Malibu Rising

"We didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world's been turning . . .”

Ever found yourself at a house party where strangers were droning endlessly and distractingly into your ear and thought, wouldn’t it be great if someone just burned this place to the ground? Well you might just find some co-conspirators at the Riva family’s legendary summer party—because from the opening pages of Malibu Rising, we learn that this party will end with everything on fire.

But who lit the match?

Let’s start with the children of Mick Riva, the infamous rock star whose successful career—and reputation for being, frankly, an ass—has long haunted the family he abandoned. Was it Nina, his underappreciated eldest daughter, who’s suffered a very public breakup with her famous husband? Was it one of her brothers, Jay or Hud, whose close-knit bond is threatened by long-held secrets? Was it Kit, their often overlooked youngest sister who might just be the most talented surfer of the bunch? Or was it one of the many inebriated guests partying all night long at their family mansion?

As the book takes us hour by hour through that fateful, fiery day, we get to know the Riva family, witnessing their stolen moments on the surf, trysts with hidden lovers, and vain attempts to dodge gossipy partygoers. But in true Taylor Jenkins Reid fashion, this novel is more than just a wildly entertaining ride—it’s also a larger story of fame, family, inheritance, and what it means to shape the lives we want. Summer has arrived and if you’re ready to be transported and feel the sand between your toes, this page-turning beach read promises to be your new favorite!

Malibu: August 1983. It's the day of Nina Riva's annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he's been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can't stop thinking about promised she'll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family's generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.