Malibu Rising

Taylor Jenkins Reid

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.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud–because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own–including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

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.

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.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(4 / 5) Family dramas always make me feel better about my own family! Am I the only one? 

The main story is about a man and woman who marry and he ends up leaving her. We’re brought into past and present, meeting people and learning experiences that shape these people. It continues on with the character’s children and their lives.

There were So. Many. Characters! It took me a while to understand the jumping to past and present. Once I did, I grasped the main few characters. From there it felt like we were introduced to each persons acquaintances and I was supposed to remember it all and who it was connected to. Holy cow! I still don’t understand why some characters were introduced?

Overall I really liked the story. The characters are fascinatingly flawed with real (but serious) drama. I even noticed the name drop of Celia St. James from Reid’s previous book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I liked it, it made me laugh!

I would’ve liked less characters and a more consistent timeline to truly love the story. I didn’t mind the jumping between timelines, but it wasn’t always in chronological order. 

Julia Whelan narrates this one and I snagged it, knowing how much I like her. She seems to narrate all the books I like and she does a fabulous job. It’s easy for her to grab my attention and keep it throughout the book. I noticed that at times I wasn’t as invested in the story, she still maintained my full attention.

Content Summary: 57 F words, naked pics, sex and sexual acts in cars and closets (not detailed), infidelity, pregnancy before marriage, child abandonment, alcoholism, accidental suicide, hard drugs, trying to deny sexuality, a couple die in a fire.

Thank you to Libro.fm for the gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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