Review: The Santangelos

Summary: Legendary mega-seller Jackie Collins chronicles passion and power in one of America's most glamorous families.

A vicious hit. A vengeful enemy. A drug addled Colombian club owner. A sex crazed Italian family. And the ever powerful Lucky Santangelo has to deal with them all, while Max-her teenage daughter is becoming The "It" girl in Europe's modeling world. And her Kennedyesque son, Bobby, is being set up for a murder he didn't commit. But Lucky can deal. Always strong and unpredictable with her husband, Lennie, by her side she lives up to the family motto-Never cross a Santangelo. Lucky rules. The Santangelos always come out on top. An epic family saga filled with love, lust, revenge and passion. -- St. Martin's Press

Summer just wouldn't be summer with a novel by Jackie Collins. This year her novel is called THE SANTANGELOS, and it focuses on that intriguing cast of characters. Like all Jackie Collins' novels, the book is filled with lots of Hollywood inside scoop, family dramas, revenge, violence, and... of course, sex!

Most of you, even those who aren't regular Jackie Collins' fans, are probably familiar with The Santangelo family, namely Lucky. And while THE SANTANGELOS follows all of the regular characters including her father and children, Lucky is still the star of the story as far as I'm concerned. Once again, Lucky is trying to run her businesses and keep her family in line... and once again, that's not an easy task with her strong-willed (and wild!) children.

Lucky's daughter Max is in Europe becoming a major fashion model, and her handsome son Bobby is being set up for a murder he doesn't think he committed. Meanwhile, Lucky is trying to handle some devastating news about her father and the effects it will have on the entire Santangelo crew. There is no doubt that Lucky is smart and strong, but these events are proving to be a challenge to her and the family.

THE SANTANGELOS is, without a doubt, a very entertaining read. I was fortunate enough to read this by the pool a few weeks ago, and I have to say it was the perfect place to take in all of the Santangelos' escapades. This family sure is something and they never cease to truly amaze me. I especially appreciated how Lucky eventually made sense of the craziness that was happening to her family and saved the day!

Fans of Jackie Collins will love the sex and drama in this book. I admit that I've been reading Ms. Collins' novels since high school, and as far as I'm concerned, there are few writers who write better sex scenes. Honestly, I'm glad it was so hot at the beach because no one could tell how much I was blushing. This novel has some very hot sex scenes that might make some readers a little uncomfortable! Although, I suspect those very same scenes attract a fair share of readers too!

One thing I appreciated about THE SANTANGELOS was the pacing of the story. This novel was close to 500 pages, and yet, I read it in less than a day. It was definitely a page turner! Not only was I interested in Lucky, Max, and Bobby's stories, but I also enjoyed how the drama escalated towards the end of the book. I don't want to give too much away, but there was so much action and excitement in these characters' lives, and I couldn't wait to see how everything worked out. And I'll give it to Ms. Collins. She definitely managed to have quite a few shocking twists in this novel!

Of course, THE SANTANGELOS isn't for everyone and it's definitely not a literary novel.... but it is a lot of fun! I actually look forward to reading a Jackie Collins' book every summer -- it's escapism at it's best!

Thanks to Get Red PR for providing a review copy of this novel.