Review of “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

All I can say is wow. One of the best books that I read in 2020! Hands down a 5 star read.

This novel is about a family of siblings, but so much more. It is set in the 80’s at Nina’s Riva’s annual party at her Malibu house.  You meet the Riva family. Mick is the estranger father who is a famous singer. Their mother, who lived a hard life, has many issues especially that of Mick leaving her for another woman. Then you have the 4 siblings: Nina, Hud, Jay, and Kitt. Each having something to reveal at the party. Nina’s husband left her for another woman; Hud is dating someone that his brother disapproves of, and Kitt and Jay have secrets to reveal of their own. It is mainly about the unbreakable bond of siblings. The author does what the TV show “This is Us” does as well. When there is a side character, they jump to see that characters life. You get a backstory of those characters, which lead to a deeper and enriching story.  So you get the backstory of not only the siblings, but also how their parents met, their childhood, some of the party-goers, etc.

I also loved watching out for those “easter eggs.” The author planted characters from her other novels into this book. Mick Riva (one of the main characters) and Cecilia St. James both from Jenkins book called The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. ***You do not have to read that book to understand this book*** I just squealed when I saw those characters in this book.

Overall, the writing was superb. The characters very well developed. The plot interesting, and a page turner. I have not one bad thing to say about this book but read it!

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