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Hot Air
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.
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.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2025
231 people are currently reading
10613 people want to read
About the author
Marcy Dermansky
9 books29.1k followersMarcy Dermansky is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Hurricane Girl, Very Nice, The Red Car, Bad Marie and Twins. Her new novel Hot Air will be released in the spring of 2025.
Marcy has received fellowships from MacDowell and The Edward Albee Foundation. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey with her daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 683 reviews
June 9, 2025
4.5
In Hot Air, Dermansky plays with how none of us are safe from longing for what we don’t have, no matter how lucky the cards we’re dealt, but also that what we choose despite that is because of who we are in the first place. And it is the longing itself that can make us hate the world, feel beaten down by it, or cause us to hate ourselves for not obtaining our desires.
At its heart, this is an exploration of “the grass is always greener,” and has a hopeful end. It’s also a perfect blend of two of the biggest trends in fiction: the distaste for the wealthy, and the coming-of-middle-age for women.
Marcy Dermansky is a go-to for me when I want a sure thing. Her sentences twist on themselves in unexpected ways with such efficiency and sharpness that the delight is not unlike the first time I filled my mouth with Pop Rocks.
Apart from that nostalgia, her worlds are full of contemporary quirk. This one is about a kind of tentative woman (see what I did there?), a single mom, who, during the pandemic, goes on her first date in years, when literally the boy of her teen-dreams falls from the sky. He’s a man now, and falls with his wife on their anniversary from a hot air balloon into a pool—wet, but not hurt.
The book alternates short, snappy chapters from all four perspectives, and expands to include the personal assistant of the air-balloon couple, plus the 8yr old daughter of the protagonist. The former works well for thematic reasons, the latter knocked me out from the story at first not seeming to belong. But overall it’s great fun with most characters in different degrees of unlikable. Dermansky is one of the easiest writers to follow, leaning instead on metaphor and the reader’s imagination, yet always psychologically astute.
If we can embrace what we have with gratitude and care, that alone can sharpen the quality of our lives. The listening to and valuing of self is what we are missing until one’s whole life becomes about the drive—our lives a machine driven further and further away from the neglected self in a vicious cycle. What we’re experts on is ourselves, and yet so many of us give this trust away easily in favor of being told what we want or need.
In Hot Air, Dermansky plays with how none of us are safe from longing for what we don’t have, no matter how lucky the cards we’re dealt, but also that what we choose despite that is because of who we are in the first place. And it is the longing itself that can make us hate the world, feel beaten down by it, or cause us to hate ourselves for not obtaining our desires.
At its heart, this is an exploration of “the grass is always greener,” and has a hopeful end. It’s also a perfect blend of two of the biggest trends in fiction: the distaste for the wealthy, and the coming-of-middle-age for women.
Marcy Dermansky is a go-to for me when I want a sure thing. Her sentences twist on themselves in unexpected ways with such efficiency and sharpness that the delight is not unlike the first time I filled my mouth with Pop Rocks.
Apart from that nostalgia, her worlds are full of contemporary quirk. This one is about a kind of tentative woman (see what I did there?), a single mom, who, during the pandemic, goes on her first date in years, when literally the boy of her teen-dreams falls from the sky. He’s a man now, and falls with his wife on their anniversary from a hot air balloon into a pool—wet, but not hurt.
The book alternates short, snappy chapters from all four perspectives, and expands to include the personal assistant of the air-balloon couple, plus the 8yr old daughter of the protagonist. The former works well for thematic reasons, the latter knocked me out from the story at first not seeming to belong. But overall it’s great fun with most characters in different degrees of unlikable. Dermansky is one of the easiest writers to follow, leaning instead on metaphor and the reader’s imagination, yet always psychologically astute.
If we can embrace what we have with gratitude and care, that alone can sharpen the quality of our lives. The listening to and valuing of self is what we are missing until one’s whole life becomes about the drive—our lives a machine driven further and further away from the neglected self in a vicious cycle. What we’re experts on is ourselves, and yet so many of us give this trust away easily in favor of being told what we want or need.
July 20, 2025
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right? Until you get to the other side of the fence and realize that the green grass is just as likely to shrivel up to a dull brown that crunches unpleasantly underfoot. With her usual sly wit, Marcy Dermansky gets right to her point in this clever story. Dermanksy always uses an economy of words, and it works so well here. There’s nothing sentimental about her writing at all. You might not care for a single character. Yet, it’s so easy to become engrossed in her stories and nod your head in agreement from beginning to end.
