Like Casablanca, is a romantic comedy about internet dating.

On a more serious note, Sylvia wrote a very touching contemporary fiction drama, The Soul Bearers, which explores issues of child abuse, repressed sexuality, AIDS and gay rights; a story inspired by real life events and filled with hope and inspiration when overcoming fear, loss, and betrayal. At present, the novel is under consideration for adaptation into a feature film.

An avid fan of classic black and white Hollywood movies of the 40s including film noir, Sylvia has recently embarked on a contemporary mystery series whose protagonist is an older, spunky and smartarse female of 48, who works in the international world of hotels. The theme is comedic, sprinkled with a little bit of style from the film noir era; the stories are fast-paced and set in the modern day world. The first two novels in the series are Playing With The Bad Boys and The Gay Mardi Gras Murders.