In 2020 I discovered this fabulous, creative, and world shaking author.  I started with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and it snowballed from there.  

Reading this book we are brought back to L.A. in a dual timeline.  In one time line we experience one night, in hourly format at Nina Riva’s, Mick Riva’s daughters, house.  This is the party to be at every summer in LA if you are anyone who knows anything.   The other timeline is the story of Mick Riva and his love with June, and how the family life turned out.  

The chapters spend much time switching from the present time of the party, which is in 1982, and different years of the Riva’s life.  

This will be another hit from TJR I can feel it in my bones.  It was so great to read about different cameos of the worlds of Daisy and Evelyn that it made me love the story even more.  If you loved any other TJR books you will love Malibu Rising.  This is a story about family, love, finding your own purpose in life, and dealing with the consequences of your life choices. It is a story to be remembered.  

Nina Riva and all her siblings will now reside tucked into my heart and share space with the lovely Evelyn, and tantalizing Daisy for the remainder of my days.   

Lastly I would like to send my deepest thanks to Ballantine books and #netgalley for an early release digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Taylor Jenkins Reid writes Historical Fiction like no other, and Malibu Rising just furthered that point. Reid always does a phenomenal job of immersing her readers in the time and place of her books. I could picture Malibu so vividly, it allowed the plot and characters to simply fall off the page. The themes of family that course through this book undoubtedly stand out, for their composition and strength is so heartfelt and impactful. I cannot wait for readers to dive into Malibu Rising, a shining Historical Fiction book that will transport you on your dream summer vacation.

Taylor Jenkins Reid just keeps getting better. I enjoyed Evelyn Hugo, I loved Daisy Jones, and Malibu Rising lived up to my expectations. From the minute I picked up the book I was immediately captivated. I love the way Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story. The characters are always so real and raw and they descriptions are awesome. I enjoyed the story from the very beginning to the end. The way everything is weaved together through the big annual party the Riva siblings throw every year.. This is going to be one of the books I recommend to everyone.  

This review is posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon and other relators when published. 
Thank you for the opportunity to review this early copy.

A solid read. This book checks off all the boxes of a relatable story for me: spectacular setting, characterization, plot development, tone....the author's talent for description really engages her reading audience. Her style of writing draws you in such that you're an insider into this family's dynamic. 

The one downfall of the story is that as much as this story draws you in, you might also want to leave it and forget about it. In this way it is entirely relatable to one's own (my own) life story, I live my life every day, but some days I'd like to leave it, set it aside, escape it. Perhaps the issues this novel's family confronts are indeed so commonplace that it becomes too much like my own - such that the escape component of a good read isn't there. 

I will be recommending this title especially to those in my world in Malibu - my colleagues and students especially but also friends and family outside of the area.

Thank you kindly Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the e-ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of 2021! 

TITLE & AUTHOR: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

CW: alcoholism, infidelity, drug use, accidental drowning, house fire, family separation, neglect

PLOT: 

Mick Riva is a famous rock star first, and a father last. An unfaithful husband, he has four children before leaving his first wife June, and leaves behind a trail of ex-wives and mistresses. 

June's life spirals out of control when Mick leaves her, which was heartbreaking to watch.

In 1983, the Rivas are gearing up for their annual end-of-summer party. 

Nina, the eldest daughter, is a supermodel and surfer who gave up her education to take care of her siblings. Her entire life revolves around everyone else. Jay, twin of Hud, is a well-known surfer with a big-time life-changing secret. Hud is a photographer whose life is to document Jay's surfing, but he is keeping a major secret from his brother. Finally, Kitt is the youngest daughter, is struggling to find herself. 

As the party reaches a fever pitch, secrets are revealed and a fire starts burning. 

NOTES: 
-The story was told on two timelines: one in the summer of 1983 in Malibu, another in the decades prior telling Mick and June's love story
-My favorite part was the sibling's interactions and relationships with one another
-The book is an engrossing family saga that makes you want to know what happens next
-I felt such profound sadness for June and Nina throughout the book 
-I found the "big reveal" at the end to be a little disappointing but I liked how everything was wrapped up
-I really enjoyed the opening pages and the connection to Malibu fires
-This story is a bit more commercialized / genre fiction than SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, which will forever be my favorite; however, it was still an enjoyable read that will easily become a summer favorite 
-I stayed up until 3 AM finishing it and if that isn't an indication of a good book I don't know what is
-Also, 10/10 would watch this as a movie or TV show 

And I did not realize this until later SOMEHOW but Mick is one of Evelyn Hugo's 7 husbands!!! Love that continuity. 

