mandykool's reviews
488 reviews

What can I say about Malibu Rising?

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a way of pulling you in, feeling heartbroken and happy all in one.

She writes characters who grow and learn that are flawed and beautiful.

Malibu Rising is no different, but at the same time it is. It’s a story of a family and how they were formed.

It’s about love.

It’s about loss.

It’s about fame and fortune.

It’s about living on the edge.

It’s a love song to the sweet Malibu waters. And it’s beautiful.

Reid has a way of writing unique prose every time and I am hooked. If it says Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote it, I’m there.

Absolutely amazing book.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for giving me the opportunity to read this beautiful book in advance of its release. It was a pleasure.

Just boring. I felt nothing. Bored now.

Just as good as the first book!

This book was a solid, entertaining book. Parts did get a little slow, but overall a good book.

Set in Great Britain during WWII, three women are brought together into a secret government job breaking codes.

I am still learning so much about the WWII and enjoyed the characters in this book immensely.

I laughed, I cried, I had my heart broken into a million pieces. Even after it’s over, my heart won’t be put back together quite in the same way. I was frustrated and sad with how things turned out, but in a way that was epic.

This book was just good.

It’s my first from Kate Quinn and I definitely need to read others.

The book was engaging, interesting, and I wanted to root for the main character.

Nora was a complex character who decides at the beginning of the book that her life is pointless and decides to end it.

She ends up in this weird world - a library. There she can jump to alternative lives, similar to The Butterfly Effect.

The premise is interesting. I like the author’s idea, but parts bothered me.

At times it slugged on and it seemed to repeat and repeat, and the worlds became increasingly boring to read about, but the biggest issue I have with the book is the depiction of mental illness.

I did research Matt Haig and see that he has a memoir out about his own struggles with depression, but his view of chronic depression is problematic at best. I won’t go into details that destroy the book or add too many spoilers, but from his memoir it seems as if self-help books and family helped him overcome his depression.

That’s not true for people with chronic mental illnesses and the book negatively depicts medication. From what I’ve read, medication didn’t help him and that’s apparent in his writing of Nora’s depression, but there are literally hundreds of medications to explore for people and these negative views do impact some people’s will to get help.

I would not recommend this book to friends who have lost people to suicide or have gone through suicide attempts or have chronic depression.

It’s definitely why I’m rating it so low even though writing style, it was beautiful.

Wow. Just. Wow.

Beautifully written. Yes, most definitely one that wasn’t really twist shocking, but heart wrenching. I enjoyed this book immensely.

This one was all over the place and not enjoyable.

So very good. I’m so sad McNamara passed before this book was complete. She was a talented author. Her prose jumped off the page.

I couldn’t put this down.