Hollywood Divorces

November 10, 2003
Faithful Hollywood Wives: The New Generation
(2001) fans will flock to Collins's latest Tinseltown soap opera, which isn't a sequel but a rehash—after all, who can tire of gorgeous, transposable, ambitious, sex-driven jet-setters whose main problems are which hunk to bed and which gown to wear to what party? In Cannes, emerging English actress Shelby Cheney (in a "Badgley Mishka lace gown cut down to Cuba") is looking for a future Oscar nomination, while her husband, matinee idol Linc Blackwood, is looking like he might jump off the wagon. Hot, bitchy Lola Sanchez ("the
sexy superstar of the new millennium") is scheming to have Linc—who doesn't recognize her as the teenage virgin he once callously deflowered—as her next leading man so she can avenge her wounded pride and the botched abortion that left her unable to bear children. And 19-year-old writer/director prodigy Cat Harrison is restless because her hottie Australian musician husband, Jump Jagger, is halfway around the world. Unbeknownst to these dazzling divas, things are about to go south. On a whim, Cat jets to Australia and catches Jump in bed with another woman. Looking to recapture the ecstasy she had with bad boy film director Tony Alvarez, Lola dumps her boring ex-tennis-pro hubby. Leaving Shelby in L.A., boozy Linc skips off to New York to co-star with Lola. Jam-packed with glamorous characters as believable as paper dolls and situations as familiar and credible as in any Collins classic, the novel catapults into bloody tragedy—and, later, of course, eternal happiness, as Collins once again delivers a patented Pollyanna ending. Agent, Morton Janklow.

August 1, 2003
Collins revisits Hollywood-where else?- in a story focusing on three women. Gifted and gorgeous Shelby could have a great career but must contend with a star husband who's going to seed. Lola is already hot-and stuck in a marriage to a tennis star she never loved. And teenaged Cat has both a rock-star husband and a demanding director on her hands. It's Cat who blows the whole thing out of the water.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2003
What's wrong with a little guilty pleasure? Nothing, apparently, as Collins' legions of fans can attest. In 2001, she indulged us with " Hollywood Wives; "though not a true sequel, this follow-up about the inevitable La-La Land break-ups delivers all the tabloid-worthy stories we've come to expect. The names are different, but you'll recognize a lot of real Hollywood here. First there's Shelby Cheney, America's sweetheart, a leading lady who finally played a role worthy of her talent. She's married to Linc Blackwood, a hunky leading man who drinks and flirts a bit too much, which doesn't hamper his box-office draw, even though his action pictures get panned. Then there's Lola Sanchez, a full-figured Latina on the rise as an actress and as a player, who's bored with her ex-tennis pro husband. And there's the 19-year-old director, Cat Harrison, a prodigy under the watchful (and lecherous) eye of producer Merrill Zandack, and already married to an Aussie rocker. Don't expect an exciting plot (never Collins' strong point), but do expect plenty of infidelity, greed, narcissism, and revenge. A fun romp through an imaginary Tinseltown.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)