What is your favorite TJR book?

Malibu Rising cinches the fact that I will read anything Taylor Jenkins Reid writes. When I first saw the book was coming, I noticed one classification was “Women’s Fiction.” I was slightly disappointed, but not deterred. (When I mentioned that fact on Twitter, I was corrected by Julia Whelan, who, of course, was right.)

This book is really, really, really good fiction. In fact, it’s great. First, the story - and while it might sound mundane, it’s anything but. I was absorbed instantly and left wanting more. 

It’s actually two intertwined stories:

Mick and June - they meet in Malibu and fall in love before he becomes a famous crooner, who can’t handle the trapping of fame, fortune, and beautiful women. Oh June, you deserved so much more. Her tragic character is beautifully written. 

Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit - the four siblings left to deal with the fallout of their scumbag of a father. The second part of the story details their annual party that brings the rich and famous together with the community. Each of them is so very unique and likable in their own way. Nina is my hero. 

Here are four reasons to read this as soon as you can:

1. The characters are solid and wonderfully built. Like I said, they are so real and she does an incredible job of moving from POV to POV. In fact, she often turns on a dime and because of the tone of her writing and her talent, the reader easily knows whose turn it is.
2. The time shifts are perfect. Reid is so good at shifting in time for relevant backstory without breaking continuity. That is a rare skill that she accomplishes effortlessly. The reader starts with a Mick & June chapter and then moves to a chapter that details an hour of the siblings’ party. We even get to go back in time with ancillary characters to see what makes them tick. 
3. The story is incredibly compelling. Plan some time when you pick it up because you won’t be able to put it down. I was enthralled from first page to last - although there were a couple of tough moments in the story where I was so invested that I had to put it in the freezer (á la Joey Tribbiani).
4. Malibu as a setting. Beautiful. In fact, it’s almost another main character. I never knew the history of the town before it became a play-place of the stars. It felt like a small town that also has the ocean and good surfing. Well-done. 

This is a wonderful story and an instant classic. Read it! 

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC.

Firstly, I loved the format of this story.  It switches from Mick and June’s love story, beginning in 1956, and the twenty four hours leading up to their four children’s wild beach party in 1983.  Usually when stories switch between different points of view, I find myself skimming ahead to find out when I get to read about my favorite character again.  But I truly loved reading about each character and their journey.  I feel like I became friends with all of them and I wish we had more time together. I also loved the themes of new beginnings and self-discovery, no matter how broken things seem to be.  Taylor Jenkins Reid is an exceptional story-teller and I can’t wait to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this book!

As soon as I see a new book from Taylor Jenkins Reid, I must read it!! She has such a strong characterization, makes you feel like there could be real people, especially her strong female leads. And Malibu Rising is no different. Nina and her siblings are all fully fleshed out characters, difficult to do with so many in the forefront. Sometimes when an author has different timelines, like here, skipping between the party in the 1980’s to Mick and June’s relationship in 1965, it can become confusing. But Reid succeeds with effortless flair. It felt seamless, never confusing. I really enjoyed this story and am now going back to some of her earlier works because i enjoy her style so much!

Taylor Jenkins Reid has another hit with her richly drawn characters, Hollywood  backdrop and super-readable plot. The tale of the four Riva siblings is a bit slow to start but it’s hard not to fall in love with them once the scene is set.

This is a fast read and would be fantastic to enjoy at a luxe hotel pool with a frozen drink nearby.

Very enjoyable and compulsively readable.

No one can really take you away like Taylor Jenkins Reid. No one can make you taste the salt of the ocean, feel the brine and crunch of sea water drying in your hair, the sand on your skin, quite like her. No one can make you homesick for a place you’ve never been, for a time before you existed, like her. No one can truly make you feel like she can when you’re reading her books. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of the masters. Period. Not many authors have made me feel such deep emotions while reading. I stumble head over heels into her books and come out barely breathing. 

I have always wanted to see old school Hollywood. California in the 70s, 80s, now. Always wanted to experience the sun-kissed carefree atmosphere. The incredible architecture. The history. The romance. The pure...Hollywood. TJR gifted me a peek into this world I wanted to see and it was everything I imagined. 

