Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Malibu Rising

now that i've completed TJR's big three (evelyn hugo, daisy jones, malibu rising) i've come to the conclusions that there is a huge difference in quality in how they write white characters vs characters of colour. caucasian chaos is what TJR is a lot better at. there's nothing wrong with sticking to the rivers and the lakes that we're used to.

the rivas are a great family. the moments between the siblings were so tender and heartfelt. the ordering of the timeline (interweaving past and present) was fab. it was nice to finally put a face to the name re: nick riva - because he was referenced in the other books in the TJR literary universe.

to me, nina was the stand out character of the book. her arc really spoke to me as an eldest daughter and sister - she had to grow up so fast because of her circumstances; the weight of that was depicted v well.

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kyliieamberr's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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raelinton's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

The pacing was a little slow, it almost felt as though the book didn't begin until half way through. However, the characters are interesting and the ending is supremely satisfying.

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honeybunchesofoats06's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid did a phenomenal job on this book. It follows the complicated story of Mick Riva’s (who you might recognize from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) family and the beautiful relationship between his children. The writing in this novel is outstanding, just like Reid’s other works. I did find it to be a slower pace but that did not take away from the overall story. All the characters in this book were extremely lovable and the family dynamic between the Riva family is absolutely heart wrenching. I loved the character development of Nina Riva and it honestly almost had me in tears. The dual timeline really adds to the development of the plot in a interesting and tasteful way. I love love love how the information was revealed through out that helped builded up to the ending. The only thing I wish it had more of was the fire. It seemed like that was going to be a really big part of the story but it turns out it wasn’t. Still an amazing read and I would recommend it to anyone!

Fav quote:
“When there is only you, you do not get to choose which job you want, you do not get to decide you are incapable of anything. There is no room for distaste or weakness. You must do it all. All of the ugliness, the sadness, the things most people can’t stand to even think about, all must live inside of you. You must be capable of everything.”

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cozygrovereads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

oh. my. GODDDD. another tjr i DEVOURED. i almost didn't want this to end. it was absolutely amazing. i might have enjoyed this a tiny bit more than the seven husbands of evelyn hugo? but i'm not sure, i'm still running on the adrenaline of finishing this last night. 😭 i absolutely fell in love with all the riva siblings, yet somehow started hating mick more and more AND MORE! but it's fine. i loved how this was told as a then/now dual pov from how mick fell for june and then the now following their children. i really did love and feel for june, she deserved so much better. she reminded me so much of my mom. i won't go into all of that, but yeah, i loved her despite her flaws and tragic ending. now the riva siblings?! i love each and every one of them. i loved nina, the most selfless angel. i loved kit, her gay awakening was so sweet, and her banter with jay was literally so cute. i loved jay and hud so much, jay reminded me of my little brother. this book was just amazing and i resonated so much with all of the characters. i loved most of the side characters as well, casey was so sweet, vanessa i adored, ricky was amazing, tarine was such a girl boss. i want to reread and annotate this so bad. it was so quotable. the characters were so well rounded. nina was by far my favorite, the way she completely stepped up and took the adult role so young was so inspiring. the way she did things she never wanted to do just to support her family. the way she finally lets herself loose at the end, her development was top-notch, her ending was so beautiful, it couldn't have been better. i don't care how cheesy that sounds. anyways, i feel like this is getting very rambly. but just know, i will be thinking about this book for a LONG time. i'm going to be so annoying about taylor's books this year, i can feel it. stay tuned for the next one!

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ellelockley's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's August 1983 and Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party is underway. By 12am it is out of control, by the morning it will have gone up in flames. Taylor Jenkins Reid is an amazing world builder, the way all her books link to one another is absolutely fascinating. The characters are always so well written, whether they're terrible people or not. The Riva siblings are some of the most amazing character written in modern literature and I just adored this book so much. I loved the two different time periods going on at the start, and how it makes you want to keep reading further. Safe to say I will be reading more TJR books. I recommend this book to everyone.

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juliebrd's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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