“It was not a good thing, jumping into other people’s lives, because eventually she was going to have to go home, and stay home.”
Joannie has gone along for the ride on daughter Lucy’s playdate at a friend’s house. There she meets divorced dad Johnny. After a freak accident involving a hot air balloon, she also becomes acquainted with the wealthy and successful Jonathan and Julia. If you think going up in a hot air balloon is a crazy endeavor, wait until you see what happens here! At first it seemed so impossible and ludicrous, yet it worked perfectly. Everyone wants something they don’t have. Quite possibly, the reader might smirk at the characters’ secret thoughts:
“As a rule, Joannie didn’t like rich people, but she thought that could change if she were to become one.”
“All of these people, in these suburban towns, had children. It was unfair that she could not have one.”
“He did not want to be alone. He did not want to start again, with a new woman. A new woman would want to redecorate his house, be in love. It was so much work. He had done all that with Julia.”
“They both loved the idea of saving people, but it was harder to do than it appeared. All too often, people turned out to be ungrateful, unwilling to change.”
Even little Lucy has double standards. While she fell for dear daddy’s girlfriend, she has these feelings about Joannie:
“But it was not okay for her mom to have boyfriends. Ever.”
Joannie has written one novel which was a big hit. Since then, however, she’s been fully wrapped up in Lucy’s life, so determined to make Lucy happy, that she hasn’t focused on her own happiness or her writing. Marcy Dermansky even pokes some fun at writers through one of her characters:
“Clearly, she was not an articulate person. Probably, Julia thought, that was why she was a writer.”
This piece was entertaining and spot on about our desires, shortcomings, sacrifices, and value or lack thereof of self-worth. Still, Alison and Hurricane Girl hold that very special place in my heart. You can’t go wrong with Dermansky though if you like sharp, insightful, spare writing with meaningful themes.
“Joannie had longed believed that she was unlovable… She did not think that much of other people either. She wanted only to rely on herself. She was more than competent.”
“It was not a good thing, jumping into other people’s lives, because eventually she was going to have to go home, and stay home.”
Joannie has gone along for the ride on daughter Lucy’s playdate at a friend’s house. There she meets divorced dad Johnny. After a freak accident involving a hot air balloon, she also becomes acquainted with the wealthy and successful Jonathan and Julia. If you think going up in a hot air balloon is a crazy endeavor, wait until you see what happens here! At first it seemed so impossible and ludicrous, yet it worked perfectly. Everyone wants something they don’t have. Quite possibly, the reader might smirk at the characters’ secret thoughts:
“As a rule, Joannie didn’t like rich people, but she thought that could change if she were to become one.”
“All of these people, in these suburban towns, had children. It was unfair that she could not have one.”
“He did not want to be alone. He did not want to start again, with a new woman. A new woman would want to redecorate his house, be in love. It was so much work. He had done all that with Julia.”
“They both loved the idea of saving people, but it was harder to do than it appeared. All too often, people turned out to be ungrateful, unwilling to change.”
Even little Lucy has double standards. While she fell for dear daddy’s girlfriend, she has these feelings about Joannie:
“But it was not okay for her mom to have boyfriends. Ever.”
Joannie has written one novel which was a big hit. Since then, however, she’s been fully wrapped up in Lucy’s life, so determined to make Lucy happy, that she hasn’t focused on her own happiness or her writing. Marcy Dermansky even pokes some fun at writers through one of her characters:
“Clearly, she was not an articulate person. Probably, Julia thought, that was why she was a writer.”
This piece was entertaining and spot on about our desires, shortcomings, sacrifices, and value or lack thereof of self-worth. Still, Alison and Hurricane Girl hold that very special place in my heart. You can’t go wrong with Dermansky though if you like sharp, insightful, spare writing with meaningful themes.
“Joannie had longed believed that she was unlovable… She did not think that much of other people either. She wanted only to rely on herself. She was more than competent.”
June 23, 2025
This is a comedy of manners about class tensions and female midlife crises, presented as a story of doppelgaengers in trick mirrors: As per usual, you can basically see Marcy Dermansky snicker at her writing desk. The whole thing starts out with divorced, middle-aged author Joannie having a date with Johnny in his nice middle-class house, when Jonathan and Julia suddenly crash into Johnny's pool with their hot air balloon. The rich couple's marriage is on the verge of break-down as they weren't able to conceive a child and infamous fuckboy billionaire Jonathan is now cheating on his artist wife. This is the start of a turbulent long weekend that will lead to partner swaps, lobster dinners and even a trip to Disneyland - all under the eyes of Jonathan's exasperated assistant Vivian.
