Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

132 reviews

jenna_s_9's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

4.5

As it goes, f-ck Mick Riva.

I really enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid, her novels always have a way of punching me in the heart. This one more pointedly.

This felt fast paced, I loved how the dual timelines played out and how the story came together in the second half. As readers we are offered so much insight to the characters and how they affect the people around them. It felt entirely immersive.

Her characters are unlikable in some ways but entirely human, Nina being the most compelling character for me. Maybe because I see some of what she is in myself, that feeling of having to accept but never allowing herself to be.  

Nobody is perfect. But once again, TJR captures what we all want from people so eloquently, we want them to try. Try. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion

dannythestreet's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, and Classism

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Car accident, and Abortion

zara89's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.0

Mick Riva is a piece of garbage.

I found myself incredibly angry every time Mick and Brandon’s infidelity was brought up. I hate cheaters in real life, and I hated reading about cheaters.

Some of the chapters about other people at the party were interesting, but I found most of them to be confusing and unnecessary.

To me, this book didn’t have a “wow” factor, but I did enjoy reading it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Car accident, and Abortion

marieos's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Abortion

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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

3.75

men are terrible lol.
i most enjoyed the plots concerning the core four siblings and, later, their plus-one. you'd think they be the majority of the plot, but there are a lot of subplots that have little-to-no bearing on the main storyline, and i understand wanting to make this gigantic party with all these interesting people feel more alive, but after a while i stopped caring and just wanted to skip to the Rivas. it was overall pretty good though
book cover discussion: the British one is so much better than that of the United States, like the pretty sunset/fire (👀) colors, the serif font. unfortunately it doesn't carry over perfectly to the square aspect ratio for the audiobook.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

madison1239's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

anniefwrites's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

writingcaia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

I’m finding that all Reid’s latest books are true masterpieces, the perfect example of the craftsmanship of a writer. Her characters are so alive, her narrative and plot becomes a living thing, so much so that in every book I keep feeling that what she’s telling actually happened, that it is a true story, and with this one, like with Daisy and Evelyn, the same happened.
I loved this tale of the Rivas, these four Malibu born siblings with surf, sand and love in their hearts, their beautiful relationship with each other, their care and protectiveness, but also how each of them was impacted by the trauma of abandonment and how that reflects in their current lives. 
The narrative takes place in only a day, 24h, in the present, where Nina, the eldest, a model who has just been cheated on and left by her husband, is preparing to host the Riva’s anual party event at her mansion in Malibu, but while we see each hour go by we are brought back to the past, to their parents relationship, to their father’s fame, to their abandonment and poverty, and to the sad fact that Nina ends up carrying so much of the family’s responsibilities on her shoulders.
I know some people felt that there were too many POV, not only did that not bother me at all, I actually felt it was quite impressive that we could glimpse so much of what was happening through those many eyes, and I was also amazed by the ability of the author to create such different characters, with such specific characteristics, backgrounds and idiosyncrasies,some of them in only one or two chapters. It made the tale come alive and, again, feel so freaking real.
I also really loved that Portugal was mentioned a couple of times 😉
It didn’t supplant my fave, Daisy Jones & The Six, but I got the same connection to the characters that I did on that one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny and Blood

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Alcohol