Any additional comments?
Hot Air, written and narrated by Denise Kahn, is an action thriller that aspires to be an international thriller in the vein of a Suzanne Brockmann novel. In a post 9-11 world, I can easily imagine one soldier from Afghanistan holding a grudge and becoming a suicide bomber, threatening devastation at an annual international festival like the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

While elements of the book were quite exciting and the overall premise was a really good one, the execution was just not as polished as one published in a more traditional manner. Perhaps it’s because the author was too ambitious and put everything about the history of Albuquerque and its settlers into one book and told essentially stories about three different couples? Certain aspects of the city and characters could have been developed more completely through a series and been more satisfying.

For example, the main story centered around Sean Sandoval and how his passion for hot air balloons as a little boy leads him to become a Pararescuer in the Air Force (the Air Force’s equivalent to the Navy’s SEALs). However, there is also a lengthy backstory about how his Navajo father and Irish mother met and fell in love. Plus, there is a side story involving another Pararescuer that Sean befriends at training who just happens to be from Albuquerque too and whose family is very Greek (the scenes reminded me a lot of My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Each couple deserved their own stories and each couples ancestry could have been explained more in depth and explained how they settled in the area.

In sum, Hot Air was an enjoyable read that many will fall in love with, especially due to the rich and intriguing history of Albuquerque and its residents.