I really enjoyed this, the author really has a knack of transporting the reader to another world. I’d love to have a book on each of the characters as there is so much depth. Wonderful.

“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.“ - ‘1956, Malibu Rising’.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Malibu Rising’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid in exchange for an honest review.

This family saga is set in Malibu, California and focuses upon the Riva siblings, the children of June and Mick. After their marriage Mick achieves international stardom as a singer and leaves his family behind to fend for themselves.

In Part One the narrative is split between a countdown of 27 August 1983, the day of Nina Riva’s notorious annual party, and starting in 1956 an account of how June and Mick met, the birth of their children and how those children grew up.

Part Two focuses on the party alone, though here Taylor Jenkins Reid introduces a number of random characters doing random things. The party was excruciating to read given the behaviour of the guests and was rounded off with what felt an underwhelming climax.

‘Malibu Rising’ was the kind of novel that years ago was routinely written by authors such as Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann: essentially soap operas with larger than life characters, often rich and famous getting involved in scandals and the like.

Personally I have little interest in the lives of celebrities, especially those that clutter up unreality tv shows. So I didn’t have a great deal of empathy with the characters of ‘Malibu Rising’, especially those who were so entitled and casually disrespectful.

Overall, I found ‘Malibu Rising’ readable but not particularly outstanding. It was escapist reading that just didn’t particularly resonate with me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Headlines:
Family dysfunction
Sibling strength
Predictable storyline

I anticipate anything written by TJR, I’ve read all her books except one and enjoyed them, so I guess it was inevitable that one day, one would not hit the mark for me. I’m super sad I didn’t enjoy this and my experience is definitely an unpopular opinion but valid all the same.

This was a story told between two past eras, one was 1960s and the other was 1980s. At first, I didn’t like the 1960s but I did slip into it eventually. The story focused on the Riva family, a famous father, a damaged mother and siblings that stuck together.

This dead beat father was revolting in his apathy, he wasn’t a positive part of the story and his actions became unsurprising. I felt that eventually, this family were fighting against history repeating itself. The siblings themselves were resillient thanks to Nina who held centre stage.

This was a family saga, all told and unfortunately, it just didn’t appeal to me. The story direction became utterly predictable, so that I felt I just needed to see the story through. On ending, I didn’t feel much satisfaction, in fact, the ending felt a little to convenient for my taste.

There are triggers in this book galore and please look for the reviews that cite them or DM me for details.

Thank you to Cornerstone for the early review copy.

I’m instantly sold on reading any TJR book, and this one did not disappoint ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set in 1983 at the infamous Riva party, it follows four siblings through their turbulent lives. With flashbacks to them growing up with their loving but alcoholic mother and (without) their absent rockstar father, it builds up to the most out of control party that ends in fire and disaster.

I think TJR books generally divide people. I love them, but others really don’t. I enjoyed the story in this one and particularly the flashbacks. If I had to critique it, I’d say sometimes the characters felt a little two-dimensional, especially Mick. All in all a 4🌟 read that I’d certainly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

When I first started Malibu Rising, I was a little bit afraid to not like it as much as I thought I would. To be completely honest, since reading Daisy Jones & the Six and discovering Taylor Jenkins Reid with it, I’ve had very high expectations for every single one of her books. And so far they’ve pretty much met them. So yes, I was afraid Malibu Rising would disappoint. But it dit not.

The beginning is slow and I couldn’t really connect with the Riva siblings. But that changed so quickly. I absolutely fell in love with them the more we learned about each of them, the more we learned about their childhood and the way they had to grow up. I loved seeing them change and discover themselves. But I mostly love their dynamics and the way they love each other. My favourites Rivas were definitely Nina and Kit which I connected with more than the boys - I still liked them though.

In like most of her books, this is a character-driven story from beginning to end and that’s where Taylor Jenkins Reid’s strength lies - her characters. She truly has gift for bringing imaginary people to life because they never feel that way. They always feel very real and like you could just Google them.

I’m already so excited to re-read Malibu Rising and annotate it and discover new aspects I hadn’t noticed the first time. And I know I’m biased when it comes to Taylor Jenkins Reid, but do read this book. It’s the perfect summer read.

