Title: Malibu Rising
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
ISBN: 9781529157147
Publisher: Penguin (Cornerstone)
Pages: 400 pages
Source: Penguin Random House South Africa
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.
Official Summary
22 May 2025
Malibu Rising is one of those books I kept seeing everywhere, and it was also on my TBR forever! I have been meaning to pick this book up for years! I finally did and wow. Taylor Jenkins Reid just gets how to write complicated, broken, magnetic people. I didn’t love this book the way I loved Daisy Jones, but I finished it so quickly that says something.
The story follows the Riva siblings Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit and takes place over one wild day in Malibu in 1983. It’s their big annual party and chaos unfolds. But the real heart of it is all the stuff under the surface.
Nina was the best for me. I wanted to reach into the book, shake her, then hug her. She’s that person who always takes care of everyone else and forgets she’s allowed to want things too. Her whole “reluctant mother, reluctant model, reluctant human safety net” vibe was great to read. Kit was great, kind of messy and impulsive and figuring herself out, which felt super real.
Also, can we talk about the flashbacks? At first, I was like “Wait, who are all these random people?” But it eventually clicks, and when it does, it really works. The sections with their dad, Mick Riva, made me feel every kind of annoyed and sad. He’s such a classic case of a charming disaster.
Did it drag a little in the middle? Maybe. Did the party scenes feel slightly overdone at times? A bit. So that is sadly why it wasn’t a five-star read for me. But the emotional payoff by the end made up for it. And the last few pages? I closed the book and just sat there like… yeah. That was worth it. So this was a solid four-star for me.
It’s not twisty or trying to shock you. It’s just… honest. Messy. Human. And sometimes that hits harder than anything else. If you’re into family drama, slow burns or stories that feel like summer and ache a little, then I would recommend this book!
Also by Taylor Jenkins Reid
CARRIE SOTO IS BACK
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two.
But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan.
At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the Battle-Axe anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.
In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.
About The Author
Author Bio from the Author’s Site
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her books have been selected by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Daisy Jones & The Six has been adapted into a limited series on Amazon Prime. She resides in Los Angeles.
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