Book info

• Title Malibu Rising
• Author Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Year 2021
• Genre Contemporary

August,1983, it is the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone who is anyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: surfer and supermodel Nina, brothers Jay and Hud, and their adored baby sister Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over - especially as the children 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 of dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family will all come bubbling to the surface.​

Thoughts

So good. I’m disappointed in myself for not having gotten into Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books sooner but now that I have, I’m all in. This one reminded me at first of Apples Never Fall which I read last month, but only because it’s a large family with a lot of siblings. There the similarities ended and this one tells its own story of woe and hardship, overcoming the odds, and a wide array of characters eventually coming together at a party where everything comes to a head. I really liked that this told a lot of story but you could tell there was still a lot more to happen in these lives, and yet I wasn’t disappointed by the ending either. It wrapped up so well. I did enjoy the bonus crossover mentions of characters, Carrie Soto obviously popping up but also a Daisy Jones mention as well. Can’t wait to read the next one!

Rating: 4 / 5