Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

379 reviews

mariposa517's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Breathtaking!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Grief

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia

chelseylb1988's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol

aklovekorn's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

laurendenton's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Sexual harassment

Minor: Gun violence

jfield351's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

The first half of the book had me in a chokehold, I could not stop reading. I absolutely love TJR’s signature writing move of introducing the backstory to make you fall in love (or despise) the characters.

In the beginning I thought that Mick and June’s love was so beautiful, that I hoped one of them would die rather than leave each other, for love that pure to exist

. It is ultimately a story about love and family, but it is sometimes painful how much love can hurt. great read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexism, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail

_becca_reads_'s review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol

shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition

3.75

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

---

“Malibu catches fire. It is simply what Malibu does from time to time. Tornadoes take the flatlands of the Midwest. Floods rise in the American South. Hurricanes rage against the Gulf of Mexico. And California burns."
This was a fun book, and I'm glad I decided to reread it. I tried reading it in November/December 2021 but couldn't get into it. I think the fall/autumn vs. summer vibes really helped with this.
I'm always hesitant about multi-perspective and multi-timeline books. TJR does a fantastic job with both of these aspects, so the two different timelines and the different perspectives added to my enjoyment of the book.
I mainly enjoyed this book because it's set in Malibu, which is so close to my own home in LA. However, while I did enjoy it, I just couldn't give it 4+ stars, but it also didn't feel like it was 3.5 stars or less. I highly recommend this as a read for a great Southern California/Los Angeles County setting and a great summer read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent

Minor: Car accident

I really felt terrible for June throughout the book and her timeline. Mick Riva was a major asshole, no matter how handsome or charming he was or how many promises he made to June. And poor Carol too - but just dumping Hud on June like that did not sit well with me, despite feeling sympathetic for her (Carol). And go Nina for not opening up to Mick right away after he came back into the picture for the second time. I feel bad for most of the children because they had a jerk for a father. And on top of that, after Mick left the second time, poor June spiraled, which was sad to see both for June and for all four kids at that point. It was also adorable to see the children playing with the surfboard on the beach, and that inspired June to get each of the kids their own surfboards for Christmas.

gmoneyyyyy's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit

zoemain's review against another edition

1.25

emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Snore…
I swear I just read 365 pages of filler content.
The synopsis is very misleading. This book did not have any of the gossip or mystery that was implied.

First of all, entire book is said to be about the end-of-summer party Nina hosts, but the party makes up about 5% of the book’s content. This is because the main character barely attends her own party once it finally starts 2/3 of the way into the novel. Instead she’s seeking refuge in her room, she’s hiding in the pantry… she even walks down to the beach for a few hours. I’d only suggest you read this book if you want some examples on how  to NOT be a good host.

Second, I was anticipating mystery when I read that “by morning the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames.” The whole novel I was wondering how the fire was going to start. Turns out that was literally only half a page of content. The fire started up in the lamest, most anticlimactic way

I mean, come on. A cigar dropped on accident, REALLY?

and it’s mainly an unoriginal metaphor.

So you’re probably wondering: “Well, if the book’s not about the party, or how the fire starts, what’s it about?” Well, nothing much. There’s some backstory with Nina’s mum trying and failing to raise her kids, but the novel’s honestly mainly about Nina’s dad, Mick. Mick cheating, leaving, becoming famous. I’d honestly be way more interested in a book entirely about  Mick.
This book claimed to be We Were Liars but instead it’s got some content about bad parenting and that’s about it.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

abbypeekreads's review against another edition

4.5

emotional 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

---

As with TJR's other books, I'm finding it difficult how to articulate how I feel about Malibu Rising with words, so I'm going to try and keep this review simple. TJR strikes again with an intriguing premise and expertly crafted dramatic build-up that kept me hooked and engaged from page one. I was immediately drawn to the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story of the Riva family, particularly Nina's journey with her three siblings. TJR knows how to pull at the heart-strings, and I found myself riding the emotional rollercoaster the Rivas were on at every turn.

With all of that said, it's not my absolute favorite TJR book (even though I enjoyed it a ton). Due to the nature of the premise, there were so many characters introduced throughout the book that I found it hard to keep track of them all. I also was able to predict several events and 'reveals' that happened near the end. Speaking of the ending, it did feel like everything wrapped up quite nicely which is different from the other TJR novels I've read. But I did enjoy it, nonetheless.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and the emotional rollercoaster it took me on. It's a beautiful exploration of family and parenthood, one that I would definitely recommend!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content