Customer Reviews

Lovers & Players

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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

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.

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.

LOVERS & PLAYERS should be the official publicity tagline for all Jackie Collins novels past, present and future. Her characters are quintessential lovers and players --- bed hopping, pill-popping tycoons, models and heiresses who engage in scandalous love affairs and illicit business deals --- and we love it.

In a live television interview in Atlanta in February 2006, Collins said, "I'm passionate about writing. I love what I do." It shows. Collins has written 24 books, with over 400 million copies in print in forty different languages. Although her books are fiction, she "writes about the world she sees around her...I write about places I go." What a captivating life, or shall I say social circle, that Collins has built around herself, privy to Hollywood stars and starlets, marriages and divorces, studs and bitches.

Collins's writing style leaves little to the imagination. In fact we love her graphic and juicy details. LOVERS & PLAYERS is not as explicit as some of her previous novels and everlasting love is elusive, but Collins's indulgent wild flings and racy bachelor and bachelorette party scenes are much more her style.

Only in a salacious Jackie Collins novel does a virgin New York heiress indulge in a night of unbridled passion with a sexy man she picks up in a Manhattan nightclub at her bachelorette party --- only to find out that he is her fiancé's younger brother just arrived from Italy. "He had the look, the sexy bad-boy look that women always seemed to go for." How could Amy Scott-Simon resist? This is why I love Collins's novels so much. The heroines make bold moves, they have millions to rely on, and they go after the man they want.

We get to know the Diamond dynasty patriarch and media mogul Red Diamond intimately, "for when it came to sex, he was insatiable, preying on any woman he could." His predatory nature, with a little help from Viagra, led him to "conquer, marry and destroy" three wives, a singer, Lady Bentley and a harem of prostitutes. Each wife bore him a son, whom he ruthlessly undermines personally and professionally. Each son hates his father, but "when Red Diamond calls, everybody runs."

Red Diamond summons his sons to his Manhattan brownstone for a mysterious meeting. Despite being raised by a "mean and cruel tyrant," the three very successful and, of course, lethally handsome brothers reunite and become a closely knit trio as they each battle Red's control over their history, addictions, love lives and high-stakes business deals. Tangled sheets, Russian prostitutes, Vegas gangsters and a raucous bachelor party, complete with pole dancing, lap dances and so much more, is at the heart of this family dynasty's troubles.

As if Collins didn't have enough scandal involving the Diamond brothers --- Max, the real estate tycoon engaged to an heiress; Chris, the powerful L.A. entertainment lawyer with a gambling debt in Vegas; and Jett, the hot male model working and playing in Milan --- she tangles the sheets provocatively with an array of other characters who spice up this week of events in Manhattan.

Since anything is possible in a Jackie Collins novel, get ready for the instant stardom of Liberty, a bi-racial coffee shop waitress and aspiring singer who goes from coffee server to cover model to a record deal to "The Tonight Show," and, who through a twist of fate, finds herself an heiress. Even more unbelievable is her relationship with a hip-hop record mogul, Damon P. Donnell, who "had it all --- looks, power, money, not to mention a fleet of Ferraris and, to top it all off, his own plane." Behind his Versace shades, Damon is a married player who says, "live dangerously or you're not livin' at all." Liberty's refusal to be a player when it comes to Damon forces him to evaluate whether he wants to be a lover or a player.

The female lovers and players comprise their own dynasty of power and passion. Amy Scott-Simon debates between her ten-carat engagement ring and the brother who gave it to her, and the brother she is in love with. Her wealthy Grandma Poppy, who was a lover and a player, advises, "If....is the man for you, then you must follow your heart, dear, follow your heart. Otherwise you could spend the rest of your life regretting it."

Mariska, Sonja and Lady Bentley are strong women who face the mob, the tyrant and the paparazzi. One of them is found in a pool of blood in her bed --- the life of the rich and famous, Jackie Collins-style. Italian supermodel Gianna, "a fun-loving, sex-mad goddess," makes an entrance wherever she goes and thoroughly enjoys being a player. No man could resist Gianna when she strode toward him like "a magnificent panther --- sleek, naked, and ready for action."