Through most of this book, I paused only to google the landmarks. And to let covid knock me on my butt. To watch videos of people driving on the Pacific Coast Highway, to try to wedge myself in the shoes of Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit. 

I fell hard for each of the Riva siblings, and I hated their father alongside them. I found myself invested in each of their storylines and rooting for their growth. 

It truly wouldn’t be a TJR book without tribulation and tragedy. If you aren’t crying, you aren’t feeling it. Did I love this book? Yes. Did I devour it in two sittings between long covid naps? Yes. Did I smile when I ended it? Yes. Will I think about this book for weeks to come? Also, yes. But it wasn’t Evelyn Hugo. It wasn’t Daisy Jones. It was beautiful, it was vivid, touching, delicious, crisp. Despite all these things, it won’t settle in next to my prized copies of the aforementioned books. But I would read it again and again, for TJR will always have my heart. 

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and TJR for gifting me this beautiful story.

Taylor Jenkins Reid? Count me in! I was so excited to get this advanced copy of her newest book “Malibu Rising.” It did not disappoint. 
Meet the Rivas kids, each one with their own personality. The mother hen/supermodel, the pro surfer /dreamer, the people pleaser, and the baby who is trying to find herself. This family has been through everything together and it all comes to a heads the night of their annual summer party. 
The book takes place hour by hour leading up to the party with flashbacks through time showing how this unique family came to be. 
It might be my favorite TJR book to date. This should be on every beach read list when it comes out May 2021.

The very talented Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again. Malibu Rising takes the reader into a world of a multigenerational dysfunctional family and explores whether it’s possible to move through your history and change.
There are two storylines, beginning with the grandparents and parents of the Riva family - mother, June, and deadbeat dad, Mick...and their four children. The kids are now adults and accomplished in their own ways. Nina, the oldest, is a surfer/model who recently split from her tennis star husband, Brandon. Jay is a professional surfer and Hud is a successful photographer who focuses on Jay and the surfing circuit. The youngest sibling, Kit, is a college student and may just be the best surfer in the family.
The second storyline is told throughout the day of Nina’s annual end of summer party. The invite list is very open (if you know about the party you can go) and is very hard to imagine taking place in the present day! The family’s story builds to an explosive crescendo in the final hours of the party (but you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens).
I loved the span of the book from the 50’s to the 80’s and how well Ms. Reid captured the times. I loved the relationship between the siblings - they didn’t always get along and there is literally one serious physical fight, but their love and respect for each other drives them together and you can see why/how they were able to survive their tumultuous childhood. I want to know what happens to them (so maybe a sequel)? And, I loved the character of the mother, June. She’s damaged and challenged, and all because she fell in love with the wrong guy.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read Malibu Rising in exchange for an honest review.

This story is a bit of a departure for this author. It is a commercial women's fiction story and thus vastly different from Evelyn Hugo. While there's nothing wrong with that, I was wanting to love this story more than I did. Instead it is a family drama of siblings figuring out their identities and lives.  Add in some romance and there you have it. I do predict this will be a well loved story by most.

This is #7 for me and I am a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan.  
“Daisy Jones & the Six” is at the top of my ‘like’ list followed by “Forever, Interrupted”, '"Maybe in Another Life" and “One True Love”. Actually like all that I have read but these are on the top of my list! Have not read “Evidence of the Affair” but it is on my TBR list
This story is about the Malibu surf culture in the 80’s and features four surfing siblings Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. They grew up in a beach house, so surfing was something that was a natural thing to do. 
	 Aww ~ One look at the great cover gives us a look at this family of surfers!
Financially they have struggled most of their lives raised by their mother ~ their father abandoning them when they were young.
 Now that surfing has paid off ~ all are rather famous with Nina the most famous due to her modeling and surf wear endorsement. So every year that celebrate the end of summer by throwing an annual house party no invitations ~ everyone is welcome to celebrate. 
Story starts at 7:00 am on August 28, 1983 and end at 7:00am on August 29, 1983 Yep a 24hr saga!
However story does go back in time when the parents June and Mick Rivas met and fell in love. Mick is a performer in more ways than one ~he actually could have been a character in “Daisy Jones & the Six”.
He provided for the family when the children were young but he is a player and just could not be faithful to his wife whom he claimed he loved.

