 In this video, I will be sharing the top reviews of the book called, Malibu Rising, written by Taylor Jenkins-Raid, who is the New York Times' best-selling author of Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones in The Six, and the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as four other novels. But before I get to the reviews let's see what this book is about. 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, won 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 of 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. Now let's get to the reviews. Emily from the United Kingdom says I like all kinds of books. I like fast-paced gossipy dramas and slower, character-driven literary works. I like the books that you read desperately, that you can't put down, and the ones that make you stop and contemplate something you hadn't before. But, while I didn't always dislike Malibu Rising, I do think it falls somewhere right between the two, not quite juicy enough to keep me up late, but a far cry from a complex literary novel. Maybe it would have felt more like the latter if it hadn't been stretched so thin over its cast of six central characters. As it is, what we have is a lukewarm soap opera. The Riva family interested me and drew me in initially, but I was left unmoved by the skimming over of some of their struggles. The tumultuous relationship between Mick and June Riva, and the well-drawn setting of 1950s Malibu, was the best part of the book for me, and the pace noticeably slowed when the story returned to their offspring. Jessica from Ireland says there are some authors who were born to tell stories and TJR is one of them. I love the way I'm always pulled into her books. She has a way of writing words that seep into my very being. Every single thing the characters feel, from the big heart-shattering betrayals to the small moments of sibling pride, I feel. TJR doesn't just get a reader to sympathize with characters but empathize with them, and that's what makes reading her books a truly great experience. The Riva siblings feel like real people, people I have come to know and understand and appreciate, and I love that. The characters, honestly can't pick a favorite. They are all great, the awesome setting. This story made me want to surf, and I hate the ocean, beach. The pristine writing. The prologue is one of my favorite chapters of all time. I'll make this a story to remember. It definitely has the same charm and honesty that made both, the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the six, so memorable. TJR never disappoints. Yen from Seattle says I just finished Malibu Rising, and I'm overwhelmed with emotions. I laughed, I cried, and I come away feeling like the Riva family irrevocably touched my heart. On its surface, there's nothing immediately special about this story. It's a tale of functional and dysfunctional relationships and families all wrapped up in the setting of a party, and it's been done many times before. Yet, Taylor Jenkins Reid infuses so much more into it. There's something about her characters, her writing, and her plot, some intangible quality that is more than the sum of its part. It draws me in and keeps me riveted from beginning to end. I think your enjoyment of this book will depend largely on how much you can relate to the drama in here. For me, it rang true, and I was struck by how much I connected with so many different characters and their emotions. The search for love and belonging. The pressure to set aside your passions for familial obligations. The urge to love someone who can't always be there when you need them. It all cut deeply through me. My one nitpick is that when we get to the actual party, there were too many side characters and it took a little bit away from the focus of the story. I'm not sure if we needed to know all of them, and their introduction and side issues became a bit confusing and convoluted to me. But it's a pretty minor quibble overall. Chelsea from California says this was a weird reading experience for me if I'm being honest. I absolutely blew through it, picking my Kindle up to sneak in an extra page or two during every spare moment that I had. I adored the first 60-ish percent of the story, but things kind of started to go downhill for me as we approached the big party and the ultimate climax of everything. As we get into the party, we go from reading exclusively from the perspectives of the Rivas to reading short little snippets from a bunch of random party guests and it all just ended up feeling a little disjointed to me. I feel like that aspect mixed with the way that the main plot wrapped up made the ending feel... unspectacular? That feels so harsh to say because I honestly did enjoy the book as a whole, but I can't help but wish that I hadn't ended up quite as disappointed in the ending as I did. I DK this reading experience was v-weird and this review was really ramble-y but tldr. This was an asterisk perfect asterisk for me, but I did still enjoy it and I definitely plan to continue reading everything that Taylor Jenkins Reid publishes in the future. David from the United States says the depth of characters, their motivations and most importantly the voice, top shelf skill level. The story is about one night, one party in Malibu, a unique idea, not sure anyone else could have pulled it off so well. To make it work we had to know the characters intimately before the party starts. There are two interwoven plotlines, the day of the party, we the reader, are taken through hour by hour leading up to the annual soiree. The second storyline is the history that motivates the characters, how they got to where they were in life before the party starts. For me, this is the only weakness in the structure. The book opens with the more current story, the day of the party which is interesting but then alternates with the historical storyline. For me, the history storyline is more engaging. I found myself wanting to be in the historical part, the character building more than the build up to the party. There is more conflict and energy. Don't get me wrong the build up to the party is great, it's just overshadowed in greatness. Then as the story timelines grow together it just didn't matter the great prose and storytelling merged. What carries this book so well is the voice. Thank you for watching this video. Don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel.