With the California sun reminding me daily that we still have weeks left to go I summer, I thought it would be fun to review a book someone might take to the beach to read. “Crazy Hot” is the story of three female friends and their adventures as 19 year olds in the Hamlrons for one summer. It is the fourth in a series, though it is easy to get into it and understand even if you have not read the preceding books, as was the case for me.
Eliza is a rich girl whose dad’s live in girl friend has four kids she doesn’t have time to watch as she’s a high powered executive. Her dad expects her to watch the children even though she has a boutique she just opened. However, when her friends have their summer plans changed – Mara as she forgot to renew her passport and Jaqui as the family she’d been an au pair for years for decided to move wife key, Eliza pays them to do it instead.
Mara turns out to have to do almost all the babysitting as Jaqui is discovered as a model at a clothing fashion show wearing Eliza’s outfits and spends most of the book modelling despite wanting to be known for more than her looks. Mara blogs her experiences which is how we learn almost everything about the children who are absent from the book for pages at a time.
The book has lots of luck and random coincidences needed to drive the story. Each girl has two different boys interested in her, one of whom is an ex and another a fellow the girl had broken up with more of less over an email. People coincidentally are met when they can help other events like the store getting the cover of Vogue or a newbie blogger a book deal, which made it hard to believe and continue at times.
The girls drink a lot, mainly champagne in the book. I don’t doubt it’s easy to get served drinks in the Hamptons easily at parties but still I was waiting to someone, anyone to question or card any of them and appreciated the moment when it happened.
One thing I liked was that the further the novel went on, the more real the characters and individual stories felt. The girls had real confrontations with others over real problems. Each of them, several of the boys and one minor character all have actual moments of wisdom concerning personal growth and their futures. At least one of the girls gets a romantic happy ending. The endings to each story worked, yet despite the issues raised and some boring parts at the end, I would have been delighted to hear there was a fifth book as I would have found and read it.
Rating – three and a half baby booties out of five
~ Danielle
Over 40 First Time Mom 