This had the same kind of magic that we all loved so much when we read Daisy Jones and the Six the year before last. Maybe I’ll need to go back and read all of TJR’s work. Sparkly, sunshiney, surf-drenched Malibu with celebrities at every turn, cheesily big hearts and perfect monologues. I loved it.

This is only the second TJR book I’ve read after her smash hit Daisy Jones and The Six (which I loved). But, this novel does have a very different vibe. In Malibu Rising, Reid weaves a multi-generational family saga. It’s a genre I don’t usually opt for but in the hands of this capable author, set against the glamorous backdrop of Malibu spanning from the 1950s – 1980s, it really, really works.

With this Daisy Jones follow-up, Taylor Jenkins Reid showcases and hones her incredible skills as an author. Not only is she able to recreate a period of history and write about a place so well she brings it to life, most importantly in this novel she creates an incredible cast of characters in the Riva family. They’re a family that feel authentic, sympathetic and real. Their experiences juxtapose extreme privilege and extreme hardship and that meant, while my world is so far removed from them I’ve never experienced either extremes as boldly, I felt able to connect and sympathise with them.

The story is split into two main parts – before the infamous annual Riva party, and the party itself. It’s in the first half that Reid takes us on a journey through the history of the Riva family, back to when young couple June and Mick met on the beach in the 50s, before either of them had experienced true fame or true pain. The two marry and have four children – Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit. The story moves back and forth between June and Mick’s relationship and and the siblings’ childhood, and present day (1980s) when they’re independent adults, navigating their own lives while getting ready for the party of the year.

The four siblings are really well drawn, and it’s as the details of their upbringing are gradually revealed that the reader gets to understand why they are in present day. How much does your upbringing shape your personality? And how much are you doomed to repeat the mistakes of your predecessors? Through these characters Reid explores these questions, and you can’t help but care about their wellbeing and their relationships.

Then part two – and party time – begins. This part is all set in present day, and it has a different feel as many minor characters are introduced. Reid takes us on a journey through the party, meeting the guests and understanding their motivations for being there. Some are there to find love, some are there just to party, and some for something else entirely. This was a little distracting after the first half’s sole focus on the Riva family, but I think expanding the world helped to add to its authenticity.

Overall, this is a gorgeous story of love and loyalty, both in relationships and family. It has enough intrigue to keep you turning the pages to find out what is going to go down at this party, and the characters are some of the best I’ve read in a while. But the time period and setting really make this book stand out and bring it to life – I love that the family were budding surfers who had grown up by the sea. It makes for an enchanting and touching read.

Taylor Jenkins Reid cannot seem to put a foot wrong. If you loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the magnificent Daisy Jones and The Six, then you will not be disappointed with her latest novel Malibu Rising. Told from the Riva family members POV the book charts their turbulent lives. From the 50s when June and Mick meet and fall in love, through their tempestuous marriage, to the birth of their four children and beyond. The story is gripping and unputdownable, driving towards a fateful night in August 1983 which will end in disaster.

This is unashamedly a must-read summer book. From front cover to back it explodes with the sights and sounds of summer. You can almost feel the sun on your face and the sand between your toes. The 80s setting is glorious in its glamour and excess, Hollywood Wives smashing into Dynasty and creating an escapist world of the Riva family that you just let yourself sink into and wash you away.

It is a story of love, betrayal, the bonds of family, of loss and finding redemption. The characters are complex and flawed but you cannot help loving them. Malibu Rising is a rare book that you just don’t want to end.

Explosive and compelling. Essential summer reading 5 out of 5

I loved Taylor's previous book, Daisy Jones & The Six, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, a fab 1980s-set, literal 'beach read' that reminded me of those glitzy books written by authors such as Jackie Collins, Shirley Conran and Judith Krantz - only with much nicer characters!

A lifetime holding it together, one party will bring it crashing down...

The story is set in Malibu and split between the 1950s (leading up to the 80s) and 1983. In the 50s we see singer Mick Riva marry sweet loyal teenager June Costas, and witness the effect his fame (and philandering) has on their marriage and four children. In the present, his daughter Nina is preparing for her famous annual party - except her tennis-star husband has just left her and she'd rather be surfing anyway. And her sister has invited an unexpected guest...

Malibu Rising is fabulous escapism, an affectionate take on those 80s beach reads, with flawed but lovable characters - some more lovable than others! As well as Nina, who becomes a swimwear model to support her family, there is Jay, a sexy surfer who can have any woman except the one he really wants; his stoic 'twin' Hud, who will do anything to avoid hurting his brother - except that one thing; and baby sister Kat, possibly an even greater surfer than Jay, if only she can find the confidence to be who she really is.

