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Lovers and Gamblers

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599 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Jackie Collins

170 books2,580 followers
There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of power brokers-Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.

Jackie Collins has been called a "raunchy moralist" by the late director Louis Malle and "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust" by Vanity Fair magazine. With over 500 million copies of her books sold in more than forty countries, and with some 30 New York Times bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world's top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivalled insider's knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and infamous. "I write about real people in disguise," she says. "If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre."

Jackie Collins died of breast cancer Saturday, September 19, 2015. Jackie Collins, who had kept her illness secret, said recently that she believed in an afterlife, that she had no regrets and that she had emulated Frank Sinatra in that “I did it my way.”

Visit Jackie's website: www.jackiecollins.com
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/JackieJCollins
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/jackiecollins and Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/jackiejcollins

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5 stars
1,124 (37%)
4 stars
914 (30%)
3 stars
745 (24%)
2 stars
179 (5%)
1 star
49 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
Profile Image for Denise.
478 reviews22 followers
February 10, 2013
One of my favourtie Jackie Collins books which I read 25 years ago! I can still remember the story & how much I enjoyed reading about Dallas the beauty queen & Al King the rock star superstud (I always thought of Tom Jones as Al). Jackie Collins at her raunchy and well written best. If you want a great bonkbuster then this book has it all, absolutely unmissable!
Profile Image for Natasha.
683 reviews6 followers
October 23, 2012
Well, well, well. What a wonderful story. From beginning to end for some reason you just had to love Al even though he was a crude, arrogant and so damn nasty towards women but I just couldn't help like him. It took forever though for Al and Dallas but finally such a happy ending. Al and Dallas worked together well when they finally made it together all the way through the jungle they were an amazing strength for everyone. I would definately recommend this to my friends to read.
Profile Image for Rick Brindle.
Author 6 books30 followers
May 1, 2017
OK, so it's probably not fashionable for a bloke to like Jackie Collins, but hey, I like them. They're not too serious, they're funny, entertaining, and the characters always have a little bit of somebody you know in them. Lovers and Gamblers is one of Jackie Collins' best. The characters are enjoyable to read, whether you like them or not, realistic and flawed, none of them perfect. My favourite is Bernie Suntan, shame about his icky sticky end. Some of the more technical scenes are a bit short on detail, but hey, that's never the reason you pick up a Jackie Collins book. Let's face it, you read her books to be entertained, and with this one, she doesn't disappoint. On reading the kindle version, beware of indie-author levels of typos, but it's still a brilliant book. The tension right through is all between Al and Dallas. Will they, won't they? And only Jackie Collins could make a character as thoroughly dis-likeable as Al King turn into something more.
Profile Image for Louise Sinclair.
14 reviews
August 16, 2015
Sexy beauty queen Dallas met Al King Super Star. The outcome was explosive. Gorgeous Al had groupies throwing their bodies in his direction. Al is jaded and bored by these all too available bimbo's. Married and dissatisfied Al wants something more in his life.
Dallas hates men. A sordid secret past is threatening to destroy her career and she will stop at nothing to further her ambitions.
Dallas and Al meet. A coup de foudre but neither wants to admit it.
Lew Margolis hates and desires Dallas
Linda Cosmo friend of Dallas and lover of his brother Paul
Bernie Suntan a guy with a big appetite and active tool
Cody Hills manager of Dallas
Misunderstandings, blackmail, murder and hijackings stalk the book. Raunchy and comic. Collins at her very best. Amazing characters, wonderful sub plots amid a world of the rich, the infamous and the wanna be's.
Profile Image for Holly Lindquist.
194 reviews30 followers
August 30, 2009
If you are curious as to the content and quality of this book, do yourself a favor. Sneak into your local library and check out the first sentence of the first chapter (I cannot repeat it here). This is the entire book in a nutshell, all 611 pages of it and if you find that this is your cup of tea than I say godspeed! Enjoy! I will be in the washroom peeling my eyeballs.
Profile Image for AB.
121 reviews16 followers
September 12, 2016
Evan's death was a tragedy! Bloody tragedy!
Profile Image for Tatiana Stefan.
261 reviews21 followers
June 8, 2016
I first read this book at the tender age of 12 years old thanks to my elementary bff who secretly snatched it from her parents. I loved it. It was so risqué, scandalous, dirty, glorious! When I moved to the US I never forgot the title and author (I could never forget Jackie Collins’ glamourous pic) and borrowed it from the library and later owning a copy for myself. I’ve re-read this book many times over the years and I still love it. Ive always thought that if I enjoyed a book when I younger I would probably still like it today.

