Malibu Rising

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4.75/5

Family. Fame. Fortune. The four Riva siblings seem to have it all, including an epic annual end-of-summer party in Malibu. But in August 1983, their party gets out of control and by morning, the mansion is up in flames. Malibu Rising tells the story of a family’s struggle with heartbreak, scandal, and life’s painful curveballs. It alternates between their rise to fame over several decades and the hours before and after that fateful party.

I absolutely loved this story! Their family’s history is so interesting and yet so tragic. I admire the siblings’ connection and their relentless fight to overcome what could tear them down. As usual, Taylor Jenkins Reid does an excellent job of making it feel like these characters are real. Especially because she overlaps her novels in such a subtle way that it does not matter which one we read first.

It was a bit difficult to keep track of some of the party guests’ side-stories, which I believe would work better if it was a movie. But it did add to the realistic element of this story. It also made it more immersive — as though we were walking around this crazy party and observing how everything connects. It’s worth reading regardless of the season! 😎🌴

Thank you to Hello Sunshine and Reeses Book Club for this copy! I can’t wait to read it again! 😄

Goodreads Choice Award:
Winner for Best Historical Fiction (2021)

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.

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 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 bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising 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.