My favourite character was Nina. I was really rooting for her as it gradually dawned on her that she was repeating the same mistakes as her mother. The party is fun too, with a huge cast of characters that are all given backstories and forgotten when the next one is introduced - just like real life!

Malibu Rising is a big, fat, luscious read, and one of my favourite books this year. I am sure fans of Daisy Jones will love it too. The novel would also suit those who love those glitzy, glamorous beach reads that sadly no one seems to publish any more.



Thank you to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Cornerstone Digital for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Malibu Rising is an engrossing soap opera of a book, focussing on the Californian family of a famous singer, Mick Riva, after he leaves them to chase stardom and other women. The main protagonist is the eldest daughter Nina, who is the linchpin of the family, keeping her mother and siblings together while dreaming of better times.

A thoroughly enjoyable book - a whirlwind of sex, drugs, surfing and rock n roll. Read it!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Another great book from Taylor Jenkins Reid. I thought I knew who the Riva family were going to be. Glamorous and living in Southern California in the 1980s.. The story follows one day in their lives as they have the "party of the decade" in Malibu. The party you have to be seen at.
The family are not what they seem and taking us back to when their parents met and the childhood they had, between snippets of the day of party, leading us into the party of the decade. And what a party we attended.
Taylor Jenkins Reid shows once again, not to judge people and subtlety shows us the differences people experiences, just because of who we believe them to be.
I will be recommending to my friends as a great summer read.

Thanks Netgalley and Random House UK for an eARC of this book for my honest review.

I loved Daisy Jones and The Six was have been very keen to get my hands on this new book and I’m so happy to say that I also loved this one! Malibu Rising follows the Riva family over many years. In the first part we get to meet June and Mick and see how they fell in love an started a family, and in alternating chapters we see the four children as adults as they live their lives. During this part I was much more interested in learning more about June than anyone else, I wanted to know what happened to her. By the second half of the book as we catch up to the present in these character’s lives I was fully invested in this whole family. The dynamics between them was really interesting and I could identify with how each sibling views the others differently from how they view themselves, which makes for interesting interactions between them even as close as they are to each other. I mostly felt for Nina – she’s the eldest and has had to sacrifice so much for this family and she does it without ever begrudging it. The build up to the Riva annual party really ramps up in the second part of the novel and I was really tense wondering what was going to happen. I very much enjoyed all the different snippets we get as we hear from various people at the party. It builds a great picture of what is going on. The end of the book was a surprise but I loved it, it was the most perfect way to end this novel. I recommend adding this one to your summer reading piles!

How does Taylor Jenkins Reid do it? She is definitely a go to reader for me now, I know I will love her books before I’ve even turned the first page.

Malibu Rising follows Nina Riva and her siblings over a 24 hour period as they prepare for and host their annual celebrity and scandal filled party in Nina’s cliff top mansion. During this time we also get to explore their past and what has brought these four siblings to where they are now.

Their father is international megastar, Mick Riva, who repeatedly abandoned them and their mother June. The separate story arc that showed Mick and June’s relationship was brilliant, it portrayed such raw, desperate emotions and also the unwavering motherly love they received which taught them such important lessons about what family truly means.

This is a fast paced, ‘unputdownable’ page turner where TJR creates characters that feel so utterly real, a skill I admired in both The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and The Six. She also references and crosses over characters and events from her other books that blew my mind and added to the realness of the universe these characters exist within.

This book is about the sacrifices you make for the people you love and also about the importance of when you decide now put yourself first.

Happy publication date to this wonderful book! Oh my, Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. Each book I read by her, I absolutely love, and ‘Malibu Rising’ has definitely joined my favourites alongside ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ and ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’.

‘Malibu Rising’ felt more family-focused rather than relationships-focused compared to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s earlier books, but I really enjoyed that. Rivas have definitely had an interesting sibling dynamic and complicated relationship with their absent father. While I’m generally not a fan of a split narrative between past and present, I think it works really well in ‘Malibu Rising’ – we get to know family history and reasons for why everyone is the way they are. I think that Nina and Kit have been my favourite characters in the book, but all Rivas siblings were interesting, raw and not-so-perfect.

Overall, ‘Malibu Rising’ was a great read, and I will definitely be re-reading it in the future. I also loved a little nod to the characters from ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ in this book.

How is this my first Taylor Jenkins Reid? I've had Daisy & Evelyn sat on my TBR for a while now & somehow managed to never pick them up, something I'm going to change very soon.

I really loved Malibu Rising, its different timelines make for interesting reading and kept me engaged throughout. It was a really clever way of keeping the action of one day going but allowing all the characters enough backstory to make them complete & get the reader totally involved. The characters, whether you love them or dislike them, are all well developed & it really captures the sense of family in their group, their love & support of each other really shone through.

I found parts of the book quite emotional & handled simply & sympathetically. For me this had echos of This Is Us, although obviously the story is very different.

Simply put I loved it 🥰

A story spanning only 24 hours. One short day. The daughter of a rock star. It keeps you gripped from the first page. A book to do this is rare and although it was fast paced and a lot of information crammed in at once, it was easy to follow and flowed so seamlessly. TJR can do wrong in my eyes. All of her novels are spot on.

Malibu Rising is a fabulous story in a beautiful setting which transports the reader back to the wild times of 1980s Malibu. The writing is beautiful and the author manages to capture the atmosphere and feel of this period in time as well as the flashbacks to Mick and June’s romance in the 1950s and latterly the Riva children’s childhood and upbringing. I was completely mesmerised. A compelling and fast paced book with which I eagerly devoured the pages.

The story only spans 24 hours, however there is so much packed into it and the attention to detail is exquisite. It builds up to the notorious party and each chapter very cleverly counts down to it, this is the infamous party in which everything comes to an explosive conclusion. It was such a joy following this family saga, the flashbacks to how Mick and June met, their love story and Mick’s rise to success as a pop star. The character development of the Riva siblings as they grew into adult was utterly absorbing and the tender and heartwarming scenes really tugged at the heartstrings.

The cast of characters are phenomenal and the author pulls you straight into their lives and at times it was difficult to forget they were fictional people. Each character played an important role, even the side characters, and there were new characters being introduced all the time. Even the party guests all had a story to tell no matter how small and I don’t think any character was left out. I adored them and all of their complexities.

I loved the portrayal of Riva siblings’ relationship and their close and their supportive bond and the fact they were wholly committed to one another. Nina, the eldest sibling, sacrifices everything to look after her sister and brothers. They certainly didn’t have a privileged upbringing and scrapped together what little they had and I was rooting for them all the way. It tortured me that their rockstar father was living the life of luxury and didn’t give them any financial backing.

Malibu Rising is a powerful novel full of fantastic characters and in particular strong women. The writing is excellent, it’s atmospheric and truly captivating. I really enjoyed the whole structure of the book, this author is an amazing storyteller and I adore the unusual format at of her books. Taylor Jenkins Reid has quickly become one of my favourite authors and I will definitely be reaching for any future novels.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the eARC and I was lucky enough to get a proof too.

This was an enjoyable page-turner with an engaging (if occasionally slightly drawn-out) plot and some well-crafted characters. For me, it was June, Nina and Kit who clearly stood out. Mick and Hud were also reasonably well constructed, whilst the rest of the cast seemed to consist predominantly of caricatures and plot devices - albeit often highly entertaining ones. There was a lot of tragedy in several of the characters' pasts, and this was convincingly written, without ever wallowing in its own misery.

There was a lot to like in this book; I just didn't love it. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why; the excess of unpleasant characters probably didn't help, but ultimately I think it was the ending that left me feeling something was missing. That said, I enjoyed the reading experience while it lasted, and would happily try other books by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Thank you very much to Random House UK, Cornerstone for the arc via NetGalley.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a compelling inter-generational story of a hard-working, ocean-loving family who deal with fame in a particularly unique way!

The story revolves around Nina Riva, who grew up in difficult circumstances as the daughter of a rock star father and her annual end of Summer party. Nina manages to hold the family together as best she can during difficult circumstances but funds that not much goes her way.

This reads like an exposé on being a child of a famous celebrity. It is realistic, gutsy and offers some redemption. The resourcefulness and responsibility of the female characters is front and center, alongside the calming qualities offered by the ocean.

Another great novel from Reid!

i don't think i need to sell anyone on how brilliant TJR's writing is, how immersive her stories are, how her characters take up head and heart space rent fucking free for days (and perhaps years) after you've met them.

i do however want to talk about how fucking seen i felt in Nina's character, how her journey, however painful gets a well-deserved HEA, how its vindication for all the elder daughters out there. a call to us to sometimes, not have to shoulder the weight of the world.

Reid explored family and the painful patterns its bound to repeat (or is it), siblings and how our priorities can be so similar and yet so different, how romance doesn't necessarily bring true love, how love is a choice that people make, and abandon, how money and glamour are such strong security, and yet so fickle.

she made me cry, she made me laugh in relief, she made my heart ache for the most part for these beautiful Riva siblings, for the things that happened to them, and made me root for them and yell in joy for the things they chose to do. its a complete story, each main and side character stealing your heart, everyone so painfully flawed.

as cruel as others have been to the Riva's, I really appreciate that this cruelty wasn't inflicted on each other. maybe im extra sensitive rn, but I liked seeing nothing but kindness amongst the siblings, even if they did hurt each other sometimes.

its no secret ive taken to reading only genre romance, and TJR just, brought back all the love i have for great literary fiction. as i expected her to. Also, all the easter eggs and callbacks to her previous works were simply *chef's kiss*. Anyone who appreciates her work, or even good fiction with greater characters who are as flawed as they are loveable will love this work.

A big thankyou to Random House UK for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an autobuy author for me, so when this was announced last year I instantly preordered it despite not really even knowing what it was about.
I am not a massive reader of family dramas in fiction, but my gosh Reid knows how to write one. I love how versatile her writing is and this was no exception.
Set in the early 80s and told over the space of a 24hr period, in the run up, during and aftermath of the Riva family party of the summer. The book flicks between the 4 main characters as well as a host of secondary characters. There are also flash backs to Mick Riva and Judy meeting and how their relationship progressed.
I loved the family dynamics in this one, the little easter egg moments that took me back to reading Evelyn Hugo, a book that started my love for the author and the time slot chapters. The whole thing was just an enjoyable read.
There were moments when the pacing slowed down and it took me a while to read, but it just meant I spent longer in the Riva world. Highly recommend this one for fans of all thing celebrity and family.

Everyone knows the Rivas - they were broke and gorgeous, and now they're rich, famous and gorgeous. And on the night of the famous Riva summer party in 1983, things are going to get wild - people will get high, drunk and completely messed up, long lost fathers will walk back into their children's lives, and hearts will be broken and repaired. It will be a night of reckoning, especially for the Rivas.

I loved this - and it was no surprise as I feel like Taylor Jenkins Reid has really honed her writing craft over the past few books, and she has found the type of story and characters she loves to present to the world, and she does it so damn well.

This book is not about the children of a famous musician. Well, it is and it isn't - it's about a family who happen to be biologically connected to someone too selfish to parent and instead, turn to one another to love and support. This book is so full of emotion from love and lust, to longing and heartbreak as well as the suffering you put yourself because of your love for others. All of the Riva children were special in their own way, and while the main focus seemed to be on Nina, I loved getting time with all of them - and would actually love more time with them as well if there were ever any spin-off books about Kit or even Casey.

You don't have to read other Taylor Jenkins Reid's books to read this one but there were some fantastic easter eggs that let you know the Rivas existed in the same world as Evelyn Hugo which is just something I LOVE when authors too. It feels exciting, and like you're a part of something cool and secret.

Taylor Jenkins Reid also has an ability like no other to create characters who are beautiful and flawed but so big and bright, they feel very real and when you stop reading the book, you almost go through a grieving process when you realise you can't go to the store and buy a Mick Riva album or google Nina Riva's modelling shoots to see if she was that beautiful. It's just a talent to not only create amazing characters on paper but to do it in a way that they become living, breathing entities in a reader's head - that they sit in front of them on the couch, or on the edge of the bed and narrate their own story.

I felt like I was floating in the surf on a Malibu beach, the sun beaming down on me and the salty taste of the sea on my lips when I was reading this, and I absolutely fell into the pages and swam into the words the second I started reading it and I just could not put it down.

Of course this was a great read because Taylor Jenkins Reid is a literary genius. I flew through this book in one sitting and I have no regrets. I always love the way TJR pens her characters and no surprises here, we get to engage with some complex characters in both refreshing and heartbreaking ways. If you've read any of her other books, you won't be disappointed with this.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a wonderful way with words and story telling. I loved this with a strong message of family. Nina was such a strong, warm and caring person and I loved how she put her siblings first with every thought. The strength of feeling between the siblings was amazing, and I laughed and cried along with each of them as they found their way.

Taylor Jenkins Reid can surely write compelling story and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It is a perfect summer read, a mix of celebrity drama and family saga.
The characters are well developed and the tightly knitted plot kept me reading.
I think that the author is an excellent storyteller and I'm loving her books.
A gripping and entertaining story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine