Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Book Review (Contains Spoilers)| Carenza Bramwell

Title- Malibu Rising

Author- Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Series- N/A 

Published- 2021

Page Count- 365 pages

Publishing House- Penguin Random House 

Genre- Modern Literature 

Rating- 4.5/5 stars

About the Author

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the New York Times Bestselling novels Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Her novel, Daisy Jones and the Six, is currently being adapted by Hello Sunshine into a limited series for Amazon. She lives in Los Angeles.

Taken from Taylor's website.

Plot

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six.

A lifetime holding it together.

One party will bring it crashing down.

Malibu: August, 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over-especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud-because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he's been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can't stop thinking about promised she'll be there. And Kit has a couple secrets of her own-including a guest she invited without consulting anyone. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family's generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

Taken from Goodreads.

Opinions 

Like almost everyone in the book community, I have been swept away by the sheer talent that is Taylor Jenkins Reid. I adored The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I consider to be one of my favourite books of all time, and I enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six. So, it goes without saying that I was incredibly excited for this book. It actually came out in May but I decided to hold off reading it until August as I wanted to read it in the month it was set. I'm actually really glad I did this as it add a bit of a special twist to my reading experience.

I could not stop reading this book. I read it in 2 days because I was just hooked from beginning to end. At no point was I bored or wanting to read something else. This story had it's claws in me and held me the whole way. I think aside from Daisy Jones, I have flown through all of Taylor's books (well the three I've read). There's something in her writing, which I'll go into more detail about later in this post, that makes it impossible to put down. 

The Riva family were a very compelling cast of characters. They were all very flawed, yet they were likeable. I loved that we got all of their perspectives and we saw how events from their past impacted at them during the party. I'm not sure I could even pick a favourite because they all had different interesting aspects. I even liked Mick because you got to see into his perspective and that he wasn't a truly terrible character. They might be some of my new favourite cast of characters.

I only have one complaint about this book and that is that I didn't care for the non-family perspectives scattered throughout the book. Yes they did add flavours to the book, but I just wanted to get back to the central characters and plot while I was reading them. I also felt that some of the secrets that we learnt along the way would have had a stronger impact if the whole Riva family had learnt them. I have a feeling that this will make it onto my favourites list at the end of the year as I just adored this book.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has cemented herself as one of the most talented writers around at the moment. She just keeps on improving with each book she writes. Her characters are flawed and real, her stories have mysteries that you just need to know how they end. I need to catch up on her backlog of books because I don't know what I'm going to do until her next book is out. I cannot wait for the TV shows of her books as I know they'll be epic. 

My Favourite Authors- 2020 Edition| Carenza Bramwell

If you scroll into the depths of my blog, you will find an ancient blog post from 2016-17 (oh those were to good days, can we go back to then?) which lists some of my favourite authors from the time. Three to four years later, it's safe to say that my reading tastes have changed a lot, so I am making an updated reading list which includes my current favourite authors. Quite a few authors have been removed from that list for various reasons and lots of new authors have been added. 

Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare made the cut in 2016/7 and she makes it again this year. Cassie's books will always hold a special place in my heart as they were the books that led me to discovering YA books. I've always been a bookworm, but these books opened the door for me and made me want to read all the time. I am always excited for the latest release from Cassie and what she's going to do with my precious babies next. The Infernal Devices will always be my favourite series from her and I am enjoying being back in that world so much with The Last Hours. Cassie creates easy to read, yet highly engaging books. She has some of the most diverse book casts out there and there is a book and character for everyone.  

Adam Silvera

Another writer who made the cut on the original list and makes it again is Adam Silvera. Despite the fact that I didn't enjoy his most recent release, Adam is still the king of contemporary novels. I've read all of his contemporary releases to date and each one punches me in the gut harder than the last one, which is just rude. Adam always tackles incredibly important issues, especially LGBT ones and being Latino. He has a way of creating characters that makes you fall for them and get emotionally devastated when he ruins their lives. Just once can't he write a happy contemporary where they have a happy life?   

Laini Taylor

For the first new to this list author, I had to choose Laini Taylor. Exactly a year ago, I read Strange the Dreamer and fell in love with her writing style. She has such a beautifully descriptive style, yet the story and meaning never get lost in the words. Her characters are also so layered that you can't help but fall for them. I had the pleasure of meeting Laini in 2017, after the release of Strange the Dreamer and I was ashamed that I had never read one of her books before. The Strange the Dreamer duology is amongst some of my favourite all time books, from the exterior to the interior, these books are some of the most beautiful I own. I am slowly making my way through the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and thoroughly enjoying it.  

Shelby Mahurin 

A little book called Serpent and Dove dropped last year and changed my life. It had been a very long time since I had fallen head over heels in love with a book. I am desperate for the sequel to come out in about a months time in the UK. It was a book that I couldn't put down. It was a book I didn't want to put down. I was desperate to find out what would happen to Lou and Reed next. They had one of the best hate to love relationships I have ever seen. The characters were sassy and funny. I hope nothing too bad happens to my little beans in Blood and Honey but knowing what authors are like, they do like to torture their characters and readers.  

Taylor Jenkins Reid 

I remember everyone raving about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and saying how great it was. For once, they hype was aptly deserved. That book was incredible. It was another one that I couldn't put down and I read it in about two days. I loved how the story moved from the present day to Evelyn's life. The title draws you in, you want to know why she had seven husbands. But ultimately you want to know who was the true love of her life. The characters felt so real and the way it was written, you felt as though you had been dragged into the book. You were going along on this journey with the two main characters. I did also enjoy Daisy Jones and the Six, but not as much as Evelyn. I look forward to what Taylor releases next and to catch up on some of her books that are currently released. 

Alice Oseman 

Finally on this list is one of my new favourite contemporary authors, Alice Oseman. Alice writes the best UK based YA Contemporary novels. I have loved pretty much everything she has released. All her books tackle LGBT themes, which is something you don't see that often in UK based novels. She is also the only British author to make it on this list. The Heartstopper series is so wholesome while tackling quite series issues. She just knows how to craft a story and how to make you care. I will automatically buy anything she releases. She also happens to be an exceptionally talented artist and I am desperate to get my hands on some of her artwork.

So that concludes my new favourite authors list. I imagine I'll update this in about five years time with new favourite authors. Who is your favourite author?

Carenza :) x