Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Malibu Rising

I enjoyed the book. I love how characters overlap in her books and all stories are weaved through each other. An interesting little family drama, that honestly I’d read a sequel to. Especially if it was about Kit. Curious for more of her story.

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mellowmei's review against another edition

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emotional fast-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? Yes

3.75

I loved this book, I think that if you’re into dramatic reality tv you’d really like this. I however think, I personally loved the first half of the novel though, as during the second part of the novel. It felt kind of hard to remember all the characters, as multiple different ‘new characters’ were introduced. I think I would’ve personally, cut that sort of fluff out and would’ve focused on the relationship between the siblings more. Overall, I enjoyed the Riva siblings, and their dynamic together. I found it so sweet, how they quickly they accepted Casey. I also appreciated, how even how realistic it was for them to not be “buddy-buddy” like with their father even after he had apologized for his transgressions.

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sarajjj_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

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brooklynelle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Another wonderful TJR read. The end is a little anti-climatic but the premise of the book, the way it’s told, the background ensemble being woven in and the heart of the Riva family was beautiful!

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kamy2104's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I was rooting for Nina. All the others annoyed me, but TJR does showcase their bond well throughout.

Pacing was quite slow until 1/3 into the book, when it picked up, but then lost momentum in the final chapters.

The party was so reminiscent of a Gatsby party, and what happens seems so outlandish it's difficult to feel invested in it.

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noelle_madison's review against another edition

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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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isabellemay14's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is for eldest daughters and eldest daughters only. I loved the first half with the flashbacks to Mick and June and the beginnings (and ends) of their life together, and how their oldest child, Nina, really stepped up to fill in the gaps in parenthood for her younger siblings. Nina’s journey and resilience throughout the whole book is written so beautifully that, in contrast, the journeys of the rest of the siblings seems pretty lackluster. I enjoyed the second half of the book distinctively less so, as the focus really became about the party. I had expected more of a mystery surrounding the events of the party, but instead it was kind of just a devolution of how chaotic things became with a million irrelevant characters doing a million things. The multitude of POV’s definitely lent to the feeling of chaos throughout the night but just didn’t hold my interest as much as the stories of Mick and June and Nina. Overall definitely not my favorite TJR read, but still had its moments.

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