Malibu Rising

I understand why people did not enjoy this book as much as they enjoyed Evelyn Hugo. That one was a league of its own. The book starts promisingly, well a vast cast of characters. The hyper-realistic characterisation is something TJR always nails. Throughout this book, you meet SO many people, and you remember them all because of how well they are introduced to you.

But at some point, I wanted more than just well-done characters. I wanted a plot that moves further than “then this happened and then this happened”, especially when the book starts with the ending. If this book was meant to be a biography of the Riva family, it succeeded, but I also felt like, “okay, but what's the point of this all”. It felt like Malibu Rising had so much potential that it stayed unfulfilled. In every chapter, you feel like the crescendo will finally rise, but it continues to plateau from start to end. The only reason I did not DNF this was because 1) TJR writes a compelling story with her characters 2) the audiobook was well narrated. I mean, I did finish this book in a little over 24 hours so def not a bad one.

I know for sure, if I was reading the book I would have ciao adiosed it. Anyways, I stared and ended the whole damn thing for Carrie Sotto and was adequately entertained for the most part, so I ain't complaining. I understand the writer can't replicate perfection in every single book.