In this novel, everyone is a mess (except Joannie's daughter and Johnny's son): Joannie has written one successful novel and has produced nothing since, she now pathetically craves the small (Johnny) and big (Jonathan) luxuries she might attain via men; Julia has given up on her own aspirations as a visual artist to become a philanthropist, spending Jonathan's money and caring for her army of cats; Johnny is mesmerized by the rich couple's celebrity; and Jonathan seems to judge everything and everyone by their amusement factor for himself - but then again, don't they all? The nostalgic backdrop that Jonathan and Joannie were each other's first kiss has long been jaded by the availability or lack of money.
At the core, the two pairings, who relate and contrast not only through their similar names, are brought together and pushed apart by money, hence: Power. They try different routes to buy happiness, and Dermansky is not a naive author who pretends that in this world (and: this economy), we can afford to disregard financial aspects to protect absolute integrity, with assistant Vivian being the best example: She is also an aspiring writer and sees Joannie as a cautionary tale while herself attending to Jonathan's every whim to earn a living. Even the family unit, biological and chosen, is constantly unsettled through financial dependency.
More than anything, Dermansky's novels are fun to read, and they are entertainment of the smartest kind, taking a satirical look at our world without feeling the need to add heavy-handed moral judgement - and I like authors who believe that their readers are smart enough to get the nuances.
In this novel, everyone is a mess (except Joannie's daughter and Johnny's son): Joannie has written one successful novel and has produced nothing since, she now pathetically craves the small (Johnny) and big (Jonathan) luxuries she might attain via men; Julia has given up on her own aspirations as a visual artist to become a philanthropist, spending Jonathan's money and caring for her army of cats; Johnny is mesmerized by the rich couple's celebrity; and Jonathan seems to judge everything and everyone by their amusement factor for himself - but then again, don't they all? The nostalgic backdrop that Jonathan and Joannie were each other's first kiss has long been jaded by the availability or lack of money.
At the core, the two pairings, who relate and contrast not only through their similar names, are brought together and pushed apart by money, hence: Power. They try different routes to buy happiness, and Dermansky is not a naive author who pretends that in this world (and: this economy), we can afford to disregard financial aspects to protect absolute integrity, with assistant Vivian being the best example: She is also an aspiring writer and sees Joannie as a cautionary tale while herself attending to Jonathan's every whim to earn a living. Even the family unit, biological and chosen, is constantly unsettled through financial dependency.
More than anything, Dermansky's novels are fun to read, and they are entertainment of the smartest kind, taking a satirical look at our world without feeling the need to add heavy-handed moral judgement - and I like authors who believe that their readers are smart enough to get the nuances.
December 19, 2024
I really enjoyed this novel. Moved fast. Characters behaving badly. It’s a fun ride and these people are a mess.
August 28, 2025
I loved Hurricane Girl, the author’s last book. So quirky and such a lovable protagonist.
This book had none of those things. Sadly this was not for me.
This book had none of those things. Sadly this was not for me.
March 30, 2025
Such a fun and delightful read that I didn't know I needed until I started it!
Essentially Hot Air is a deeply original and absurd work of literary fiction. But it's not your typical character driven story as it is faster paced. The eccentric cast of characters is what makes this story so entertaining. They are all so unlikable that it makes the story much more interesting But it's not just a humorous read, the story is deeply human and profound.
This is my first read by Marcy and after finishing Hot Air, I'm definitely going to dive into her backlist!
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky was published on March 18
so it's available now. Many thanks to AA Knopf for the gifted copy!
Essentially Hot Air is a deeply original and absurd work of literary fiction. But it's not your typical character driven story as it is faster paced. The eccentric cast of characters is what makes this story so entertaining. They are all so unlikable that it makes the story much more interesting But it's not just a humorous read, the story is deeply human and profound.
This is my first read by Marcy and after finishing Hot Air, I'm definitely going to dive into her backlist!
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky was published on March 18
so it's available now. Many thanks to AA Knopf for the gifted copy!
March 23, 2025
“How were you supposed to behave after a hot air balloon crashed into a swimming pool on your first date in many years?”
