Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Kit, particularly, grieved the way some people drink which is to say: rarely but always alone and to excess

Malibu Rising begins by teasing readers with an enticing party gone awry at a famous model's home in Malibu. This story pans in and out of focus, jumping around to tell the behind the scenes of everything leading up to the party. A multi-generational family saga with a fused pack of siblings at its center is both emotional and engrossing.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the boss of telling stories drenched in that enigmatic attraction of people rising to fame from obscurity. Reid always brings us from the rags of their life before fame, into the riches of their new life.

I cannot be the only one who finds this story format riveting. There is something there in the grips of desperation that seperate the famous from the forgotten that enraptures me.

A good story like this one understands that once the character arrives at stardom's door it is all downhill from there. In the unraveling of this journey even the famous cannot out run their humanity and I LOVE that moment. I want to hear about everybody's feelings leading up to and after that moment. I want to know what the fuck happened to their reputation. I want to feel like the mess of my life is a drop in the bucket compared to a swan dive from fame to infamy. TELL ME ALL YOUR MISTAKES. TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL NOW THAT ITS ALL GONE. YOUR DOG CANT EVEN LOOK YOU IN THE EYE? FUUUUUCK! SAY MORE ABOUT THAT AND USE ALL THE ADJECTIVES! Annnnnnd Taylor Jenkins Reid has my back , because these are fictional famous people so I'm allowed to be like "lull me to sleep with the mistakes or your life." I don't even have to feel bad about it. Books like this capitalize on the abject curiosity and obsession surrounding fame.

My point is, you should read this. I liked Daisy Jones and the Six better, but I thought the characters in Malibu Rising were more fully formed so 4.5 stars it is 😉

Content warning: alcohol abuse, infidelity, addiction, accidental death, some drug use, violence (but nothing more than a couple fistfights.), house fire/community fire, some mention of domestic abuse.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

You can find Malibu Rising on bookshelves near you June 1st 2021 (please consider pre-ordering this from your favorite small business bookstore 🙏🙏🙏 they need your $ more than amazon!)