Dangerous sex, family secrets, irresistible power, mega money and two murders equal one reckless week in New York. Lovers and Players takes you on a high-powered trip from Park Avenue to Brooklyn.
Jackie Collins is back--in her most deliciously scandalous novel yet. And she's giving her readers a revealing look into the private realms of her fabulously rich and sexy cast of characters.
In Lovers and Players, the Diamond family's power extends from coast to coast. Max--a real estate tycoon; Chris--a Hollywood lawyer; and Jett--a young, handsome ex-druggie, now a successful model in Italy, must finally come face to face with their tyrannical father, Red, who has been controlling their world for as long as they can remember.
Working as Red's housekeeper is Diahann, a beautiful black ex-singer. Her stunning bi-racial nineteen-year-old daughter, Liberty--a waitress who is a would-be singer herself--does not approve of her mother working as a housekeeper. Liberty has dreams of her own and while she pursues them, Damon P. Donnell, married hip-hop mogul supreme, pursues her.
Amy Scott-Simon, a beguilingly pretty young New York heiress, in engaged to marry Max Diamond. At her bachelorette party she runs into Jett, Max's younger brother. Jet has no idea who Amy is. She also doesn't realize who he is. A one-night fling leads to major complications.
As the lives of these characters intertwine, power, money, fame and love are the ties that bind--emotionally and otherwise--in this highly charged love story about family relationships and deadly choices.
Jackie Collins has been called a "raunchy moralist" by the late director Louis Malle, "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust" by Vanity Fair magazine and "the Victor Hugo of our time" by Simon Doonan in the New York Observer. With over 400 million copies of her books sold in more than 40 countries, and with some twenty-two New York Times bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world's top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivaled insiders knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and sometimes bad! "I write about real people in disguise," she says. "If anything, my characters are toned down -- the truth is much more bizarre." Jackie Collins started writing as a kid, making up steamy stories her schoolmates paid to devour. Her first book, The World Is Full of Married Men became a sensational bestseller because of its open sexuality and the way it dealt honestly with the double standard. After that came The Stud, Sinners, The Love Killers, The World is Full of Divorced Women, Lovers And Gamblers, Chances, and then the international sensation, Hollywood Wives -- a #1 New York Times bestseller, which was made into one of ABC's highest-rated miniseries starring Anthony Hopkins and Candice Bergen.
The Stud and The World is Full of Married Men were also filmed -- this time for the big screen. And Jackie wrote an original movie, Yesterday's Hero, starring Ian McShane and Suzanne Somers.
Reader's couldn't wait to race through Lucky, her next book -- a sequel to Chances -- and the story of incredibly beautiful, strong woman, another New York Times number one.
Then came the bad boys of Hollywood in the steamy Hollywood Husbands -- a novel which kept everyone guessing the identities of the true-to-life Hollywood characters.
Jackie then wrote Rock Star -- the story of three rock superstars and their rise to the top, followed by the long-waited sequel to Chances and Lucky -- Lady Boss -- tracking the further adventures of the wild and powerful Lucky Santangelo as she takes control of a Hollywood studio.
Both Lucky and Chances were written and adapted for NBC television by Jackie, who also executive produced the highly successful six-hour miniseries Lucky/Chances, starring Nicollette Sheridan and Sandra Bullock.
In 1992 she produced and wrote the four hour miniseries, Lady Boss, which became another huge ratings success for NBC. Lady Boss starred Kim Delaney. Next came American Star, a love story, which the Los Angeles Times described as "classic Collins."
And then the dangerously close to the truth Hollywood Kids -- a story of power, sex, danger and ambition among the grown offspring of major celebrities.
In 1996 Vendetta -- Lucky's Revenge was published -- and became an immediate New York Times bestseller.
And then in 1998, Thrill!, a psychological thriller for the nineties, in which Jackie created her signature mix of unputdownable characters.
In the summer of 1998, Jackie hosted her own daily television show, "Jackie Collins Hollywood." A combination of fun, style and interviews, Jackie talked to everyone from George Clooney to RuPaul!
After that she wrote L.A. Connections -- a four-part serial novel published one per month -- Power, Obsession, Murder and Revenge.
In 1999 came Dangerous Kiss -- the return of Lucky Santangelo in a bestselling novel about relationships, addiction, fear and lust.
In the year 2000, Lethal Seduction became the first bestseller for Jackie Collins in the new millennium. This tale of erotic suspense and glamorous intrigue featured Madison Castelli, a character first introduced in the L.A. Connections series.
Hollywood Wives -- The New Generation became a blockbuster bestseller in 2001, following in the footsteps of the original Hollywood Wives. Hollywood Wives -- The New Generation featured a brand new cast of characters and a totally fresh perspective on how women pursue power, love, sex and success in Tinseltown today.
