#BookReview: The Santangelos by Jackie Collins
Reviewer: Samantha I received a review copy Summary: A vicious hit. A vengeful enemy. A drug addled Colombian club owner. A sex crazed Italian family.…
Book Review: Confessions of a Wild Child by Jackie Collins
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Lucky Santangelo. A fifteen-year-old wild child ready to discover life, love and independence. Daughter of the notorious Gino, Lucky discovers her mother’s murdered body floating in the family swimming pool at the tender age of four. Since then Gino has kept her protected from life closeted in their Bel Air mansion. But in Jackie Collins’ Confessions of a Wild Child, Lucky finally breaks free, and running away from boarding school the adventures begin. Boys, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll – Lucky explores it all in preparation for the strong, kick-ass woman she eventually becomes. Delve into the world that Lucky rules!
Review:
I’ve been reading Jackie Collins for years, and am very familiar with Lucky Santangelo. Even though this was a flashback book and not one to move her story forward, I was still interested in reading about her childhood and how she came to be who she was today. I enjoyed this book and reading about Lucky’s wild years, yet I kept getting a niggling feeling that I had already read the majority of the book. A lot of the story wasn’t new to a reader who has been following the series, so it was more like brushing up on my knowledge. Not everything was that way though and I still learned a few new details about her childhood, and I loved the way it ended with her wedding day – at sixteen! The Santangelo story is a fascinating one, and I hope you can read the books!
4 stars
Book Review: The Power Trip by Jackie Collins
I received a copy of The Power Trip by Jackie Collins in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
A luxurious yacht in the Sea of Cortez, a birthday cruise for one of the world’s most beautiful women and an invitation no one can refuse. The Power Trip—take it if you dare.
From Hollywood icon and mega-seller Jackie Collins comes a thrilling new novel, The Power Trip, set on a state of the art luxury yacht off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. A tropical getaway with a cast of global power-hungry elites turns sour when they find out maybe they don’t control as much of the world as they thought . . .
In The Power Trip you will meet Aleksandr Kasianenko, a billionaire Russian oligarch, as he sets sail on The Bianca. You’ll meet his sexy supermodel girlfriend, whom The Bianca is named after, and five dynamic, powerful, and famous couples invited on the yacht’s maiden voyage: Hammond Patterson, a driven Senator, and his lovely but unhappy wife, Sierra; Cliff Baxter, a charming, never-married movie star, and his ex-waitress girlfriend, Lori; Taye Sherwin, a famous black UK footballer and his interior designer wife, Ashley; Luca Perez, a male Latin singing sensation with his older decadent English boyfriend, Jeromy; and Flynn, a maverick journalist with his Asian renegade female friend, Xuan.
You will also meet Russian mobster, Sergei Zukov, a man with a grudge against Aleksandr. And Sergei’s Mexican beauty queen girlfriend, Ina, whose brother, Cruz, is a master pirate with orders to hold The Bianca and its illustrious rota of guests for ransom.
The Power Trip explorers the decadent playgrounds of the super-rich . . . and leaves you hungry for more.
Review:
Oh, Jackie Collins is a naughty lady. I just can’t get enough of her books! While I was initially bummed out that I wasn’t going to be visiting Lucky in The Power Trip, I soon got over that qualm. What a juicy tale! There are so many characters and we get a POV from each of them, but in signature Collins style it’s effortless to keep them apart. You never know what one of them is thinking or what the next action is going to be. This is a seriously big book, but it took me less than two days to read. It’s impossible to put down, and the writing is so smooth yet captivating that you can’t help but devour it quickly.
5 stars
Chances by Jackie Collins
Oh, Jackie Collins. I have read countless titles from her, the majority from the Santangelo series, with good ole Gino and Lucky. I was excited when I was offered a review copy of Chances, where readers will see how it all began. This is the first Lucky book to be released as an eBook, and if you haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet – do it! I’ve never quite figured out how to describe a Jackie Collins book, but while I was reading through her bio I saw that she has been called a “raunchy moralist” by Vanity Fair, and I feel like that’s pretty fair. I was trying to describe this particular book to a girlfriend who just got done with the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and the word “filthy” kept being brought up. For sure – if you do not like very explicit sex scenes, foul language, murder, etc., I would keep away.
