Reviews tagging 'Death'

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

270 reviews

noelle_madison's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

I decided to read this book after loving “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” and “One True Loves” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’m so glad I did because man did this book take me on a journey! 

This book focuses on four siblings, Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit, throwing their annual party at Nina’s house in Malibu. It is set over 24 hours in August of 1983. This story is jam packed with drama, emotion, relationships of all forms, and pure entertainment. I was intrigued the whole time because I no idea where this story was going to take me next! There were so many side characters that I’ll admit sometimes it was a little hard to keep up with and remember everyone, but it didn’t take away from the overall pull of the story. This book will have you absolutely hooked! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pregnancy and Fire/Fire injury

hollylayne22's review against another edition

challenging hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

carlyjoann's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I adore pretty much every book TJR writes and this was no exception. Her books always draw me in with the authenticity of the characters she creates. I could hardly put this book down because I just wanted to know the characters more and more. Even with the start of the book telling you where the plot was going I was hooked and needed to see how things ended. It was beautifully heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

sierrabowers's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

ninatw's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood

literarypenguin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Malibu Rising was a book I was excited about because it was by one of my favorite authors Taylor Jenkins Reid. She has written one of my favorite books The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so it was disheartening to read this book and be disappointed afterwards. 

The story when it was revolving around the Riva children was actually very compelling and interesting. I loved when we followed each of them learning about who they were, what their lives were like, and what troubles they were facing. The chapters involving their parents were particularly fascinating to me seeing how their parents met, fell in love, and how their marriage ended in turmoil. You could also see parallels of their parents decisions happening to them in the way they handled their own lives.  

Like I mentioned the Riva children were interesting, Nina with her constant stride for perfection putting herself last after her siblings, Jay with his ambition to become a well known surfer with a fear of letting people down, Hud with his gentle heart and sensitivity, and Kit with her wild child personality while trying to discover who she is as a person. However i felt like the book at times didn't focus enough on the Riva siblings and introduced more characters then was necessary. I felt like more time was given to people we didn't care about rather then just focusing on them. That would have made the story much better in my opinion. 

Not her best book but I look forward to reading more of Taylor Jenkins Reid novels which I hear the majority of her books are really good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

rachel_jones03's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

ellaraeread's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, and Abortion

lucyrudd's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol