Drop Dead Beautiful

I'm actually starting this blog on August 7th because I am very mad.  I started Drop Dead Beautiful by Jackie Collins and absolutely hated it.  It sounds like it was written by a 13 year old boy.  When reading it, I kinda felt like a teenager who could say a cuss word around her friends but wouldn't DARE talk that way in front of her parents.  I almost took the book jacket off because I didn't want anyone to know what kind of trash I was reading.  I'm on chapter 45 right now and it has taken me THIS long to actually figure out the characters.  Mark my words, I will NEVER buy another Jackie Collins book.  Ugh... but guess what... it's starting to get good :o(  That is what makes me so mad about it!!  The book is GARBAGE!  It's about movie stars, drug dealers, murder, sex, GARBAGE!  Definitely NOT the type of book I read.  But, for my faithful blog followers, I am going to finish it.  Truthfully, I don't think I could ever NOT finish a book.  I HAVE to know how it ends.

 

It's August 13th now and I just finished Drop Dead Beautiful because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!  I hate saying this, but it was SO good at the end!  I'll try to sum everything up for you (there was a LOT going on!) in no particular order because the story shifted from one chapter to another:

 

Lucky Santangelo is preparing for the opening of her multi-billion dollar hotel in Las Vegas, but a lot of people are out to stop her.  Before the opening of the hotel, The Keys, Lucky and her husband, Lennie, throw a birthday party for her 95-year-old grandfather, Gino. 

 

Lucky's 16-year-old daughter, Max, skipped out on the birthday party and headed to Big Bear to meet up with a guy she met on the internet.  Instead of being her dream boy, Henry (the internet guy) kidnaps Max and Ace (a different guy she met while waiting for internet guy).  The escaped and made it home safely. 

 

Henry (who kidnapped Max and Ace) knew all along that Max was the daughter of Lucky.  He wanted to take Max from Lucky as revenge.  Lucky turned him down for a part in a movie that starred Venus.  The part was given to Billy Melina.

 

Henry showed up at the opening of the Keys to take Max again.  This time she and Ace, along with Max's friend, Cookie, got away and alerted security.

 

Venus and Billy Melina started dating after starring in a movie together.  Venus (her character reminds me of Mariah Carey) is a movie star/singer/performer and is about 13 (I think) years older than Billy.  Billy is a small-town guy who made it big after his movie with Venus. 

 

Anthony Bonar is a very rich drug lord.  He has a house in Mexico City where he keeps his wife.  He also has a place in Acapulco (vacation home), Miami (where he keeps his mistress, Emmanuelle), and New York (where he keeps his mistress, Carlita).  Anthony is a vicious murdering pig.  He is determined to stop the opening of the Keys because Lucky killed his grandfather because the grandfather killed Lucky's dad (told you there was a lot going on!).  Anthony finds out that Irma, his wife, has had an affair and so he takes Luis, her lover, and cuts off his "manhood" right in front of her.  Anthony then forces Irma to be humiliated by accompanying him and Emmanuelle to the Keys opening.  He tells her that after the opening, he is sending her off to Europe to live as a slave in a whore house (or something like that).  Irma borrows a cell phone while in the bathroom and calls Oliver Stanton (a man she had an affair with but later found out he works for the DEA) to help her.

 

Then there are Alex and Ling.  Alex is a producer who used to work with Lucky.  He has always had a crush on her but she was married to Lennie.  Ling is his live-in girlfriend.  Ling had been sending notes to Lucky (although you don't find out that it was her till the end) that read, "Drop Dead Beautiful".  Lucky thought they were some kind of weird invitation, not a threat.  Alex finds out that Ling had been sending them and confronts her at the opening reception of the Keys.  There was a scuffle as Alex tries to get Lings purse to see if there are anymore notes.  The purse falls to the ground and a gun falls out and lands at the feet of the woman sitting next to Ling... Irma Bonar.  Irma picks up the gun and shoots Anthony right between the eyes.

 

So... to wrap everything up, Lucky continued to work at the Keys during the week.  Lennie started producing a movie in Canada.  They are both still blissfully happy. 

 

Ace moved to L.A. where he can keep an eye on Max.  They are dating.

 

No charges were filed against Henry for kidnapping Max but as soon as he returned home, he was arrested for murdering his grandma.

 

Venus and Billy married and moved into a penthouse at the Keys.

 

Irma Bonar gave away all of Anthony's properties and moved to Omaha with her children.

 

Ling moved out and Alex still longed for Lucky.

 

All in all, it was an OK book.  I give it * * * 1/2 because the ending was very suspenseful.  I still don't think I will read Jackie Collins anymore... we'll see though!  Honestly, I think this book would make a really good movie!

 

My last book for the summer is called The Manny by Holly Peterson.  Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City says, "Sexy, hilarious, and heart-wrenching."  Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic series says, "I devoured it in one sitting."  This should be a good one for the car on the way to TN and back!!  I'll blog this one on September 1st. 

 

I've put together my fall reading list and will be posting it soon.  It is all non-fiction, so if that is what you're into, join me in a good book!  For winter, I'm putting together a reading list of recommendations only.  It will consist of six books recommended by you!  Send me your favorite title or author and I may read it this winter!

 

Happy reading!!