Like the rest of the world, I read Daisy Jones and The Six back in 2019. I really enjoyed it, and so when I saw Taylor Jenkins Reid had her next book out, I jumped onto NetGalley for an advance review copy. Here’s the blurb:

“From the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . . . Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.
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. Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.”

The book flicks between two timelines. Firstly there are the 24 hours building up to and including the annual Rivas party – and then back to the 1950s when Mick and June Riva meet and have 4 children. The second timeline continues at pace through the children’s childhoods and all they go through. I enjoyed the different speeds of the timelines.

Much like ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ it appears to intertwine real life people of the era with the characters in the book in a very clever way. Malibu itself and the amazing coastline is also a character in itself.

The eldest sister, Nina, has definitely put herself way down the pecking order over the years – looking after her siblings, and I felt sorry for her at times as she’d never put herself first. Equally the siblings all had secrets from each other that evolved during the hours leading up to and during the party.

The party itself is fairly horrific – and the trashing of the house awful – it made me feel quite sick the amount of destruction that happened.

One minor niggle was the book talked about Madeira being in Portugal. And whilst Madeira is a Portuguese territory, it is a totally separate island in the Atlantic and it wasn’t mentioned like this at all. (I realise this makes me sound like a total pedant – but hey ho!!) But I had never realised Madeira was a surfers haven – I think of it as a place where my parents and other retirees go for some winter sun!!

Overall it was an immersive read and I did enjoy it, and the twists and turns in both timelines were excellent. In fact I think I enjoyed it more than Daisy Jones and the Six. I also thought that the ending was really well done with lots of the individual story arcs being concluded.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for my ARC. It was released last week, so if you like the sound of it you can buy it now!

After the huge hype about this novel, I was really hoping that I would enjoy 'Malibu Rising' as much as Jenkins Reid's previous novels. I'm happy to say that it didn't let me down!

The novel is raw and emotional, exploring the complications of family relationships with care, good pacing and interesting characters.

I've already ordered several copies of 'Malibu Rising', and can definitely see this becoming a book club favourite!

Mick and June is a classic love story we have heard many times before. The wannabe rock star who makes it big and can't resist the temptation of fan adoration. However it is not just his wife who is left abandoned it is four children. Fast forward a few decades and the siblings still have the well known surname but that is all their father has ever given them.

I know I shouldn't hype books up before I read them but after Evelyn Hugo becoming an instant favourite last year I was eagerly awaiting Malibu Rising. With both Evelyn and Daisy Jones, Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote characters that read like non fiction and as a result left me with book hangovers. This one left me with a hangover too but rather than being unable to let go of the characters I was simply left with a headache. When the book starts with introducing Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit I could not connect with them at all and nearly gave up but then in walked June and Mick. I loved everything to do with them and relished in every little detail from their first meeting to subsequent life together but unfortunately every second chapter returned us back to the present day and my interest continued to wane in the Riva children. It was a book of two halves I could have read a whole book of Mick and June's love affair over the years and follow the children growing up. I am sure there could have been enough to fill a whole book of days gone by. Instead we follow the grown Riva children on the day of their legendary annual party. I had high hopes that the party would be worth attending but instead it was a mish mash of unnecessary side characters and debauched nonsense. I get that probably sums a typical celebrity party in Malibu perfectly but it jarred with the heartfelt story that went before and left me caring very little. I think the book would have worked better if it had been one thing or another. Malibu Rising is the party guest that you were looking forward to arriving but when they do they wreck the place!

Having read this author’s. books before and enjoyed them I was looking forward to the latest one. I wasn’t disappointed. Set in the 80s with glamour and secrets galore. Read it quickly and enjoyed every page

I adored Taylor Jenkins Reids books Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and was super excited when I got accepted to read an ARC of Malibu Rising.

Malibu Rising is a dysfunctional family drama and spans over 24 hours of the wild 80s. We get to know four salty-haired surfers, the Riva siblings and jump back to the 1950s to their parents romance and experience the families backstory. This book has everything from the rockstar lifestyle to hardships and immense tragedy through to incredible strength. It's a story with a fantastic array of characters, and if you have read Seven Husbands, you'll find it fun to see some familiar names pop up.

I flew through this story and would highly recommend adding it to your Summer reading pile!

Thank you, NetGalley and Hutchinson for very kindly sending me an ARC for my honest review.

