The premise to this short little novel sounded right up my alley, but unfortunately it was a little too odd for me.

I’m always blown away by Marcy Dermansky’s ability to dig deep into the dark side of human nature and HOT AIR did not disappoint. Joannie is on a first date with Johnny when billionaire Jonathan and his wife, Julia, crash a hot air balloon into Johnny’s pool. The four of them end up spending the night together and it turns out they all want something from one another. The characters are messy and unlikable but entirely human and I loved how the alternating perspectives allowed us into their heads to see why they behaved a certain way. A scandalous, fast-paced, and engaging character study that takes place over the course of a few days and offers a unique perspective on class, sexuality, motherhood, and toxic relationships.

3 ⭐️. these characters were messy and funny and such a fun time. nothing happens and yet we learn so much about the inner psyches of these characters..

ty to knopf publishing and netgalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just crazy in a good way?

If you love a character study of a book, boy are you in for a treat with this one.

Joannie is on a first date with Johnny, having dinner at his house, when all of a sudden her childhood crush (who happens to be a tech billionaire now) and his wife crash lands their hot air balloon in the middle of Johnny’s swimming pool. And that is only the start to the craziness that ensues!

There’s money, there’s Universal Studios, jealousy, swimming pools, stealing and so much more.

One of the things that makes this book so interesting is that the chapters switch between the characters. Sometimes that can be confusing at first with some books, but not this one. You definitely know who everyone is from the beginning.

Each person is equally unhinged and truly unlikeable in their own way. Just when you’re starting to like someone, they do something terrible, and just when you think someone is bad, you start to like them. It’s absurd and is seriously a testament to Dermansky’s writing.
3.5 stars thank you to NetGalley and Knopf publishing for an arc.

I have loved previous books from Marcy Dermansky (Hurricane Girl), so I was delighted to receive a copy of Hot Air. Dermansky does do readers wrong, however, with the character names in this one: Joannie, Johnny, Julia, and Jonathan. Her witty and satirical writing style is perfect for these times.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I was sure this book would be my jam because I love weird girl vs the void litfic but it just really didn't work for me.

Joannie, a newly divorced single mom, is on a bad date with her neighbor when a hot air balloon crashes in her pool. A billionaire, Jonathan, and his philanthropist wife, Julia, step outside. Joannie knew the billionaire from a summer camp kiss in childhood. Confusingly enough, her bad date was named Johnny. Rather than being charming, I found the similarity of their names hard to follow.

I liked Joannie and related to her sad ADHD girl struggles, but I found all the characters to be kind of bland. The most interesting thing about them was that they were unlikable. The couple then decides to try swinging and Jonathan and Julia don't even like Joannie but they decide to adopt her and her kid as pets for the day and they go to Universal Studios on a whim.

My other main issue was that I just wanted this to be more bizarro. Sad people having sex with people they don't like isn't weird enough for me. I also found the prose kind of clunky and simplistic; I didn't care for the author's writing style.

I kept reading because I hoped it would get weirder so maybe I just had the wrong expectations for this book. I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars but too many things didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was... odd. I was immediately drawn to the book from the cover, but was able to really fall into the story inside. The character depth in unusual situations was very well written.

I am DNFing. I'm so sorry but the writing was so annoying to me. I couldn't stand the amount of times the name Joanie was repeated. I also just couldn't even fathom what was happening.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

Hot Air is a bizarre story full of messy characters making bad decisions. I guess there are themes about motherhood and money, and figuring out what is really important in life. Unfortunately, I never felt attached to the characters. I was just reading words on the page. The writing felt detached and cold. I almost DNF'd several times, but it was short and so weird that I had to know how it ended.

An interesting premise but I just couldn't get into this one. It just didn't have any characters or a plot that could keep my attention and I ended up DNFing. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. Perhaps just a wrong book wrong time situation.

For me, this is a classic case of, "don't judge a book by it's cover" which is vibrant and attention grabbing. Combined with the racy and fun description, I was sure I was in for a treat when I received an ARC of Hot Air. Boy, was I woefully mistaken. Every character is horribly selfish and unlikeable, the writing is overly simplisic with sentences that resemble, "see spot run". And, the four main characters being named, Joannie, Johnny, Jonathan and Julia became annoying rather than cute. The sex scene with the child in the room pushed me over the cliff and I just couldn't care what happened anymore.
What started as an entertaining story with promise, turned into a strange stream of conciousness diatribe by each character that left me wishing I'd dnf'd this book. Thankfully, it was only 208 pages.

Hot Air follows a group of people in a messy situation. They navigate relationships, parenting, and grapple with right and wrong. This book is a quick, fun read, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys reading about people trying to find their way.

Wow! This was bonkers and everyone sucked (in a juicy way) and it was wild fun. I really hope you’re not supposed to root for any character because i really didn’t. I felt bad for the kids involved for getting caught up in the adults’ mess. This is a look at people’s needs and wants, with twisted and distorted views of morals and how actions affect other people. But it was entertaining!

3 stars for a quick read and also for it being decently entertaining. I will say the sex scene with the child in the room was the weirdest part about the whole book and could have been left out. Overall, interesting read

This was, without a doubt, one of the strangest books I have ever read. Yet, I could not put it down, completely baffling me. This is a story about a couple in a hot air balloon that lands in the pool of a man who is on a date with a woman for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. It is told from several different character’s perspectives and it was almost captivating. Then again, barely anything happened in the book and the characters were all essentially horrid people. I’m going to be honest, I don’t know how to feel about this book but it was fantastic and weird all at the same time. Due to this, I have it 3.5 rounded down to 3 stars. I just know I’m going to think about this book for days to come, the sign of a good book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

Honestly shoutout to authors who can write almost entirely character driven books full of just the most unlikeable people. This book gave a lot of depth to its small cast of characters, even the 8 year old little girl, who is also endearing but unlikeable. The commentary on marriage, children, and jobs is so real. Adulting fucking sucks.

A mom who will truly do anything for a swim in a pool!

For fans of people behaving badly and making poor choices, and for fans of succession. What a romp!

hot Air was a wild ride! at first, the characters all having J names bothered me, but I settled in quickly. I loved the short chapters and recommend the audio. I liked the questions about marriage, monogamy, motherhood.

Marcy Dermansky never fails to keep me glued to the page with her books and 'Hot Air' was no different. Joannie is on a first date with Johnny at his home while their elementary school age children have a play date in the basement. And then a hot air balloon comes out of nowhere and crashes into Johnny's pool and throws the entire night and weekend into a chaotic mess. I love how Dermansky's characters act exactly how you think they should while also doing things that you would never think to do in real life. Jonathan and Julia not only crash into the pool but they crash the entire situation. Jonathan is Joannie's first kiss from summer camp twenty years ago, coincidentally. Is there still a connection? Does Julia actually love her husband, Jonathan, or does she just adore his money? And does anyone like Johnny at all? This was a fast read but so entertaining. I would definitely recommend 'Hot Air' to someone looking for a different summer read.

Many thanks to Netgalley for e-arc!

This was an interesting book and I'm definitely planning on reading this author's backlog. I really enjoyed the deep dive into these characters and the unusual situation they all find themselves in.