Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Malibu Rising

I have mixed feelings about this one. I loved diving into this world and the lives of the characters, who all felt so real. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing style is so attentive to the minutiae of everyday life and also the incommunicable parts of Big Feelings.

But the ending to me felt contrived, almost too saccharine. I found it hard to believe that SO many plot lines would all be resolved in one night. I wanted things to be more open-ended than they were.

I also started getting confused by the sheer number of characters toward the end. But I loved the core family members—especially Kit—and would have been happy just to live in a world with them where nothing really happened.

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cvaught's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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abyanismangil's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Bit wack, didn't really go anywhere
Lots of backstory, no plot though

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olivia1007's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kayabennett's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

surprise, surprise, i’m giving another taylor jenkins reid book five stars. i know, i’m so predictable. daisy jones and the six was the first book that i picked up written by taylor and i’m now in love with every book i own of hers.
firstly, i absolutely love how the events of the book all is wrapped up in one day (with the exception of the flashbacks). i like medium/fast paced books so this definitely was the one for me. i actually started reading malibu rising because the secret history was being too slow for me and i needed to read something else before i fell into a book slump.
for the characters, i am so in love with each and everyone of them (except mick, fuck you. you know what you did.) i am especially in love with june and the way she was talked about by her children made me tear up about every single time. yes, she had flaws and she knew that but they were because of mick’s actions and i hate him for that. nina-baby, you deserve the world and more (also, fuck you brandon). the way she was so selfless to care for her siblings after her mother’s death and even before it makes nina so lovable. nina had been put through so much (as so did all the other siblings) and i hope she’s living her best life in portugal.
i also want to mention that tjr’s books all being in the same universe is literally my favorite thing ever. seeing mentions of people from daisy homes and the six and evelyn hugo lights up my face.

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