Hot and Bothered
A novel by Annie Downey
She’s offbeat, off balance, and at times off-the-wall, a late-thirties mother of two living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and trying to figure out who she is now that her husband has left her. He’s a rat, anyway, and currently attends Sex Addicts Anonymous. He still comes by the house, though, as do her hippie, macrobiotic mother; her feisty, alcoholic best friend; her God-fearing grandmother; and that Perfect Guy, the one with the beatific son who plays with her daughter, the one who happens to have a winning smile, wild black hair, a professorship at Harvard—and (drats!) a gorgeous doctor girlfriend.
Photo © Nancy Crampton
Told in short takes that perfectly mimic the frantic nature of our busy lives, Hot and Bothered follows its heroine through the streets of Cambridge, where she spends far too much time staring into space and sipping mocha lattes with extra whipped cream; to church, where she prays for a little salvation; to Alaska, where she believes a rugged outdoorsman might just be that salvation; and to Cape Cod, where, in a little house by the sea, she might finally see the light. Annie Downey has written an updated Cinderella story for all single moms.
Annie Downey lives in Vermont. Hot and Bothered is her first novel.
Reviews
“A wonderfully engaging, zany, and heartfelt little book, and I say little in the best sense of that word, affectionately, endearingly, because what Hot and Bothered does is what the best novels do which is to involve us totally in the world of its characters, pink clogs and all. It’s a love story, a life story, a valentine soaked in tears but held together by clear and mesmerizing writing: the perfect voice and style—the little soundbites key us into the panicked and frantic life of the narrator.” —Julia Alvarez
“Full of wit, humor, and offbeat characters … unconventional mom lit that dares to let it all hang out.” —Library Journal
“Delightful … Downey pulls off the fast pace, and readers will root for this single mom to find her prince, however unconventional the pursuit may be.” —Booklist
“Has the quick inspiration of a pop song and the lasting power of modern myth. This strange and sexy single mom is a heroine I can relate to, and Annie Downey—that rare author who pays attention to the way people actually behave—tells her story with perfect pitch.” —Ariel Gore
