This was my first Marcy Dermansky. I requested it because Roxane Gay, who I adore, loved this book. Sadly, the absurdity and comedic aspects of it didn't work for me. I'm not proud of this - I wish I could lighten up and enjoy this story, but that's just not where I'm at right now. Maybe I'll try again. Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. I'm sure it will do brilliantly.

I have no idea how this book came to be but I cannot stop thinking about it. The characters are SO messy. I don’t know if I truly was rooting for any of them (children included) but it was done so well. I haven’t read anything like this and will be recommending it every chance I get because I want to discuss it with everyone!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it’s fast paced, witty, and the story is told with alternating points of view. An entertaining and quick read!

This is the first book I have read by Marcy Dermansky and was unsure about HOT AIR. I somewhat enjoyed the story line, and the quirkiness of the book. I also like that pacing of the story, it was a quick and move right along pace. Why do all the characters have a name that starts with J? Joannie, Julia, Johnny, and Johnathan. Ugh…I kept losing who was who. This began to get frustrated.

Overall, I did enjoy the book besides my small hangups. It was a 3-star read for me.

I had the honor of reading this ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Knopf.

I've been looking forward to this book since reading Very Nice last year. I loved it so much that I needed more of Marcy Dermansky’s writing as soon as possible. Luckily, I got it sooner than expected—I was fortunate to receive an ARC from Alfred A. Knopf via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hot Air follows a woman on a first date with a man while their children from previous marriages have a playdate. Their evening takes an unexpected turn when another couple crash-lands in the middle of their date via a hot air balloon. The group ends up all hanging out and dealing with this strange and unexpected situation together. It might sound completely random, but that’s part of what makes it so great.

What I find so compelling about Dermansky’s writing is how she creates these exaggerated characters and presents them in such a blunt, detached way. It has a satirical energy, but it’s not entirely satirical—there's an emotional undercurrent that makes them more than just caricatures. All of the main characters are odd, un-hinged, and strangely mechanical, which makes it a really fun read.

The book will be Mar 18 2025, and I definitely recommend checking it out!

Messy, unlikeable characters. First book I have read by this authors. Honestly hot air balloons go by in my town all the time so the premise on that end wasn’t too crazy because my husbands parents used to have them land in his yard sometimes, it was near the launching station. But the characters were soooo messy and sometimes hard to follow with similar names and I really didn’t like any of them but that was the point of the book.

This was good, but just not for me. There was SO MUCH going on. Quirky? Maybe. It was good, but overall not for me.

This is definitely a "not for everyone" book, but, for me, it was a great read! I tend to love short and quirky books, and this one hit the sweet spot for me. I enjoyed the way the narrative cycled through character point-of-views, with the ending of each providing a clear and interesting jumping off point for the next. The people in this story were often ridiculous, but in very human (and, for me, relatable) ways. They are all at some sort of crossroads in their emotional/relational lives. To some extent, this is because the book is set at the tail end of peak pandemic, a disorienting time for all of us. So to watch each character grapple with emotions and choices and figuring out who the heck they are and want to be worked for me. In terms of plot, the utter absurdity of the situations introduced throughout the book echoed the general absurdity of the world and was highly entertaining. So no, not for everyone, but for anyone who likes books like this, I think it fits in the "quirky gem" category, if there is such a thing. :)

This was so weird, but so entertaining. Hot air balloon, swingers, and Harry Potter world? Sold. I didn’t care for any of the characters which is all that kept this from being rated higher.

I had enjoyed Dermansky’s previous book Hurricane Girl, so I was excited for this one. I was disappointed. This is a lighthearted beach read that written in a short sentence style that just didn’t gel with my brain. The premise is somewhat absurd, but I didn’t think the character development or plot made up for it. I found the characters unlikeable and unbelievable. The ending fell flat for me. I think Dermansky had a great idea. I found the execution to be lackluster.

I absolutely LOVED this new novel from Marcy Dermansky! It's weird, wonderful, cringey, riveting and all the things!

I feel it's best to go in blind, but if you like characters making extremely weird and bad decisions, this is your book. It's short and sweet, easy to get through in a day or two, and so difficult to put down. We start with a hot air balloon falling from the sky, and the story goes from there. Not a lot happens, but also things just keep happening, if that makes sense.

One of my favorites of 2025 for sure!

Joannie and Johnny are on a first date at his house when a hot air balloon crashes into his pool. Joannie rushes in to rescue the man, only to find that he was her first kiss from summer camp years ago. Jonathan and his wife, Julia, the date “crashers” end up staying the night, after Julia suggests they trade partners. Oh, but also Joannie’s daughter and Johnny’s son are there, having a sleepover in the basement. The next day, Joannie and her daughter visit Jonathan and Julia’s house to swim in their pool and eat lobster, before Joannie has sex with her daughter sleeping in the same room, and before Julia whisks them away on an ill-fated trip to Disney World. Behind the seeming brightness of Jonathan and Julia’s world and wealth lay a lot of darkness, into which Joannie and Johnny insert themselves.

