Since reading her other novels (Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) last year, Taylor Jenkins Reid has quite quickly become one of my favourite authors and therefore when her next novel, Malibu Rising was published, I had to get my hands on a copy and read it straight away!

Malibu Rising follows the events of one unforgettable night; Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party. The Riva family are like the Kardashians of 1983 and everyone in Malibu is hoping they are lucky enough to get an invite to the hottest event in town. Yet like all families, the Riva family have their dramas and their secrets. 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 the Riva’s 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.

Let me begin by saying that I personally thought this book fell a little flat in comparison to Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Yet I would also say, I know that a little unfair to Taylor Jenkins Reid because in fact Daisy Jones and The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo are, in my opinion, very different to the typical books that Jenkins Reid writes. I think Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo are very unique, standalone books that are not your typical romance fiction. 

I did find it hard to not compare Malibu Rising to Jenkins Reid’s other work but in order to write a fair review, I have to focus on the bits of the story I did like. I really enjoyed how the book jumped around different timeframes and different narrators because I think as a reader, you get the whole story rather than perhaps a biased telling of events. I found elements of the story truly heart-breaking and in true Jenkins Reid style, the book did explore difficult topics which was really refreshing to read. 

Yet I did struggle to form a connection with the characters, finding Nina, especially, quite bland and hard to understand. I think the other characters were much more developed and interesting to read, even the odd, supporting characters who attended the party. Obviously, that is just my personal opinion but I do believe that it was because of this lack of connection with the characters that led me not to enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. 

However I wouldn’t say that this book has put me off reading her other books, as I would say that it’s made me want to read her other novels even more so I can start comparing any new work to all of Jenkins Reid’s books and not just her most popular, unique novels. 

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