Summary:
It is 1983, and the Riva siblings are planning their annual end-of-summer party. Sex, dugs, celebrities, and loud music are what the partygoers expect for this summer bash.
Nina is a beautiful former competitive surfer who became a supermodel. She holds this party at her house she shared with her pro tennis player husband every year. This year is different; however, because her husband has left her for a female pro tennis player. Every tabloid is reporting on this scandal, and Nina is dreading seeing the various celebrities and people who show up since her private life is smeared everywhere.
Hud and Jay have been raised more like twins than brothers due to their ages being so close. Each of them hold a dark secret from each other.
Kit is the baby basically raised by her siblings, and she has her own secrets.
The night will end with nothing ever remaining the same for these siblings. By the first page, the readers are told that the mansion goes up in flames the next morning.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed Malibu Rising, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to the same standards as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Maybe in Another Life, and Daisy Jones.
I enjoy that Reid has the art of really creating an accurate visual of specific time periods. I enjoyed the family dynamics of the Riva family.
It was hard to connect with any of the characters due to the format of the book, which is unlike Reid’s other beloved books. Mitch Riva, the father of the siblings, was one character I hoped to learn more about. There is very little development with Mitch’s character.
I read this book in about a 24 hour period at the beach, so it was an encompassing story which kept my attention to find out what the outcome of the party would be despite the fact that we knew it would end with the house burning down.
Hockey Sticks, Grips, and trips 