Different and interesting are the words are top of mind after finishing Hot Air, my first read from Marcy Dermansky.
In this story, a billionaire and his wife are on a hot air balloon ride and crash into the backyard of a man who’s currently hosting a date. The story primarily follows the 4 adult characters, revealing their thoughts about each other and about money. The characters weren’t always likable — actually they were unlikable more often than not, but the story, focused on lust and wealth in its various forms, was entertaining. Hot Air was unique and kept me intrigued.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Different and interesting are the words are top of mind after finishing Hot Air, my first read from Marcy Dermansky.
In this story, a billionaire and his wife are on a hot air balloon ride and crash into the backyard of a man who’s currently hosting a date. The story primarily follows the 4 adult characters, revealing their thoughts about each other and about money. The characters weren’t always likable — actually they were unlikable more often than not, but the story, focused on lust and wealth in its various forms, was entertaining. Hot Air was unique and kept me intrigued.
Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 31, 2025
This was a breath of fresh air—a true delight. Marcy Dermansky’s weird, funny, straightforward way of writing captivated me from the very first page, and I was barely able to put it down.
What could have been (and admittedly was, at times) an absolutely absurd story, was relatable and honest and every good thing you want out of a book. I loved it.
What could have been (and admittedly was, at times) an absolutely absurd story, was relatable and honest and every good thing you want out of a book. I loved it.
May 2, 2025
3.5. This was a very weird little novel! I had fun with this for the most part but some parts were a bit slower and made me lose interest at times. The names of the characters were funny but ultimately were very confusing to follow sometimes (Johnny, Joannie, Johnathan and Julia lol)! I liked this novel and really enjoy Marcy Dermansky’s writing! This is my second of hers after Bad Marie and would love to read more of her work.
May 27, 2025
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨. At first I didn’t care for the author’s writing. It’s very direct no flowery poetic writing. It seemed a little far fetched but it’s fiction so what!! There were alot of loose ends at the end of this tale which kept me wondering
I will give this author another read .
I will give this author another read .
September 11, 2024
This is the first book I have read by Marcy Dermansky and if her others are like HOT AIR, I am going to need to read her backlist stat! I love a quick paced tale with alternating points of view and am even more impressed when this is done in literary fiction. I just had to know what would happen after Jonathan and Julia's hot air balloon crashed into Johnny and Joannie's first date! The characters were so fully described that I felt like I had met them in real life. It was like reading a weird and witty dream about swingers. Think Indecent Proposal meets The Ice Storm with a dash The Hangover. This is set during the pandemic and surprisingly had a lot about Universal Studios in Florida.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy. Thoughts and review are completely my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy. Thoughts and review are completely my own.
April 16, 2025
This book was so stupid… also the author accidentally switched up the characters names 7 times (that I counted, could have been more). The child in the story was supposed to be in third grade but she wrote her like she was a 5 year old. I was just not a fan and don’t recommend.
April 11, 2025
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 the 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.
Joannie, a newly divorced single mom, is on a bad date with her neighbor when a hot air balloon crashes in the 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.
Read
December 27, 2025If you're in the mood for some irreverent humor, a main course of the grass is greener and sides of unlikeable characters, Marcy Dermansky's latest may be what you're looking for.
That cover--the brightly colored gores of a hot air balloon-- is a perfect lead in, after all the book opens with a hot air balloon crash landing in a suburban backyard swimming pool. It also lets me know I'm being hurtled into a world of Dermansky's technicolor acerbic wit and characters who, like this balloon, are full of hot air.
Full of interior monologues that reveal thoughts that most of us would never speak aloud, I get a peek into the inner workings of these characters. While I wouldn't wish to have any of them as friends (well maybe 8 year-old Lucy), I can enjoy being a voyeur watching this tale swiftly unfold. Some of the humor lies in seeing relatable bits of myself and people I know while appreciating that we thankfully are not the whole package. Can't you relate to the thought “As a rule, Joanie didn’t like rich people, but she thought that could change if she were to become one.”?
I acknowledge that this style is not for everyone. If you are a fan of Dermansky's or think it might suit, do consider this quick read.
Just a note in case the publisher ever looks at this review 🤣, the copy editor fell down on the job here. There were multiple places where the wrong character's name was used.
Thank you, Jennifer, for passing on your copy to me.