Did not disappoint and yep was a Crazy emotional story! My favorite characters are Nina and Hud ~ how about you?

Again I love reading the Author’s acknowledgements. Always pleased to get a peek as to what goes on in an author’s head ~ an inside view as to how the ideas get started!! 

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review.  Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 25, 2021

Every year the four Riva's, children of the very famous absent Mick Riva, throw the party of the season in glamorous Malibu. Set in the 1980's the story bounces between party night and the back story of how the family grew to be who they are.  I loved everything about this book. It has everything wonderfully written characters, a great plot, lots of Hollywood glitz and glamour, an amazing setting, and just the right balance between comedy and tragedy.  You'll love each one of the Riva children.  It's sure to be the book of the summer of 2021.

Thank you to Taylor Jenkins Reid, NetGalley, and Random House-Ballantine for this complimentary ARC!  We were honestly shocked and excited to receive this ARC, as it is one of our most anticipated reads for 2021.  Taylor Jenkins Reid does it again and I am not even surprised!  When Taylor releases a book, I know that I am going to read it!  Malibu Rising was perfection and Taylor at her finest!  Once again, she transports us to a different time period.  I was immediately enthralled and immersed into this book!  This will be one of the top selling book of 2021!  Highly recommend!

Our review will be shared on Instagram closer to the release date!

It took me a few days to recover from this book before I was ready to write a review! I adore all of Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels, and this was no different. It is so easy to get sucked in and spend hours being transported to a different place. In this case, I got to spend my days in Malibu circa 1980s. What a trip! 

Reid's characters are well developed; they each have their own qualities and flaws. I love the omniscient perspective to truly understand each of them.

Great book - highly recommend!

I wanted to love this book.  I tried.  Malibu Rising tells the narratives of multiple family members in a rising wealthy enclave in Malibu.  There is poverty, wealth, surfing, partying, cheating, live and drama.  I struggled to keep a few characters straight in my mind.  Sadly, this Jenkins Reid nook didn't hold up to my expectations of the author.

A new novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid is basically an event for me. I was super excited to be approved for an ARC of Malibu Rising, a book that contains two different timelines in the lives of the Riva family. Any fan of Reid’s previous novels will recognize Mick Riva, who featured in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & the Six. The two main points of view of this novel include Riva’s first wife June and his oldest daughter Nina.

I feel like I could’ve read a whole book about June. Taylor knows how to tell a story so well that you feel like this must be based on a real person. I hope she continues to delve into the world of celebrity and stardom, because it is definitely her strong point. Without mentioning any spoilers, I can say that I truly felt for June and the struggles she went through during her marriage to Mick.

That’s not to say that Nina isn’t a great character as well. As the oldest child, Nina holds everything together. She puts the world on her own shoulders and doesn’t look back. Devoted to her siblings, she doesn’t let them worry and takes care of them the best she can. I truly admire the way she carries herself and is a worthy Jenkins Reid heroine.

The main build up of the story is to get to the legendary party that the Riva children throw every year. Anyone who’s anyone show up for the party and all bets are off. I enjoyed getting little side stories of characters at the party that you’d normally just hear about in passing. The way Reid writes makes me want more novels set in this 80’s beach paradise with these characters.

I enjoyed how the book wrapped up the storylines with a nice little bow while also making you wonder what’s next for the characters as well. Jenkins Reid hit yet another one out of the park for me. I devoured this book in less than one day, which doesn’t happen often unless I’m truly into the story.

Special thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It will be posted on my Instagram page (http://Instagram.com/caitlinj714) on the day of publication.

This story is set in Malibu in 1983 over the course of 24 hours. During the 24 hours, we see the insane annual Riva party and all of the secrets that come out. As well as the 24 hour period, we also get to see flashbacks from the four sibling’s childhood.

The main character Nina is not a mother, but she is. She’s fiercely protective of her 3 younger siblings and I adored her character. My heart hurt for her.

TJR is an auto-buy author for me, one of my only. And this is why.

- I loved this book and will pick up a physical copy as soon as I possibly can. 
- She made Malibu into a character entirely on its own. I feel like I’ve visited without ever leaving my apartment.
- The relationships between the parents and the siblings themselves are so interesting and well written.
- Loved the historical context of the Malibu fires.
- Mick is the WORST.

10/10 recommend! I will say, Evelyn and Daisy are still my favorites.