This was a funky little book! If the events of this book felt incredibly surreal, then the confused thoughts and emotions of the main characters were perhaps all too real, if only because their thoughts and words/actions weren’t always aligned. As I read it, this was a book about desire and jealousy, defining happiness, relationships, “family,” and growing up. I can’t say I liked any of the characters, and perhaps resented Joannie the most for her overindulgent childishness.

While all the relationships, save perhaps for that between Johnny and his son, were certainly bizarre, the relationship between Jonathan and Julia and Vivian, Jonathan’s assistant, definitely took the cake. Between gaslighting Vivian about their family-like relationship but also creating incredibly strict boundaries about behavior and discussion (all while she lives in the guesthouse and eats all meals with them), Julia’s exploration of adopting a Vietnamese baby like Vivian, and the sexual tension between Vivian and Jonathan with not so subtle power dynamics-undertones, Dermansky really managed to paint a strange world.

At the same time, I appreciate Dermansky’s writing of these characters - in life, not everyone is likable, not everyone has net positive traits, not everyone’s motives are always good or benevolent. The continued narration changes between the 5 adult characters was well done, especially when the internal dialogue was concerned with the others’ perceptions…and then we got it in the next chapters.

If anything, in writing this review, I’ve realized that my confused take on this book in a way reflects the confusion within the characters and their relationships. Something just felt a little off to me about this book, and I can’t tell if that’s because it wasn’t really for me, or if that was the intention. But in the end, this is a book that has stayed with me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this free eARC, and for giving me the opportunity to read this book and write an honest review.

This short novel is a speed read. I had to know what each character was thinking throughout. Each chapter is based on a character's POV. Everyone has preconceived ideas about each other and are also completely unaware of how they are acting themselves. Johnny, Jonathan, Julia, and Joannie, including Lucy and Vivian are each unique and each terrible. Lucy because she's 8 and everyone else's 8 year old sucks. Johnny is one of those mid white men who think they are god's gift to earth and it was cringe reading his chapters - so really life-like. Jonathan is rich and completely in his own world but maybe the most self-aware out of all of them. Julia, Jonathan's wife is a philanthropist and wants a baby girl so bad when she leeches onto Lucy and starts to rethink having kids, which is good because she is so selfish! Julia was probably the worst because she's constantly nagging on Jonathan to be better and to be aware but really she needs to take her own advice. Joannie is supposed to be the relatable one, but she has no confidence in herself and it's disappointing. Vivian is similar, even though she thinks she's better than Joannie but in literally the exact same position or worse. Anyways, I love a good book on character development, or no character development seeing how this book finished.

Dermansky drives home the point of "the grass is NOT always greener" in her latest slim novel. This is my first experience with this author but I'm impressed. I found this poignant, hilarious at times and over the top FUN. I was invested in these hot mess express characters and how far they would take things. I'm not sure how I was supposed to feel about Lucy (the kid) but she drove me bonkers. Kids man. Lucy really needed to give her Mom a break. Nonetheless, I liked how the story progressed and the resolution. It left me a very satisfied reader.

This is my second Marcy Dermansky book and she has easily and quickly become an auto-buy author for me. Her quirky storylines with jacked up characters are so addictive. I want to live in her brain.

HOT AIR is a delicious satire that pokes holes in all the various narratives we create about ourselves to make us feel better in a brilliant way. You will laugh (uncomfortably so) through the read and want to be a turtle and crawl into your shell with cringe. Excellently and sharply written.

I was very entertained while reading this. It was a quick read for me, which for me always means it was very engaging. I liked the perspective shifts between multiple characters and the voices the author chose to write in. All the J names were a little much, I did notice a couple errors when the wrong name was used. Overall, I thought it was a quick and fun read. For sure something I would pick up if I was in a slump or wanted something more fun and witty.

Highly original and immersive, Hot Air truly plunges you into the lives of its main characters and explores desire and wealth disparity in such a revelatory way. Each voice felt distinct and well thought out and I would have loved for Joannie and Julia to have spent more time together because their dynamic was so incredible to read. This novel left me feeling energized in a way I can only describe as simmering motivation.

I had such a fun time reading this one!! It’s messy, silly, real, and just overall a really enjoyable read. Joannie and Johnny, Julia and Jonathan meet when Julia and Jonathan quite literally crash a hot air balloon in Johnny’s backyard (like I said - silly). I loved how flawed every single one of these characters was; it wasn’t a picture-perfect story, it was a real story about real people that you didn’t really like. It was the fun, quick read I was looking for.

Another book I’ll love that other people will think is weird:) yes, people like this exist and yes, it’s a slice of life, especially one centered on very self absorbed rich people and the people they really don’t give a crap about. I kinda thought it was brilliant.