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That Other Woman
Courtney certainly seemed to fit the stereotype of "the other woman"--she was beautiful, successful, self-assured, and, frankly, not too domestic. But when Eric Collins pursued her, she found herself swept off her feet like a young girl, right into a storybook romance. Then Eric met Susan--young, blond, and a whiz in the kitchen. The virginal Susan was everything the "perfect heroine" should be--and she saw Courtney as a highly unsuitable rival. Such complications! But Courtney knew that appearances could be deceiving--and that when it came to true love, she was the only woman for her leading man.(less)
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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7 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Neff Walker
47 books3 followersA pseudonym for Elizabeth Rotter.
AKA Laura Matthews, Elizabeth Walker
AKA Laura Matthews, Elizabeth Walker
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 22, 2018
An incredibly dull and ponderous romance between a couple in their early thirties is interrupted (kind of, but not really) when the hero offers shelter to a 23-year-old photographer after she's stranded by a mud slide near his vacation cabin in the Sierras. Susan. Susan is a Virgin (she would want me to capitalize it) and a reader of romances, so she KNOWS her rescuer is her destiny. (She also KNOWS that men have uncontrollable urges when in the grips of a grand passion and that the secret to a good marriage is a hot homecooked meal on the table every night.)
I am both insulted and confused by this character. I picked up the book specifically because the title and summary led me to believe it was challenging the familiar tropes of early 80s category romance where plucky virginal teenagers survived the evil machinations of sophisticated OWs to land wealthy thirty-something men for improbable HEAs. But Susan is beyond caricature. She's a construct, a straw man who illustrates how ridiculous women who mistake those romance novels for life guides would be. The problem being, romance readers have never mistaken these books for guides to life. Even back in the eighties, we knew the difference between fantasy and reality. We're smart like that.
So that's the insult. My confusion stems from the fact that Susan has no impact on the story whatsoever. The 33-year-old heroine, an heiress and successful graphic designer, isn't particularly threatened by the younger woman. The 35-year-old hero has zero interest in Susan and makes it clear she's an embarrassing annoyance he's trying to eject from his life. I was expecting a romantic triangle and got a straight line with a random dot in the corner.
I am both insulted and confused by this character. I picked up the book specifically because the title and summary led me to believe it was challenging the familiar tropes of early 80s category romance where plucky virginal teenagers survived the evil machinations of sophisticated OWs to land wealthy thirty-something men for improbable HEAs. But Susan is beyond caricature. She's a construct, a straw man who illustrates how ridiculous women who mistake those romance novels for life guides would be. The problem being, romance readers have never mistaken these books for guides to life. Even back in the eighties, we knew the difference between fantasy and reality. We're smart like that.
So that's the insult. My confusion stems from the fact that Susan has no impact on the story whatsoever. The 33-year-old heroine, an heiress and successful graphic designer, isn't particularly threatened by the younger woman. The 35-year-old hero has zero interest in Susan and makes it clear she's an embarrassing annoyance he's trying to eject from his life. I was expecting a romantic triangle and got a straight line with a random dot in the corner.
Displaying 1 of 1 review