naturally's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
Graphic: Drug use, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: Blood
ptitirodactyle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Cursing, Body shaming, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Eating disorder
braelynm_22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“Family is found...whether it be blood or circumstance or choice, what binds us does not matter. All that matters is that we are bound.”
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Car accident
Lots of making out and sexual content.dannythestreet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood, Classism, Sexual content, Stalking, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Abortion
aliyachaudhry's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, and Abortion
amgarrido's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, and Violence
marieos's review
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Violence, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Car accident, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Abortion, Blood, and Miscarriage
annoyedhumanoid'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
3.75
i most enjoyed the plots concerning the core four siblings and, later, their plus-one. you'd think they be the majority of the plot, but there are a lot of subplots that have little-to-no bearing on the main storyline, and i understand wanting to make this gigantic party with all these interesting people feel more alive, but after a while i stopped caring and just wanted to skip to the Rivas. it was overall pretty good though
book cover discussion: the British one is so much better than that of the United States, like the pretty sunset/fire (👀) colors, the serif font. unfortunately it doesn't carry over perfectly to the square aspect ratio for the audiobook.
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Body shaming, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Vomit, Car accident, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Police brutality
anniefwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Spoiler
But the ending to me felt contrived, almost too saccharine. I found it hard to believe that SO many plot lines would all be resolved in one night. I wanted things to be more open-ended than they were.Graphic: Infidelity, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexism, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Abortion, Car accident, Miscarriage, Blood, Police brutality, and Racism
writingcaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved this tale of the Rivas, these four Malibu born siblings with surf, sand and love in their hearts, their beautiful relationship with each other, their care and protectiveness, but also how each of them was impacted by the trauma of abandonment and how that reflects in their current lives.
The narrative takes place in only a day, 24h, in the present, where Nina, the eldest, a model who has just been cheated on and left by her husband, is preparing to host the Riva’s anual party event at her mansion in Malibu, but while we see each hour go by we are brought back to the past, to their parents relationship, to their father’s fame, to their abandonment and poverty, and to the sad fact that Nina ends up carrying so much of the family’s responsibilities on her shoulders.
I know some people felt that there were too many POV, not only did that not bother me at all, I actually felt it was quite impressive that we could glimpse so much of what was happening through those many eyes, and I was also amazed by the ability of the author to create such different characters, with such specific characteristics, backgrounds and idiosyncrasies,some of them in only one or two chapters. It made the tale come alive and, again, feel so freaking real.
I also really loved that Portugal was mentioned a couple of times 😉
It didn’t supplant my fave, Daisy Jones & The Six, but I got the same connection to the characters that I did on that one.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Abortion, and Miscarriage