Book 49/30.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was verrrryyy excited for Malibu Rising as it was my fourth TJR read 🤓 Of the other three, two were 5 star reads (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & the Six) and one was a 4 star read (One True Loves) 🤩
Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.
Malibu: August, 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
There is something about Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing that just draws you in. She tells a story sooo different than anyone else and in this book you are seamlessly transported to Malibu with the sun shining down and sand between your toes.
Malibu Rising is a dual timeline novel with one timeline telling the story of Mick and June Riva in the 1950s, and the other telling the story of their children’s annual party over the course of 24 hours, broken down into one hour segments. Mick and June’s story was especially strong and could have been its own novel, but I enjoyed the present-day party a lot more once we got to part two when the party kicked off. Several Goodreads reviewers took issue with the massive number of secondary characters at the party, saying they detracted from the main story and characters, but that was not an issue for me as I find TJR a skilled enough writer who can flit between tens of POVs with ease. The ending of the novel was extremely satisfying and (no spoilers, obvs!) I would never have guessed who started the fire 😅
PS: You knoooowww this could ONLY be read at the beach so I 100,000% had to bring it along on my Hot Girl Summer 🤩🥳💃🌞🏖️🍹🌊😎
PPS: Long live the Jenkinsverse 🤩 (IYKYK 😎)
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing
Lwile the Leo 