Amantes / Lovers

Scruples #3

by Judith Krantz

Lovers is pure Krantz, an intoxicating dance of love lost, stolen, and found among women and men who lure each other with potent combinations of money, talent, ambition, and passion. Chief among them is irresistible Gigi Orsini, the high-spirited, merry, adventurous creature who grew up into enchanting womanhood in Scruples Two. Now Gigi is working as a copywriter in a new Los Angeles advertising agency, with her creative "teammate," David Melville, a brilliant young art director who joins her in seeking new accounts. The agency is headed by dashing Archie Rourke, humorous Byron Bernheim and the severely difficult beauty, Victoria Frost, daughter of the famed Millicent Frost Caldwell who, with her husband Angus Caldwell, owns one of New York's largest advertising agencies. Ben Winthrop, a proper Bostonian and an enormously successful mall builder, attempts to capture Gigi's quicksilver affections, although his fierce contenders for the same prize include both David Melville and the dominating film director, Zach Nevsky. Meanwhile, Billy Winthrop Ikehorn Orsini Elliott, the unforgettably impulsive heroine of Scruples, and her new husband, the great charmer, Spider Elliott, are busy with their own fascinating lives, as are Gigi's father, canny film producer Vito Orsini, and her best friend, the ravishing Sasha Nevsky, none of whom can be forgotten from Scruples and Scruples Two. Lovers completes all the stories set in motion in the first two novels, yet it stands entirely on its own as a slice of life in the exciting years of 1983 and 1984.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Contemporary, Drama

440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Judith Krantz was an American author of blockbuster romance novels including her first novel Scruples followed by Princess Daisy. Krantz's books have been translated into 52 languages and sold more than 85 million copies worldwide. Seven have been adapted as TV miniseries, with her late husband, Steve Krantz.

Reviews

[Bona Caballero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Este fue el reto RITA de agosto de 2021. Solo apto para los fans de las «novelas con hombreras», más ochentero que Ronald Reagan y la Madonna de Who's that girl? Una de amor y lujo de toda la vida en torno a Gigi Orsini, una muchacha pluscuamperfecta, de lo guapa y lista que es, todos se enamoran de ella, y todo le sale bien a la primera, en fin, que miras la definición de Mary Sue en el diccionario y aparece su foto. Lo único bueno de la novela, por destacar algo, es que aquí las mujeres son fuertes, liberadas, no víctimas; van a su aire, sin complejos ni remordimientos. No pedían permiso para triunfar ni tampoco perdón por ser sexualmente activas.
¿Hay una historia de amor? Sí, varias, y Gigi acaba con uno de sus enamorados, pero vamos que si el libro se dedicara estrictamente a ellos dos la cosa se quedaría en la cuarta parte de páginas.
Crítica extensa, en mi blog.

[Naksed · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAIKU BOOK REVIEW: Lovers, by Judith Krantz

It’s musical chairs,
but with sex, like all nineteen-
eighties boink-busters ;)

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed Billy and Spider are in the backseat in this novel What are you doing Judith? We are mostly following Gigi Orsini this time. I felt like this book was a soap opera. Everyone was sleeping with everyone then exchanging partners. Quite messy and confusing. Not her best work on these pages.

🐱🐱

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just love krantz.. this might not be my fav of hers but it's been such a good distraction during the pandemic...

[taylor herum · Rating 2 out of 5]

i needed a palate cleanser after too many sad/heady books and this kinda did the trick. i love krantz’s wide vocabulary, but allllll the povs felt like she bit off more than she could chew. i felt like i had constant whiplash from all the changing and the characters were pretty insufferable.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recall, many years ago, reading Scruples and Scruples Two so this much be the 3rd in that series. It is an interesting book. Not a mystery. A Romance. Don't know if Zach changed by the end of the book, but Gigi believes. Weird reading a book from 1994. Worth it. I went shopping in March in NC at different antique and thrift stores, that is where I bought this book.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my shelf for years and finally decided to read it. I wish I had realized it was 3rd in a 3-book series so I could have read the other two first. This was my first Krantz book, so it was interesting getting to know her writing style. I kind of like how each couple chapters deals with new characters and then jumps back and forth. It was kind of like reading three novels about intertwined characters all at once. It was a rough start for me. I didn’t like the dialogue and writing for Gigi at first. I did enjoy how they made you hate Victoria as a sub-character and then made you feel sorry for her and get on board with her plot within her own section, but then I became disappointed when that story was just kind of dropped and abruptly and weirdly concluded before the ending section of the book started. I struggled with whether I liked the book. I found some of the writing enticing and interesting; I found some of it boring and over the top. With the cover and title, I kind of expected a love story about two people who met in Italy. I didn’t expect it to be kind of Harlequin-like with better writing. While I’ll admit that the author writes the trashy scenes with more class and better description than some I’ve read, it just wasn’t what I expected (or wanted). I kept hoping for a really great ending chapter that tied it all up, but it was kind of a letdown for me. As I read, I think what I wanted most out of this book was for Victoria’s Mom to get what was coming to her, for Victoria to end up with Angus, and for Gigi to stop bouncing around and become successful and possibly build an empire with Ben. The reality of the story was all kind of a letdown. Victoria was neglected, worked hard, taken advantage of, and discarded. It’s not what she deserves. Gigi was smart and creative and could have done anything. Her character was deserving of a better ending. It’s really probably a 2.5 for me, but I gave it a 3 because I like the writing style and the way the author weaves the characters together and successfully moves back and forth between them to introduce their stories.

