Hardcover, 369 pages
English language
Published May 25, 2021 by Ballantine Books.
August,1983, it is the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone who is anyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: surfer and supermodel Nina, brothers Jay and Hud, and their adored baby sister Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over - especially as the children of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
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 of dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family will all come bubbling to the surface.
Reading Blog || Socials
This is the definition of a great beach read. I had this book recommended to me by a coworker with excellent taste, so I trusted her judgement. Of course the book was amazing.
I may end up re-reading this one soon, as the book is so darn pretty too. It's a great escape.
2.5 stars
This book was so pointless! I might've liked the plot if it were a 90 minute movie but as a novel I just wasn't convinced by the story.
The premise is alright but the execution could have been so much better.
"Malibu Rising" is the story of four siblings whose father is basically Frank Sinatra. The first part of the story is alternating between the story of "Frank's" relationship to their mother and the siblings spending the day before their big annual party later that evening. The second part is about the course of the party with guests that are essentially the Brat Pack and their entourage.
There was quite a lot of foreshadowing in the first part which ruined all the plot twists. The themes of generational trauma and repeating your parents' mistakes weren't really well executed either.
The half star is for making me realise that …
2.5 stars
This book was so pointless! I might've liked the plot if it were a 90 minute movie but as a novel I just wasn't convinced by the story.
The premise is alright but the execution could have been so much better.
"Malibu Rising" is the story of four siblings whose father is basically Frank Sinatra. The first part of the story is alternating between the story of "Frank's" relationship to their mother and the siblings spending the day before their big annual party later that evening. The second part is about the course of the party with guests that are essentially the Brat Pack and their entourage.
There was quite a lot of foreshadowing in the first part which ruined all the plot twists. The themes of generational trauma and repeating your parents' mistakes weren't really well executed either.
The half star is for making me realise that salted sliced tomato is a great side dish for sandwiches and burgers.
Don't believe the hype.
Everyone is beautiful or tragic or going through growth or crazy or famous and it's a bit much.
I received an ARC copy of this from the publisher.
I was surprisingly disappointed by this book. The characters felt flat, and I think some of that was because there were simply so many of them. The sheer number of characters distracted me from the main story, which meant I felt disconnected from the characters and didn't really care about what happened to any of them.
I adored Daisy Jones, and probably should have known better than to expect the same from this book. Now I want to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to see if this book is an anomaly, or if Daisy Jones was.
