Malibu Rising: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

I give this a 3.5 rounded up to 4. The first section was awesome. We were seamlessly transported between characters and time, in a way that was a nice and flowed well- it felt necessary and satisfying to pop between current story (the 80s) and past (the 50s). Both were fun eras and I like the look into Hollywood of those times. Fast forward to the party. Now the jumping between characters gets a little annoying (and often felt unnecessary). All of a sudden we were reading about characters we knew nothing about and honestly cared nothing about. It felt like filler. Perhaps it was supposed to give us the feeling of hopping around a party and/or help set the stage. It was a little fun when in the end several of the stories came full circle with the arrests, however it just felt like filler and even annoyance. Overall though- I was really into it, entertained by it and breezed through it.

How do I even begin to describe the genius and delight that is Taylor Jenkins Reid?

When I read the description for 'Malibu Rising,' I was a little nervous that it couldn't possibly live up to 'Daisy Jones' or, my all-time TJR favorite, 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.'

I should never doubt the great Ms. Reid.

How is it that Reid can write such deeply detailed characters that we, as readers, cannot help but fall in love with OR feel intense hatred for AND keep us turning the pages as fast as our fingers will let us? Reading about the lives of the Riva family, past & present, was riveting and heartbreaking. I loved how Reid wrote Part 1 as flashbacks to the love affair of June & Mick Riva and flashing back forward to their children's current (now adult) lives, especially since Part 2 is set only in the present and only within a couple hours at The Party at Nina's modern beachside mansion.

During the party scenes, we see all we need to in what's happening with the Rivas, but, as a fun aside, we get tiny peeks into moments of the other party guests, as well - such a fun sidebar to the drama happening with our main characters.

There are many, many fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and the beautiful books she creates. However, I know there were also many that were turned off by her change of format with 'Daisy Jones.' (If you are one of those readers, might I suggest giving it a try on audio? Having different actors/voices made all the difference for me and let me sink into the story much easier.) But if you are a lover of all things 'Evelyn Hugo,' and all the other delight from Reid's backlist, you are going to LOVE 'Malibu Rising.'

Fingers crossed Reid keeps this 'Decades' trend going and we'll see her next novel set in the 1990s.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Netgalley & Random House/Ballentine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. I cannot wait to get my physical copy when it comes out June 1st. Hands down a Five Star Read.

This book brought so many feelings out of me. Some of the main topics written about in this book hit very close to home and I can’t help but feel emotional. So many memorable/relatable quotes, but taking this one away with me forever:
“Her job was to sort through the box. To decide what to keep, and to put the rest down. She had to choose what, of the things she inherited from the people who came before her, she wanted to bring forward. And what, of the past, she wanted to leave behind.”

5⭐️
Taylor jenkins reid has a way if writing that grabs you and doesn’t you go. This book made me cry several times. I felt i knew the characters and even after finishing it a few days ago, I am still thinking about them.

I loved seeing characters from her other books being talked or making an appearance. It’s hard to choose which book to start off with in this quartet because each one is amazing!

So many characters in this book had no purpose. It started off well with an interesting setting and characters but then it just kind of got out of control. Not my cup of tea