Malibu Rising is an up-and-coming novel worth your time. The hype surrounding Malibu Rising is valid and if you are craving a family based fiction book with determination driving the plot, then this is a novel you will enjoy.

This is not a novel you will be disappointed choosing to read and one I feel would be great to read or listen to on audio. The writing is a bit melodious but it suits the story as this novel is driven by the journey with characters you crave to root for. Is this worth your time? Yes.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid has a plot told through three POV's. The first is through the past which heavily focuses on June and Mick's relationship, the second is the present which focuses on the day of the party with splashes of history, and lastly random partygoer's viewpoint. I feel the partygoer's viewpoint could have been eliminated but that is my personal opinion as I do recognise how their viewpoints helped provide insight on what the party meant to guests and what the Riva's status meant. The plot is told well and will keep you captivated until the mansion burns.

There are four main characters. There is Nina, the eldest sibling who has sacrificed a great deal to help run the family. There is Jay, a pro-surfer who has just been informed of a medical anomaly. Hud, is a professional photographer who shoots Jay when surfing. And Kit, the youngest of them all is a fire cracker with determination to boot.

The characters are written well. They are complex individuals and the best part about the novel for me, was that none of the story was based on sibling rivalry. This is why the novel is worth reading because the whole point of it is the relationships within the family and what one crazy party can do to those relationships. Without this true sense of family and friendship, the journey within the story would have been shallow.

Malibu Rising has characters you will adore because they are unique but a united front with one wild party ahead of them.

The ending will go up in flames (hehe). It wraps up the story perfectly and closes the chapter on this part of the Riva's life to set up the future for something new. I wouldn't be upset if there was a sequel regardless of the fact there doesn't need to be more. I just really like the characters and want more of them! If you decide to read Malibu Rising, know the ending will satisfy but that you too, may hope for more of the Riva's.

I don't have any deep thoughts or confusing thoughts about Malibu Rising. It was a good book to listen to regarding perseverance and what family means. All of the characters I adored and the back and forth with the history of parents plus random intersperses of party-goers thoughts even if I thought they could be eliminated worked so well and it was great to listen too.

What I did like was how everything came full circle. The end, when the fire took the house, to me that was the closing of the chapter on the tumultuous Riva past and a sign of good faith going forward. My favourite part was that Nina obtained clarity and that it is okay to be selfish. All of the siblings found something from that party and are now able to move forward and begin a new chapter.

This was a well-written story, and I found the fact that Mick was the source of the fire completely perfect. He brought them into the crazy world and then helped close that chapter. Malibu Rising contained a heart-warming ending that encapsulated the whole journey of the novel and it is why I enjoyed this piece of literature.