Publishers Weekly - Audio
This latest steamy tale from Collins centers on a luxurious cruise featuring an elite group of men and women from the realms of politics, business, entertainment, and sports who must face both their own scandals and the threat of an international band of pirates. The full cast—led by Collins herself—certainly brings vocal talent to the production, offering a broad range of performance styles. As the voices and accents for characters shift with each narrator, this variety will either prove energizing or dizzying, depending on the listener’s taste. In the case of one particularly despicable villain—the sexually reckless Senator Hammond Patterson—it is interesting to hear the narrators’ different renderings. Collins’s performance captures the titillating tone of her own brand nicely, setting the stage for the rest of the cast to apply their craft as the storyline unfolds. Porter and Graham shine as they tackle the range of emotions and larger-than-life personalities. A St. Martin’s hardcover. (Feb.)
Publishers Weekly
In Collins’s latest, five couples are invited aboard Russian billionaire Aleksandr Kasianenko’s yacht to celebrate the birthday of his supermodel girlfriend, Bianca. During the week away from it all, Taye Sherwin, a famous, black British footballer and his wife, Ashley, a blonde with paid-for breasts, rekindle their stalled sex life; Sierra, the self-medicated wife of a sleazy U.S. Senator Hammond Patterson Jr., asserts herself against her mercurial beast of a husband; Sierra’s former lover Flynn, a renegade journalist, and his stalwart colleague Xuan, “beautiful, strong-minded, and conveniently more into women than men,” don’t quite fit in; sweet Latin pop sensation Luca Perez learns that his lover, Jeremy, arrogant and money hungry, wants to role-play his fetishes outside their bedroom; and movie star Cliff Baxter begins to think that Lori, his girlfriend-of-the-moment, may be a keeper. After the guests spend days lounging and dining in luxury on the Sea of Cortez, the ship is stormed by pirates, leading to a fantastical denouement. Climbing aboard with this sea of extravagant creatures, whose sexual tastes lie on the fringe of raunchy, is abashedly rousing, and what more could one hope for from Collins? Agent: Morton Janklow, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Climbing aboard with this sea of extravagant creatures, whose sexual tastes lie on the fringe of raunchy, is abashedly rousing, and what more could one hope for from Collins?"—Publishers Weekly
"The queen of chronicling the lives of the jet set, Collins toggles rapidly between plotlines, keeping the action moving and the sex abundant. Glitzy and exciting."—Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
A famous actor, athlete, journalist, politician, pop star, and their not-so-famous guests receive über-exclusive invitations to join a supermodel and her Russian billionaire boyfriend on his yacht’s maiden voyage for lots of luxurious R&R. Alas, the guests and crew end up in peril owing to a vengeful mobster’s unfinished business with the Russian.
Verdict Starting with a bang, best-selling author Collins’s latest potboiler gives readers a break from winter with a steamy soap opera set on the Sea of Cortez. Like an episode of the cheesy but popular 1970s TV series The Love Boat, there is lots of romantic drama on the tropical waters, but readers familiar with Collins know to expect plenty of X-rated scenes. They also know to expect brief chapters that keep the story moving at a brisk pace, characters that strongly resemble real celebrities, and lots of surprises. Collins more than delivers on all fronts. “Bonkbuster” fans will love it. [See Prepub Alert, 8/16/12.]—Samantha Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Reviews
A birthday cruise on the Sea of Cortez with some of the most beautiful people in the world is threatened first by personal intrigues and then by pirates. Life in the fast lane has hit the open seas. Collins (Goddess of Vengeance, 2011, etc.) returns with an impossibly glamorous cast vacationing on the Bianca, a yacht named for billionaire Russian businessman Aleksandr Kasianenko's mistress. Accompanying Aleksandr and supermodel Bianca are five other couples, all thinly disguised variations on real celebrities. Taye Sherwin, a U.K. soccer phenom, arrives with his interior designer wife, Ashley, who has forgiven but not forgotten Taye's infidelity. Cliff Baxter, commitment-phobic movie star, brings his girlfriend, Lori. Sinister Senator Hammond Patterson escorts his unhappy wife, Sierra, who hides his clandestine affairs behind her perfect politician's-wife facade. Luca Perez, Latin pop star, escorts his insufferably self-centered British boyfriend, Jeromy. And Flynn, jaded journalist, invites his enigmatic friend, Xuan, who once smuggled herself out of communist China and now chronicles injustices. But everyone has secrets, and one of Aleksandr's secrets has snagged in the mind of Russian mobster Sergei Zukov. Fairly obsessed with their own sexual hijinks and power bids, the couples are taken quite by surprise when pirates, aided by a mole onboard, invade the yacht. Yet, even the pirates have troubles, including a wayward girlfriend, conflicting plans and a tropical storm. Intrigue, scandal, rape and tragic (or not-so-tragic) deaths ensue. After the dust settles, a series of epilogues too neatly ties off the loose ends. The queen of chronicling the lives of the jet set, Collins toggles rapidly between plotlines, keeping the action moving and the sex abundant. Glitzy and exciting.
