MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six . . . Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.

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.

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Title : Malibu Rising
Author : Taylor Jenkins Reid
Format : eARC
Page Count : 384
Genre : Contemporary Fiction
Publisher : Cornerstone Books
Release Date : May 27, 2021

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ .5

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Micky’s 2.5 star review

Headlines:
Family dysfunction
Sibling strength
Predictable storyline

I anticipate anything written by TJR, I’ve read all her books except one and enjoyed them, so I guess it was inevitable that one day, one would not hit the mark for me. I’m super sad I didn’t enjoy this and my experience is definitely an unpopular opinion but valid all the same.

This was a story told between two past eras, one was 1960s and the other was 1980s. At first, I didn’t like the 1960s but I did slip into it eventually. The story focused on the Riva family, a famous father, a damaged mother and siblings that stuck together.

This dead beat father was revolting in his apathy, he wasn’t a positive part of the story and his actions became unsurprising. I felt that eventually, this family were fighting against history repeating itself. The siblings themselves were resillient thanks to Nina who held centre stage.

This was a family saga, all told and unfortunately, it just didn’t appeal to me. The story direction became utterly predictable, so that I felt I just needed to see the story through. On ending, I didn’t feel much satisfaction, in fact, the ending felt a little to convenient for my taste.

There are triggers in this book galore and please look for the reviews that cite them or DM me for details.

Thank you to Cornerstone for the early review copy.