This is really bad. I can’t understand why it has received such good reviews. In my opinion, it has nothing to recommend it. Unless you happen to like reading about vacuous people doing vacuous things and acting in vacuous ways. Or enjoy stereotyping and clichéd writing. Or perhaps soap operas. Very disappointing after Daisy Jones and the Six, which I thought was very good. So it’s not that Taylor Jenkins Reid can’t write well – she patently can. But she doesn’t do so here. It’s a mix of family saga and celebrity shenanigans. Constant mention of brands, clothes, appearance, body shape. True to a Malibu lifestyle perhaps, but let’s face it, pretty boring to read about. To be fair – and I always try to be fair – the first half of the book is readable enough. It’s the story of Mick Riva and June Costas, whom he marries just at the start of his career as a rock and roll singer, and whom, of course, he deserts when his fame grows, leaving her alone to bring up their four children. Which she does to the best of her ability. But she dies early leaving eldest child Nina to struggle bringing up her siblings. Which she does, to the best of her ability. And then one day she gets a lucky break and becomes a supermodel and they all become rich, and so once a year they can throw a star-studded party at the mansion in Malibu. The second half of the book is a blow-by-blow account of that party where all the guests behave just as you would expect and it is just so, so tedious. I stuck with the first half of the book, but gave up on the second, and just skimmed to the end. Whilst reading/skimming, I was mentally composing this review and making lots of notes but now it’s come to it I can’t be bothered to spend any more time on this banal, trite novel about people I just wasn’t interested in.

This is a good book, with well developed characters and an interesting story line.
Set in the wealthy suburb of Malibu in California it makes a great summer read with plenty of sun, beach and surf scenes.
The first part of the book gives the background of the characters with some scenes jumping back to their parents in the past and what happened to put them all where they are today.
The second part of the book focuses on the large annual party that is held each year and the events of the past then culminate at the party.
A solid read which I rated 4 stars. It’s not my favourite by this author but still worth packing in your suitcase this summer.

Following the turbulent lives of the Riva family, we follow several timelines in this excellent novel. All set in Malibu, the novel centres around the four Riva kids - Nina, Hud, Jay and Kit, whose father is Mick Riva (aka one of the most famous singers in the world). When we begin the story, all four are living the glamorous 1980s life and planning THE Malibu celeb party of the summer. However, as we switch between timelines, and come to see the story of their parents and their childhood, we see that life hasn't always been as sweet. Plus. in the present they are keeping secrets from one another, which could shatter the family dynamic completely. As the evening starts, are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

I loved Evelyn Hugo by this author and I was equally enamored of Malibu Rising. The novel can be split into 2 parts - the run-up to the party (plus flashbacks of the Riva history), and then the party itself. I enjoyed both parts though they are very different in style; part 1 is more traditional, looking at the history of the characters and using chapters to switch perspectives and timelines, while part 2 was also brilliant, using chapters to switch frenetically between characters at the party, including side characters, and even a few new ones, to create stories within stories and mirroring the hyped and crazy energy of the party itself.

This is a brilliant read and one to add to your summer reading list.

Love this authors writing style. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this as much as daisy jones & the six there was a lot to live up to but what an amazing read.

I’ve not read any books by this author previously, though Daisy Jones and the Six has been sitting on my TBR pile. On the strength of this novel, it is being rapidly moved to the top!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book-it’s not dramatic, it’s not playing with your mind, it’s just well written and a cracking good story, which felt something like the family sagas of the past that I used to love, but not too long and drawn out.
I really cared about the characters, they were well written making them real and sympathetic. There are lessons to be learned for all of them.
Great escapist summer reading, in an aspirational location with a satisfactory ending.

A good story, liked getting to know the characters and what happened after the fire.
EAsy read, great book if you want something a bit lighter to get into

‘The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.’ This is the premise set forward in Taylor Jenkins Reid latest novel, Malibu Rising.

The author has brought us through the glamour of old Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s. We went on a journey through the rock n roll scene of the 1970s. Now her latest novel is set to bring her readers into the world of the rich and famous in the eighties.

The American writer made a name for herself with her novels Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, her prose creating a rich tapestry for readers to get lost in. Her latest novel, Malibu Rising is no different as we are introduced to the four Riva siblings.

Set against the backdrop of Malibu in the midst of the eighties, a party, a broken family and a fire will draw readers into a novel that is just as beautiful as the cover suggests.

One of the running themes throughout the book is generational traumas and poses the question: ‘Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of our parents?’

Taylor Jenkins Reid drags us into the world of the Riva siblings where they spend just 24 hours trying to break the cycle set forth by their parents and grandparents.

Fire is the ultimate cleansing tool. But can the Riva, like the phoenix, rise from the ashes renewed and healthier, having shed the sins of the father?

