Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Cathy Holton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three 40-something women married to partners at an Ithaca, Ga., law firm form a First Wives Club south of the Mason-Dixon line in Holton's slapstick revenge tale with serious undertones. Affluent housewives Nita Broadwell, Eadie Boone and Lavonne Zibolsky try to fill the emptiness of their lives: quiet Nita devours soft-porn romance novels and lusts after her carpenter to assuage the hurt caused by her controlling husband, Charles; artistic Eadie stalks her husband, Trevor, who's about to leave her for his 20-something secretary; and formerly career-minded Lavonne, a brassy Northern Jewish transplant, gobbles ice cream and bagels to compensate for her passionless marriage to Leonard. At a disastrous, margarita-fueled holiday party for the firm, they discover the truth about their husbands' annual hunting trip and realize they're united by more than friendship and disgruntlement: all of their husbands have been chasing hookers, not wild game, on this getaway. With Eadie as the ringleader, they plot to sabotage the good ole' boys' trip. Adventure and comeuppance ensue, culminating with the gals' rebellious attendance at the subversive Kudzu Ball, where time-honored Southern traditions are parodied. Though this debut strives to entertain while skewering idiosyncratic social mores in the New South, it lacks real drama. (May 16)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Not since the Ya-Ya Sisterhood has there been a group of good ol' gals to rival Holton's trio of scorned Southern women. Best friends for years, earthy Lavonne, mousy Nita, and feisty Eadie are at once privy to and frequently at odds with the creme de la creme of Ithaca, Georgia, society, courtesy of their husbands' stations in life. All three are married to pillars of the community, lawyers who care more for their annual Montana hunting trip than they do for their spouses. As the preparations for this year's getaway ratchet into high gear, the wives uncover evidence that the only conquests their husbands are interested in making are of the two-footed, female variety. Hell hath no fury, as the saying goes, and the wives concoct a deliciously devious scheme to make their husbands pay--big time--for their indiscretions. Irresistibly entertaining, Holton's debut is hilarious, a cunning, rollicking addition to the popular Southern "steel magnolias" genre. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 371 KB
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 16, 2006)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000GCFW2S
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,239 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

The daughter of a college professor, Cathy Holton grew up in college towns in the American South and Midwest. She has worked as a dude ranch hand, a university seminar coordinator, a paralegal, and an assistant in a fire investigation firm. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband, three brilliant children, and a wall-eyed dog named Yoshi. She is the author of "Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes", "Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes", and "Beach Trip", all published through Random House/Ballantine Books. Her fourth novel, "Summer in the South", about a Chicago writer who stumbles upon love, redemption, and a sixty-year-old murder mystery in a small Southern town, is due out in the spring of 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars peachy version of the First Wives Club, May 21, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes: A Novel (Hardcover)

In Ithaca, Georgia, the three housewives Nita Broadwell, Eadie Boone and Lavonne Zibolsky are married to three partners at the same law firm. However each of the women feel life is passing them by. They fill the void they feel in different ways. Nita loves erotic romance novels while lusting over carpenter Jimmy Lee Motes at the same time she detests her husband, Charles who hurt her. A shocked Eadie refuses to let her spouse Trevor leaves her for his twentyish secretary whom he blithely announces he will marry soon. Finally Lavonne eats ice cream by the ton out of the carton to assuage her lack of appetite for her indifferent husband Leonard.

During the annual holiday office party the three wives learn that their husbands' annual getaway hunting trip is more about tracking expensive hookers. Angry the female trio vow vengeance on their womanizing mates when they go off into the wild chasing game; this time they will hook female impersonators as the trio sets in motion a complex strategy that the Pentagon would envy..

Though the story line seems straightforward with no surprises, chick lit readers will enjoy this peachy version of the First Wives Club as the dangerous femme fatales plot vengeance with military precision. There five-step revenge methodology proves quite reliable starting with their satirical escapades at the Kudzu Ball and continuing the parody until the infamous hunting trip. REVENGE OF THE KUDZU DEBUTANTES is a fun tale starring female buddies enacting revenge southern style.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three times the laughs with three women, May 28, 2006

By 

Robin H. Townsend "mid-life reader" (Chattanooga, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes: A Novel (Hardcover)

Having read qulite a bit of chick lit, I have found the Kudzu Queens among the best. Often chick lit, focused on one protagonist, gets a bit tiring 3/4 of the way through: same girl, same problems, same jokes, stuck in the same rut. Cathy Holton, by bouncing between three lively bright women kept me on my toes as I read from the outrageous and sexy, to the lonely and neglected to the passive but brilliant. The variety of women and the pace of their vengeful scheme separates this Holton chick's lit from many others. A fun read: we can see little bits of our 30 and 40 year old selves throughout.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunting trips will never be the same, June 1, 2006

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes: A Novel (Hardcover)

Eadie's husband has left her for a younger version, Nita discovers that her husband has been unfaithful and Lavonne feels her marriage is slipping away from her. Then they find out that their husband's annual hunting trips have been more than advertised. Not only the animals but prostitutes have been provided. This is the final straw and the 3 friends swing into action.

The next hunting trip will be filled with surprises and if you're in a public place while you're reading it, you may find people staring at you because you're laughing out loud and shaking your head!!

When its all over, one of them will see her husband in a new light, one will find a new (and better love) and one will be crowned the queen of the Kudzu Ball - which is one of the funniest festivals you will ever read about.

One of the things I liked about this book (besides the fact it made me laugh more than once) is that even tho its about revenge, it is not mean-spirited.

A really fun read!