I think that despite all the very XXX topic, sex scenes and moral/immoral conduct specifically Al the H and Dallas the h, to me, it was a still a love story between the two in the end that inspired my “awwww”. Also, there was intrigue, adventure, struggle and redemption so what can I say - I loved it.
Profile Image for Andrea A Rose.
73 reviews1 follower
March 23, 2017
Picked up this one as a study of older romance novels. Consent is a big thing in the ones that are published now (thank goodness!), and I was curious if it was a generation ago (when I wasn't reading romance novels). Hard to tell from this one exactly, but I'm thinking no. The whole thing was so dreadfully misogynist (really, who wants to read about a 40 year old man getting together with coked up sisters? or a party full of hot teenage girls attended by horny old men? yuck.) And the reviewers who liked the story? Please. The Tom Jones wannabe wouldn't be able to get himself together to escape a car-jacking, let alone anything more severe.
Profile Image for Sara.
32 reviews15 followers
January 3, 2012
It may have just been my mood over the several days that I read this book, but I thought it was horrible and I could hardly stand to finish it. You can't open to a single page of this book without finding some vulgarity relating to women or sex. The plot was shallow and revolved only around sex. This book was chosen as a book club read, but I have no idea what we will have to discuss.
Profile Image for Sara.
137 reviews2 followers
February 19, 2016
My book club wanted a fun, easy read, but this book turned out to be awful. Most of the book was just depressing. The writing is horrible. There were almost no likable characters for the majority of the book. It took forever for the two main characters to finally get together. Ugh... stay away.
146 reviews
February 25, 2016
Unbelievably good!

This author never disappoints! This book is no exception. Fantastic, bigger than life characters and multiple plots kept me up far later than I thought I would be.
Profile Image for Amanda.
947 reviews284 followers
October 10, 2013
The story is very slow and I was tempted to give up on this book but I'm glad I perceived as the final chapters are definitely worth reading
Profile Image for Peggy.
166 reviews3 followers
March 23, 2022
Sexy and wild without being unpleasantly 'dirty', I like Collins' style. As with her other books, we find ourselves in the world of Hollywood stars and starlets, film premieres, models and everything in between. Lovers and Gamblers is the story of Al King, an aging soul and rock star who does the whole sex, drugs n rock'n' roll thing, and plenty of women thrown in for the fun of it. But inside, of course, Al's got a good heart and I quickly warmed to him as the 'hero' of the story despite his womanising antics. And than there is Dallas (what a name btw!), a model / actress with a dodgy past which she would like to keep secret. Initially separate stories, Al and Dallas will meet, but not the way Al likes to have it. Her character's well drawn out without being too much OTT (indeed she manages this even with cliched stuff like Hollywood, models, rockstars). The story is fast-paced, funny and never boring and the 600 pages will fly by.
398 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2017
This was my 1st Jackie Collins novel, and I loved it.....I was so into the characters, she wrote about them and made them come to life..Even Al King, as arrogant, and self-centered as he was, you ended up loving him.....It was just one big fat delicious read!!!! I have re-read this book more than twice just because I loved it so much! I read most of Jackie's books, but this one was my favorite!!!!!!!!You just fell in love with Dallas, and Evan and Paul and Al......There were some characters that you probably weren't supposed to love, but you did......It was well written, and held my interest from the very 1st page.....Like all of her books, not for the Faint Of Heart!!!!! Very juicy, and super sexy!!!!!!! As only Jackie could do!!!!! RIP Jackie!!!!!!!
Profile Image for Dee.
88 reviews26 followers
July 29, 2013
"... unquestionably deserves the description "page turner"" ~ New York Daily News
NO DOUBT!
"The plot moves from one location to another in fast fluid drive and the characters are developed realistically" ~ Houston Chronicle
Definitely!
"The perfect....... laid back read for which you have been longing" ~ West Coast Review of Books
At least I was...

What a hot book!
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I never wanted to put it down. There's just one thing that I wish, and that is, there should have been written a proper love scene between Al King & Dallas when they got out of the jungle. I was waiting for it.
27 reviews1 follower
June 5, 2017
a very good early jackie collins,The story is of Al King a rock/soul superstar,who is really like a spoilt child,becuase of his fame,his brother Paul,who has to keep his big brother on the stright and narrow,Dallas, a beauty queen with a past.Riots,bomb threats and kidnapping follow as well as family problems
Profile Image for grace flowers.
92 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2015
it is too long for what the story is about, the last few chapters could make a better book than the whole thing. it's cringy and follows a lot of stereotypes. not the most well written things i have read- however i did finish the book so something must have drawn me in.
37 reviews
November 11, 2017
Lovers and Gamblers

Jackie did it again. Her books are wild and fun to read. Lots of making it so much fun to read. This book is so good as usual. Enjoy
Profile Image for Kathryn.
Author 30 books124 followers
October 29, 2019
I wouldn't say it's a badly written book, but nearly every character in this story is a horrible person. Not horrible fun, either.
Profile Image for Joe.
214 reviews27 followers
July 29, 2021
So, I’m gonna do this review quick and dirty like the sex scenes... Lovers & Gamblers follows the exploits of rock superstar manwhore Al King as he embarks on his world tour, and Dallas who-needs-to-know-her-last-name-because-she’s-so-damn-gorgeous the newly crowned Miss Coast-to-Coast with a sordid and secret sex worker past.

