Malibu Rising: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

I think it's fair to say that TJR is an amazing writer. Normally, I am not interested in the tragic drama of rich people. I'm not even a fan of reality TV. But this family in particular had me invested. This book was like This is Us meets The Kardashian's or some other annoying celebrity reality show. While I felt for a number of the characters, there were just too many names to keep track of. And that pulled me out of the story a bit.

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.

Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again. She has some of the most well developed characters in fiction and I always know I'm in for a treat whenever I pick up one of her books. This one was no exception.

I really enjoyed the format of this book going from past to present. It had sad moments, happy moments, and all out crazy moments. I enjoyed getting POV's from multiple characters, in multiple timelines, and even though one would think it'd be hard to keep up it's done so well that you never get lost.

Reid always has such diverse characters and her storylines are clean and well developed. I thought it was really cool to see her do a bit of cross over from Evelyn Hugo. I picked up the audio on release date and I'm so glad I did because it was so good!

I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a great fiction that touches on family dynamics in the world of Hollywood fame and fortune. It definitely gives you old time movie vibes.

Another me pleaser, I loved the family dynamics between siblings, their mother and estranged father.

Ari's pick.