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A review by literarypenguin
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury