Dates read: 03/08/2023 to 08/08/2023.
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Word to describe: Magnetic
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Imagine this, you find yourself on holiday in the dry heat soaking up the rays of sunlight and watching your skin turn into that healthy golden glow. You're reading a book - bookstagrams summer must-read of 2022 and you're finally getting around to reading what would be a wholesome and beautiful read, maybe a romance, maybe a found family trope? You really should have read the blurb!
Malibu Rising certainly radiates sunshine and those coconut rum-infused party vibes. But, it also has a completely wild storyline, some difficult-to-love but impossible-to-forget characters, and an unnamed level of attraction that keeps you wanting to read more. When I started to read this book I simply could not understand the hype. There was nothing that instantly caught my attention and had me begging for more. The characters felt two-dimensional, and the plot and multi-timezone setting ruined big chunks of the mystery for me (still bitter that present-day Nina ruins that June and Mick get divorced before I got to read about it through June and Mick's eyes!).
But for my seemingly high list of complaints what slowly chipped away and made me love this book was the sheer insanity that came with the plot line. The instant drama and he-did-not moments forced me to read more and the more I read the more I could not believe the sheer audacity of these characters - I'll be real they all suck. There was not one (well maybe young and innocent June pre-marriage to Mick) that I had an attachment to. It seemed like these characters went out of their way to deliberately make themselves unlikeable and for some reason I just loved it. I described my view on these characters to a lovely friend of mine, who also happens to be a huge book lover, as "they're not super thrilling or even remotely likable they just possess this magnetic energy that makes you want to read on".
Taylor Jenkins Reid truly has a spectacular writing ability. This is the first time I have read a book by this popular best-selling, and highly praised author and despite my initial convictions against this book I can say I do agree with the masses on this one. TJR has an incredible ability to bring together a mismatch of realistic heartbreaking storylines with deplorable characters, and still find a way to humanize them all. I left the last page of this book feeling although everything I knew about these characters was false, that the entirety of this book up until that conclusion was simply a rum-induced Malibu dream. I guess reading in the sunshine can do that to you!
My summary for this book is a simple one. If you want to read a book that will break you and confuse you at the same time, with magnetic and layered characters, and a sprinkle of sun-sea-and-sex then sure, this book is that perfect summer read.
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