The Replacements. Shae Sanders. 2022. 223 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.]
When Savannah finds out, quite unceremoniously, that her husband of more than a decade is cheating on her, she knows exactly how to respond. She immediately goes into planning mode so she can get a divorce and move on to a replacement. Using the connections she’s honed as a CEO’s wife, she lands herself as assistant to another CEO, the ever-brusque and grumpy Taurus. While the life she imagined crumbles around her, she tries to stay in Taurus’ good graces, or at least enough to stay employed.
There’s plenty of tension between the two, though it’s not immediately sexual or romantic. Taurus is a hard man to please and expects nothing short of perfection from everyone in his life. He has a rigid approach to life, whether that’s in his relationship with his siblings, ex-wife, and daughter or how he approaches business opportunities. When people fall short, he’s not one to give grace or see the other perspective so readily. While Savannah can rise to the occasion, she also pushes back against him in ways he’s not accustomed to. She’s a great foil to his uptight ways, and I loved seeing how she was able to get him to think beyond himself and his expectations, and instead see people for who they are.
An interesting aspect of this story is that Savannah is a kept woman, and she’s content to remain as such. So while she is willing to work to support herself, even this is a short-lived reality while she searches for her next husband. She’s not vapid, though. She’s already proven herself as a wife who is more than capable of leadership and initiative … skills she puts to immediate use in her first real job. On one hand, I appreciated seeing her come into her own and have a tangible positive impact in her role. She’s actually pretty shrewd in landing the job and demonstrating that she’s well worth her salary.
However, while I was empathetic toward Savannah because of her husband’s infidelity, I found myself shaking my head at her decision-making at every turn. First, for a woman in such a precarious position, financial or otherwise, her inability to follow her attorney’s advice was at best confusing because it impeded her ability to get what she actually wanted. She seemed impulsive and at times unable to face the consequences of her decisions. And that she outright planned to use her new job to just find another husband to care for her was shocking and a bit unrealistic given a woman of her experience.
The topic of Savannah being financially dependent on her partner showed through her conversations with her mother and friends. Initially, it was presented as a cautionary tale to ensure she always had a safety net, but as the book went on, this was almost glossed over and written off as jealousy. Savannah’s stance is actually empowering, in that she understands what is valuable to her and where she can have the impact that’s most important to her. I appreciate Sanders’ exploration of Savannah’s desire to take care of her partner in myriad ways that are often written off. She finds value in nurturing her home and partner, which is apparent in how she engaged with her Taurus as his assistant. Savannah’s fulfillment in anticipating and meeting the needs of those around her to ensure they can be at their best is central to her personality and naturally shines at work.Overall, The Replacements is a solid read. The intersections of work and home bring up interesting questions about the expectations people set for themselves and others and the resulting ripple effects.
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