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A fabulous family saga with lots of secrets, plenty of dysfunctional behaviour, glamour all set in Malibu.
The strength of this book is in the descriptive characters and the way the book was set in two time periods.
My first book by this author but will not be the last.

One of the perfect summer reads! I love the writing of Taylor Jenkins Reid- it always hurts my heart a little. I loved the eighties setting. This was an exploration of what love and family can be- and also what doesn’t cut it. This book tore at my heart strings many times in multiple ways. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

The book focuses on the story of the Riva family, deeply exploring their history and how they came to be where they are now. It is beautiful, heart breaking and deeply immersive and atmospheric. Though I was lucky enough to be provided an eARC through Netgalley, I was not able to read it online and so waited until my pre order arrived! And I am so glad I did, not only was the weather perfectly sunny which added to the atmosphere of the reading experience, but I was also able to read it in 10 hours.

While reading it I just couldn’t get Holly Bourne’s blurb out of my mind, that this is the ‘perfect summer read with the emotional depth of the ocean’ because she has truly hit the nail on the head there, I could never find a better way to describe it.

The writing is just phenomenal, a testament to an easy but beautiful read. One that draws you in, wanting more from the story and the characters. It had the perfect amount of reflection and intrigue, the overarching question of the fire in the back of your mind as the night descends.

Even the background characters were well developed, one of the aspects that I loved was the exploration into the more random background characters such as Wendy. She gave them their moment to shine and gave us an opportunity to look at the party through different eyes, and a deeper appreciation for the party itself and how it got out of control. I think she worked in those characters perfectly, taking us a step away from the main four to look at the wider picture and the wider society they’re a part of.

I also loved the ending, I thought it was perfectly fitting and made a lot of sense. It was very emotional and it was just incredible. I cried so much throughout this book, to the point that tears were gathering in a pool at the bottom of my chin, but the ending was exactly what I wanted. It made sense for all of the characters and it was just beautifully written.

However, as much as I adored the book and the characters, the one thing I kept thinking about after was the plot. In that there isn’t one, it is beautifully written and the characters are great but there is a distinct lack of plot. The only overall plot is finding out how the fire happens over the course of the night. Most of the book focuses on the history of the family and how they came to fame, which I loved however I can see why some people may struggle with a lack. Though I must say it didn’t bother me, it was just something I noticed on reflection.

Overall, it was a 5 star read for me (no one is shocked). It was everything I wanted from a summery Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Each book she writes I find more emotional and I’m ready to be destroyed once again.

Nina Riva's parties are legendary; everyone wants to get close to the Riva's. Offspring of singer Mick-Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit are a source of fascination. By the end of the night, secrets are blown wide open. I loved the sense of place, despite never having been to Malibu, it felt like I was there. The relationship between the siblings was realistic. I liked the narrative jumping back and forth from the present day to their childhood, so we get the picture of what life with a rockstar dad was actually like. Nostalgic and captivating this might be my book of the summer.

Thanks to Random House, Cornerstone and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Told in two parts - the first part the narrative is split between the build up to the notorious Riva party and the history of June and Mick Riva and the second being an account of the party itself. I really enjoyed this although the behaviour of some of the guests at the party left me cringing a bit!

Hugely enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this, the author really has a knack of transporting the reader to another world. I’d love to have a book on each of the characters as there is so much depth. Wonderful.

“Our family histories are simply stories. They are myths we create about the people who came before us, in order to make sense of ourselves.“ - ‘1956, Malibu Rising’.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Malibu Rising’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid in exchange for an honest review.

This family saga is set in Malibu, California and focuses upon the Riva siblings, the children of June and Mick. After their marriage Mick achieves international stardom as a singer and leaves his family behind to fend for themselves.

In Part One the narrative is split between a countdown of 27 August 1983, the day of Nina Riva’s notorious annual party, and starting in 1956 an account of how June and Mick met, the birth of their children and how those children grew up.

Part Two focuses on the party alone, though here Taylor Jenkins Reid introduces a number of random characters doing random things. The party was excruciating to read given the behaviour of the guests and was rounded off with what felt an underwhelming climax.

‘Malibu Rising’ was the kind of novel that years ago was routinely written by authors such as Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann: essentially soap operas with larger than life characters, often rich and famous getting involved in scandals and the like.

Personally I have little interest in the lives of celebrities, especially those that clutter up unreality tv shows. So I didn’t have a great deal of empathy with the characters of ‘Malibu Rising’, especially those who were so entitled and casually disrespectful.

Overall, I found ‘Malibu Rising’ readable but not particularly outstanding. It was escapist reading that just didn’t particularly resonate with me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

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.

I’m instantly sold on reading any TJR book, and this one did not disappoint ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set in 1983 at the infamous Riva party, it follows four siblings through their turbulent lives. With flashbacks to them growing up with their loving but alcoholic mother and (without) their absent rockstar father, it builds up to the most out of control party that ends in fire and disaster.

