| Title | : | Hissy Fit |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0060564652 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780060564650 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 448 |
| Publication | : | First published August 17, 2004 |
Hissy Fit Reviews
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Was hoping for some good fluff having just read another Mary Kay Andrews book, but this was not what I was looking for. Keeley, the main character, is just an asshole. Will, the handsome rich guy she's supposed to hook up with eventually- also an asshole. Her gay best friend, Austen, is offensively stereotypical. Somewhere in this book, a character is described as "oriental-looking." For what purpose? Are we to find the characters ignorant or the author? At one point Keeley is surprised to see her father's Asian girlfriend cooking a creole dish, because she assumed it would be, you know, noodles or something. When Keeley tells Austen of her father's new Asian girlfriend, his first line of questioning is whether or not she's into kinky geisha stuff or Kama Sutra, being Chinese and all. ?????? These are our main characters having this conversation. We're supposed to like these people! Not my type of humor, I guess. Rounding up from 1/2 a star.
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This is a Southern Women's Fiction/Chick-Lit/Romance. I have to say I did not like the first part of this book, but then the book grow on me. I love the Southern parts of this book. I found the characters in this book developed, and I laugh so much well reading this book. I did find parts of this book was slow moving, but overall I loved the book.
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Okay, this was my first Mary Kay Andrews novel, and admitedly, I wasn't looking for anything challenging...and I especially enjoyed the idea of this strong Southern gal throwing a "hissy fit" when she finds her bridegroom having sex with her maid of honor during the rehearsal dinner...no spoilers here...all of this happens in the first few chapters. The remainder of the book is how she goes about coping with her discovery. I enjoyed this smart and sassy Southern woman...particulary at the time in my life when I read it...first year post-divorce! I'm hooked on Mary Kary Andrews steel magnolias! You go, girl!
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Keeley Murdoch throws a hissy fit when she finds her fiance screwing her Maid of Honor at the rehearsal dinner. When she storms out of the rehearsal hall, she hitches a ride with Will Mahoney, a new guy in town who has just bought an Antebellum mansion that needs fixed up. He hires Interior Decorator Keeley to do the restoration with the stipulation that is has to be done within six months. Will wants to impress a woman he has never met by restoring the mansion to its former glory in hopes she will fall in love with it...and him. Keeley thinks that is just stupid, but she would kill for the chance to get her hands on that mansion.
This story is billed as a romantic comedy/mystery. I've read this author before, but I didn't find this one particularly funny. It's certainly not a romance. There is a mystery concerning Keeley's mother who ran away with another man twenty-five years ago. Keeley wants to know where she is and why she abandoned her daughter. This mystery does not take up a lot of time in this book. Most of the pages are spent telling us about the furniture that is being placed in the mansion, and shopping for items for the mansion. The shopping and decorating overwhelm the rest of the story. My rating: 2 Stars. -
4*.
5/80. Listened on audiobook, great narration and good fun. -
Digital audio read by Moira Driscoll
From the book jacket Keeley Murdock’s wedding to A.J. Jernigan should have been the social event of the season. But when she catches her fiancé doing the deed with her maid of honor at the country club rehearsal dinner, all bets are off. And so is the wedding. Keeley pitches the hissy fit of the century, earning herself instant notoriety in the small town of Madison, Georgia. Even worse is the financial pressure A.J.’s banking family brings to bear on Keeley’s interior design business. Enter a redheaded stranger – in a vintage yellow Cadillac – who’s purchased the local bra factory and a derelict antebellum mansion, which he hires Keeley to redo.
My reactions
Even before I read the jacket blurb, I knew I was in for a light, fun, fast, chick lit, beach read. And that’s exactly what I got. Mary Kay Andrews knows how to write in this genre and she does a fine job of it. The central characters are likeable (or not, as required … I’m looking at you, A.J. and Stephanie), and the plot is supported by a cast of eccentric older folks, wise and tolerant parents, and friends and acquaintances who help Keeley and take a keen interest in her personal life. Andrews includes a bit of a mystery subplot, which I felt distracted from the central romantic tension. But that’s okay … we need both sugar and salt in our reading diet.
