Customer Reviews

Misfortune's Daughters

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joan Collins has been lambasted for her literary strength. However, it seems she has vindicated herself nicely with "Misfortune's Daughters."

It follows the lives of the two Stehanopolis sisters, who reflect a sort of Paris Hilton/Princess Stephanie of Monaco vibe that Collins nails perfectly.

With enough love, lust, greed, hate, money, power and blind ambition, the book kept me hooked and is by far Collins' best work of fiction to date.

When one thinks of Hollywood "gossip" books, one thinks of Jackie Collins. But surprisingly, Joan Collins has made her mark in the fiction genre with ease. Misfortune's daughter is an interesting pool-side read. It has got all the elements to make the story a gripping one - romance, betrayal, insecurities, all put together with a pinch of glamour.

The two central characters of the book, the Stephanopolis sisters - Atlanta and Venetia are as different as night and day. Where Atlanta is the older sibling with a plethora of insecurities, Venetia is the wild-child, drugs addicted, jet setting younger sister. Both vie for their father, Nicholas Stephenopolis's affection. Hollywood and the life-styles of the rich and famous are used as the backdrop to this interesting read. People who love gossip and reading tabloids would love this book. Thumbs up!

This is hands down the best novel by Joan Collins to date. The sisters, Venetia and Atlanta, have anything and everything they could ever want in the material world.

But they lack the love of their father who emotionally abandons them at an early age leading one sister to accidently star in a scandalous film while another becomes a drug addict.

Coupled with an interesting sub-plot concerning an immigrant fashion designer thirsty for revenge and an Italian movie diva who hungers for pleasure, from anyone, "Misfortune's Daughters" is a delightfully fast paced novel that I couldn't put down!

Obviously, Joan is taking snipets of her own life and career, along with facets from other celebrities to craft her characters and storyline. But she succeeds very well, quite simply this is the best Jackie Collins novel that Jackie Collins didn't write!

Joan is at the top of her game, weaving decadent settings with delicious characters to craft a story that is neither groundbreaking or wildly original. Rather, it is an enthusiastic, fast paced novel that can be described in one word: FUN!

Joan Collins has taken a great deal of flack over her novels, but for me, her books always deliver the expected punch: glitz, glitter, glamour and gossip, things one would expect from a glamorous international superstar such as Joan. Misfortune's Daughters doesn't explore any new territory from her other bestselling titles Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous and Star Quality, as the novel chronicles the incredible lives of two vastly different sisters born into amazing privilege but who both suffer the hard knocks of the fabulously wealthy. You won't lose any sleep discovering what happens to siblings Atlanta and Venetia as they cross the globe searching for love and acceptance, but you certainly will have an entertaining time reading about their misadventures in a glamourous world that exists only between the pages of one of Joan's novels.

Joan did a fairly good job with this book but I kept finding myself wishing for better continuity. It was hard to keep my attention and the story wasn't nearly as good as say "Star Quality". Maybe one of these days she'll release the two books she was sued over because any fan of "Dynasty" could tell you that "Hell Hath No Fury" like Joan Collins scorned!

I was very pleasantly surprised! A great story of two sisters who are very different. It's fun to get engrossed in the "good life" - wealth, travel, fame...Try it. If you like Jackie and Joan's books, you'll love this one!

I just finished reading this book. I loved it the character outlines were great and Joan Collins writing was incredible. I can't see anyone not enjoying this book. Well worth reading this summer!

If you're looking for "serious" reading, pass this one up. It's strictly fluffy, breezy, easily digested poolside/airplane reading. The characters are neither sympathetic nor realistic; they are simply puppets in a fantasy world that doesn't really exist, no matter how rich you are. This is the type of novel that you'll read and immediately forget.

Joan Collins is nailing her kid sister Jackie's writing downpat a little bit harder with each novel. Same people, same places, same story.

Seemingly all the characters in this book were a conglomeration of famous people past and present. There was no one with an ounce of uniqueness. The plot was too predictable, the timeline too long and too fuzzy, and the writing was uninspiring. Nicholas Stephanopolis, a billionaire businessman, husband of Laura Marlowe, father of Atlanta and Venetia, was someone easy to despise. Does the story of how Nicholas turned away from his oldest daughter Atlanta really ring true? Not really. His brutality towards his wife and mistress does not gain him any empathy. The clause Nicholas puts in his will for his daughters stretches reality a bit. Atlanta and Venetia endure every imaginable social problem from the late twentieth century onwards. They do achieve a lot at such young ages, perhaps more than in reality. Certainly the insider's view of the rich and famous is fun and exciting and entertaining, but in truth not really sustainable for an entire novel.