Hot Air

By: Denise Kahn

Narrated by: Denise Kahn

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Terror at the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

Hot Air, a thriller filled with passion, romance, survival and courage. Sean Sandoval, half Navajo, half Irish, has bravery in his blood and passion in his heart. From boyhood to one of the Air Force's elite pararescuemen, his path in life is always connected to air.

As a hot air balloon pilot Sean communes with that air. As a pararescuer, he flies into danger to saves lives.

An enemy combatant from the mountains of Afghanistan, presumed killed, arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is bent on such revenge that he puts thousands of people at the annual International Balloon Fiesta in lethal danger.

Will Sean be able to stop the extremist in time, or will the murderer accomplish his mission first?

©2015 Denise Kahn (P)2017 Denise Kahn

My Thoughts on Hot Air

This was an interesting story that had a lot of parts to the whole picture. Some of the things I liked was the very diverse voices in the narration, the strong sense of family and roots and how everything grew and developed for Sean and his passion for the air.

The story seemed to have a feeling of jumping around a bit for the first half. It started with a scene from what seemed like the present, then went into the past with a young Sean, then moved forward aging Sean a little, then jumped back to his parents past and then forward to where we last left Sean, and then moved forward from there. It just threw me off a bit, because I felt the blurb gave me one idea of what the story was, but it ended up unfolding in a very different way.

All in all it was a good story. It had strong elements of family and friendship. It had loyalty and love. It had action and a thriller feeling in some parts. Definitely an interesting story.

Very enjoyable and interesting!

Audio-book: Narrator – Denise Kahn

Very clear and precise with the ability to switch from male to female characters, each one unique. Some of the foreign accents were a bit harder to understand but when I slowed the speed down it helped me to understand what was being said. This also has a bit of music between chapters that was very nice and something I’ve noticed in other audios written and narrated by Ms. Kahn. A very enjoyable listen.


Sean has had the longing to be in the air and all things related to it, in his blood since he was a child. As an adult he becomes a Para rescuer and is sent to serve in Afghanistan. During his time there friendships grow but enemies are born.

This is a relatively quick read that encompasses a lot of history of Albuquerque as well as hot air ballooning which I surprisingly found pretty interesting. Within the story are other stories that give the background of different characters. I especially enjoyed the history of Sean’s mother and wouldn’t have minded a full story based on her and her experiences alone.

This has a touch of romance as well as thrills and drama throughout, culminating in a huge showdown during a balloon festival. The little twist at the end was quite unexpected and I loved how it brought the story all the way around full circle. Overall, this was very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has a special interest in New Mexico, the Navajo Indians, or ballooning.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Well worth reading!

The events and terrors of war never really leave a veteran, even when delightedly soaring in a hot air balloon. This book travels between Sean's childhood memories, time in Afghanistan, and the present. Each of the characters is memorable and engaging, and give the story the color and depth that only an author who is invested in writing rather than than churning out just something that will sell takes the time to develop. I'm really not into summarizing the fiction books I enjoy, but the publisher's blurb gives clues, and there is no need for spoilers.
I feel that the book is enhanced by the author being the narrator and found any minor irritations negligible.

Great Narration from the author!

I really am picky with my audible stories and what I choose to listen to because I cannot follow a narrator that I do not enjoy. This book was narrated by the author herself which I found to be quite the selling point when deciding whether or not I wanted to listen to this. I think the fact that Denise Kahn narrated the story herself really brought it to life, I love hearing stories from the storyteller.

The title is great and there is terror, passion, action, and everything in between. Sean sounds like quite the character being half Navajo and half Irish. His career is thrilling and dangerous. This story is perfect for those who enjoy a military romance with danger and excitement.

more then 5 stars much more!

the book was A M A Z I N G ! WOW ! i loved it so much Im so happy that i lisend to it . it was so great.
I will not tell anything abput the bok just go listen !

Could have been great

This was a convoluted story to me. I had a difficult time getting into the book. The main story was further into the book and chapters fluctuated between present, past, dreams and reality. Overall the story is based on good ideas but could have been edited to be more concise. The narration was performed by the author and is acceptable. I think the story would have been enhanced by an actor or professional narrator but as I said, the author did an acceptable job.