Al immediately has a hardon for Dallas and wants to bang her. Dallas can see right through Al and isn’t interested. Yet they can’t stop thinking about each other. It’s love at first sight.

Over the next 400 pages of a 500-page novel we follow the two star crossed lovers until they inevitably meet up again fighting for survival in the Amazon jungle. Seriously. Meanwhile, Al copes with his problems by having lots of sex and Dallas has never met a problem she couldn’t solve with lots of sex.

Al’s manager is his long-suffering brother, Paul, who is losing patience with Al’s increasing demands. Linda is Paul’s long-suffering girlfriend who is losing patience with Paul because he won’t divorce his wife. Melanie is Paul’s bored and horny housewife who wants to join in on the debauchery of the tour with the help of Al's wife. Edna is Al's wife whose only concern is Evan, her surly, pimple faced, teenage son who is resentfully on tour with Al. Al tries to bang every woman in sight to get Dallas out of his mind. Dallas has landed the lead role in Man Made Woman, a Bionic Woman-like TV show and has settled for an engagement to her he’s-just-ok agent, Cody.

That’s not even the half of it as far as characters are concerned. There’s Dindi, Bernie Suntan, and Mannie Shorto. Carlos Bonito, Lew Margolis and Doris, his lesbian Doris Day-ish type wife. Plum and Glory and Cristina Maraco. The Promises and Hot Chocolate. I’ll leave it up to you read the novel to find out more about them.

I still suggest Lovers & Gamblers as the first novel someone should read if they’re curious about Jackie Collins. It certainly isn’t her best but it’s definitely her raunchiest guilty pleasure read that will keep you turning the page to its predictable ending.

Like all the other Collins’ novels I’ve reviewed so far, this one is simultaneously problematic and entertaining. So, I’m caveating this review like I did my others: It’s best not to view this through the lens of today’s society. Otherwise, you probably won’t make it past the first few pages.

