Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Malibu Rising

Reviews tagging Car accident

Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

176 reviews

lchambers394's review

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I started this book as a a fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and left as a fan of TJR!!!

It is SO easy to fall in love with both her writing and characters. TJR's writing is suspenseful, powerful, delicate, and elegant all at the same time. You're waiting for the hook at the end of the book (and are reminded of it in the most beautiful and punchy way) and yet you love every single part of the journey. You're warned of the twists and yet they still surprise you in the most enchanting way. In one single sentence you're shocked, delighted, amused... so many emotions at once, and TJR does it again and again as if it's nothing! I adored and related heavily to Nina, as I'm sure every older sister will. She's so complex and you can really understand her actions. Her character development is a joy to follow and there is one scene near the end (no spoilers, all I will say is cheese!!) that I found incredibly funny and rewarding. Jay, Hud, and Kit are just interesting and easy to love and the sibling bond between them all is so authentic and compelling. The settings were beautifully written; I want to go to all of the restaurant and beaches! All of the side characters contribute to the story and its atmosphere and I loved seeing how they were all tied together at the end!! Talking of the end, I loved how satisfyingly everything was wrapped up. I honestly teared up it was so good.

I only have one real criticism and that was that the first half of the book, the build up to the party, took slightly longer than it could have and for a little while I was just hoping for the party to start. But, ultimately, this didn't stop me loving this book because it just meant a few more pages of TJR's writing!!

This book was both profound and charming, effortlessly charming my heart and leaving me adding every other TJR book to my TBR!

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zara89's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

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daijastoughton's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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kaitlynnnng's review

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dark fast-paced

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

3.0

Mick Riva is a piece of garbage.

Spoiler

I found myself incredibly angry every time Mick and Brandon’s infidelity was brought up. I hate cheaters in real life, and I hated reading about cheaters.

Some of the chapters about other people at the party were interesting, but I found most of them to be confusing and unnecessary.

To me, this book didn’t have a “wow” factor, but I did enjoy reading it.

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guivx5's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I find interesting that every Jenkins book I've read so far differs quite a bit in their formats. "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" bases itself in an interview recording scenario; "Daisy Jones & The Six" is centered around an actual interview transcript. "Malibu Rising", on the other hand, is centered around what happens when the cameras are turned off.

The book is divided in two very defined parts, a very bold move. It was, together with her cutting-edge writing style, risky: if the story was not well supported, it would fall upon itself. But it didn't, because it is a hell of a story. Maybe missing some bits here and there, but very consistent. The consistency between her books is a prime indicator of the care and passion put in these stories. You can feel, with every line, Jenkin's efforts to honor these characters.

About the inconsistencies, they're truly not the biggest deal. Not even that big of a deal.

Spoiler

I personally feel she should've developed more on all siblings other than Nina. Of course, Nina is the center, but Jay's disease plot felt a bit... flat, the treatment it got in the storyline didn't match it's importance. And the same goes for Kit's sexuality (that got a mere two pages worth of development) and Hud's relationship with Ashley (This is the one lacking the most. Jay's beef with Hud for their relationship is so <i>dull</i>, so unexplained. Jenkins has a very straightforward writing style: she tells you what is going on, what that means and how the characters involved feel. If she simply addressed the sexist and idiotic nature of this conflict, it would be enough. But she chose to use it as a narrative point for forgiveness). But, after all, this is a story about an absent father, so I feel like she could've also left these side plots out of the story.

The book's two parts are very different, with the first one focusing on the past and the second one truly devoting itself to express the wild nature of an out-of-control party. Again, risky. But I like it.

Spoiler

Although I felt like a couple of side stories in the second half of the book were kinda useless.

In the end, the story handles well pretty much every aspect it proposes to elaborate on: parenting, abandonment, sexist men and their never-ending urge to fuck everything up... The list goes on, for the nuances Jenkins shows in her stories are many. I surely didn't expect it would be such a good reading experience, and I'm proud to announce that Taylor Jenkins still is one of my favorite authors of all time!

The most heartbreaking thing for Jenkins's fans after reading "Malibu Rising" is realizing that Mick Riva appeared in almost every recent book of hers. He was everywhere, but never where he was needed: with his children.

...

I swear to God, this woman puts crack between the lines of her books.

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