Customer Reviews

Hollywood Divorces

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Jackie Collins is back, and in typical Collins fashion. In this novel, she introduces a number of new characters; there is Lola Sanchez, the sexy Latina temptress with a boring husband, an irresistible bad-boy ex-boyfriend, a traditional family, and an axe to grind with big screen superstar Linc Blackwood. But Linc Blackwood has problems of his own; his tragic childhood has left him struggling with substance abuse in his adult years..and his marriage is suffering as a result. His wife, Shelby Cheney, is a very well-respected former English actress, current American star. She excuses a lot of Linc's behavior, because she knows of his problematic childhood...but everyone has their limits. Cat Harrison is a young, twenty-something screen writer whose hit film has made her the current Hollywood darling. Cat has a mind of her own, and a fabulous marriage...or does she?

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for another wonderful Collins ride...with plenty of drama, suspense, and four-letter words...in typical Collins fashion!!

DYB

When Lola Sanchez was a teenage nobody hoping to be a Hollywood star she met her movie star hero Linc Blackwood, who seduced her and left her pregnant. Using an abortionist whose office was a back alley, Lola was left infertile. Now in her twenties she is married to an oblivious tennis pro and has become the hottest property in Hollywood, but though she wears a smiling face, inside she is angry and acrimonious.

Lola insists that Linc star in her next vehicle because she plans to avenge what he did to her. Linc's wife English actress Shelby Cheney loves her spouse though she knows he cheats on her. She even rationalizes his negative behavior as caused by his parents' abuse and murder-suicide. Wife to rock star Jump "not related to Mick" Jagger, teen director writer sensation Cat Harrison is directing Shelby's latest work when she is not struggling with leading hunk Nick Logan trying to get her into bed. These three women have crossed paths with one another and with men who remain blind to anything but their own needs. Soon one person will understand what has happening and then the fireworks begin.

HOLLYWOOD DIVORCES is the typical trashy Jackie Collins tale that somehow is fun to read (sort of like the tabloids in a supermarket). The cast for the most part are not a likable group as they are shallow and egotistical except perhaps Shelby who seems naive. The story line is thin yet this reviewer cannot explain why, but once again Ms. Collins hooked me with her latest Hollywood drama.

Harriet Klausner

This book is so corny, so many cliches. There was not one likeable character. The real movie stars' lives in Hollywood make these characters look like angels. The 3 women's stories in this horrific book seem too good to be true. Yes, I mean Hollywood Divorces. It was amusing to read......for a second. I was hoping Collins would come out with some new lines but they're all the way. Been there, done that. I'm glad she got rid of a few characters. Good lord. I'd rather read about J. Lo's life, or did it?

Jackie Collins released her best-selling novel "Hollywood Divorces" in 2003 and is now regarded as one of her best. What makes the book so tantilizing is trying to figure out what Hollywood celebrity Collins has based her three major female characters on.

The three leads are different in many ways, but at the same time they all strive for the same things: money, power and glamour.

First up is Shelby, a big-time movie actress married to a man who loves booze and women. She puts up with her miscreant of a husband only because she knows he harbours a terrible scret. Secondly, we have Lola, a Latin superstar who once slept with Shelby's husband, but is in love with a director who can't seem to kick his drug addiction. Lastly, Cat is married to a rock star and is a writer/producer who now has a hit movie on her hands.

Three characters whose lives are intertwined which makes "Hollywood Divorces" sizzle. Definitely, one of my favorite Jackie Collins books with Hollywood as the backdrop.

There was a time when I gobbled up each new Jackie Collins novel like the cotton candy for the mind that it was. The books were trashy, but that's exactly what we wanted... unbelievable characters having mind-boggling sex in positions which might make the author of the karma sutra blush. And, of course, there was the fascinating game of trying to figure out which "fictional character" was based on the Hollywood celebrity du jour. On occasion, the author would even put out a book which offered up a thrilling plot, ala Chances or Lucky. This, my friends, is not one of those books. Rather, this tome has a "been there, read that" feel from start to finish. That in and of itself wouldn't be so bad were it not for the fact that the writing is often amateurish, the plot moves at a snail's pace (and even that snail is, sadly, predictable) and, perhaps worst of all, there is next to no sex! Don't expect to get a vicarious thrill out of playing, "Oh, which celeb do you think that is?" either, as the so-called characters are pretty much indistinguishable from the ones who populated previous - and better - efforts. If things don't pick up soon, I'll have to divorce myself from the urge to pick up Collins' future efforts.

It's a long wait between Jackie Collins books, but well worth the wait. This one was just as entertaining as every other book she has written. With characters that you really love reading the inside scoop about, but don't really care emotionally about. A wonderful, explosive ending that is sure to satisfy. Well written, fun, entertaining. Anyone who reads JC will want to add this title to their collection.

"Hollywood Divorces" was exactly what i was looking for in a steamy Hollywood-style book. It was easy to read..had plenty of action..and finished with a bang like most of Ms. Collins' previous books. I found Nick and Cat to be my favorite couple in this book....I'd love to see a sequel!

Once again Jackie Collins hooks readers into the expensive world of Hollywood where fame, love and fortune all have their price.

Lola Sanchez is a diva on a par only with a certain Hispanic superstar and the rest of the characters read like a who's who of Hollywood.

Collins is at her sexy, lethal best, taking readers on a truly gripping ride through La-La Lands most high powered hills.

Jackie Collin books are always a fun read but lately she had departed from the Hollywood, rock and roll and supermodel scene. She's back again and boy have we missed her. This time her book concentrates on 3 women who have made it big in Hollywood and their success has cost them their marriage and true love. It is fun figuring out who the main characters are based on.

Of course Lola is JLo and Serena Lake is Meg Ryan but others I had trouble figuring out but anyways, it was a fun read. Welcome back Jackie, we missed you.

I must preface my review with the statement that I like Jackie Collins -- more so as a talk show guest, but I've enjoyed several of her books, too. Unlike many of her peers in the the excesses-of-the-rich-and-powerful genre (Jacqueline Susann, Harold Robbins, Judith Krantz, et al), Collins never writes as if she takes herself or her genre too seriously. One can almost hear the author chuckling to herself as she pens another outrageous scene. I just wish that Collins -- or at least her editors -- took the actual writing seriously.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not expecting Dickensian prose, but Collins' seems to have been coasting since "Hollywood Wives" (the author's masterwork). After reading "Lovers & Gamblers" I decided to take a break from Collins -- a trial separation, if you will. A viewing of the outrageous British soap "Footballers' Wives"--which shares many of the qualities of a Collins novel -- inspired me to give Jackie another chance. So I picked up "Hollywood Divorces" (a meaningless title when you consider that the almost all the characters in these type of books end up divorcing) to see if the author had gotten back on top of her storytelling game. Sadly, no.

Though "Hollywood Divorces" features some mildly amusing passages and catty observations, it's a largely uninspired and, worse, tedious affair that makes "Lovers & Gamblers" seem complex and thought-provoking by comparison. The three principal characters -- Shelby Cheney, Cat Harrison and Lola Sanchez -- are more like types than people. Acclaimed actress and, as we're reminded throughout the book, "raven-haired beauty" Shelby is the put-upon Good Girl. Hot, very young (19) director Cat plays by her own rules. We know this because Collins informs us repeatedly that Cat plays by her own rules, and because Cat refuses to give a film producer oral favors (in this genre, oral sex is just the cost of doing business in Hollywood). Collins has the most fun with Lola, a "Latina sex bomb" and selfish b--ch, obviously modeled after Jennifer Lopez (though J-Lo on her worst day can't be nearly as awful as the fictional alter-ego Collins supplies her). Readers will also spot fictional counterparts to Colin Farrell, Meg Ryan and Pamela Anderson, among others. I know Collins has mentioned getting shunned by some people in the entertainment industry for basing her characters on real celebrities, but her characters bear little resemblance to actual human beings, or even characters. "Hollywood Divorces" doesn't read like it was written by a Hollywood insider but rather someone with lifetime subscriptions to the National Enquirer and People magazine.

The harshest criticism goes to Collins' editors. Did they not notice that Cat laments the producers' choice of Shelby for her next movie because she wants an American actress, even though it's not revealed that Shelby is English until a couple chapters later? Or that Shelby contemplates ceasing to take birth control pills, but later the same day she's not wanting to tell her husband she stopped taking the Pill three months earlier? Collins is a brand name, so I can understand why she might put more thought into what she wears for her book jacket photo than continuity, compelling plots or even writing complete sentences. Her editors cannot be so easily forgiven. It's like the folks at Simon & Schuster just ran "Hollywood Divorces" through SpellCheck and sent it to press.

I'm not going to give up on Jackie Collins altogether, but I think I want to see other novels. "Hollywood Divorces" left me wanting to resume my trial separation.