Hot Air
A Novel
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2.9 • 18 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A joyfully unhinged story of money, marriage, sex, and revenge unspools when a billionaire crashes his hot-air balloon into the middle of a post-pandemic first date.
Joannie hadn’t been on a date in seven years when Johnny invites Joannie and her daughter to dinner. His house is beautiful, his son is sweet, and their first kiss is, well, it’s not the best, but Joannie could convince herself it was nice enough. But when Joannie’s childhood crush, a summer-camp fling turned famous billionaire, crash-lands his hot-air balloon in Johnny’s swimming pool, Joannie dives in.
Soon she finds herself alighting on a lost weekend with Johnny the bad kisser, Jonathan the billionaire, and Julia, his smart, stunning wife. Does Joannie want Jonathan? Does Julia want her husband? Or Joannie? Or Joannie’s beautiful little girl? Does Johnny want Julia? Does Jonathan want Joannie, or Julia, or maybe, his much younger personal assistant, Vivian, who is tasked to fix it all? A tale of lust and money and lust for money, Hot Air is as astonishing as it is blisteringly funny, a delirious, delicious story for our billionaire era.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A woman’s first date in seven years becomes a wildly unpredictable adventure in this wickedly witty satire. Joannie and Johnny are single parents having their first date at his house while their kids play in the rec room. While Joannie ponders the fact Johnny is a lousy kisser, their evening is interrupted when a hot-air balloon crashes into his swimming pool. The balloon is piloted by tech billionaire Jonathan, who wants to impress his philanthropist wife, Julia, for their anniversary. But Joannie and Johnny soon discover their unexpected guests have swinging on their minds. Author Marcy Dermansky offers a jaundiced look at love, money, and how the two can impact one another, as the rich couple size up their new “friends” and each side wonders how to get what they want. It’s smart, hilarious, and deeply thought provoking.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dermansky's hilarious latest (after Hurricane Girl) kicks off with a hot air balloon crash in a backyard pool. Joannie, the divorced mom of an eight-year-old daughter, and her architect neighbor, Johnny, have just had their first tentative kiss when the balloon crash-lands in Johnny's pool. The pair rescues its passengers, who turn out to be a wealthy couple trying to rekindle their romance. Julia Foster, a philanthropist, feels trapped in her stagnant marriage to tech billionaire Jonathan, who still desires her despite his frequent extramarital affairs. In classic Dermansky style, hijinks ensue as everyone agrees to a sleepover at Johnny's house, where Joannie's daughter Lucy ends up watching movies in the basement with Johnny's young son, Tyson. Set during the Covid-19 pandemic and exuberantly told from alternating perspectives, the narrative explores each character's secrets, betrayals, and desires. The highlight is Dermansky's slapstick action and dialogue, such as her description of Jonathan and Julia's crash ("They were screaming, not out of fear, but in anger. They seemed to hate each other. They were all dressed up," Dermansky writes before one Foster says to the other, "I will kill you, if we don't die!"). It's a hoot.
