Customer Reviews

The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again: A Novel

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4 star:		(3)
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Much better than the prequel, The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again has our old favorites from the first book, plus a whole new group of really interesting women that anybody can relate to.

What I liked best about this book was that friendships transcended age barriers, and that women in their 60s were valued and loved as much as those in their 20s, despite their rueful horrors of growing older. There was much more substance to the individual stories as well, which concentrated on clashes through the generations: mother/daughter, wife/mother-in-law, fiancee/husband's mother. All true, all fascinating, and all grouped together to make a really really fun read.

I read this in one night: It's that kind of book. I also found some real truths; it is not a merely silly book at all, despite its title.

I enjoyed the first book "The Hot Flash Club" but I really enjoyed this book much more! What I also liked about this book was it gave a "refresher" on the characters from the first book, so I was able to remember everyone. I really enjoyed all of the ladies in the stories. Also, you are able to differentiate between everyone because each woman has such a strong storyline. With so many books coming out focusing on relationships between 3-4 women, sometimes they blur into one another and you find you only care about what happens to 1 of them. That didn't happen with this book. Each character has her own amazing life, but each of them is blended well enough together to make the perfect read.

This sequel started out completely enjoyable, however, it left me high and dry with the Beth/Sonny story and the ragged conclusion. Beth seemed unresolved in her relationship w/Sonny, only compensated in the fact that she was finally able to face Bonnie, however, I never could tell where that was going after-the-fact. It seemed as if she was getting irritated w/Sonny for his lack of compromise in their relationship, however, that was never really resolved as well. The last few pages were a complete letdown and some of the sub-plots were much too drawn out. I did enjoy hearing how Marilyn, Alice, Shirley and Faye were doing (a little disappointed as well when there was no follow-up to Alice's company's request to re-hire her). I think the story that was the most complete was Julia's even though Polly and Carolyn were somewhat resolved, but not to the point where it was even that interesting. The book held my interest in the fact that I wanted to see how everyone turned out and it fell very short at the conclusion.

Nancy Thayer always weaves a rich, textured tale for readers and The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again is no exception. The four women from her previous book, The Hot Flash Club, return to pamper four new stressed-out and weary women at their spa, The Haven.

This book introduces each woman and then rotates her story throughout the book. And in between we catch up on the original Hot Flash Club members.

Polly doesn't want to interfere in her son's marriage but does want to make peace with her cold, disapproving mother-in-law who always interfered in her marriage. Beth, a shy Ph.D. student, meets Sonny and fights to survive his mother Bobbie who really wants him to marry his beautiful, sexy former girlfriend, Robin. Paper company heiress Carolyn is suspicious about her father's young wife. Julia has married the man of her dreams but has to maneuver a mind field consisting of a manipulative daughter and a former mother-in-law who insinuates herself in their marriage.

The women must learn to take care of themselves and stand up for the things that are important to them. They learn, with the help of each other, that life is fuller, richer and easier when they take friends, wine and chocolate along for the ride.

While I enjoyed the book, there were just too many characters for me to grab hold of. Not only are there eight women but a host of children, in-laws, grandchildren, husbands and significant others. Whew! I became confused more than once. While I've read many of Nancy Thayer's novel, I hadn't read The Hot Flash Club- and that might have contributed to my confusion. If you can overcome the numerous characters and plot lines, you will find this book a wonderful heartwarming read. The storyline is solid and interesting. You'll love some of the characters and some will make you want to scream, and that alone keeps the pages turning. I wanted to know just what happened.

Polly struggles to keep the peace with her mother-in-law. Beth has fallen in love with her soul mate, Sonny, but can't seem to fight off insecurity. Carolyn fights to keep her family business "in business", while dealing with the side effects of pregnancy. And last, Julia struggles to deal with yet another mother-in-law who will stop at nothing to have her husband's troublesome daughter, Belinda, move in with them.

The Hot Flash Club strikes again with four new women struggling with relationships, and mother-in-laws. They all find comfort in wine and chocolate and through friendship.

Once again, Nancy Thayer gives the readers a strong look at the complexities of the extended family. Though the characters are slightly younger than in the original piece, The Hot Flash Club Strikes again still teaches us "middle-aged" women and those looking to get there that you are never too old to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. What would be better than taking a few friends, wine and some chocolate along the way?

Rolanda,
Nothing BUT Page Turners Book Club

When my 23-year-old daughter gave me this book as a Christmas present, I was taken back! Yea, I feel like I'm a card-carrying member of the hot flash club (which I didn't know existed until she gave me this book), but I was surprised she would find something I might actually enjoy reading. I read it within a 24 hour period, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

This story looks at the lives of four women, three who are very different, and how they resolve the problems of their lives: Carolyn, a 37-year old executive, juggling her family fortune, her job within the family business, a complicated first pregnancy, and then when Father marries a much younger woman (THAT was predictable!). Beth, young and alone, intelligent and goal-oriented, meeting a soul mate from a working class family with an original manipulative mother who wants to rule her kids, their lives, and their loves. Julia, the not so wicked stepmother to a troubled young girl, will never win the respect of her husband's former mother-in-law. Polly, who loses her husband to death, her son and grandson to a "ME" oriented earth mother, and then her mother-in-law's pending death. These women work through their problems, and fortunately for them, they do have the love, respect, and support from good husbands as well as forming a lasting friendship with one another.