For those who don’t – wow, this is quite a book! I loved learning the beginning of the Santangelo’s, and I mean the very beginning. The book starts off in the 1920’s and switches quickly between characters and time. We learn how Gino got started in the streets, his family life, how he made “business acquaintances,” to when he fell in love with Maria and had his two children – Lucky and Dario. They both get to tell their POV’s as well, and I had blast reading about Lucky getting kicked out of boarding school and learning where her Santangelo smarts (and balls) came from. The story also follows Carrie and her son Steven. Carrie was forced into prostitution at the age of thirteen by her own grandmother and uncle, and then sold off to a whorehouse where she fell heavily into drugs. It was fascinating to know that Carrie in the present had money, prestige, even fame, and to see glimpses into the past of how she was able to overcome all the horrors of her life. I never minded the switching back and forth so many times, it’s the Jackie Collins style that I have learned to love, and I feel it almost made this (fairly lengthy) novel go by even quicker. The ending was so crazy! I was frantically pressing the “next page” button on my Kindle to see how the story would end, how the lives of all these characters were intertwine – and who would make it out alive. If you can handle these types of book, I would recommend not only Chances but many others from the intriguing Santangelo series.
[Rating: 4.5]
More Jackie Collin’s reviews!
Goddess of Vengeance
Drop Dead Beautiful
Poor Little Bitch Girl
Read my interview with Jackie Collins!
GIVEAWAY: Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins’ fierce and wildly beautiful heroine Lucky Santangelo is back with a vengeance—in a novel full of power, passion, revenge, and the raging family dynamics of the Santangelo clan—and, as always, Lucky comes out on top.
Lucky runs a high profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys in Vegas.
Lennie, her movie star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life.
And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.
Born a Prince in the small but affluent Middle Eastern country of Akramshar, Armand comes to America with his American mother at an early age, and rises to become a real estate business titan. Armand regards women as nothing more than breeding mares or sexual playthings, so when his people inform him that the one property he covets more than anything, The Keys, is not for sale, he is shocked. That a mere woman would dare to turn down his offer to buy The Keys is unthinkable, and Armand vows to force Lucky’s hand whatever it takes. And so the battle for power begins . . .
Meanwhile Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors, while his girlfriend—smart and independent Denver Jones—is becoming a Deputy D.A. in the L.A. drug unit.
And Max, Bobby’s seventeen year old sister, is busy embarking on a forbidden affair with a sexy young movie star. An affair they have to keep on the down-low lest Lucky finds out.
The word is that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and what happens in Goddess of Vengeance will blow your mind!
**I have one print copy up for giveaway! To enter, please leave a comment below. The winner will be chosen on Friday, October 7th. Thank you to Ann-Marie at Get Red PR for sponsoring this giveaway. Please note this is open to US/Canada residents only. Thank you!
Goddess of Vengeance by Jackie Collins
Lucky Santangelo is back! The dynamite Jackie Collins recently released number 27, Goddess of Vengeance, and the Santangelo family and friends (and enemies) are back in a big way. Goddess focuses mainly on Lucky’s daughter, the eighteen-year-old Max, as she stars to make adult decisions- like sleeping with her mom’s best friend’s soon to be ex-husband. Venus and Billy have headed for splitsville, and Billy finds himself besotted over Max, while Venus simply starts sleeping around. Lucky is somewhat in the background of the story, but her fierce determination, loyalty, and balls of steel are at no shortage. When the disgustingly sleazy billionaire businessman/Middle Eastern Prince, Armand Jordan, tries to buy out Lucky’s precious casino and hotel complex, The Keys, Lucky quickly lets him know who has the last say. And we can’t forget Lucky’s gorgeous son Bobby and new girlfriend Denver, who are trying to work through there relationship obstacles.
It’s a little difficult to write a synopsis with so many leading characters, and I always worry that readers new to the series will give up hope, but don’t! Once you start reading, it is easy to identify and connect with the jumbled cast. I really enjoyed learning more about Denver and Bobby and where there story continued from Poor Little Bitch Girl, and even diving into Max’s character more was interesting to read about. There is no shortage of raunchy scenes and vulgarity, of course, especially when it comes to Armand’s character and his dimwitted view of woman. The ending of the book really picked up for me, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved how all the characters were slowly gravitating towards one location, and had to see how it all finished. I will say that I thought the ending with Armand was a little bit of a letdown. I would have been okay with a much less easy and way out for him to die, after all his disgusting behavior and lewd acts. But other than that, another delicious and frantic story to add to the Santangelo collection!
