Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Malibu Rising

TJR has such a talent to make her characters complex and lovable. On the other hand she'll make you hate them just as easily. This is dual timeline and I usually don't enjoy that but this was so we'll thought out that it didn't bother me at all.

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maika's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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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

Although this book didn't particularly focus on one person, I will never forget Nina Riva. She is technically the protagonist, but it is more about the Rivas as a family. I found June's story quite interesting and compelling, so I didn't mind that it took up so much of the first half of the book. My heart just goes out to June. She tried so hard to be the best parent she could and make sure Nina never felt elder sister syndrome, but in the end failed. Oh, and Nina, her growth just made me so happy. I found her the most relatable, so it made it hurt all the more sometimes. Kit was the most likable of the Riva children (

besides maybe Casey

, though Nina was plenty likable, just in a more melancholy way), but her story wasn't quite fleshed out enough to be able to stand on it's own (it felt like it was just beginning and there wasn't enough detail and focus on her past for a proper build-up, but the focus was primarily on Nina, so it makes sense). I didn't care too much for Jay and Hud's stories, but they weren't bad in anyway, just not as compelling to me as Nina or June's. I definitely will be buying a physical copy of this book to reread in the future because there were so many quotes that stood out to me that I want to annotate in my own copy. The build up to the fire from mid-point onward was done very well because of the intensity and internal conflicts of the characters kept ramping up into a breaking point that coincided with the fire (it is also reflected through the party slowly growing more and more out of control). However, at the halfway point, a bunch of side characters were introduced that were attending the party, and we were getting their perspectives, but I didn't find any of them particularly interesting because I wanted to get back to the story! I understand why it was included, to build up the chaos of the party even more and stretch out the pacing a bit to increase the anticipation of the inevitable blow-up, but I found it a bit annoying, constantly thinking, "Who the fuck is this? Why am I reading about them?" The payoff is effective, I admit, but while reading about these random people, I wasn't too interested. I did like the ending.

Nina deserves to live for herself. I only wish she destroyed Brandon more. I cannot BELIEVE he went back to Carrie Soto. I honestly did not mind Carrie all that much. Is she a bitch? Yes. Is she a good person? No. However, she doesn't put up with bullshit, and I respect that. Her being a Karen about the almonds, not so much. Her coming to the party and threatening to burn Brandon's stuff, then calling him out for being an asshole while pretending to be a nice guy? Honestly, fair enough. I'm glad Kit got closure on her identity and that she feels safe with her family, and that the family welcomed Casey and threw away Mick. The fact that Mick Riva is the reason the fire set is just absolutely perfect and makes sense because just destroys these kids lives constantly. I can't believe the audacity, though it was unintentional, just as all his other actions he claims are, but at the same time it makes sense and is perfect poetically. Jay and Hud's reunion is fine, though a bit fast; I'm not too invested in their story.

I would recommend this, and it was on the cusp of a 4 star, if not for the random party-goer's POVs that I wasn't too fond of reading. Last thing: Tarine is kind of iconic, though rude, and I did not care that much about Vanessa.

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maureenlessreen's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

I really liked the structure! I feel like the climax and ending were pretty rushed. Some character development made sense in a 24 hour period but others didn’t as much. Also, aside from the main character siblings, there were a lot of people to keep straight. I liked the little vignettes of other people’s experiences at the party, but everyone was too forgettable for me to keep track of who was who.

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