Customer Reviews

The Hot Flash Club Chills Out (Center Point Platinum Fiction (Large Print))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is definitely the best of the four delightful "Hot Flash" books. I only wish it had a different title so I didn't have to hide the cover on the commuter train!

I have to be honest and say that even ten years ago, I probably would not have read these books. But being a woman of a certain age, and seeing real, scary problems (the fear of losing one's looks, one's health, one's mate; problems with grown children, money, housing and so forth; problems with aging parents) handled with such grace and humor is a real blessing.

Once again, our intrepid group faces all the humiliations of getting a bit older but also manages to have a pretty good time. One of The Haven's Board Members has had a hip operation, and asks if the women would like to stay at her home in Nantucket for the summer, in order to look after it. Some trinkets have been disappearing from the house, there is a rumored ghost, and the house itself is one of Nantucket's historic landmarks.

So the "girls" go off to Nantucket, where it happens that author Nancy Thayer lives. By the time I was done with the book, I was dying to live in Nantucket too, even though I've never been there.

There are a few dropped plot lines, a few things that could never happen in real life, and a few bloopers, but all in all, this is just as fun a read as one can imagine. I don't recommend it for twentysomethings, but those of us who are a "bit" older will love it.

Faye has never slept with any man except her beloved late husband Jack, but plans to seduce Aubrey if his adult daughter would give them a moment or three without her interference. Though she loves her son, her daughter-in-law and her grandchild, Alice is tired as her boyfriend Gideon notices. The widow Marilyn and her lover Ian discuss marriage, but she has some doubts. Polly feels all alone as the others Hot Flash Club member bonded before she joined; the ex-wife of her lover Hugh still interferes, and her son and grandson are kept on a leash away from her by her daughter-in-law. Shirley knows what all alone really means as the trice divorced woman is the only member without a man.

At the monthly meeting in Legal Seafood, Shirley announces to her pals that a former client Nora Salter has asked her to house-sit her Nantucket summer home while she heals from an operation. The five weary Hot Flash Club members see this as a chance to flee from their current doldrums at least for a couple of months of fun and sun. They might have reconsidered their escape if they knew that the chaos of their relationships will follow them to the dunes of the Cape.

The latest Hot Flash Club tale is an interesting drama as each of the quintet of menopausal females has relationship problems to contend with, which leads them to escape to the Cape only to have their difficulties follow them. The story line enables the reader to see deep into what motivates each of the fearsome five females. Though the pace can be a bit slow at times, series fans will enjoy the latest escapades of the HOT FLASH CLUB CHILLS OUT as no rest come to the weary.

Harriet Klausner

This book was a pleasant and easy read. I just love books that have anything to do with Nantucket. I could see in my mind so easily the places that were mentioned in this timely book for women in their menopause years. A quick and easy read that I was always anxious to pick up and resume my reading.

In this fourth installment of the Hot Flash Club the five friends think that they will have a wonderful time relaxing in Nantucket for the summer as they house sit for a friend. But life is not as simple as the quintet would like it to be, and they each have problems in their personal lives that they must deal with. Between caring for her elderly mother and her fiancé's lazy adult son, Marilyn feels that she and Ian will never get to plan their wedding. Alice cannot say no to helping out her son and his wife and runs herself ragged caring for their infant daughter. Faye tries not to let her boyfriend drag her down as she gets excited about painting for the first time in years. The married and divorced several times Shirley cannot keep herself from falling for a good-looking fisherman on the island, and Polly struggles with the fact that her boyfriend is still at the beck and call of his ex-wife.

***** As I seem to be steamrolling toward the hot flash years, I can empathize with the everyday trials that these five women encounter. Nancy Thayer has written a delightfully wonderful and humorous novel with real characters making it so easy for the reader to care for the women of the Hot Flash Club. I thoroughly enjoyed this Hot Flash Club adventure and look forward to another. *****

Reviewed by Barbara Stabler for Huntress Reviews.

I have loved all the Hot Flash Clubs, but this one was not one of the best. It was a "nice" story. One I would have liked to read on a winter day when I was snowed in. Not one to say, "oh, I can't wait to get started on this one." The story just dragged alone, nothing special. I hope the next one will make up for this one. I will pass it on to my other friends who have read the others, just so they can keep up with the girls.

I really enjoyed reading The Hot Flash Club on my Kindle. When I got to the end of this first book in the series, I was excited to see a chapter included from Nancy's "next" book in the series, The Hot Flash Club Chills Out. I read the first page of this "next" book and then just decided to order it on my Kindle. I was surprised to find a big chunk of time missing between the two books....new characters added and many changed situations. It wasn't until I finished this book and went to order the 3rd book in the series that I discovered HFC Chills Out is the 4th book in the series! I completely missed out on HFC Strikes Again and HFC Holidays..I am so upset by this. I checked the "Published" dates for each book on my Kindle and the Web; they are completely out of whack & misleading! I love when I find a great series and can't wait to finish one book, then immediately move on to the next. The experience has been completely ruined by whoever made the mistake of including the first chapter of HFC Chills Out at the end of the first HFC book as the "next" book in the series. I am so disappointed and wish I could receive a refund on the Chills Out book. I won't go back now and read books 2 and 3 because I already know what happens in book 4 (Chills Out). A big ARGH on my part. Also, it seems Amazon/Kindle decided to make a good number of Ms. Thayer's books unavailable to purchase as ebooks.

Every once in awhile, a reader needs a series of novels filled with nothing but frolicking fun good times, with a little bit of seriousness thrown in for measure. The Hot Flash Club series do just that. I've read every single one of the books in this series and recommend them highly. Nancy Thayer is quite a versatile writer, so these books read differently from her other, earlier novels, but they are all worth reading. I laughed out loud at so many of their escapades, and know at least one woman who reminds me of each of the main characters. Highly recommended.

This is the 4th book in this Hot Flash series. I like the book. I think anyone 50 years old and above will relate to this.

At times, this novel seems to take on more than it can handle leaving many places undeveloped and causing the reader to need to make large leaps to keep up with the plot. It was funny like the others with the same endearing characters, but it was not the best of her novels.

Loved all 4 books in this series. What a fun read for women over 40!! I read on the bus during my commute, I found my self smiling while reading and times coming out with a laugh!!!