Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid takes place in Malibu 1983, on the day of Nina Riva’s annual end of summer party. Everyone wants to be around the famous Riva siblings, Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit, but each of them have problems of their own. By morning, the Riva mansion is in flames, and generations of family secrets are brought to light. I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by this author, so I had high expectations for this book, and it didn’t disappoint. Reid did a masterful job crafting this family drama, and even though there were many characters to keep track of, I was invested in all of their stories. Each character played a distinct part in the story; none of them felt flat or disposable. The flashbacks were very well written, and allowed the reader to see the parallels between various generations, creating a rich tale. I also really appreciated the themes of this book. The main character, Nina, struggles with living for herself rather than constantly pleasing others, and I thought that made for a very satisfying and relatable character arc. Overall, this book was amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys family dramas. I’ll definitely be reading more of this author’s work in the future, and I would rate this book a 9.8/10!