I think TJR books generally divide people. I love them, but others really don’t. I enjoyed the story in this one and particularly the flashbacks. If I had to critique it, I’d say sometimes the characters felt a little two-dimensional, especially Mick. All in all a 4🌟 read that I’d certainly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

When I first started Malibu Rising, I was a little bit afraid to not like it as much as I thought I would. To be completely honest, since reading Daisy Jones & the Six and discovering Taylor Jenkins Reid with it, I’ve had very high expectations for every single one of her books. And so far they’ve pretty much met them. So yes, I was afraid Malibu Rising would disappoint. But it dit not.

The beginning is slow and I couldn’t really connect with the Riva siblings. But that changed so quickly. I absolutely fell in love with them the more we learned about each of them, the more we learned about their childhood and the way they had to grow up. I loved seeing them change and discover themselves. But I mostly love their dynamics and the way they love each other. My favourites Rivas were definitely Nina and Kit which I connected with more than the boys - I still liked them though.

In like most of her books, this is a character-driven story from beginning to end and that’s where Taylor Jenkins Reid’s strength lies - her characters. She truly has gift for bringing imaginary people to life because they never feel that way. They always feel very real and like you could just Google them.

I’m already so excited to re-read Malibu Rising and annotate it and discover new aspects I hadn’t noticed the first time. And I know I’m biased when it comes to Taylor Jenkins Reid, but do read this book. It’s the perfect summer read.

Like the rest of the world, I read Daisy Jones and The Six back in 2019. I really enjoyed it, and so when I saw Taylor Jenkins Reid had her next book out, I jumped onto NetGalley for an advance review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . . 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 rising 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.”

The book flicks between two timelines. Firstly there are the 24 hours building up to and including the annual Rivas party – and then back to the 1950s when Mick and June Riva meet and have 4 children. The second timeline continues at pace through the children’s childhoods and all they go through. I enjoyed the different speeds of the timelines.

Much like ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ it appears to intertwine real life people of the era with the characters in the book in a very clever way. Malibu itself and the amazing coastline is also a character in itself.

The eldest sister, Nina, has definitely put herself way down the pecking order over the years – looking after her siblings, and I felt sorry for her at times as she’d never put herself first. Equally the siblings all had secrets from each other that evolved during the hours leading up to and during the party.

The party itself is fairly horrific – and the trashing of the house awful – it made me feel quite sick the amount of destruction that happened.

One minor niggle was the book talked about Madeira being in Portugal. And whilst Madeira is a Portuguese territory, it is a totally separate island in the Atlantic and it wasn’t mentioned like this at all. (I realise this makes me sound like a total pedant – but hey ho!!) But I had never realised Madeira was a surfers haven – I think of it as a place where my parents and other retirees go for some winter sun!!

Overall it was an immersive read and I did enjoy it, and the twists and turns in both timelines were excellent. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than Daisy Jones and the Six. I also thought that the ending was really well done with lots of the individual story arcs being concluded.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC. It was released last week, so if you like the sound of it you can buy it now!

After the huge hype about this novel, I was really hoping that I would enjoy 'Malibu Rising' as much as Jenkins Reid's previous novels. I'm happy to say that it didn't let me down!

The novel is raw and emotional, exploring the complications of family relationships with care, good pacing and interesting characters.

I've already ordered several copies of 'Malibu Rising', and can definitely see this becoming a book club favourite!

Mick and June is a classic love story we have heard many times before. The wannabe rock star who makes it big and can't resist the temptation of fan adoration. However it is not just his wife who is left abandoned it is four children. Fast forward a few decades and the siblings still have the well known surname but that is all their father has ever given them.

I know I shouldn't hype books up before I read them but after Evelyn Hugo becoming an instant favourite last year I was eagerly awaiting Malibu Rising. With both Evelyn and Daisy Jones, Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote characters that read like non fiction and as a result left me with book hangovers. This one left me with a hangover too but rather than being unable to let go of the characters I was simply left with a headache. When the book starts with introducing Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit I could not connect with them at all and nearly gave up but then in walked June and Mick. I loved everything to do with them and relished in every little detail from their first meeting to subsequent life together but unfortunately every second chapter returned us back to the present day and my interest continued to wane in the Riva children. It was a book of two halves I could have read a whole book of Mick and June's love affair over the years and follow the children growing up. I am sure there could have been enough to fill a whole book of days gone by. Instead we follow the grown Riva children on the day of their legendary annual party. I had high hopes that the party would be worth attending but instead it was a mish mash of unnecessary side characters and debauched nonsense. I get that probably sums a typical celebrity party in Malibu perfectly but it jarred with the heartfelt story that went before and left me caring very little. I think the book would have worked better if it had been one thing or another. Malibu Rising is the party guest that you were looking forward to arriving but when they do they wreck the place!