Nobody writes better stories about rich, famous people than Jackie Collins. In the sixth book in her Lucky Santangelo series, she shows she’s still on top. No whiny chick-lit about life at the bottom of the ladder even comes close. Though I like her books that start with characters before they’re rich and famous more than the ones that start with the money and power already in place, after the first couple chapters are done gushing about how rich and famous everyone is, I get in my Jackie groove and go along for the ride.This story starts with Lucky on the brink of opening a posh new resort in Las Vegas, the Keys. Her life is already plenty hectic with two teenage kids at home, one her wild and impetuous 16-year-old daughter, Max. Max is dying to get together with the hottie she’s been chatting up on the internet. She concocts a story about going out of town with a girlfriend, and she’s off to meet Internet Guy in the KMart parking lot in Big Bear. Once there, she meets hot, 19-year-old Ace, just in time for the two of them to get kidnapped by her on-line buddy, who morphs into Internet Freak.Meanwhile, an old Santangelo enemy, Francesca Bonnatti, is poised to take revenge. When she discovered her dead son Enzio had left a bastard son behind in Italy, she took young Anthony under her wing and raised him to be a successful businessman/drug lord. Francesca tells Anthony that it’s time for vengeance on the Santangelos, so Anthony puts in place a plot to destroy the Keys Resort and put Lucky out of business. Anthony is a busy boy, flying between a number of cities where he does business, keeping two mistresses, and a wife trapped in Mexico City.Irma, Anthony’s wife, is growing bored and restless. Her restrictive existence doesn’t allow for much fun, especially since her husband quit visiting her bed after their children were born. Luis, the young gardener, starts to look like a tasty pastime. Soon, she craves his touch, but if Anthony ever found out, there would be hell to pay.The story jumps and spins from one character to another as the drama unfolds and the suspense builds. Will Max and Ace escape their kidnapper? Will Lucky’s best friend, superstar Venus Maria, stay with her younger boyfriend, movie star Billy Melina? Who keeps sending Lucky cards that say only “Drop Dead Beautiful”? Will Anthony find out about Irma’s infidelity with the gardener? And will his plot to destroy the Keys at its grand opening succeed?Jackie Collins is not classic literature, but her books are flat-out fun. Her secret seems to lie in not having too much respect for any of her characters, though Lucky Santangelo has always been an exception to the rule. Raunchy, sexy, and at times violent, a Jackie Collins novel always delivers.
This book was...not good. Like most reviewers have mentioned, I didn't care for ANY of the characters and got tired of the constant praise for the Santangelo family. The plot wasn't even stimulating. Another Bonatti(gasp) wants revenge on the Santangelos. This plot has been done to death now. The other plot revolving around Max (hate that name) wasn't even interesting. She spent exactly one whole weekend being "kidnapped" and then back to usual family life. Lennie was reduced to Lucky's "Yes Man". What happened to the amazing personality he used to have? After a while you get tired of Lucky's "Nobody tells me what to do" attitude. It's time to grow up a bit. I hated that Lennie allowed both of his kids to be named after Lucky's parents, too. Her father, Gino, is NOT dead, so why should he get the honor of having a kid named after him? If Lucky HAD to name a kid after him, she should have gave the name to Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, he was just creepy to me in this book with his constant lusting after his neice, Brigitte. I'm sick to death of Venus Maria and the constant addition of new characters is getting tiring. A few major discrepancies are: Carioca (Steven and Mary Lou daughter, NOT Lina's) is OLDER than Max, Gino is older than the finally mentioned again Costa (though deceased now), and please stop pretending Lucky is not in her fifties. Enough with the descriptions of her constant beauty and sexiness. Gag. Also, why does Leonardo need a nanny? He's at least thirteen now. The whole "Drop Dead Beautiful" plot was weak and uninteresting. What is the point of Alex Woods still pining over Lucky and their one night stand if Lennie is never going to find out about it? Whatever happened to Lennie's best friend Jess and her husband, Matt? Where's Alice the Swizzle? Can we remember the story did revolve around Lennie having a life of his own?
What do You think about Drop Dead Beautiful (2007)?
One of the many Lucky Santangelo books, but the first I've read. It was long (15 hours plus) but was on sale and I had put it on haitus for awhile. Now, it's back. I could recognize the serialness of the book because it referred to previous events in Lucky's life. It seemed that every few minutes someone was jumping in the sack with someone else. Is that sexy? The book is also about the movie business, something I'm not particularly enamored with. So, maybe that's why it didn't click very well. The book seemed slow at first, but then, after all the characters were introduced and had sex at least once, it moved on. The epilogue tied it all up after an exciting conclusion (aren't they all?) Doubt if I'll read any more Collins--not my style.
—George
I liked this book. The only problem that I had was that it was the last book in the series but inside the cover it said it was the first so when I was half way through, I went to the library to get the next one only to find there wasn't another. All of the covers of the Jackie Collins books said different orders. When I go to the library I use those listing to get the next book so it was upsetting to learn that I just finished the series in the first book I read. It was a good book that jump around from person to person but did so in ways that you didn't get lost (unlike the Girl with that Dragon Tattoo series). It was a quick read that kept me interested
—Kristine
I enjoy Jackie Collins books as some light reading but this book took me months to finish because I found I didn't like any of the characters and I was sick of hearing how amazing the Santangelo family were. I also found that the story was strangely unfinished but am unsure as to how I would have expected it to end. The only reason I went back to reading this book was because my tablet (which I usual read on) needed to be charged and I had some time to do some reading. I still like Collins and love reading her books during the summer when I want a break from all the other more taxing books on my to read list but I don't think I could stand to read another book about Lucky and her 'amazing' family.
—Susan Adair