It’s a fast, fun romp of a novel. Grab some iced tea and your sunglasses and set yourself up on a beach chair to enjoy.
Moira Driscoll did a fine job of performing the audio. Her southern accent was spot on, and she really brought the large cast of characters alive. -
Though there were definitely laugh-out-loud parts of this book, if it weren't for the excessive descriptions of interior decorating and furniture, I would have given this 4 stars.
Keeley Murdoch catches her fiance, the night before her wedding, in a compromising position with her best friend and maid of honor. Needless to say, Keeley throws a 'Hissy Fit' in front of everyone, and calls off the wedding. Her daddy is kicked out of the country club, due to her 'episode.'
I loved the characters, and the reader did an excellent job of voices. After Keeley's character, I loved the character of Austin, her next-door neighbor who owned the flower shop. His sassy wit and style made the adventures that much more fun!
What is not really mentioned in the synopsis is that Keeley is searching for her mama after a 25 year absence. Boy, did this sub-plot throw a doosey into the story.
What I didn't like about the story was the complete turn-around of Will Malhoney in the last few pages of the story. I think the story should have featured more of how/why they got together in the last pages of the story...not just made it happen. If Ms. Andrews focused more on the people and less on the interior design descriptions, this would have been a fantastic book! -
I needed a fluffy "Brainless" book after reading a bunch of heavy, dark, depressing books. This was definitely brainless...
It seemed to me like the author had no idea what she was writing about. There were like 4 story lines. The cheating fiance caught the night before the wedding. The home interior design project with the dashing rich guy whom she may or may not be dating?? The mystery involving her mother's death 20 years ago (which had no relevance to any of the story). The weird creepy infatuation between rich guy and some girl he saw on TV. WTF?
Where was the personal growth? It wasn't there at all. All the characters were superficial at best. I barely cared about the story or the characters...Also, this author should not write gay characters. Stereotypical, flaming gay best friend? It was offensive in everywhere. There was even a joke about AIDS. WTF. -
Hissy Fit
This is another book that I normally wouldn't have read except for it being the book club read for August for my monthly book club and I'm happy that I did read it. This is a change from what I normally read and I'm actually starting to like what you would call "Chick Lit" books. This was cute and funny and it didn't lag, it kept flowing which kept me interested and wanting to keep reading. I'm going to look up more books by Mary Kay Andrews and if they are as good as this one then I've found a new author to like. -
A very entertaining "listen" Boy, did Keely have a Hissy Fit when she caught her fiancé in the a closet having sex with her supposed best friend and maid of honor! It went from bad to worse and while doing further damage, she meets a new man who will change her life in many different ways. She also decides to search for answers in the 20+ year mystery of her mother's abandonment of her and her father.
The narrator of the audio book did a really nice job; her voice was edgy with a good accent and sounded the way I imagined the character would be. -
Just what you would like to read if into southern humor, great page turner.
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fluffy - but fun...
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Meh -- this book was ok. I didn't enjoy it as much as Savannah Blues, and Savannah Breeze by the same author.
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This novel caught my attention when I was asked some months back if I wanted to read something out of the German publisher´s new program last year. The cover and the summary made me curious and after I had read it, it was clear to me that I wanted more books written by the author.
I do have another written by her laying on my TBR, so I am not running out of her beautiful and witty novels.
This was the first, I´ve read and I had a great time reading it.
Keeley Rae Murdock is about to marry her fiancé and enjoying the party at the Country Club. But when she finds him and her bridesmaid in action on a table, she freaks out and gives the guests and the entire town the show of a lifetime. After that nothing is as it was before. She has to deal with gossip, her business is about to go down and the new man in town makes her want things she´d never thought could be possible.
