Customer Reviews

Hot Tropics and Cold Feet

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Diann Hunt keeps getting better and better. I chuckled through Hot Flashes and Cold Cream; RV There Yet? held side-splitting moments, but Hot Tropics and Cold Feet has topped them both! I howled with laughter.

When Maggie, Lily, Jill and Louise hit the beach, things start happening. With antics like escaping a resident alligator, parasailing, and rescuing baby sea turtles, you'll laugh your way through this book. I had a hard time putting it down. Part of me wanted to keep turning pages, while the other part told me if I didn't stop soon, I'd turn the last one. And I didn't want it to end. I was having too good of a time with the "girls." But willpower lost the battle and I read it in two sittings. Well I had to get SOME sleep.

Any woman with a group of close girlfriends will see herself in this bunch. What I didn't expect were the tears Hunt elicited from me, when Lily's new husband is moving her away from Charming, Indiana--and Maggie. I've moved away from close girlfriends before, and it brought back sweet memories of long-standing friendships.

From health-nut Jill, wrinkle-free Louise, indecisive Lily to hot-flashing Maggie, these characters truly will leap off the page and into your hearts. Well, maybe leap is too strong a word. Jog? No, not Maggie--too much like exercise. Well, anyway, you know what I mean. You'll love them.

Hot Tropics and Cold Feet receives Novel Reviews top recommendation- a 5 and goes into the line-up for my pick as book of the year for 2007. This one will be hard for anyone else to beat.

Reviewed by Ane Mulligan
www.anemulligan.com

If you like good, clean, mid-life chick-lit fun, then you'll enjoy HOT TROPICS & COLD FEET, the sequel to RV THERE YET? and HOT FLASHES & COLD CREAM.

The four "Latte Girls" are back, trading barbs and wit and coping with midlife. Maggie Hayden's living-back-home-again college-age son Nick seems to have a future only as a professional video game player, and he's making Maggie and her husband Gordon crazy. Nick eats them out of house and home, leaving a trail of clutter in his wake.

Her friend Jill, the fitness queen, is suddenly (and annoyingly) after the women to shape up and eat right. And although Jill is married, her "casual" friendship with a fitness trainer is raising question marks in everyone's mind. And why is the most toned of the foursome feeling a little off? Is something wrong with Jill?

Louise maintains her size-10 figure and well-maintained look while pushing Mary Kay cosmetics on everyone ("...Mary Kay skin products can keep your face as soft as a baby's bottom.") But Louise's husband's new conversion to Christianity is driving her crazy; "he's acting all superior and self-righteous." She's not sure how to cope.

The cold feet in the title belong to the widowed Lily, who is engaged to Ron ("Captain"). Her future daughter-in-law is kicking up a fuss, however, and Lily is having second thoughts. Should she come between a dad and his daughter? And is she marrying Captain because he reminds her of her first husband? Or does she really love him?

When the Latte Girls have difficult problems to solve, they like to hit the road. This time it's Siesta Key, where they do the expected things people do in Florida and a little bit more: jet ski, pedal a surrey, parasail, rollerblade, get henna tattoos, have their hair cornrowed, and make the rounds of the local tourist attractions. Maggie gets a chance to indulge her Donnie Osmond fixation at a concert, which threatens to become a full-blown obsession. Anyone who grew up listening to "Puppy Love" will relate.

When the reasons for Jill's odd behavior finally surface, the menopausal women are in for a shock. "This being friends thing can work havoc on the nerves," muses Maggie.

The plot of HOT TROPICS & COLD FEET moves along through lots of dialogue and banter. All the midlife issues are here: hot flashes, second marriages, adult children living at home, unwanted facial hair, mood swings, coffee and chocolate. Diann Hunt keeps up a running patter of jokes and asides that will tickle many readers' funny bones.

Maggie's musings on exercise provide some of the best moments: "It takes me a good fifteen minutes every day to twist, tug, bend, and work my panty hose all the way up to my waist. Trust me, once those babies are on, I've surpassed my target heart rate."

There are some Christian insider jokes ("you could be another Chondra Pierce") and a few groaners ("I redistribute my weight and can almost hear the bag groan [the suitcase, not Lily])." Sometimes, the text feels a little instructional, such as a section on sea turtles or a preachy page or two on the importance of annual exams. But, although the pacing slows toward the end, this won't stop readers from enjoying another zany adventure of the Latte Girls.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

"Hot Tropics & Cold Feet" was definitely written for the ladies. But there are lessons to be learned for male readers. How does a mid-life adult female think, react to life's ebbs and flows, and what about aging desires? It's worth the read. Might make a difference, if you care to enchant you 50-something wife, men. And you will laugh along the way while reading this Florida beach story.