Having loved Taylor Jenkins Reid's last two books (I will recommend Daisy Jones to everyone) my expectations were very high for Malibu Rising. Set in the 1980s we follow the Riva siblings as they prepare for Nina's infamous annual party. Each of the siblings carries the weight of their family's past - the loss of their mother and their deadbeat famous dad - and as the story unfolds we also learn about their parents' past too.

Once again Taylor Jenkins Reid creates a really readable novel and much like her last two novels, she really captures the heady toxicity of fame and fortune. While I enjoyed Malibu Rising, for me the story just didn't engage me as much and even though the novel built to this big party, that fell flat. I didn't connect with the siblings' surfing passion and none of them quite had the depth of Nina, the eldest sibling. The strongest aspect of the story was June and Mick's relationship and June's struggle in raising the children, but even then I felt as if Taylor Jenkins Reid was retreading old ground and not as successfully as her previous novels.

A fun, escapist read but compared to the author's previous novels this just didn't have the emotion and I found this a bit forgettable.

I was nervous about reading this, I loved Daisy Jones and while I enjoyed Evelyn Hugo, it wasn't my favourite. I knew we had some repeat characters in Malibu Rising and I was worried I wouldn't like it.

But I was so wrong! I adored this book. The true sign of a loving an arc for me is rushing to buy a physical copy which is exactly what I did with this book.

The setting is so well described, despite having never been to the US never mind Malibu, I could picture the house by the beach so well.

The relationships throughout this book were stunning & heartbreaking. Each relationship was significant & important.

I loved the characters. I like the way T J Reid writes in that not everyone has a happy ending, but it still feels like the story progresses in the right way.

I also don't usually go for books that contain sport so I was nervous about the surfing element of this and how much of the book be about surfing but it was such a great element.

I could write good things about this book for days and honestly couldn't fault it, so it's a very easy 5 star read for me.

Thanks to Random House UK, NetGalley and Taylor Jenkins Reid for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Malibu Rising is another epic read from TJR, The strength of this story comes from how well crafted the characters are, how you are drawn in to their lives and believe and invest in them. It shows the other side of fame. A side many do not consider. How the offspring of those in the public eye feel about their parents jobs.

Another great read from TJR,

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a way of drawing you into her character’s lives so you forget that you’re reading fiction. I frequently have to google people mentioned because I’m so convinced they must be real. This was very much the case for Daisy Jones and the Six (I’m still mourning the loss of a fictional band), and it is again the case with Malibu Rising.

At its heart this is a book about the love between a family - more specifically, between siblings who from a young age must be everything to each other. Each character was developed beautifully and although flawed this just made them more human. Nina’s journey throughout the book was one I particularly felt for,

The descriptions of the landscape in Malibu are stunningly evocative, and made me long to be there.

A fantastic read that I was thoroughly immersed in from the very first page.

I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me in some ways of a much much better version of the Judith Krantz and Jackie Collins novels that I read in my youth with it’s movie stars and famous people. I thought that the writing really took you to Malibu in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. I felt immersed in the culture. I thought that the characters were well drawn, especially the main characters, June, Mick and Nina. I enjoyed the novel moving back and forward through the decades. I think this a much better book than Daisy Jones and the Six. Thanks to Random House UK Cornerstone and Netgalley for an arc of this novel.

I don't think it's possible for Taylor Jenkins Reid to write a bad book. Malibu Rising continues her exploration of fame, but with a familial twist. Rather than focusing on the celebrity at hand, the lens is turned on the next generation and how they cope with the consequences. I thought that was a really interesting and clever choice. It only makes me more intrigued of what she might do next!

The writing style veered into more Liane Moriarty territory with its rich, descriptive style, however the ticking clock of the chapters kept this a fast-paced read. The impressive array of characters were all so well thought-out, bringing the story to life. This got me out of a seemingly never-ending reading slump and is the first book I've truly loved this year.

Rating: 4.5/5

Ahhhh, welcome back TJR! What a book my friends, what a book.

The story is pretty linear: you get to know the Riva family and their lives, moving between the 50s and the 80s in a beautiful Malibu on the background, and with them you get to know an entire bunch of other characters their lives touch. You start from when Mick - in the 80s a worldwide famous singer - and sweet June meet. You move to when their children are born, spacing between years until you arrive at the party of the decade when everything goes up in flames. Literally.