Nobody writes about the rich and famous, sex, scandal and secrets better than Jackie Collins. Her characters are billionaires, not mere millionaires. Diamonds are an heiress's best friend in Manhattan, a city where prostitutes think they are "therapists to very rich men." Money, inheritance, fateful meetings, lovers and players make Collins's newest novel more than sensational --- it's living dangerously at its best.

--- Reviewed by Hillary Wagy

Audiobook listeners will be hard pressed to choose between the Abridged and Unabridged editions of Jackie Collins's latest foray into the lives of the A-List's high and flighty as both releases are extremely well read.

Clear, distinct, positive, compelling, Isabel Keating's voice captured a Tony Award for her star turn as Judy Garland in The Boy From Oz, and that same voice reels listeners in and captures them with her opening description of male model Jett Diamond, he of the incredible good looks and insouciant manner. She is featured on the Unabridged version.

For those who like an ensemble cast reading, here's a top one for you. Jackie Collins joins three actors to deliver the abridged edition of Lovers & Players. Among the cast are Sydney Poitier, who brings a host of screen experience to her reading (she's especially affecting in scenes involving Liberty, who dreams of being a top pop singer), Jack Scalia, whom many will remember from the TV adaptations of Collins's Lady Boss and Hollywood Wives, and last but not in the least bit least is Scott Sowers, an accomplished audiobook reader with stage and screen credits to boot.

Fans of Jackie Collins well know what they're in for with her 24th book, and they can't wait! There's romance, revenge and dirty rotten scoundrels.

Red Diamond, a selfish, bitter billionaire calls his three sons together. That's quite a shock for Jett who is working in Italy and has had no contact with his father or his half-brothers in three years. Nonetheless, he leaves his temporary Italian inamorata and boards a plane. Max is successful in real estate, and third bro Chris is an attorney in La-la-land. Each has been fighting his own private battle, and a confrontation with their manipulative father is all they need.

Toss in Red's black housekeeper, a bi-racial daughter and a swarthy music mogul who is after her plus a quickie between Jett and Max's current fiancé, and you know you're in Collins territory.

There's a lot more scandal than sparkle in the Diamond family, and Jackie Collins holds nothing back.

- Gail Cooke

Dirty, sexy Scandal at it's best! Jackie hasn't missed a beat...In this latest novel, she gets down with hip hop moguls and tight-fisted billionaires, drug addicts and the Russian Mafia. This woman can still spin tales Jerry Springer would KILL to have on his show! Meet a young, ambitious, and incredibly beautiful Liberty, a talented waitress trying to court her destiny; Amy, a high society princess and emotionally traumatized woman; and Gianna, Italian model extraordinaire. Now meet the three brothers Diamond, and their billionaire father, the controlling and conniving Red Diamond. Known throughout the business world as cutthroat and ruthless, he is known to his sons as even worse. Now he has summoned them to New York for a mysterious meeting. The suspense was nuts!!! The plot was deliciously worked and the bling was enough to make a person blind through the pages. Go on wit'cha baaad self, Jackie!! Two very big thumbs up!! :)

I've read all of Ms. Collins books so far, and all I can say about this novel is....(yawn,yawn,yawn). What happened Ms. Collins? Where's the spice, the raunchiness, the clever storylines, the unique characters? Your novels used to be excellent, but now they're just so-so. Are you running out of new material to write? I think so. It's like you're recycling or something. The s.o.b. billionaire, the long lost sibling noone knew about, the heiress who's a (female dog) or who's sweet and naive, somebody gets killed, and let's not forget the minority bestfriend. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe you're going through a writer's slump or something.

As always, Jackie Collins has done it again. I thought this book was outstanding, not as good as the Lucky/Gino books, but still written very well. I love the way Jackie introduces her characters and always giving you something to look forward to reading. I really enjoyed Liberty's character. I especially would like for Jackie to keep the characters of Liberty, Jet, and Chris going in future books. This is a book very worth the time you will spend on it. I read it is in less than a week.

I always like a raunchy Jackie Collins book. The three brothers in this book were interesting to read about. Each of them was different. Trying to figure out how all the characters coralate in this book also makes it a fun read. When murder happens then suspense really kicks in. Once you get three quarters the way through the book, it becomes very hard to put down.
The nice thing about this book is that there was no drug use.

I bought it for my daughter for Christmas. She has enjoyed it and soon I will get the joy of reading it--the perks of motherhood. It is a typical Jackie Collins read. Thank you!! Janey Stillwell