Rounded down from roughly 4.5 stars ⭐️

Malibu rising tells the story of Nina, soon to be hosting the party of the year. Except she is not looking forward to it. Nina and her three siblings all have different expectations of what will happen, but none of them could have foreseen the reality. The story jumps between the present day and the past, highlighting the intricacies of relationships and what lead to the characters current situations.

I am still quite new to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, but she is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors! Her writing is absolutely sublime and so incredibly vivid. I always feel completely drawn into every single book of hers that I read. I loved the complicated relationships and the familial love portrayed in this book. It made me think fondly of my own family and how much they mean to me. I loved the message that the people we love may mess up sometimes, but they will always be there for us when we need them.

However, I did find myself getting a little confused by who all the side characters were in the party. I couldn’t keep track of them all! That being said, as with all of Taylor’s books, I absolutely love the strong female characters that flood the pages. I fell completely in love with Nina, and the incredible strength and sacrifices she was willing to give for the people who mattered most to her. I sometimes feel domestic roles can be overlooked, so I loved that focus in this book. Showing how hard it can be to keep a household going. I actually felt a sadness at having to say goodbye to Nina and her siblings. The love they had for each other almost felt like a comfort blanket for me.

I would recommend this to fans of contemporary fiction with a focus on family.