Four coffee-drinking gals, head for the Gulf (pre-oil days). One is getting 'cold feet' about her upcoming second marriage. One has hot flashes (OK, men will not completely relate) in hot-humid Charming,Indiana and the hot tropics. Well, actually, all 4 girls (see, I've learned to call the ladies, girls) have some sort of issue for the quartet to deal with. The activity of the girls, (a 2-week vacation that somewhat relates to 4 men on a fishing trip) shows that Christians can be fun, have fun, and be funny.

Now priced as a bargain, so well worth the read. Although predictable in that it has a fairy-tale, happy-foreverafter, ending, (and what's wrong with that?) it does have a core message, good for men and women to recognize. It's written into the dialogue on page 288. "I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow, and that's enough for me."

It's a book, but if it were done in movie format, I'd guess it would be called a "chick-flick" AND a "blockbuster." I have to admit I enjoyed reading this and other books by Diann Hunt, even though her publisher promotes her as a writer of "Fiction For Women of the Baby Boomer Generation."
Makes you want to rent a condo at Siesta Key.

This book is definitely "chic lit" and good for a beach read. The author has some humorous asides which I enjoyed. At the end, it all ended "happily ever after which is not real life.

Maggie thinks everything is going as planned with her friend, Lily's wedding--until Ron calls, concerned that Lily might be slipping away. He begs Maggie to do something, anything, so he doesn't lose his bride-to-be. Maggie gathers her friends and they decide a girls' time out would be just the thing.

Jill offers her cabin in Siesta Key, Florida, and the girls head off, excited because Donnie Osmond and his family are vacationing there. Maggie hopes to get a few pictures, and even orders tickets on-line so they can hear them in concert.

Even though the ladies are on vacation, family pressures are never far from their minds. A son had quit college and returned home. A husband is going through mid-life crisis. And one of the four women is facing a first time pregnancy at 45. Will they be able to get Lily married, and settle all their other difficulties?

HOT TROPICS AND COLD FEET is not the first lady lit I've read by Diann Hunt, but it is one of the best. I think she's improving with every book. Maggie could be you--or the woman next door. She's sweet and sassy and full of spunk. Her friends too are realistic. Lily is concerned about getting remarried. Jill is the fitness guru of the bunch, trying to get even Maggie on the move. Louise loves to cook and would bake up a storm if anyone would eat it.

While I'm not exactly at the point in life as these ladies, I felt I could be their friends. Or their daughter. I could identify with some of their issues--or imagine myself in their place. It was fun to read about how they all handled their problems differently, and I was cheering for them all. Pick up HOT TROPICS AND COLD FEET for a warm, cozy read that will warm even the coldest of toes. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book as well as a sample chapter of RV There Yet, Diann's earlier book. $14.99. 314 pages.

Hot Tropics and Cold Feet is probably the best book I've read. The Story introduces you to 4 friends who embark on a vacation/adventure in an attempt to help one of the friends figure out if her coming marriage is what she truly should do. Their escapades are the kind that makes you wish you could be a part of this awesome adventure and friendship. This book has the most fun, real, lovable, relatable characters I've ever read. I laughed my head off as I read, getting to know their special characteristics, quirks and yes, even flaws!!

I happen to be a Donny Osmond fan and he is mentioned in the book as the girls attempt to "stalk" or find him wherever they go. Not only did that make the book all the more fun for me, but for anyone who has had a huge crush on a celebrity, the happenings that surround that side of the story line are truly the funniest things I've ever read!! I laughed until I cried.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough!! Diann Hunt has truly become an absolute favorite author and no library should be without her books, especially this one!!

I love reading new authors that I haven't read before. Diann Hunt's book "Hot Tropics and Cold Feet" was funny, page turning and a joy to read. I related well with Maggie as she always has a funny/humourous way of looking at things and dearly loves her chocolate as well as food in general. When the author had Maggie mention MnM's, I was sold!!! LOL.

This book is about friendship, life issues and how to deal with them with a little prayer, and humor. I didn't realize that this was the 2nd book that included these characters. Apparently Hot Flashes and Cold Cream is before this book. I still will read that book along with "RV There Yet?" I've been telling my friends about this book and writing down a list of who wants to read it after I'm done. God Bless.

Oh my gosh, this is Hunt's best book yet! I LOVE Maggie. And the romance in the book added just the right seasoning. I so related to the way friends are there for each other. Hunt is one of my favorite authors,and if you haven't discovered her, once you read this book you'll want to read her others.

Great book, characters are wonderful, full of life, very believable! Fun loving and funny too. I'd like to find them and make them my best friends.

Neat descriptions of the plot location.

This book is just a real treat to read. Light and joyful, with some sadness thrown in - however don't despair it has a happy ending!