Mary Kay Andrews has a wonderfully ironic and sometimes very sarcastic but charming and soft way to describe life in a small town. There is a great sensitivity besides the irony in it, the main figures show some charm, wit and that not everything has to go as others have it planned. I had my fun reading it and there are some scenes where I was bursting into laughter and had tears running down my cheeks because of the fun in the novel.
The story is brought to the reader through the perspective of Keeley and her thoughts and what she says is quite something. And together with the bit of crime, it turns out to be a novel with two storylines in it.
No matter where you look in this book, you´ll find a wide variety of figures that convince you more or less. The rich and spoiled are among as much as the great ones. Some are without a brain, others have no spine and some do exactly the right thing.
Keeley´s aunt Gloria is a fantastic woman. She does everything she can to support Keeley but is honest and blunt at the same time. She knows what to say and when to say it and her way of dealing with everything is just great.
During the entire novel, I enjoyed Keeley´s way, how she sees everything, how she deals with the new situation very much. What a great character! Not only that she won´t give up or in on what the family of her former fiancé does to her, she follows her instincts even when that means that she has to put herself in an awkward position. That woman got spine!
Hissy Fit is a wonderful read and perfect for some fun and relaxed hours. If you haven´t read anything by the author yet, like me, then this is a great chance to get to know her.
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I am re-reading this book and having just as much fun this time as I did the first time!
What if you were at the rehearsal dinner for your wedding and walked in on your husband to be and your maid of honor having sex? Well, Keeley throws a big hissy fit hence the name of the book!
The story is about much more than that; a father who raises his daughter alone after her mother leaves and the mystery surrounding this disappearance, it is the fun search for antiques as Keeley restores an old antebellum mansion, the question of trust in relationships... Just an all around fun, easy read which though a little far fetched in places only serves to add to the light hearted spirit of the book. -
Several other reviewers have said the same thing so I'll make it short and sweet. I bailed out early because this was the most one dimensional book. The characters were complete stereotypes. And, especially with all of the growth and awareness that has been dawning on this country in the last year, the racial references were so tone deaf and out of place, inappropriate and flat out racist. It must've been written ages ago; everything about it made me cringe. Not to mention the endless references to interior design and decor just went on and on. So many other books to read, I'm moving on.
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Another hit by Mary Kay Andrews. This book has been sitting in my TBR pile for awhile (along with a few of her others) - I'm so glad I finally decided to read it. Such a great book! What stopped me from giving it 5 stars was the ending. I don't want to give anything away, but it bothered me the way it ended. I wanted to know more and I wanted to know how they got there. Other than that, the book was typical Mary Kay Andrews - funny, charming and it will pull at your heart strings.
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I really enjoyed this book. Cute southern town with secrets, betrayals and a little laughter and highjinks thrown in. The shit hits the fan when the bride walks in on her fiance doing her bff at the rehearsal dinner. It reminded me of the Julia Roberts movie "Something to talk about" but with a much better ending. There was a lot of talk about interior design. I didn't mind that because I love decorating and historic homes.
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What a great read. I really enjoyed the story.
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Absolutely love this book!!!! Keeley is a great main character and I was hooked from the very beginning!!!
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When Keeley discovers her fiancée with her best friend during their rehearsal dinner, she throws a hissy fit and calls the wedding off. Her ex-fiancée’s family has a lot of clout in their small town and they set out to hurt her design business, forcing Keeley to take a job with an impossible deadline.
In the meantime Austin, her best friend, becomes curious about Keeley’s mother’s disappearance and starts digging around. Keeley is reluctant at first but, after a few discoveries, becomes curious as well.
With a touch of romance, a little mystery, and a lot of decorating, HISSY FIT was just plain fun. I loved the characters, the small Southern town setting, and the story - this book was just what I needed after a couple heavy reads. -
Fun, light romance.
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3.5 maybe a 4. This is just a cute read. Made me smile.