What I liked about the story: the men in their lives were important and they valued and respected the women. Not all of the endings were happily resolved. (Beth still realizes that she doesn't have Bobbi's approval, never will, but she did confront Bobbi.) None of the women felt sorry for themselves nor expected others to do so. They just worked through their problems, not always solving them, but still they lessened them somewhat.

For light-hearted, good ole chick lit, this is great!

The fun and friendship introduced in the first book about the Hot Flash Club are continued in this new book. The original four women are still in evidence and there are some new developments in their lives, but the spotlighted characters are a new group of four women. Polly is a well-meaning person who can never seem to please her mother-in-law, Beth is being opposed by her fiance's mother, Carolyn is worried about her unborn child and her newly-married father, and Julia is dealing with a mute step-daughter and her disapproving mother-in-law. The women continue to help and encourage one another, and the plot moves along even more smoothly than the first book. This is a wonderful book for women over 50 and for those who are preparing for the day when they will be.

For almost two decades Polly struggled to maintain a positive relationship with her mother-in-law the frozen tundra Claudia. She vowed to warmly welcome into the family the wife of her son David. However, she has deep concerns when David weds a Birkenstock organic farmer Amy; she struggles with her relationship with David.

Reticent PhD candidate Beth Grey and athletic carpenter Sonny Young fall in love. However, she feels like an intruder because his outgoing family displays open affection while she grew up in quiet shelter. He thinks she hesitates because he has no college degree.

In her late thirties, Carolyn Sperry overworks trying to keep the family business at the forefront of the market. However, she is pregnant and suffers from high blood pressure; her doctor tells her to rest and relax. The problem is neither the business nor her spouse Hank; it is her septuagenarian father who eloped with an average looking shy bank clerk younger than she is.

Thirty years old photographer Julia married widower dentist Tim Hathaway. With Tim comes his young daughter Belinda, whose manipulations of the adults would please Machiavelli. Adding to Julia's woes is Tim's -mother-in-law demands that Belinda move in with her and will do anything to make that happen.

With four new women struggling with family relationships, each finds solace with friendship, wine, and chocolate for the soul. The tales rotate between the families as fans obtain a deep look at troubles that could destroy relationships if individuals fail to talk. As with the first novel, Nancy Thayer strikes again with a strong look at the complex modern day extended family.

Harriet Klausner

As the Hot Flash Club Strikes Again opens we go through four chapters where we meet each one of the new woman who take center stage in this delightful book. One by one we learn about Beth, Julie, Polly, and Carolyn and their family troubles.
We then move on to the original Hot Flash Club meeting where Marilyn, Faye, Alice, and Shirley try to cook up a plan to get these four woman together to bond the same way they did and in return help each other out.

The Hot Flash Club Strikes again is a fun light read that most women will enjoy no matter what your age. It shows us that you are never too old to live life to the fullest and there is nothing better than a friend that you can count on.

...which could be subtitled "The Things One Does For Love".

Having enjoyed "The Hot Flash Club" well enough to read the sequel, I was disappointed to discover that the main players from the original book were reduced to being essentially vehicles to introduce new characters in "Strikes Again". And what characters they are; yikes! The people and predicaments involved are way over the top. There's nothing new about dysfunctional families or irritating in-laws, but this crowd includes genuine nutjobs and sociopaths. Not to mention that those who bend over backwards to try to mollify these basket cases should have their heads examined themselves! All of these are situations in which I would definitely "vote with my feet", so consequently I was impatient with them. There's Beth, who is dating a whole hostile family instead of just one clueless man (Sonny), including the bombshell of his former girlfriend (Robin), who won't get lost and get a life of her own. There's Polly, who is supposed to single-handedly care for her dead husband's insufferable mother who is dying from cancer, while at the same time she is forbidden to see her grandchild lest she expose him to the deadly "germs". Just a sampling, but I think you get the idea.

The redeeming portions of the book are those which include the original four members of the HFC. Faye takes pot luck going on dates with men that the other three chose for her. Considering that Shirley, Marilyn, and Alice are supposed to be her "friends", I don't know why they set her up with such losers, but the results are hilarious. When Faye meets "Tank" for a drink and a ride on his Harley-Davidson, she muses to herself that she's never in her life met such a man before. As I live in the Daytona Beach area, and it just happens to be Bike Week, I had to laugh and wonder what rock she'd been living under. (The "Marriage" rock, I suppose.) But anyway, Faye made a keen observation regarding the likes of Tank: "The oddest combination of daredevil and crybaby she'd ever met." Best line of the whole book!

If you can deal with convoluted wacko relationships, you might enjoy "The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again".