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Malibu Rising

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Start date: June 1, 2022

Finish date: June 30, 2022

Discussion: BOTMs

Why we're reading this: Adult BOTM for June 2022
[close] Adult BOTM for June 2022

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BOTMs

* November 2022 BOTM | Nominations
By Asia | Advent… , Creator, Head Mod, Book Nerd #1 · 4 posts · 27 views

last updated Aug 19, 2022 01:35PM

* July/August 2022 BOTM | Fable
By Asia | Advent… , Creator, Head Mod, Book Nerd #1 · 7 posts · 27 views

last updated Nov 17, 2022 09:25PM

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What Members Thought

Jul 07, 2024 kaya ♱ rated it liked it

Shelves: found-family, heavy-subjects, insufferable-characters, for-the-vibes, literally-me-characters, complex-characters, beautifully-written, has-my-heart, 5-stars, 2024-reads

✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ book review 𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ malibu rising ⟡ ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶

rating ⋆⤷ 4.98/5 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ "“Family is found...whether it be blood or circumstance or choice, what binds us does not matter. All that matters is that we are bound.”
"

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆ like the book suggests, this is indeed a read with an emotional depth as deep as the ocean. this has everything i like - historical fiction, complex characters, complicated families, and summer vibes! this is another great story by TJR, similar to The Seven Hu ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2025 AT rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, best-of-2025, 2025, tjr-the-writer-she-is

Quite a ride, I must say. And here I am again, flabbergasted by how much more power Taylor possesses in her writing. I get why people say this book isn't like TJR's style, but for me, I am both shocked and completely mesmerized. Usually, when authors change their writing style, even slightly, the reader base always takes a step back. I guess that's the reason people couldn't get the idea of this book because one is expecting TSHOEH and DJAT6 again. I loved every moment of this book; it completel Quite a ride, I must say. And here I am again, flabbergasted by how much more power Taylor possesses in her writing. I get why people say this book isn't like TJR's style, but for me, I am both shocked and completely mesmerized. Usually, when authors change their writing style, even slightly, the reader base always takes a step back. I guess that's the reason people couldn't get the idea of this book because one is expecting TSHOEH and DJAT6 again. I loved every moment of this book; it completely won me over. She is yet to write a bad book, and I am terrified for the day when I get hurt. What happens if she ever fails in her books? I guess we will never know!

The first quarter of the book resonated with her own true style. If someone didn't tell me who the author was, I would have figured it out by myself, because no one can write the thin lines between fiction and reality as gracefully as she does. The second half was the moment when I felt a change in her writing, and let me tell you, I loved it. More than I ever thought, and though I was a bit skeptical about this one because of the reviews, but nah, my favorite author didn't compromise, not even a bit. The power she holds in her writing is something I am both scared of and cherish; scared because I don't have a single idea what else she is capable of. She proved that she can write in any demeanor, and I want to see her show everything.

Now, for the storyline, as always, the characters were strong and solid, and I instantly fell for them. I felt them close as quickly as the book got started. Nina, Hud, Jay, Kit, Mick, June, and characters like Brandon, Ashley, Lara, and so on. People are going to hate Mick and June's story, but that's the reality, my dear, and Taylor knows how much to show. Men like Mick fall in love as quickly as someone utters "I love you." As frequently, they think they are in love, but they are just sidetracked by thinking someone came into their lives just to show them light, but in actuality, they call them women. And how they blame their childhood trauma for their deeds. Men like Brandon, who can't decide whom to love, the woman they just have sex with or the woman who's in their house. Jay, the man who claimed he finally fell in love, and he didn't feel that before, but after a woman's rejection, he takes everything back, as if there was a misunderstanding between his mind and words. And finally, Hud, the perfect man of the house, the humble one, the soft one, still a moron to sleep with his brother's girl. And how they feel sorry for everything and how they make up their minds in mere seconds. She literally takes "Smash the patriarchy" very seriously, and yet she writes with so much subtlety for men that I sometimes wonder how someone can write it.

What I love more about this plot are the women. How they helplessly fall in love and give everything to them and forgive them after every hit. And still, there's a dot in them as well, like Ashley, Carrie Soto, Lara or characters like Vanessa, who just wants to be seen. She writes like no one else. The diversity in her characters needs to be studied in a serious manner.

One thing to clarify is that when I read TSHOEH, I knew where the story was leading to. Same with DAISY Jones, and same with One True Loves. But this time, I didn't have any idea where I was being ushered toward, still, I was keep going and going. That's the power of TJR's hold, because you wouldn't care about how many pages or how many chapters, just keep looking straight and feel the pages. It was a bit fun, though, this one had a kind of humor, and I liked it very much. The unique punch of insights from side characters when the main ones are f***ed up. Maybe people cannot like it, but I enjoyed it, though. It's like TJR was controlling puppets, and everything was tight in her grip; she knows what and when to perform. She is brilliant, and that's all I can say to wrap up my rant for this book. ...more

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Sep 02, 2023 a s h l e y marked it as to-read

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