Publication 2025
That cover--the brightly colored gores of a hot air balloon-- is a perfect lead in, after all the book opens with a hot air balloon crash landing in a suburban backyard swimming pool. It also lets me know I'm being hurtled into a world of Dermansky's technicolor acerbic wit and characters who, like this balloon, are full of hot air.
Full of interior monologues that reveal thoughts that most of us would never speak aloud, I get a peek into the inner workings of these characters. While I wouldn't wish to have any of them as friends (well maybe 8 year-old Lucy), I can enjoy being a voyeur watching this tale swiftly unfold. Some of the humor lies in seeing relatable bits of myself and people I know while appreciating that we thankfully are not the whole package. Can't you relate to the thought “As a rule, Joanie didn’t like rich people, but she thought that could change if she were to become one.”?
I acknowledge that this style is not for everyone. If you are a fan of Dermansky's or think it might suit, do consider this quick read.
Just a note in case the publisher ever looks at this review 🤣, the copy editor fell down on the job here. There were multiple places where the wrong character's name was used.
Thank you, Jennifer, for passing on your copy to me.
Publication 2025
April 4, 2025
Sorry but I feel like a good author will take a flawed character and make their decisions understandable.
Like I get why Raskolnikov killed the old woman.
Here — none of that was achieved. And ultimately created shallow, one-dimensional characters. Do Not Read This!
Spoiler: was there a need to act like hooking up with a man in front of your sleeping eight year old was anything other than child abuse? I, for one, don’t believe Joannie was doing the best she could.
Like I get why Raskolnikov killed the old woman.
Here — none of that was achieved. And ultimately created shallow, one-dimensional characters. Do Not Read This!
Spoiler: was there a need to act like hooking up with a man in front of your sleeping eight year old was anything other than child abuse? I, for one, don’t believe Joannie was doing the best she could.
May 1, 2025
i've read all six of marcy's books and love them all. this wasn't my favourite but i still loved it and will continue looking forward to what she has next
March 27, 2025
1 star rounded up to two for the cover.
This was awful, so so bad. I was really looking forward to this book and the only good things about it are the beautiful cover and the short length. That's it.
This book needed a good edit, unless it was on purpose, there were at least 3 times I noticed where the wrong name was used. The story would be talking about Joannie but then call her Julia. It happened another time with Lucy. It was jarring and confusing.
These characters were awful and behaving badly but more than that it was just weird. Do people really behave like this? Make these decisions? Maybe, but I don't want to read about it.
Even kind of understanding their motivations doesn't help me understand why they went through with any of it. Why they didn't think better of it, why common sense, common decency never intervened. Maybe this book is above my head, it totally could be but I didn't like it and it wasn't for me at all. Would not recommend it.
This was awful, so so bad. I was really looking forward to this book and the only good things about it are the beautiful cover and the short length. That's it.
This book needed a good edit, unless it was on purpose, there were at least 3 times I noticed where the wrong name was used. The story would be talking about Joannie but then call her Julia. It happened another time with Lucy. It was jarring and confusing.
These characters were awful and behaving badly but more than that it was just weird. Do people really behave like this? Make these decisions? Maybe, but I don't want to read about it.
Even kind of understanding their motivations doesn't help me understand why they went through with any of it. Why they didn't think better of it, why common sense, common decency never intervened. Maybe this book is above my head, it totally could be but I didn't like it and it wasn't for me at all. Would not recommend it.
December 2, 2025
The Google blurb calls this book “joyfully unhinged,” and that describes this book to a T. Let’s see. Joannie is on a post-Covid date, her first in seven years, at her date’s house, when a billionaire in a hot air balloon crashes into the pool, oh, and that billionaire happens to be Joannie’s teenage crush. And that’s just for starters. Then it gets really crazy. Funny and fun.
May 25, 2025
Judging from the blurb, you might think this is a fluffy book, a chicklit pool read to blow through, but Marcy Dermansky gives much more than that if you slow down. I can see the temptation to rush - the plot is full of entertaining antics, and the humor is unforced and spot on. But then you miss the pleasure of savoring a Dermansky character. These four exhibit in spades the quality I most love in her people - the way they have perfected the art of being consciously, almost studiously clueless about themselves and others. They sometimes dip a toe into introspection, but quickly pull it out - it's either too exhausting (single mother) or too easy to evade (billionaire couple and architect). But the fun for the reader is that you can go where they fear to tread. In her other books (as I recall) there is one such clueless (always female) character navigating the world, but here there are four (two women, two men), and they bounce off each other like billiard balls, making it even more fun. Dermansky's books are always short because she's all show and no tell - there's no wise, omniscient narrator to comment on or expose the characters, there is just the characters themselves, in all their 'damaged glory'. (Credit for this phrase goes to the superb Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory).