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First sentence: "If it had not been for my fiance's alcoholic cousin Mookie I feel quite sure that my daddy would still be a member in good standing at the Oconee Hills Country Club."
Interior designer Keeley Rae Murdock thinks she has her life perfectly designed clear down to the leather club chairs and Oriental rug for her starter home. But then she discovers her fiance, A.J. Jernigan, and best friend, Paige, in a compromising position on the boardroom table of the Oconee Hills Country Club during her wedding rehearsal dinner. Keeley proceeds to throw the mother of all hissy fits, wildly waving panties around and shouting obscenities in front of her family, friends and the small town of Madison, Georgia.
Enter Will Mahoney, a single and rich entrepeneur who recently purchased an antebellum plantation house in addition to the (failing) Loving Cup bra factory. Headstrong Will pressures Keely and her Aunt Gloria to renovate his new home, giving them six months and access to unlimited funds. Sounds like a perfect love interest for Keeley? Not really. Not yet anyways. Will is renovating the house to win the affections of an over-achieving blonde he has seen on television, but has never met in real life.
Southern humor at its best, eccentric characters, outrageous/crazy behavior, romance, heart-wrenching drama, an unpredictable plot and a light mystery involving Keeley's mother made this book a permanent resident on my keeper shelf. I was touched by the tender relationship between Keeley and her father. I actually enjoyed the various descriptions surrounding flea markets, antiquing and interior decorating. I laughed out loud when Keeley emptied a water bottle and filled it with toilet water for Will's obnoxious lady friend. This book not only had humor, but it had real depth to it. Keeley was a very believable character that I found myself associating with over and over again.
The Southern dialect literally bounces off the pages at you and the colloqualisms will keep you in stitches.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mary Kay Andrew's writing style and Southern wit. In fact, I would not have considered her books if Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Crusie hadn't praised and recommended Ms. Andrew's books. I have already researched her website and started ordering from her back list. Great fun! -
This was the Branigan BookClub selection for September 2005.
What do you do if, at your wedding rehearsal dinner, you discover your husband-to-be and your maid of honor furiously boinking like rabbits in the Country Club Boardroom? If you're Keeley Murdock of Madison GA, you throw a monumental HISSY FIT!
OK, so the story is a bit predictable and contains almost every cliche known to writers, but it is hilarious! If you're looking for a fast, fun read that leaves you hot and bothered and wanting more (especially the last scene) when you're done, then look no further!
This one's got a cast of characters from a truly despicable villain to a fair maiden(well, figuratively) in distress to a doting father to a gay true bosom friend of the fair maiden to a whole host more who are delightful caricatures of a certain stratum of Southern society.
--Mark Pendleton
http://chile.las-cruces.org/search/t?... -
This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book, and overall I was pleasantly surprised.
I really took a liking to the author. I thought her writing was excellent for a chick lit novel, the plot was good and kept you guessing, and the characters were very well developed and likable. I loved the setting: a small Southern town in Georgia. The setting really does make this the perfect summer beach read.
My only gripe about this book was that sometimes the "interior design lingo" and "descriptions" got a little too lengthy and long winded, that I found myself skimming through those paragraphs.
I have no doubt that I will continue to read Mary Kay Andrews! -
Okay not to happy with this one. It was a good story but missing so much of the romance that is supposed to be in a romance novel. Who cares about her and her ex fiance I want to know what happens with her and Will! Where was that story? I felt betrayed that I read this book and was let down! So much for losing yourself in a book.
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Recommended by a fellow goodreader. This was cute. When bride to be/interior designer in small town Georgia found her groom getting it on with her maid of honor on the boardroom table at the country club during the rehearsal dinner, she threw the hissy fit of a century.
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Definitely light reading and purely chick lit but still very funny and enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In places I laughed out load. We would all have a "hissy fit" in a situation like this. What she does after the hissy fit is what counts.