What I love in TJR's books is not the story per se, it's the characters and the dynamics between them, merging together so beautifully they create a book you just can't put down. It's how real they all are (hello, I was the one who actually googled Daisy Jones when I read that book, 'cause I thought she was real).
I fell in love with Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, the four Riva siblings. With June and her absolute love for a man like Mick, a man who destroyed everything good he had in his life because nothing was ever enough to satisfy that hunger he felt, that search for more.
I laughed and gasped and got mad. I was captivated by Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, by their stories, how despite everything they were able to come together and survive what life threw at them, how nothing was more important than the love they felt for each others.

It's a beautiful book that stays with you. I will keep thinking about the Riva family for a long time. Super recommended.

Description

A lifetime holding it together.

One party will bring it crashing down.

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 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 bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

My Thoughts

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a name that is on plenty of book lovers lips (and reading lists) but, whilst her name is familiar, this was my first time reading one of her books (madness I know!) and what a great book to start with!

Malibu Rising takes place in the same universe as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and The Six which initially worried me but — aside from a few call backs to characters from these books —- this didn’t make it difficult for me, as a new reader, to get into this book.

This book spans decades but primarily switches between a party taking place in 1980s Malibu and the early lives of the party host, Nina Riva, and her siblings: Jay, Hud and Kit. I was initially worried I wouldn’t get into this one but, from the moment we were introduced to June and Mick, I fell hook line and sinker.

Reid takes the reader through the incredible highs and devastating lows of the young lover’s story which was enthralling and heartbreaking in equal measure. I usually have trouble visualising books set in the past but Reid’s writing is so vivid and detailed every part feels so real, every character feels like someone you’d pass on the street.

I loved the fast paced love story between Mick and June and — despite myself —- I really hoped it’d work out.

The real life joys and problems continue on to the next generation of Rivas, as they navigate secrets, infidelity, their own sexuality and the past. I loved reading the parts set in the past and seeing how the past has shaped the characters and who they will become. After the heartbreak and trauma they go through, you truly do root for them in the later scenes.

I don’t tend to get on well with time hopping narratives but there was no confusion with this one, which was great! The only slight confusion I had was navigating who the party goers were as Reid piled a lot of characters into the latter sections of the book. Regardless though, I really liked going between the past and the present.

I’m so used to love stories but this isn’t it. Malibu Rising is a story about love, about family and about how one night changes a collection of people

Forget Malibu. This was more Mali-boo, hiss, sigh, yawn, why-the-heck-am-I-reading-this! I mean, I knew I was late to the TJR party, but this felt more like the morning after the night before than a good knees-up.

The pity is, it started off so well. I immediately got drawn into the world of Mick and June and the exotic backdrop of 1950s/60s Malibu. Mick Riva — poor boy with a voice and ambition turned heartthrob, singing superstar. June, his childhood sweetheart. The love story turned sour.

Fast forward two decades, and I enjoyed getting to know the four Riva siblings, now grown up. The model, the surfer, the photographer, and the baby sister waiting for her turn in the limelight. The vibe is all glamour and glitz, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Very Jackie Collins.

So where does it all go wrong? Ironically, it’s when the big event, the one we’ve all been waiting for, finally takes center stage — the annual Riva party that TJR teases us with in the prologue. This is what all the build up has been for. So why did I feel such an anticlimax?

There was simply too much going on, too many random characters with nothing of relevance to contribute to the plot. The whole thing is messy and scrappy. The focus disappears. The momentum so carefully built up in the first half of the book stutters and stalls, grinding to an ignominious halt.

The truth is, there is no climax; no point at which the narrative suddenly explodes. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen that would get the plot back on track. My hope was in vain. By 80 per cent through, I knew this baby was flatlining. By 90 per cent, it was as dead as a dodo.

My disbelief was so great, I waited a full 48 hours before writing this review. Had I missed something? Was the whole thing meant to be ironic? I’m as baffled now as I was when I finished it.

For me, this was a classic “meh” read, hence worthy of just two stars. I’m generously adding an extra half star for TJR’s evocation of place and time, which was pretty damn good. But the rest of it? Boo, hiss, sigh, yawn ... sorry, not for me.

This book was brilliant. The perfect escape read. Beautifully set and this just added to the atmosphere of the whole book. Sex, lies and secrets. A brilliant Summer read.