Malibu Rising

I joined another book club this time with my mom’s group. Their pick for May was Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is my second book by TJR (absolutely loved Maybe in Another Life) so I was excited to see the hype of this one.

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives will change forever.

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 for him 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 rising to the surface.

Malibu Rising is told in two parts. The first part is the part before the party. This part tells the story of the Riva children’s day as well as the history of Mick Riva’s. I loved this part. I loved reading about Mick and June’s story as well as how the kids grew up. There were little hints at things that made me wonder exactly what happened and kept me reading.

The second half of the book is at the party. This is where I lost interest in the book. Instead of just focusing on the children and Mick’s point of view we got the views of many party goers. I felt like it was hard to keep track of who was who and I wasn’t vested in these characters. I knew the house was going to go up in smoke but honestly I didn’t care at this point. I wish the author had just told the story from the original points of view because I think she could have told more of how they were feeling in the moment instead of it being rushed.

While the book was well written and interesting, I didn’t love it. I did love the first half but the second half where it should have been the most interesting fell flat.

Have you read Malibu Rising?