Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid ~ Book Review
Book: Malibu Rising
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Blurb: 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.
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.
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First off, beautiful front cover! I love the sunny seaside colours gently changing into the next.
I found this book to be rich in character detail, sad and hopeful, and a real insight into the '80s vibe.
To be totally honest, I wasn’t into this book. However, I was invested enough to want to keep reading and find out what happens which is a compliment to Taylor’s storytelling. The reason is, that the book explores serious and negative themes. Now, I was on holiday so this wasn’t the type of reading I was after. That being said, the quality is very good and I’d recommend this to teens of the ‘80s and fans of historical & psychological fiction.
I'd love to know if anyone else read this book and thought the same thing. Throughout, I had Elvis in mind for Mick’s character. I found similarities with their rise in fame, popularity and lack of fidelity. Even though, obviously, the '80s were decades after Elvis's time I could understand the zeitgeist of how this decade was and how it came to be.
I constantly felt a bit down by the problems the Riva's faced. Although there are definitely joyful moments and love and excitement, I found that the issues overruled the vibe.
As a final note. I was more than happy with the conclusion. I felt that the characters progressed to where they needed to be in a satisfying way. It also meant that I could put the book down and think okay the journey was worth reading.
Overall not a book for me but written very well and I can appreciate the skill it took to put this story together.
You can find the book here: Amazon / Bookshop.org
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Thank you for reading! I'm always looking for more books, so please feel free to get in touch with your suggestions.
Lots of love,
Bud xx
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