The Lucky Santangelo Series in Order

About the Lucky Santangelo series

Series Premise

The core premise revolves around Lucky Santangelo, the fiercely intelligent, breathtakingly beautiful daughter of notorious mobster-turned-legitimate businessman Gino Santangelo. Born into a world of organized crime, wealth, and danger, Lucky grows from a rebellious, street-smart teenager into a formidable force who builds her own empire—first in Hollywood as a studio head, then dominating the casino and hotel scene in Las Vegas. She navigates cutthroat business deals, family loyalties, romantic entanglements, and relentless enemies who threaten her power, fortune, and loved ones. Plots swirl with betrayal, vendettas, corporate intrigue, mob rivalries, and personal triumphs, as Lucky fights to protect her legacy while embracing her wild, passionate nature. Her journey intertwines with Gino's rise from immigrant street kid to tycoon, and later extends to her children, blending generational drama with themes of inheritance and survival.

Main Characters

Lucky Santangelo dominates as the magnetic center: dangerously beautiful, whip-smart, fearless, and fiercely independent, she combines her father's cunning with her own bold vision. She loves passionately, fights ruthlessly, and refuses to be defined by anyone. Gino Santangelo anchors the family saga: charismatic, ruthless yet devoted, a self-made man whose past haunts the present. Supporting and recurring characters enrich the tapestry: Lucky's children Bobby (charismatic and business-savvy) and Max (rebellious and adventurous); Gino's loyal associates and rivals like the Bonnatti family; glamorous friends and lovers who bring romance and complication; Hollywood insiders, casino moguls, and vengeful enemies who drive conflict. The ensemble feels alive with interconnected fates, shifting alliances, and generational echoes.

Setting

The setting spans glittering, decadent hotspots: 1920s-1940s New York streets and speakeasies where Gino rises; sun-drenched Hollywood mansions, studios, and parties where power plays unfold; the neon-lit, high-roller casinos and luxury hotels of Las Vegas, especially Lucky's flagship The Keys; plus exotic escapes to private Greek islands, European hotspots, and opulent estates. The worlds collide—mafia shadows lurk beneath polished boardrooms, paparazzi flash outside lavish events, and danger simmers in penthouse suites—creating a vivid backdrop of ambition, glamour, and peril.

Tone & Themes

The tone is bold, glamorous, and unashamedly indulgent—fast-paced, sexually charged, and packed with larger-than-life excess. Collins writes with gleeful abandon: steamy scenes, sharp dialogue, designer excess, and no-holds-barred drama. Humor is sly and sardonic, often arising from outrageous situations or biting one-liners. Themes explore female empowerment in male-dominated worlds, the intoxicating pull of power and wealth, family loyalty versus betrayal, revenge as justice, the cost of ambition, and the thrill of living on one's own terms. Sexuality is celebrated without apology, while underlying currents address resilience, survival instincts, and the blurred lines between legitimate success and underworld roots.

In the end, the Lucky Santangelo series is a dazzling, no-holds-barred rollercoaster of glamour, grit, and unbridled ambition. Jackie Collins creates a heroine who owns every room she enters, reminding readers that power, passion, and payback make the ultimate cocktail. For those craving escapist fiction laced with sex, scandal, and sheer audacity, Lucky's world beckons like a high-stakes table in Vegas—glittering, dangerous, and impossible to walk away from.