[Silvia Petrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Тази книга от поредицата оценявам най-високо, защото историята приключи,а хубавия финал не е лесно нещо

[Alena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite Judith Krantz novels. It follows the same characters as in Scruples and Scruples 2, which are two of her best books, but this book is pretty weak. The main character is too Mary Sue-ish and some of the couples are even more ridiculous than usual. The scenes set in Venice are fun, though.

[Tittirossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

La protagonista è una copywriter. Ovviamente bellissima, ricchissima, intelligentissima, affascinantissima, elengantissima, glamourousissima. Questa è la parte più credibile, tutto il resto sfiora l'assurdo, un po' come il livello che ha raggiunto lo stile di JK.

[Ann Wilder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovers by Judith Krantz was another huge, glamorous, scandal-filled read where absolutely nobody seems capable of having a simple relationship.
This is the third book connected to Scruples, and by this point we’re deep in the world of money, fashion, Hollywood, ambition, and people making extremely questionable decisions while looking fabulous doing it.
The story focuses heavily on Gigi Orsini, Billy Ikehorn’s daughter, who is all grown up and trying to build a life and career of her own rather than simply existing in the shadow of her incredibly wealthy and powerful mother.
And Gigi definitely inherited some of Billy’s ability to attract complicated situations.
She enters the advertising world and quickly finds herself navigating ambitious coworkers, powerful men, career competition, friendships, and relationships that become considerably messier than she anticipated.
I actually liked getting to see the next generation take center stage. Billy and the characters from the earlier books are still part of this world, but Gigi has her own ambitions and mistakes to make—and she makes PLENTY of them.
There’s also that wonderfully excessive Judith Krantz atmosphere again. Expensive clothes, gorgeous homes, glamorous careers, travel, celebrities, powerful people, and enough money floating around that everyone’s problems are happening in considerably nicer locations than mine ever would.
And just like Scruples and Scruples Two, this is definitely not a traditional one-couple romance. It’s more of a sexy, sprawling relationship and career saga where love, lust, ambition, and power are constantly tangled together.
People fall in love.
People fall into bed.
Sometimes those are the same people.
Sometimes…they probably shouldn’t be.
If you’ve already read the first two Scruples books, Lovers is fun because you get to see what happens to the world Billy created while following Gigi as she tries to establish an identity completely separate from her mother’s.
Glamour + advertising + Hollywood + family drama + affairs + ambition + rich people behaving badly = another wonderfully over-the-top Judith Krantz saga.

Spice level: 5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sexual content: Very explicit open door — frequent detailed sexual encounters, multiple partners and relationships, affairs, and frank sexual language. Like the earlier Scruples books, sex is a significant part of the story.

[LKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started this book that my mom gifted me, I was surprised by how much I liked it! It’s certainly a product of its time, and I think it’s probably best if not taken too seriously. It’s like a fun mashup of Devil Wears Prada and Mad Men as an 80’s or 90’s rom-com/sitcom/soap opera.

I was immediately drawn into Gigi Orsini’s story that begins with her first day at a new advertising job. I loved Gigi and would read an entire series with her as protagonist. She’s fun, creative, independent, and my favorite parts of the book were when she was dreaming up new advertising campaigns.

I started to lose interest towards the second half of the book. It just drags on for far too long and goes off on so many random drawn-out tangents that I wasn’t interested in. There is also some problematic content that is best left behind in the 90’s. While this book had its fun moments, it’s not something I’d recommend.

[Ilena Holder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked out LOVERS last week and finished it. Wow, 470 pages! When I read J. Krantz had passed away, I decided to get one of her books. I do this all the time: Dr. Joyce Brothers, James Herriott, and Jackie Collins. I read every one of their books! It took time but was worth it.

J. Krantz was a great writer. She really seemed big on describing shopping and luxury items. This was listed in the article I read on her. Jackie Collins was sort of similar, but her books (if I remember correctly) were set in the 80s. LOVERS was set in the early 90s. Anyway, I will check out another book this week and start it. There was a lot of lust going on, but hey, that's what sells books. I got caught up in the story and enjoyed the escapism. I need some escapism lately and LOVERS fit the bill.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

This book is definitely not as attention gripping as Scruples; however the intimate scenes are better written than in Scruples 2. The first half of Lovers sort of dragged along, the next quarter it got up to a plodding pace and the final quarter is what earned Lovers three stars instead of one. Also, I had thought some reviews for this book contained major spoilers. It turns out they were made by people who did not read the book to the very end.

[X · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars simply because my childhood memories is linked to this book.

I don't remember how I got hold of it, but I know back then it meant a lot to me, and I read it 3 times.

Each time I would jot down the time at the end of the book.

Innocent old times.

Back when we held a book.

[Pamela Emryes · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good read.

As fun the tenth time as the first. This book is like the character Zach’s last movie in the book; funny, sad, humans bumbling around messing up, doing good. All the things we humans do b

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

VERY TRASHY, but had good ending

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Donated to Friends of the Library.

[Jesenia Sanabia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. Had lots of drama and a decent ending.

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Triumph
and the english original: Lovers

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this years and years ago but just no marking it "read" on Goodreads.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit cliche, but a good cleanse from more difficult books. Manic pixie dream girls as leads. I honestly don't recommend it.

[Betty Tuccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointing!
No real plot or excitement.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure the saga merited 3 books. One would have been sufficient

[Suzan L VanDeWiele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get into this book.

[Ashley Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really did not like this book. So boring. Took me forever to finish because it put me to sleep FAST.

[Eleonora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believe it or not this book got me into a reading slump but also got me out of it. It was entertaining.

[HeatherMarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it to page 13. Not for me. Too bad- I really liked the Scruples books.

[Mommcgee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A GREAT THROWBACK READ!!!
Like going back in time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

[Hermine Olgundemir · Rating 3 out of 5]

happy