In 2002, New York flash, L.A. trash and a Mafia don met head-on in Deadly Embrace, a sexy tale of dangerous passion and suspense featuring heroine Madison Castelli that was both a prequel and a sequel to her adventures in the bestselling Lethal Seduction.
2003 marks the return of Jackie Collins to prime-time television with a brand-new two-hour CBS TV movie Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives: The New Generation, starring Farrah Fawcett, Melissa Gilbert, Robin Givens and Jack Scalia and produced by Collins. And in December 2003, comes her twenty-third novel, HOLLYWOOD DIVORCES, a sizzling, glam-drenched novel of lust, infidelity and revenge featuring all-new characters navigating Hollywood's treacherous trail of divorce.
Ms. Collins lives in Los Angeles, California. Her hobbies are photography, soul music, and exploring exotic locations so she can write about them later.
There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of the power brokers -- Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.
I love it! There is the usual assortment of Sex, Drugs, Money, Crime, Blackmail....This novel about Sex, family and relationships is her best ever. The beautiful and perky young heiress Amy Scott-Simon is engaged to marry Max Diamond, a powerful real estate tycoon (and much older than Amy). A one-night stand with Max's handsome young half-brother Jett at her bachelorette party will haunt her for some time....Then there is Chris Diamond, an entertainment lawyer, in town to meet with his brothers and Red Diamond, the boys' oddball billionaire father. Working as Red Diamond's housekeeper is the beautiful one time singer Diahann. Her cute nineteen-year-old daughter Liberty follows her own dreams of being a singer, and hip-hop mogul Damon P. Donnell pursues her (Yes, He's married). Mariska, Max's Russian ex-wife, a woman with many secrets.. secrets that ultimately lead to tragedy. I can't say more.
I'm sad that now I have to wait so long for another book from Jackie Collins
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It's easy to say, "Wonderful!" "Great!" and "I loved it!" but how easy is it to say why it's those good things (and not give away any of the surprises every reader should be able to savor)? What I liked about the book:
- The 3 half-brothers have had a heck of a bad childhood, yet they do more than survive it. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the three brothers, and it was very satisfying to see them interact and grow, as people and as brothers. None of the three is perfect, but what is enjoyable is seeing how each of them faces up to various bad habits and attempts to get past it. Despite the complete rottenness of their dad, it was interesting to see what he had planned for them (and why) and how they dealt with him. The suspense of the reason for the meeting was fun.
- I liked the plot delving into more than one pond: the "secondary" characters of Liberty, her mom, her cousin Cindi and her aunt, didn't feel like secondary ones because we got to know more than the surface of them; and I loved how the author brought all the ponds together into one big ocean. The characters were sometimes predictible - but it was fun to see how the other characters discovered what I already knew, and it was refreshing to see a beautiful character with a brain and some values... and delightful to see how following what she believed in turns out for her. A bit fairy-talish, but I enjoy a good fairy tale every now and again.
- Finally, I like how the book isn't just about sex. It's a cheerful story that DOES have sex and bad habits in it, but it's got some things to remember: Surviving a tough childhood IS possible, and leaning on someone/asking for help is OK; pursuing dreams is a good thing; why some people turn out the way they do and why superficial sex and bad habits ultimately don't satisfy.
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What can I say about Lovers and Players.. One word will sum it up predictable. Come on Jackie, I realize you are getting older, and you might not be out on the jetsetting Hollywood scene, but please for your readers sake, hire a car, take a walk to some of the hot cities, stop watching Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood for your plot ideas. I have read Jackie Collins from the beginning. Generally with her books you can sit back and relax with a glass or two of Chardonnay and enjoy a good storyline, and try to guess who in Hollywood she is talking about. Not this time. The majority of the characters are under-developed, therefore you have no sympathy or empathy, I mean you just plain outright don't care if or when something happens to them. But let me get back to the predictability factor, as soon as you read about the Virgin wife to be, wanting to be defrocked BEFORE the wedding, and not with her hubby to be, you can add 2 + 2 and come out with the whole subplot. The main plot was predictable, bad billionaire, who had three wrong side of the blanket sons.. COME on Jackie, we could see from page 5, what the ending was going to be. Sure the WHY was a bit of a surprise, but by then who cared?. I had the book already listed on Ebay. Next time I will save my big bucks for the hardback, and get it from the library.
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Red Diamond, New York, Lady Jane, Detective Rodriguez, Grandma Poppy, Birdy Marvel, Lady Bentley, Nanny Reece, Roth Giagante, Jesus Christ, Max Diamond, Sofia Courtenelli, Jonathan Goode, Vladimir Bushkin, Alex Pinchinoff, Mariska Diamond, Chris Diamond, Brighton Beach, Nancy Scott-Simon, Four Seasons, Hello Kitty, Maxwell Diamond, Sixty-eighth Street, Alicia Keys, Amy Scott-Simon
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