August 26, 2024
Think Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, the 1969 film directed and written by Paul Mazursky . . . written in Dick, Jane and Sally short sentences in novel form with kids added in, where all the characters, at least in the beginning, seem to have a kind of Asperger’s Syndrome understanding in relationships.
This is a style that I’ve read in all of Marcy Dermansky’s work, only here it is even more heightened, and the effect is its own kind of music. Sometimes comical, sometimes sad.
Children’s book author Eric Carle was a family friend and he once said that he thought the whole human journey was about leaving home, epitomized by a child’s transition from home to school. I think Marcy Dermansky has an equally colorful (the cover is spectacular) twisted adult version of this theme in her books, and very much in this one where what starts out as stilted gradually reveals the gaping hole of need we all feel at some level, if we are willing to admit it—a hole of need and just wanting to fill it up with Home. Protagonist Joannie in this colorful drama of couples swapping, random sex, and a deflated hot-air balloon, personifies what we all are so desperately trying to hide—if not from others, from ourselves.
* I received an ARC of this book that is due out in March 2025.
This is a style that I’ve read in all of Marcy Dermansky’s work, only here it is even more heightened, and the effect is its own kind of music. Sometimes comical, sometimes sad.
Children’s book author Eric Carle was a family friend and he once said that he thought the whole human journey was about leaving home, epitomized by a child’s transition from home to school. I think Marcy Dermansky has an equally colorful (the cover is spectacular) twisted adult version of this theme in her books, and very much in this one where what starts out as stilted gradually reveals the gaping hole of need we all feel at some level, if we are willing to admit it—a hole of need and just wanting to fill it up with Home. Protagonist Joannie in this colorful drama of couples swapping, random sex, and a deflated hot-air balloon, personifies what we all are so desperately trying to hide—if not from others, from ourselves.
* I received an ARC of this book that is due out in March 2025.
November 19, 2024
After reading Hurricane Girl by this author, I was automatically sold on any books from her in the future. In Hot Air, we follow four characters - Joannie, Julia, Johnny, and Johnathan - as their lives intertwine after a hot air balloon accident. Told in multiple POVs with very short chapters, this was a quick and quirky read with messy characters and interpersonal relationships. It wasn't as unhinged as Hurricane Girl, but it had the same sense of humor and vibe - messy, funny, silly, absurd.
The characters are all quite self-involved, a bit unlikeable, but very real. Their lives and motivations are messy and self-serving but interesting in a voyeuristic way. Since it's a short read, some of the dynamics between characters aren't fully explored, but I still appreciated what was explored.
Recommended for fans of slice-of-life literary fiction on the weirder side. For fans of Melissa Broder (The Pisces, Death Valley), Mona Awad, Ottessa Moshfegh.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
The characters are all quite self-involved, a bit unlikeable, but very real. Their lives and motivations are messy and self-serving but interesting in a voyeuristic way. Since it's a short read, some of the dynamics between characters aren't fully explored, but I still appreciated what was explored.
Recommended for fans of slice-of-life literary fiction on the weirder side. For fans of Melissa Broder (The Pisces, Death Valley), Mona Awad, Ottessa Moshfegh.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
November 7, 2024
this is a bit shakespearean… in a comedy of errors, midsummer night’s dream sense of the word
i enjoyed it but i found i wanted a little more! the joannie/julia dynamic could have been explored more and i think they all could have been a bit freakier
i enjoyed it but i found i wanted a little more! the joannie/julia dynamic could have been explored more and i think they all could have been a bit freakier
March 18, 2025
3.5. This book was so weird and I don’t know how to feel but I also couldn’t stop reading??? Every character is truly terrible in their own way and makes bizarre decisions.
Moral of the story is don’t crash an air balloon into someone else’s pool and then do a “partner swap”?????
Moral of the story is don’t crash an air balloon into someone else’s pool and then do a “partner swap”?????
June 17, 2025
Review coming soon.
December 23, 2024
I’m sorry, what did I just read? The cover and the synopsis made me request this from Netgalley, and the short length was a plus, but unfortunately this was not for me.