[Rating: 4]
In My Mailbox: Week of August 14
In My Mailbox: Week of August 14
Title: Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Received: From Denise Grover Swank via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: “It all started when I saw myself dead.” For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect. Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen– do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own. Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.
Title: Merciless
Author: Diana Palmer
Received: From Jaime at Planned Television Arts
Synopsis: Can she convince a man to let down his defenses when he’s set on guarding his heart? Tall, dark and eligible? That’s all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he’d be at the mercy of husband hunters—but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is… While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid—fueling the spark that is growing between them. As the attempts on Jon’s life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?
Title: Goddess of Vengeance
Author: Jackie Collins
Received: From Ann-Marie @ Get Red PR
Synopsis: Lucky runs a high profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys in Vegas.
Lennie, her movie star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life.
And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.
Born a Prince in the small but affluent Middle Eastern country of Akramshar, Armand comes to America with his American mother at an early age, and rises to become a real estate business titan. Armand regards women as nothing more than breeding mares or sexual playthings, so when his people inform him that the one property he covets more than anything, The Keys, is not for sale, he is shocked. That a mere woman would dare to turn down his offer to buy The Keys is unthinkable, and Armand vows to force Lucky’s hand whatever it takes. And so the battle for power begins . . .
Meanwhile Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors, while his girlfriend—smart and independent Denver Jones—is becoming a Deputy D.A. in the L.A. drug unit.
And Max, Bobby’s seventeen year old sister, is busy embarking on a forbidden affair with a sexy young movie star. An affair they have to keep on the down-low lest Lucky finds out.
The word is that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and what happens in Goddess of Vengeance will blow your mind!
Title: Aftertaste
Author: Meredith Mileti
Received: From Kensington Books (unsolicited)
Synopsis: Mira Rinaldi lives life at a rolling boil. Co-owner of Grappa, a chic New York City trattoria, she has an enviable apartment, a brand-new baby, and a frenzied schedule befitting her success. Everything changes the night she catches her husband, Jake, “wielding his whisk” with Grappa’s new waitress. Mira’s fiery response earns her a court-ordered stint in anger management and the beginning of legal and personal predicaments as she battles to save her restaurant and pick up the pieces of her life. Mira falls back on family and friends in Pittsburgh as she struggles to find a recipe for happiness. But the heat is really on when some surprising developments in New York present her with a high stakes opportunity to win back what she thought she had lost forever. For Mira, cooking isn’t just about delicious flavours and textures, but about the pleasure found in filling others’ needs. And the time has come to decide where her own fulfilment lies – even if the answers are unexpected.
Best Scandal Nominees
The nominees for Best Scandal in a Novel:
Perfect Blend by Sue Margolis
Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Still Thinking of You- Adele Parks
Poor Little Bitch Girl- Jackie Collins
Pieces of Happily Ever After- Irene Zutell
***I didn’t want to post the scandals for each novel, some come as a surprise and I wouldn’t want to give anything away!***
Please vote for your favorite by commenting below. Everyone who votes is entered to win!
Drop Dead Beautiful by Jackie Collins
Lucky Santangelo is back again for another round of Hollywood romance and deceit in this Jackie Collin’s tale. Lucky, who stems from a mafia family but has managed to turn herself into one of the hottest Hollywood players, is busy planning a birthday party for her 95 year old father, Gino. She is also in the midst of opening a megaresort in the city of sin, Las Vegas, but is unaware that a long-time family enemy, Anthony Bonar is seeking revenge on the Santangelo clan.
There is many subplots involved, like usual with Collins, and they bring along a hefty portion of suspense, sex, and drama. Lucky’s 16 year old daughter, Max, sneaks away from home to meet the Prince Charming she met on the internet- who turns out to be a crazed ex-actor that is holding a grudge against Lucky since she passed him over for a part in one of her past films. Anthony Bonar, a violent drug dealer, is unaware that his wife is having an affair with the Mexican gardener. Other slightly less exciting plots deal with Lucky’s best friend, an aging Hollywood actress, and her much younger boyfriend trying to maintain a relationship amidst the paparazzi and rag magazines, and Lucky’s business partner and his growing affection for Lucky, despite having a live in girlfriend.
Drop Dead Beautiful from Jackie Collins covers the Hollywood scene with open eyes and no holding back. The sex scenes are raunchy, the violence is gruesome, and each plot will hook readers more and more. This was one of my favorite Jackie Collins reads, and a definite recommendation for chick lit fans.
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