Recommended for fans and newbies.
Profile Image for Konstantina.
Author 3 books80 followers
Read
October 3, 2019
Καμιά φορά βλέπω αναγνώστες (αλλά και συγγραφείς) να υπερασπίζονται το "απλό", το "ανάλαφρο" ενάντια στο "βαρύ" κτλ κτλ.
Ωστόσο, κάπου έχουμε μπερδευτεί. Ένα "ανάλαφρο" βιβλίο δεν είναι από μόνο του κάτι, ούτε βρίσκεται σε ανταγωνισμό με το "βαρύ", αφού κάλλιστα το ένα μπορεί να συντροφεύει το άλλο. Με λίγα λόγια, ακόμα και το απλό θέλει τον μάστορά του, και στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση η μαστόρισσα είναι η Jackie Collins (αδερφή της Joan), η οποία είχε σαρώσει με τα βιβλία της.
Το συγκεκριμένο είναι ένα από τα παλιά της Bell, το βρήκα στη βιβλιοθήκη μιας παλιάς αναγνώστριας, μαζί με άλλα πολλά πολλά, απομεινάρι εκείνης της (χρυσής) εποχής.
Όταν το ξεκίνησα, γέλασα πολύ με τις περιγραφές, μετά ωστόσο συνειδητοποίησα κάτι. Ότι η συγγραφέας είχε πλοκή, γρήγορο ρυθμό, χορταστική ιστορία, οι σκηνές είχαν οικονομία, δίχως να ξεχειλώνουν, και δίχως να σε θεωρεί χαζό (για να το θέσω ευγενικά). Και αυτό είναι κάτι που εκτίμησα, καθώς έχω διαβάσει σύγχρονα πιο ανάλαφρα βιβλία και με έχει πιάσει πονοκέφαλος ή τα διάβασα τόσο γρήγορα, χωρίς να μου μείνει τίποτα.
Εδώ έχουμε δύο πρωταγωνιστές, έναν διάσημο τραγουδιστή, τον Αλ, που έχει κάνει και έχει βαρεθεί τα πάντα. Και από την άλλη έχουμε την Ντάλας, μια πανέμορφη κοπέλα, με σκοτεινό παρελθόν, που προσπαθεί να γίνει αστέρι.
Αν νομίζετε, βέβαια, ότι πρόκειται για μια γλυκερή ιστορία, κάνετε λάθος. Η Τζάκι Κόλινς δεν ήταν αφελής. Αφού μας δίνει τη μία γορθιά μετά την άλλη για τον κόσμο του θεάματος, δεν διστάζει να ξεμπροστιάσει τους πάντες, ακόμα και τους πρωταγωνιστές της, ούτε φοβάται να μιλήσει ελεύθερα, δίχως, ωστόσο, να χάσει το παιχνίδι.
Λίγο στο τέλος βαρέθηκα με μια εμβόλιμη περιπέτεια, αλλά και πάλι ήταν ένα ψυχαγωγικό βιβλίο.
Έχω την εντύπωση ότι είναι εξαντλημένο, αλλά πρέπει να υπάρχει στα αγγλικά.
Profile Image for Nouha Amraoui.
26 reviews2 followers
September 8, 2022
OH GOODNESS SAKE I LOVED THIS BOOOK
I have never read any book like this before
The character's development is So amazing
The change in Al ! Evan ! The settlement of the relationship between the King's brothers
Everything was so well done
I love Linda for leaving Paul tho
That motherf*cker deserved that
I am still trying to accept her and Cody together
Knowing about her family back In the zoo was the cherry on top of the cake
The plane crash was the incident that made everyone better I think
It was so well written
5 people died which was very understanding but I would have loved Cristina to die
That bitch deserved more than that
She bought that to all of em
Oh God almighty I have never felt this much emotions in a book
At first you would hate Al & Paul for doing so for the wives but MELANIE IS A BITCH and Edna ????? Like woman chill ur child is dead of 20 days and you go on and get married !!! Man oh man
I felt so bad for Evan
I mean I was so relieved he became a man and got his relationship with his dad straight why kill him after that haha
But DUDES I have a habit of reading the last sentence of the book mid reading it and when I read Cody saying "ladies and gentlemen I give u Al & Dallas" I thought they were getting married 😭😭😭 why didn't they tho 💔
YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK ! PERIODT
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for What to read next ........
312 reviews3 followers
September 24, 2019
This book 📖 is Jackie Collins at her very best.
Enjoyed this book so much, 599 pages worth every moment.

It was raunchy, silly, trashy fun.
Loved that it’s dated and really captures the 1970s, l think that’s what makes this book extra special. ( written 1977 ).

Jackie Collins deals with a lot os stereotypes, there’s a lot of sex, but hey this is the 70s.
Some of the descriptions are now offensive, terms for gay and lesbian characters, seem cruel, but you have to remember it was written 1977, it proves society has come a long way.

The storyline twists, on hookers, drug addicts, rock ⭐️ star groupies, sex crazed, Hollywood moguls, blackmail and a crazy sad time in the Amazon Jungle.

This is vintage gold from Jackie Collins at her best.
I say , you have not read the real Jackie Collins until you have read ‘ lovers and Gamblers ‘.
It pushes everything to the limit even now, 40 years on.

That’s why Jackie Collins is a legend.
We love 💗 you Jackie, you are so missed.

Grab this book if you can it’s definitely 10 out 10.
Profile Image for Sandra Noonan.
134 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2021
A Great story with lots of steamy fun!

I've been a big fan of Jackie Collins since Hollywood Wives came out, and I've read every book she has published. This one is my favorite!

There's plenty of sex and Hollywood drama here, but entwined is a great adventure story, with unexpected twists and a characters you will sympathize with and root for. Also and Dallas are not perfect, but the more you learn about them, the more you like them.
A positive note about the Kindle edition. I have this book in hardback, as well as paperback. It's a big book. I've read it dozens of times, but I found passages in this Kindle edition that were new to me. They added background and a side story I didn't remember. I enjoyed this very much.
October 31, 2024
Lovers and Gamblers was the novel that pulled me into the world of reading, only deepened my fascination with Jackie Collins’ storytelling. Collins has a way of crafting characters who are both glamorous and deeply flawed, each caught up in a world that’s as seductive as it is dangerous. In Lovers and Gamblers, the world of fame, fortune, and ambition makes for an unforgettable story, w

The novel is classic, Collins filled with intensity, sharp dialogue, and plenty of drama. Her characters are flawed, but they’re full of life and fight, and that’s what makes them memorable. If you're in the mood for bold stories about power, betrayal, and love’s complexities, you can’t go wrong with either of these. Jackie Collins knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats!
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