First off, the characters all having J names was super confusing - both the males were Jonathan and Johnny. None of them were likable, and honestly they were annoying. The decisions made were…a bit much for me.
This one is certainly quirky, and I’m sure some people will love all the eccentricities, but I wouldn’t personally recommend this.
Thank you nonetheless to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC!
First off, the characters all having J names was super confusing - both the males were Jonathan and Johnny. None of them were likable, and honestly they were annoying. The decisions made were…a bit much for me.
This one is certainly quirky, and I’m sure some people will love all the eccentricities, but I wouldn’t personally recommend this.
Thank you nonetheless to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC!
August 12, 2025
Short and quick read! I had been looking forward to this since Hurricane Girl came out and sadly this one wasn't as good as it. I still thought it was fun and easy to read through. I read this on the beach in Mexico lol.
Thank you to Netgalley for advanced copy of this book!
Thank you to Netgalley for advanced copy of this book!
March 27, 2025
I hated everyone in this book except the little neglected boy.
April 13, 2025
Oh my! What a strange little book this was! Ha! HOT AIR by Marcy Dermansky starts off with the weirdest situation imaginable:
“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.”
This novel definitely grabs your attention immediately and makes you chuckle. It follows four characters: Joanie, Julia, Johnny, and Johnathon. Yes, you’ll get confused by all the “J” names, but trust me, you’ll peg them down quickly. And yes, they’re all quite unlikable and they’ll annoy the piss out of you, but for some strange reason, it works! 🤣
WHAT TO EXPECT:
- Absurd storyline
- Partner swapping
- Jealousy, envy, and revenge
- Unhinged behavior
- Rich people flaunting their wealth
- Insane spontaneity
- Questionable decisions
- Over-the-top craziness
- Pandemic backdrop
- Marriage and relationships
- Unlikable characters
This book won’t be for everyone, but keep it in mind if you’re looking for a fun palate cleanser. It’s quite hilarious and absolutely ridiculous—in the best way possible! The author gets major bonus points for originality. I was honestly entertained and intrigued from start to finish. I’m so glad I picked this one up. 4/5 stars for HOT AIR! It’s out now!
“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.”
This novel definitely grabs your attention immediately and makes you chuckle. It follows four characters: Joanie, Julia, Johnny, and Johnathon. Yes, you’ll get confused by all the “J” names, but trust me, you’ll peg them down quickly. And yes, they’re all quite unlikable and they’ll annoy the piss out of you, but for some strange reason, it works! 🤣
WHAT TO EXPECT:
- Absurd storyline
- Partner swapping
- Jealousy, envy, and revenge
- Unhinged behavior
- Rich people flaunting their wealth
- Insane spontaneity
- Questionable decisions
- Over-the-top craziness
- Pandemic backdrop
- Marriage and relationships
- Unlikable characters
This book won’t be for everyone, but keep it in mind if you’re looking for a fun palate cleanser. It’s quite hilarious and absolutely ridiculous—in the best way possible! The author gets major bonus points for originality. I was honestly entertained and intrigued from start to finish. I’m so glad I picked this one up. 4/5 stars for HOT AIR! It’s out now!
April 13, 2025
Fizzy, dizzying, juicy laugh out loud stuff. Read via audio, all in one day (long car trip) - probably ideal way to enjoy it. Universal Studios, Rainforest Cafe, and Lily from Modern Family are feeling personally attacked!! There’s lots going on below the surface here - haves vs have nots, the parasitic and symbiotic relationship between the ultra wealthy and those who want to grift a bit off that class, the nature of fate, parenting, power dynamics and so on. That it all starts with a hot air balloon crashed out of thin air into a pool, interrupting a first kiss (bad for one, good for the other) makes it all the better. Dermansky is a new favorite author of mine - would highly recommend!!
March 12, 2025
The more books I read from Dermansky the more excited I get for her next release. This too as with Hurricane Girl is both witty and strangely different in the best of ways. Set during the pandemic, this starts off with a first date + one terrible kiss + a hot air balloon crashing into a pool. The book then spills over into relationships, parenthood, money, power and ego. All messy people doing messed up things. All shallow and eccentric. Is a fast read with short chapters told in alternating POV’s, each chapter labeled with the MC it’s referring to. One tiny thing was my mixing-up their names.. Johnny, Joannie, Jonathon and Julia. This cleared up after settling in to the story. Entertaining for sure! 4.25 stars — Pub. 3/18/25
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! All opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! All opinions are my own.
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