Title: Hot Flush
Author: Rosy Fenwicke
Publisher: Wonderful World
ASIN: B06XJZYRPW
Date of Publication: 8th May 2018
Date of Review: 10th May 2018
Synopsis
Superpowers Should Not Be Wasted on The Young
Euphemia Sage watched helplessly as Jane, covered in blood, clutched her precious jewelry and was bundled into the Mercedes. Just a few days earlier she’d discovered that Alison, her mousy receptionist at Sage Consulting, had been working as a loan shark on the side. And now Alison, her husband and those thick-necked men in the cheap suits wanted the money back.
When a desperate Jane had come to Euphemia, of course she had to help. After all, wasn’t this what she was supposed to do? Euphemia had waited more than twenty years to find out if the story in the mysterious letter she’d received on her thirtieth birthday was true. So when at 53 her first hot flush triggered a genetic switch and gave her unexpected powers, she felt more than ready to save Jane and deal to Alison.
But what had seemed simple suddenly became complicated when Alison produced a gun.
My Review
With twists galore, this debut by Rosy Fenwicke is a fast paced cross-genre narrative (fantasy and psychological thriller) that is both original and well-written.
The protagonist is Euphemia Sage who, upon reaching the menopause, inherits super-powers which has been passed down the maternal bloodline. With two daughters of her own, Euphemia still hasn’t forgiven her own mother for abandoning her as a child. But this is the least of her problems when her frumpy receptionist (Euphemia owns a consulting business) turns out to be frump by day and vamp by night, who, along with her husband, has a little business of her own on the side.
At school, Jane was Euphemia’s arch enemy, but now Jane’s life is in danger, Euphemia is the only one Jane can turn to.
As the lives of Euphemia, Alison, and Jane inter-twine; Euphemia begins to uncover the truth about her mother’s past. But somebody else knows what happened to her mother, and they also know about Euphemia’s powers: Euphemia’s life is about to be put in grave danger.
This story was different to anything else I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it. It was both funny and thrilling, and a real page turner. Reminded me a bit of The Avengers. I would love to see more stories with Euphemia as the protagonist, and feel there could be a whole series of books for her. I certainly hope so.
Under Literature Love’s rating system, this book has been awarded 4 out of 5 stars.
This means: I really enjoyed this book. This book is highly recommended. A well-structured narrative with three dimensional characters (not necessarily likeable). Plot is intriguing with twisty hooks.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC copy.
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