{"id":1418,"date":"2021-08-27T06:36:26","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T06:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2021-08-27T06:36:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T06:36:37","slug":"malibu-rising-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1418","title":{"rendered":"Malibu Rising Book Review!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hi Readers! Last week I read my third Taylor Jenkins Reid book. I don\u2019t need to remind you how much I loved \u2018Daisy Jones & The Six<\/a>\u2019 and \u2018The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo<\/a>!’ But, I honestly did not enjoy Malibu Rising even one third as much as I enjoyed her earlier two novels. I did feel that there was less depth to the story from the beginning. Even though the characters are carved with detail & love, I just couldn\u2019t get into this book for some reason. The high point for me was when \u2018Celia St. James\u2019 is mentioned in the early part of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, their lives will change forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malibu: August, 1983. It\u2019s the day of Nina Riva\u2019s 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\u2014especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he\u2019s been inseparable since birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can\u2019t stop thinking about promised she\u2019ll be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own\u2014including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malibu Rising<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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~~THOUGHTS~~<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~~CHARACTERS~~<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a talent of creating memorable characters, giving them a rich history, complex emotions & that extra Taylor x factor. But, in Malibu Rising, I couldn\u2019t feel that sort of connection with any of the characters. We have our 4 siblings; Nina, Jay, Hud & Kit<\/strong><\/span>. Their parents Mick & June<\/strong><\/span> are also some of the main characters. Yes, I felt a lot of sympathy for June and also for Nina, but it was just surface level. For the other characters, there was absolutely no striking thing that I could remember them by. Because of this disconnect with the readers, it was a long & difficult read for me. Naturally, I had high expectations with regards the characters because Taylor has given us characters like Daisy Jones & Evelyn Hugo<\/strong><\/span>! In comparison to all the characters of those two books, I think the characters in Malibu Rising were extremely disappointing for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

~~STORY LINE~~<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The story of Malibu Rising is average at best. There are two parallels in this. First is the story of Mick and June, and second is the current story of the 4 siblings.<\/strong><\/span> The first story was insufferable & I did not have the best time reading it. Because it was more of a love story leading to heartbreak again & again & again, I lost interest whenever this part of the story came on. The second story however did not live up to the hype. We are told early on how crazy the annual Riva party is & then what we get just doesn\u2019t measure up to it. People swinging off the chandelier & people throwing dinner plates like frisbees is just not what I had expected. It was not very entertaining either. There wasn\u2019t a lot of chemistry between the two story lines which was a big letdown too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have said this before & I say it again that I love Taylor Jenkins Reid. But as it can be with any author, you may not like a book they have written. This was a first Taylor Jenkins Reid novel which I did not like, but because I had loved her other 2 books, I knew I had to read it. If you are in the same boat as me, you can read Malibu Rising. If you have never read any books by Taylor Jenkins Reid, then you can start with Malibu Rising, then read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo & then Daisy Jones & The Six. If you were a fan of particularly those 2 books, then I suggest you get into this one with low expectations. If you are looking for a light read, you can read Malibu Rising. If you are looking for a book to get you out of your reading slump, then this one might not be the one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I have rated Malibu Rising at 2\/5 stars<\/strong><\/span>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! Last week I read my third Taylor Jenkins Reid book. I don\u2019t need to remind you how much I loved \u2018Daisy Jones & The Six\u2019 and \u2018The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!’ But, I honestly did not enjoy Malibu Rising even one third as much as I enjoyed her earlier two novels. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,23,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-book-reviews","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/MalibuRisingFI.jpg?fit=683%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1425,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1425","url_meta":{"origin":1418,"position":0},"title":"Books Read in August 2021!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"August 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Another month up & gone! I READ SEVEN BOOKS THIS MONTH & even more exciting is that I loved 5 out of those 7 books of those 7 books which rarely happens to me. ~~THE ONES I LOVED~~ ~~BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD & BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/4.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2644,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2644","url_meta":{"origin":1418,"position":1},"title":"Carrie Soto is Back: It’s a Tennis Story This Time!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"March 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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I read Atmosphere by Taylore Jenkins Reid (TJR) several weeks ago, and only now did I get the time to write a review. With any novel of TJR\u2019s, the story stays with you for a while, so here we go! ~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~ From the #1\u00a0New York Times\u00a0bestselling author\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PXL_20250720_070426703-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PXL_20250720_070426703-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PXL_20250720_070426703-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PXL_20250720_070426703-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PXL_20250720_070426703-2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2326,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2326","url_meta":{"origin":1418,"position":3},"title":"Books Read in October 2022!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"October 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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