A review by lilifane
Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Do I care about surfing? Nope (although I wouldn't have minded a few more surfing scenes tbh). Do I care about rich and famous people throwing wild parties full of sex, drugs and alcohol? Nooooo. Am I interested in reading about cheating husbands and struggles of being a parent/ raising children? Hell no!!!!
But when Taylor Jenkins Reid writes it, I will apparently still enjoy it. A lot. Her characters are some of the best fleshed out characters I've ever read. Her writing is super immersive. I swear, for 2 days I was part of this family. I was happy with them, sad with them. I laughed and cried with them. All of her characters just feel like real people and once the book is over, it's hard to comprehend that you just left a fictional group of people and need to return to the real world.
Warning, though, the subtitle of this book should be: The AUDACITY of shitty men!
I have never rolled my eyes SO much in my life. The things these men did and the way they reacted to those things and what they expected afterwords. I'm speechless. I get this is intentionally over the top... but truly, it reads pretty accurate.
The women, though: Take my heart, I adore you. Nina is an angel and she deserves the world. Nina's best friend? Marry me, please? Kit is amazing! Can we get a sequel focusing on her? That tennis player? SLAY GIRL!
Although I think the small party episodes were entertaining and great for the atmosphere, there were just too many side characters and names being thrown around. By the end of the party, I was super confused. But then again... that's probably how you feel after these kinds of parties.
And I'm a little confused about the role of the fire in the story. The marketing and how people talked about it made me believe it would play a bigger part in the plot. So my expectations were off, and I think this also contributed to me missing something in the end.
But when Taylor Jenkins Reid writes it, I will apparently still enjoy it. A lot. Her characters are some of the best fleshed out characters I've ever read. Her writing is super immersive. I swear, for 2 days I was part of this family. I was happy with them, sad with them. I laughed and cried with them. All of her characters just feel like real people and once the book is over, it's hard to comprehend that you just left a fictional group of people and need to return to the real world.
Warning, though, the subtitle of this book should be: The AUDACITY of shitty men!
I have never rolled my eyes SO much in my life. The things these men did and the way they reacted to those things and what they expected afterwords. I'm speechless. I get this is intentionally over the top... but truly, it reads pretty accurate.
The women, though: Take my heart, I adore you. Nina is an angel and she deserves the world. Nina's best friend? Marry me, please? Kit is amazing! Can we get a sequel focusing on her? That tennis player? SLAY GIRL!
Although I think the small party episodes were entertaining and great for the atmosphere, there were just too many side characters and names being thrown around. By the end of the party, I was super confused. But then again... that's probably how you feel after these kinds of parties.
And I'm a little confused about the role of the fire in the story. The marketing and how people talked about it made me believe it would play a bigger part in the plot. So my expectations were off, and I think this also contributed to me missing something in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Police brutality and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident and Medical content