Hollywood Kids

I ordered this book in like new condition. However when i received it the book was in poor condition. The dust cover is ripped and the hard cover is diguisting! I am not happy with my purchase and I will not order from them again!

The storyline: mediocre. Oh, a serial killer on the loose? Too close to the plotline of Hollywood Wives. Also, this novel seemed too "busy" - too many characters introduced and very few fleshed out to the point where I really felt like I knew what they were all about. I would still give it a solid 4 stars, but...

The worst part of this book was the lack of a good editor. I loved Hollywood Wives and Hollywood Husbands because they were very well-written, well-edited, and had engrossing storylines on all the characters. This book suffered from an overabundance of run-on sentences broken up by misplaced and misused commas. Things that should have been two separate sentences were all run together into one, and this happened continuously throughout the book to the point where it was noticeable and annoying on almost every page. It definitely distracted me and made it difficult to read.

Also, the end felt ridiculously rushed and there seemed to be too much of the back-and-forth sections between all the characters thrown in that didn't need to be there.

***SPOILER ALERT*** The gratuitous death of Elspeth was totally unnecessary and clearly thrown in as a ploy to garner sympathy from the reader. There was no reason she had to personally go to Shelley's house herself to see if Zane was there. Luca Carlotti promised to pay her $5000 if she found out where Zane was. Ms. Collins states earlier in the book that Elspeth has been in Luca's employ for years and she trusts him. There is no way she wouldn't have just passed Shelley's info on to Luca and waited for him to check it out. What, she didn't think he'd really pay her? It seriously made no sense!

Jackie Collins started her "Hollywood" franchise way back in 1983 with her blockbuster book "Hollywood Wives". In this outing Jackie focuses on the young of tinsletown, their troubles and their eventual fall.

Published in 1994 "Hollywood Kids" deals with the young born into the wealth and glamour of Hollywood. Among the great cast of characters are Jordanna who doesn't take life seriously and lives on the wild side; Bobby who becomes one of the most popular young male movie leads of his time; Cheryl who decides to become a Hollywood madam and Grant who falls prey to Hollywood's underground while trying to make it big as an agent.

All the characters in "Hollywodd Kids" are as different as night and day and not only are they exciting, well-defined and involving, but what makes the novel is how a serial killer is cast upon them and their lives become turmoil.

An A+ book and one of Jackie's best!

Hollywood Kids is an incredible read ! Seven years ago, a murder was committed on the set of the movie The Contract. The killer was sent to prison after six women who witnessed the crime testified against him. Two of those women were the daughters of wealthy Hollywood men. Now the killer has been released from and seeking revenge for the women responsible for sending him to prison.

After the huge success of "Hollywood Wives" in 1984 Jackie Collins (my favorite writer ever) came out with "Hollywood Husbands" in 1986 as a follow-up. Although definitely not a sequel to the first "Hollywood" book, "Hollywood Husbands" is the first in a long line of novels Collins would write with the word Hollywood in the title and with Hollywood as the backdrop.

In "Hollywood Husbands" we meet several men who are as different as any male species could ever be. All though are caught up in the fast lane of Tinsletown and battling the terrible bug of financial and critical success in an industry that not only destroys career in the drop of a hat, but also ruins souls.

First up is Jack Python who produces a talk show and is involved with an Oscar-winning actress, but finds money and women are not enough. Then we have Howard Soloman who owns a studio. Having three divorces to his credit he is currently married to a creature that spends money faster than a lighting bolt. My favorite character is Mannon Cable who has sex appeal and charm and is a superstar. He's having a hard time dealing with his past divorce and it's up to his current wife to salvage him.

These three men are all friends and their lives are forever changed when a young, beautiful model from New York enters their lives. The question is, "will they survive?".

Fun, engrossing and highly entertaining I thoroughly enjoyed "Hollywood Husbands" and found myself at the end wanting to read more about these characters. Simply a great book and one of Collin's best!

I read this book in the Spanish version, to improve my command of Spanish. That part was worth it. The book is called Maridos de Hollywood. In English, I wouldn't waste the time. What's the point? There is no point, unless it's Jackie Collins idea of entertainment, apparently shared by those who buy her books. There are some long, drawn-out tales of parallel lives, but no very deep insights, only surface stuff, maybe what Ms. Collins believes Hollywood is like itself. In this book, she writes some interspersing chapters, all in italics, about a female pyromaniac, who is abused by various males in her life and some females also. When she gets pushed too far, she lights a match and it's "hasta la vista, baby," to her antagonists. This is the climax of the books: she lights up the big guy's yacht on New Year's Eve, and four deaths (and some supposed heroics) result. But who is this mystery woman? Unless I missed it in the Spanish version, we never find out. So what's the point? Just to keep you guessing, I guess. The Spanish translation was interesting, since the translator took pains to literally translate idiomatic expressions. I'm glad I read it for that reason, but for the content? Forget it! Diximus.

In the beginning I thought that she introduced too many characters. There were really only a few characters in the storyline towards the end. The suspense really picked up in the last couple of chapters, but it couldn't hold my interest through the whole book, due to too many people and not enough intriguing storyline.

Jackie Collins is an excellent writer. Her books so fun to read. You really get wrapped up in them before you know what hit you. They're like soap opera's.
I'd recommend this book if you like Collins or her style of writing. I think you'll be pleased.