Sous chef Jill Morgan Storm, hoping to discover the secret of successful relationships, gets the bright idea to send out a “Marriage Satisfaction Survey” to couples who have been together for a good while. Jill’s reeling from being dumped by her most recent lover, a college professor now dating one of his young students who won’t let loose of Jill’s favorite skillet. If that isn’t bad enough, Jill’s ready to hit panic mode. Her son will be entering college soon, and since his grades won’t qualify for a scholarship, she has to come up with the tuition money. Jill’s ex-husband, who is now a woman, isn’t much help and Jill’s well-to-do father is in prison, so Jill decides she needs a man with financial means. But the men she meets and dates seem to have more problems than Jill, who’s beginning to suffer menopausal symptoms. One constant irritant: her son’s former teacher, hanging around in the guise of helping her son, but Jill thinks it’s only to needle her about her mothering skills. Jill determinedly forges ahead with her dating plans, unaware the answer to her problems has been there all along.Kathy Carmichael offers her reader a rollicking good romp with this romantic comedy. Jill’s a likable character, a woman who loves her son and wants the best for him but can’t seem to find a way to make that happen. The men she meets and dates are quirky and the scenarios surrounding them laugh-out-loud funny. Single parent Jill schemes to marry a rich husband (who will be away from home long enough to stay out of her hair, and home enough to keep her sexually sated) so her son can attend art school. As a parent who's co-signed enough student loans for her kids to compete with the national debt (in percentages), I had a little trouble empathizing with Jill's dilemma. Still, I enjoyed reading her escapades as she came to the realization that perhaps her plan wasn't the wisest. I enjoyed as well the interaction between Jill's group of girlfriends, and the frustrations of dealing with a teenage son. It was mostly Ms. Carmichael's good, tight writing that kept the pages turning for me though. Nice job.
What do You think about Hot Flash (2009)?
This was a great read! This was about a forty yr old divorced woman looking for love.
—ekreloff
Funny book! A must read for us 30 and 40 somethings!
—davidetr
