Reviews

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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rachelhelmer's review against another edition

5.0

OH MY GOD this book broke me. I picked this book expecting to love it since I have loved everything from this author but this book takes the cake. It is definitely one of my absolute favorite books and it made me cry MULTIPLE times (which is really saying something for me).

I adore all of these characters and loved to get to see their journey throughout this novel. Nina was definitely my favorite though. Her journey and the things that she went though were so painfully relatable to my own life that she was the source of most of my tears in this book. Her desire to just take care of everyone even with all that she's dealing with was so heartbreaking to see. I loved seeing her grow as a character and start to be able to decide how she wants to be treated. UGH, I just loved this amazing woman.

The storyline is not a light one. I've never understood why TJR is often sold as light and fluffy reads since, at least the ones I've read, are very hard hitting. It's so interesting to see what real life looks like for the rich and famous. I don't know how accurate this actually is but her books have always hooked me right from the start. Definitely an auto buy author for me (already have Carrie Soto preordered!).

I know these books aren't for everyone but I adore them and won't ever stop recommending them. Now I need to make it through the rest of her backlist titles!

sambam1706's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.0

tayburney's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

spotter16's review against another edition

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5.0

Probably a top read of 2023. TJR always knows how to keep a reader interested in a character driven story. This honestly might be one of my favorite TJR books to date, something about Nina Riva's character just gets to me. I also really like the concept of a book that takes place during the duration of one night, this author is always finding creating ways to present a new story to readers and this definitely lived up to my expectations.

hkv00's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful

priscilla_readss's review against another edition

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3.75

TJR books always find a way to surprise me. It’s been a while since I have read a book but I enjoy all of them. This one is better read after a couple of different ones because you can gather information on this world. That way you aren’t thrown into a clustering world of having to get to know certain people that have had small introductions and even interactions in other books. I will say the downfall of this book was that there was way too much happening. There were so many different people that actually had nothing to do with the main characters and were only included because of the party aspect of the book. Take that out and focus on the Silva siblings like it’s suppose to it would be really good. It tackled some good topics and having that dual part of the timeline really helped me see every aspect and build to the story. While I was frustrated so much by it I predict that to be a good thing while experiencing the book overall.