I received this audiobook at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Feels like short stories smashed into one novel

Sean’s roots start in Ireland with a girl on the cusp of womanhood. She eventually flees to the USA to get a fresh start where she meets the man who will become her husband. Together, they raise Sean who becomes a pararescueman and goes on to battle terrorists in Afghanistan and at home in Albuquerque, New Mexico during the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

I really wanted to like this story but it needs quite a bit of polishing. We start off with young Sean and we have several chapters of him being a kid. This part of the story is suited for kids. The sentences are shorter and the vocabulary easier than what we have later in the book. The story shifts when we get a long story about Fiona, Sean’s mother. We spend several chapters with her and then a few with her and Tibi, the Navajo man who becomes her husband and Sean’s father. Yet then we get another shift once Sean joins the military. There’s lots of cussing and some practical joking along with military stuff. Altogether, it felt like I had read 3-4 short stories, all with their own flavor, that had been smashed together in this book. It felt disjointed.

The description of this book makes me think this a thriller full of action and suspense. However, the terrorists and action really don’t come into the story until sometime in the second half. There is a little glimpse into this with the prologue but then we have half the book or more before we return to it.

The lengthy section about young Sean stands well on it’s own. He’s fascinated with the hot air balloons that are common in and around Albuquerque a good chunk of the year. There’s this mystical quality to his dreams as he travels back in time to witness the first European attempts at hot air ballooning. This section is decently written even if I find that it doesn’t really fit the description of the book.

In Sean’s late teens, we get a very lengthy flashback of Fiona’s history. Again, I liked this section on it’s own. There are parts of it that did seem over simplified, but for a short story explaining a character’s motivations for leaving Ireland and making her own way in a foreign land, it was OK. This section includes Fiona meeting Tibi, a native New Mexican and full-blood Navajo. Their romance is sweet, if simplistic.

Once Sean joins the military, things do pick up. There’s plenty more characters to enjoy, like Niko (Sean’s best friend) and later a little more romance as the men find love. I did find the terrorists to be simply drawn, not having much depth. The action follows Sean home and he has to do some heroics at the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

As a New Mexican, I just wanted to point out that there is a difference between salsa and sauce and typically when ordering a New Mexican dish with ‘Christmas’ on it, you are getting both red chile sauce and green chile sauce, not salsa (as the book has it in one chapter). These little inaccuracies just added to the over all feel that this story needed yet one more edit before going to print.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Denise Kahn could do with some polishing on both her narrating skills and her audio production skills. This recording had a tinny quality for most of it and the volume ranged throughout it. Also she took several chapters to settle into 1 pronunciation for Tibi; since she is also the author, I felt this was sloppy. She does make a solid effort to give each character an appropriate accent and for the most part, she is consistent (though I can’t speak to the accuracy of some of her foreign accents). The book does have some nice little bits of music in between each chapter.

Good story and writing

Denise Kahn writes a wonderful and interesting story. I enjoy her story telling, and I like her writing. The main reason my rating is only 3 stars is because the story is a little too slow for me, and I wasn't that into the premise. Kahn does write a rich story, so I'm sure many will enjoy this book, but it's just not my cup of tea. Also, the synopsis for this story doesn't happen for a long time into the story, and I also hated that the lead character, Sean, was totally fine with his military buddy being a cheater on his fiancée. After that was mentioned, I just couldn't stop thinking about it, and it made me dislike the story a bit more. The fact that he's a cheater didn't add anything to the story, so I felt it was really unnecessary. I liked the Navajo aspects of this story, and I did like the hot air balloon stuff. I listen to the audio version, and Denise Kahn narrates this herself, and this is one of her better narration that I've listened to. Her narration still isn't among my favorites, but I see an improvement over the first book I listened to that she narrated. Good writing, Good story, just not right for me, but I think many will enjoy this story.

Hot Air Was An Ok Read

Hot Air was an ok read I kept getting confused with the past and present in the story. I thought the narration by the author was really good I just couldn't really get the story I stayed confused throughout.

So much more than hot air... :-)

I really like the way Denise Kahn both makes and narrates her (audio)books. There is always music with her books and her characters come alive just because of how she narrates the story.

I liked "Hot Air" - the story was fun to listen to and I especially liked the background provided about the history of balloon riding. Recommended.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.