Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Malibu Rising

Malibu Rising is an unexpected and heartfelt novel that confronts generational trauma, the heavy expectations of others, and our desire to love and be loved.

I owe Taylor Jenkins Reid a drink or several. I had no idea how meaningful and healing this story would be for me. Reading a story about siblings abandoned by their father was definitely triggering, but Reid handled the trauma and grief of that situation with such care and honesty.

The characters of this novel were so distinct and unique. They’re strengths and flaws, desires and fears. It all felt so natural and right. I loved that Mick was very clearly a deeply flawed and narcissistic human, but he still managed to have layers. I was worried that there would be a cheesy redemption arc for his character where he found some grudging reconciliation with his kids, but the ending was just perfect. Mick Riva setting one last fire felt so full circle.

I wish that we had gotten a bit more development with Kit’s character. The other siblings felt fairly well-defined, but Kit felt like a bit of a mystery. She feels like a character with so much potential, a force of nature. I would love to see a novel with her at the center.

The shifting focus to the novel’s background characters like Tarine, Tuesday, Ricky, etc. felt unnecessary at times. I was tempted to skip past those parts of the story to get back to the Riva siblings. These diversions were more distracting for me than anything.

Overall, this book was like a time-machine to the 80s. With its picturesque Oceanside setting and dynamic sibling characters, Malibu Rising bottles that August, end-of-summer feeling perfectly. Also, I’m totally buying a surfboard tomorrow.

Content Warnings

kateyjay'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? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Stunning story spanning multiple generations of a family who have known love and loss.

Nina Riva deserves the world and you cannot tell me otherwise. Nina sacrifices everything for her family, losing herself in the process until her family also become her salvation.

Seemingly doomed to repeat the mistakes of her mother until she learns she can stand up for herself.

This book had me laughing and crying and having to look away feeling second hand embarrassment on multiple occasions. TJR has done it again

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megmahoney1's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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jessicaludden's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“June was gone. Yet here she was, living on through her children.”

I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, Taylor Jenkins Reid is a genius. I thought nothing could top Daisy Jones & the Six, but wow this really exceeded my expectations. Every single character was so complex. I loved every single one of them and TJR made them all feel so real. She always does that with her characters. You finish the book and can’t believe those weren’t real people. Everyone had their own internal struggles and their own relationship dynamic with other characters. I LOVED Nina. She deserves the world and I loved how her siblings finally did something for her at the end. I loved Kit. I love how bold she is and how she’s just at the start of figuring out who she is. I loved Hud. I love how loyal he is and how him and Nina always seemed to have an unspoken understanding. I loved Jay. I loved his internal conflict with the new diagnosis he had and what that meant for who he was as a person and what his measure of success is. June and Mick’s story was so tragic and as much as I hate Mick I did feel bad for him near the end of the book. TJR did a great job of making me feel the exact feelings Nina was feeling. I couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit bad for Mick as he spoke about his childhood and his regrets, but ultimately my hate for him won out. I want to go to the Riva party. TJR made it feel so real with all the side characters and their mini plot lines. It added to the chaos perfectly. Overall, I loved this so much. Definitely a top read of the year. Definitely a new favorite book of all time.

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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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marioosa517's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Breathtaking!

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