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celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Excrement, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
its_van_vulpen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Body shaming, Drug use, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Miscarriage
Minor: Abortion
dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug use, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, and Car accident
Minor: Abortion
samburkhouse's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Vomit, Gun violence, Body shaming, Car accident, and Medical content
beanie8031's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i loved the characters and each of their stories. June has my whole heart, as well as, Nina. No family is perfect, and Nina has done her absolute best to make hers happy. I didn’t feel like there was any climax to the story, maybe in part 2, but nothing that really smacked you in the face lol, and i heard that had bothered people. It didn’t bother me tooo much, it felt like a story was being told to me. It was a beautiful memory
Moderate: Body shaming and Alcoholism
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual content
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: May 27, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Addictive • Evocative • Entertaining
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Malibu: August 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over--especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud--because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he's been inseparable since birth. Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can't stop thinking about promised she'll be there. And Kit has a couple secrets of her own--including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family's generations will all come rising to the surface.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I deliberately chose to take Malibu Rising on my recent trip to Los Angeles and I couldn't have picked a better time to pick it up. Being in the California sun, with the gentle ocean breeze, and being close to some of the places talked about throughout the book really offered something extra to my reading experience.
The dysfunctional family dynamics of the Riva siblings felt believable, their relationships seemed genuine, and their flawed character development was fantastic. Nina was my favourite character - her arc is the one I gravitated towards most. Her selfless nature felt entirely relatable and my heart just went out to her.
Even though the entirety of this book takes places over the span on 24 hours, the bulk of it takes place in Malibu during the 1980s. While the party timeline could feel a bit distracting, I understand it was necessary and feel as though TJR has crafted them together perfectly. The main issue I had was with the amount of characters I needed to keep track of at the party. I didn't really care, and wanted more depth about the Rivas. The setting itself added an element of glitz and glamour, and the TJR describes the area with ease.
Overall, Malibu Rising is another enjoyable story, mixing historical fiction with family drama, that I would highly recommend. The audio narration by Julia Whalen is fabulous. And what I love so much about TJR's stories is how each one is so unique. While this one wasn't my absolute favourite, I still cannot wait to keep exploring her backlist and seeing what she writes next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone looking for beachy summertime vibes
• TJR devotees
• historical fiction readers looking for something different
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Our family histories are simply stories. They are myths we create about the people who came before us, in order to make sense of ourselves."
"She had to choose what, of the things she inherited from the people who came before her, she wanted to bring forward. And what, of the past, she wanted to leave behind."
"She knew that she could not sustain her life fueled only by the memories of those she once loved. Loss would not propel her forward. She had to go out and live. She had to find new people."
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Abortion, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Infidelity, and Suicide
kaiyoung_kop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder and Body shaming
eturner's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Alcoholism
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content
Minor: Body shaming, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, and Blood
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming, Violence, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Sexual assault