I made it about 13% into Malibu Rising before deciding to put it down. This one just isn’t for me.
The writing is clunky and, at times, just plain bad. Phrases like “naked except for a pair of bikini underwear” and “went and did” (a thing) feel lazy and grammatically off. The prose lacks rhythm or depth, and the dialogue feels like it’s trying too hard to be cinematic — probably because it’s angling for a screen adaptation (which, yes, Hulu picked up).
Character development is paper-thin. The women are described in terms of their “lean, taut, suntanned” bodies — like a casting call for Baywatch — and there’s a constant undercurrent of objectification that feels dated and shallow. Once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid seems more interested in glamorizing the wealthy and beautiful than in exploring anything emotionally real or grounded.
The plot (if there is one) barely moves, and the sex scenes are as dull as the characters. It reads like a glossy soap opera without the fun or the stakes.
What really sealed it for me was the stilted scenes and internal monologues around surfing and the ocean. I looked into the author’s research process and found that she had no prior knowledge of surfing — she reportedly prepared by watching surf movies. And it shows. There’s no real sense of connection to the ocean or surf culture — just a reliance on clichés and stereotypes. It’s hard to take a story seriously when the setting feels like a backdrop borrowed from a postcard.
After struggling through Forever Interrupted, I hoped this would be a step up. Instead, it’s more of the same — just with more bikinis and beachfront property.
REVIEW: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
RATING: 1-star or less
© Jennifer R Clark. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt this content with proper attribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment